But while that was going on, a younger girl - at that point, entering her sophomore year at Kingston - was making some noise on the team that was their nemesis all summer, including the finals. This ultra-athletic 5'10" wing, Chloe Chaffin, wasn't well-known to the vast majority of Capital District basketball enthusiasts, but she took the opportunity to plaster her name on the map. A year later, and she's not sneaking up on anyone. As a returning All-EST 1st Team selection from 2015 that added accolades like Class AA All-State Honorable Mention and Daily Freeman Player of the Year in the winter, along with introducing herself to the Capital District AAU scene with a strong campaign in the blue NY Havoc jersey, people knew her. However, knowing her doesn't mean you can stop her, and she consistently left her fingerprint on the game while suiting up for every one of Outwork's EST games for the 2nd summer in a row.
Chloe's scoring numbers actually took a slight dip from the 2015 campaign, but this speaks toward the growth of her overall game and not any diminishing qualities of her scoring ability. Simply put, she was much more than a scorer this summer. If she was struggling offensively, she still provided worth in her defense, rebounding, and playmaking ability to the point where you felt like you couldn't take her out. Chaffin's versatility on both ends allowed her to be a plug-and-play player. She could play at the wing, post up, be a primary ballhandler, and defend every position on the court. This provided her Outwork team a luxury that no other team truly had to that extent - a player who could produce offensively wherever they put her and lock up defensively wherever they needed.
The versatility and willingness to do whatever was needed showed itself in the stat sheet this summer. She averaged 8.5 PPG - as mentioned, a slight drop from her 10.6 last summer but still tied for 15th in EST - along with 6.2 RPG, 2.8 APG, and 2.1 SPG. The 6.2 RPG also put her in the top 15 in that category, and her assist & steal per game numbers were good for 5th and a tie for 2nd in the league, respectively. Her stat lines were often stuffed; there are plentiful examples, including 13 pts/7 rebs/5 asts in a July 7 game, 11 pts/5 rebs/5 stls on August 3, 7 pts/9 rebs/6 asts on July 27, along with plenty of others. When Outwork went cold on offense, it was often Chloe making a play - or a string of plays - to turn their situation around. Her 9 point/8 rebound championship game included a host of big plays as Outwork came back from a double digit deficit in the 2nd half. 7 of her points came in the 2nd half, including the basket to initially give Outwork the lead late. After Show Stoppers took the edge again, the defense turned their attention to her. Instead of forcing the issue - something she may have done last year - she sucked the defense in as much as possible on a drive and kicked out to an open Madison Little in the corner, who buried what proved to be the game winning 3 with under a minute left. That stretch, in a nutshell, was the maturation of Chloe Chaffin, and why she's earned the 2016 EST girls' league MVP.
Most Valuable Player
Chloe Chaffin
5'10" G
High School: Kingston, Class of 2018
College Choice: Verbal Commitment to Fordham
AAU: NY Havoc Blue
EST Team: Outwork
Super athletic multi-faceted player took her overall game to another level this summer while assuming more of a leadership role. Can be a dominant scorer when needed but become more and more willing to create for others off the dribble. Averaged 8.5 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 2.8 APG, 2.1 SPG, .4 BPG while making every game. Currently EST's all-time leading girls' scorer (274 points) and 1 of only 2 players to have scored 100+ points in both years of EST's existence. Publicly announced her verbal commitment to Division I Fordham University of the Atlantic 10 on September 1.
No comments:
Post a Comment