The first weekend of April brought me to Syracuse, a place I've spending nearly as much time in as I have Albany, for good reason. Basketball is thriving in the area, with a very solid core of talent headlining the 2018 & 2019 classes and elite young standouts in 2020 & 2021 as well. The NBC Spring Classic, put on by the Syracuse Nets, was a prime example of the depth of talent in Section III.
Many of the region's big names - Danielle Rauch, Meg Hair, Azariah Wade, etc. in older classes, Momo LaClair & Jess Cook in younger classes - weren't at the tournament, although they were playing basketball in Syracuse for I-90 Elite practice (a practice I attended Saturday - as always, thanks to I-90 for their hospitality and allowing me to swing through and check it out!). Even without some of the usual headliners, the tournament had many solid players and current & future EST targets, especially as you went into the 8th & 9th grade brackets. Some players that stood out to me, by graduating class, below:
2018
Samantha Doupe (Phoenix/Lake Effect Storm) - Last year, Doupe was more of a secondary guard with the presence of Paige Leonard. With Paige off to I-90 Elite and playing a very limited schedule with LES, Doupe has the chance to step into the forefront and took full advantage of it at this tournament. Although on the short end, you'll rarely find someone anywhere that can match her speed. She was able to turn the corner on anyone here when she turned on the jets, and used the speed at both ends to wreak havoc getting into the lane and jump passing lanes. Once defenders gave her the couple steps they needed in order to stay in front, she knocked down the perimeter J. Strong weekend for Doupe, who helped LES win the 11th grade championship.
Ashlyn Eyles (Thousand Islands/Lady Vikings) - Wing with above-average height & length for her position, and her well-rounded skill set was on display over many stretches of play this weekend. Eyles' ability to shoot, handle, get out in transition and make quick moves from the perimeter allows her to score well both in the open court and in the half court. She can score at all three levels & also played unselfishly. Section III Class C champion Thousand Islands had as well-balanced of a team as any I saw in the winter, but Eyles separated herself a little over the weekend. She could make many D3 programs very happy in a couple years.
Anna Hoover (Thousand Islands/Lady Vikings) - Lefty post also had a strong showing for the Lady Vikings, a crew that was predominantly Thousand Islands players but had a couple others from other Frontier League schools. She has a little more of an unorthodox game, but it works for her and keeps defenses off balance. Hoover does good work attacking from the high post area, where a deceptively quick first step helped her beat defenders to the rim with one dribble from around 15' away. She also has a soft touch, and letting her go over her right shoulder ended up being a nearly guaranteed 2 points. Another potential quality D3 player from the jump.
2019
Olivia Dobrovosky (Skaneateles/Lake Effect Storm) - Dobrovosky, a point guard, really stood out off the bat on Saturday. She had her hand in nearly every play for a long stretch of their 1st game, a game they played shorthanded for a long stretch. She looks more comfortable attacking the rim and drawing contact, but also knocked down the perimeter jumper when given a little space. She has shown marked improvement in her game from this point last year, a welcome sign for her AAU squad, high school team that has heavily depended on her output the last couple years, and going forward, college coaches.
2020
Paige Keeler (Jamesville-DeWitt/Syracuse Nets Pascale) - Speed kills, especially if you have Paige Keeler speed. She was able to change the game throughout the weekend by going faster than anyone up against her could go. She killed teams in the open court, even getting by and around sprinting defenders that had a head start on her on numerous occasions. She was able to get to the rim often and finish against taller defenders, and like the aforementioned Sam Doupe, she made the D pay by knocking down threes when they decided to sag off and play the drive. Probably would play a starring role for many Section III high schools, but is part of the J-D machine - which is part of what makes them so good.
Abby Piddock (Watertown IHC/Lake Effect Storm) - One of a dynamite pair of sisters that is already starting to garner as heavy of attention to Watertown area basketball as there's been in a while, Abby stood out as one of the youngest players on the court. In the 5'9"-5'10" range, she has a skill set that truly blurs the lines between positions. She's like a 2 guard with her ability to knock down the long-range J with consistency, yet she can score in the post and actively rebound like a strong 4. To add to that, she moves her feet well enough to lock down perimeter players and has the strength & footwork to guard bigger posts. Abby will certainly be an intriguing player to keep an attentive eye on going forward.
Ally Shoemaker (Chittenango/Syracuse Nets Edson) - Proved to be this weekend's standout on a solid Nets-Edson team that features plenty of girls that were major contributors on their varsity teams as freshmen. Shoemaker is another guard that can change the game with her speed and anticipation, and was good for a handful of steals in each game that I saw. She did a good job leading the break, knowing when to finish herself and when to hit teammates and doing each with a high rate of success. Her game appears to be getting more refined, as her handle and shot looked smoother this tournament. Mix that with her court vision and athleticism, and it's safe to say that she has a bright future.
