With how busy July has been between the league, tournaments/travel for tournaments, and work on various future events, my own coverage of the summer league has been a little more sparse than I'd like. Over the first 4 nights, some things have been sticking out as players become more comfortable & more accustomed to their teammates, opponents, and the style of play. A few highlights:
Playing team ball, more often than not, gets you wins. Look no further than this stat: the 4 teams that currently have records above the .500 mark also are the 4 teams that have the most assists. Unselfish play from players such as 6-0 Next Big Thing's Stephanie Jankovic, 4-2 Next Level's Grace Heeps, 4-2 Outwork's Brianna Rozzi, and 4-2 Rising Stars' Dolly Cairns, the players who tend to have the ball in their hands the most for their respective teams as point guards, have helped their teams become more fluid & productive on offense. An offense that gets everyone involved tends to