Andrea Sumida (Jamesville-DeWitt/Syracuse Nets Pascale) - Along with J-D teammate Paige Keeler, they effectively led their Nets team to a 10th grade division championship with relative ease. Andrea is someone I really started to like in the winter, backing up Bryant commit Julia Kelner on J-D's Class A state champion & Federation finalist basketball team. She really flourished in this outlet, doing something I truly didn't know she could do that well - scoring the ball. Sumida is a player that produced real value coming off the bench during HS basketball season because of her exceptional post defense & rebounding ability, which she continued to do over the weekend, perhaps being the best rebounder at any division. She showed much more confidence putting the ball in the basket though, even killing teams from the wing on drives. I'm probably more on the Sumida bandwagon going forward than most, but certainly a legitimate upside for her going forward.
2021
Kennady Amo (Thousand Islands/Lady Vikings) - 'K' was the only 8th grader playing in the 11th grade division, and you wouldn't have any idea she was 'the young kid' unless you were told it or knew already. Undersized, but very solid PG that isn't afraid of anything. She'll get into the lane and beat defenders to the rim or pull up for a short floater, and she's a knockdown perimeter shooter. Amo is also a scrappy defender that can be a pest going after the ball. Height is never going to be a strength for her, but ask girls like McKayla Roberts & Hanna Strawn how much that matters. Kennady has shades of players like that in her game. Look for her to potentially take the Frontier League by storm next year.
Catie Cunningham (West Genesee/Syracuse Nets Chairmonte) - This is a player that I've been hearing a lot about lately, and at first watch, I see exactly why. Extremely bright future for a girl that I've been told is relatively new to the game of basketball. Taller guard - looks to be around 5'9" - that has game-changing speed and athleticism. Had a coast-to-coast take and full extension finish off a Euro step in the 9th grade division championship game that had the place buzzing. May have the highest upside of anyone in this tournament at any level. With continued improvement in the game, she could be a stud sooner rather than later. Will likely be an instant major contributor for West Genesee varsity next winter.
Lexie Roe (Fayetteville-Manlius/Syracuse Nets Chairmonte) - She's got the pedigree as the daughter of local legend and Syracuse/Maryland/overseas pro Matt Roe, and she's got the skill to back it up. Although she's a guard that's a little on the shorter end now, something tells me that (especially with a 6'6" father) she's far from done growing. Roe has a jumper that could already be classified as deadly, and unlike many girls, she has the true ability to create her own shot. She has the handle and ability to use change of speed to free herself up - and when she got any space, it was a death sentence over the weekend. Will likely be a game changer for Fayetteville-Manlius varsity next winter and a scoring punch that they desperately need. Looking forward to seeing her growth over the next year or two.
Reese Vaughan (Seton Catholic/Elmira Lady Fusion) - We had a Federation champ in the building at Jamesville-DeWitt with Reese. With the talent on Seton's roster, sometimes the best work they could get in was going against each other in practice, and Reese looked like someone who spent nearly every day over the last 4 months going up against Lexi Levy (GW signee) and Hanna Strawn (Brown & UVM offers). Her confidence was at another level, and her game in general just looked like it was at another level. The long guard scored at all 3 levels, and her activity on defense caused more than its share of turnovers as well. She flexed her muscle and made her case as the best player on the court in the 9th grade division championship, going off for 23 in a 55-42 W. She's ahead of the curve that I anticipated, and hopefully this is a sign of things to come.
Isabella Wilbur (Red Creek/Syracuse Nets-Waldron) - Since the first time I saw Wilbur in the Section V Class C1 semis with Red Creek, I've been calling her the next coming of Danielle Migliore. Her similarities to the former Frankfort-Schuyler standout and now St. Bonaventure basketball player are uncanny - from physical appearance to mannerisms, even her voice, they could be sisters. Her game also bears a striking resemblance, and if you remember Migliore, you know that means you better not let Wilbur get even an inch of room. Playing at age level in this tournament, she made the game look extremely easy. After her team fell behind by 16 in the 2nd half of the 8th grade championship, she completely took the game over at both ends in what turned into a 57-54 victory. She knocked down 4 threes after halftime, including on back-to-back possessions to cut their deficit to 2 and put serious pressure on their opponent. She also secured two steals late, one coming on their last defensive possession, to wrap up the game. Could've played in the 11th grade division and made noise as well. Likely to hear a lot more buzz from this player in years to come.
Other players that made noise included:
Jenna Zimmerman (South Jefferson 2018/Lake Effect Storm)
Emma Puddington (Beaver River 2018/Lady Vikings)
Brooke Jarvis (CBA 2020/Syracuse Nets Edson)
Kiley Snow (Whitesboro 2020/Syracuse Nets Edson)
Sydney Brown (Lowville 2020/Lady Vikings)
Julia Mann (Central Square 2021/Syracuse Nets Waldron)
Victoria Morgan (Liverpool 2021/Syracuse Nets Waldron)
Very good crop of talent, especially young players, in Syracuse over the weekend. I had a chance to go to the Final 4 in Dallas and passed on it to recruit for the EST summer leagues coming up. All-in-all, I wish Dallas' weather could've hit Syracuse, but I'm happy that I stayed because of how productive the weekend became. Maybe you'll catch me out this week for AAU practices, but besides that, see you next weekend!
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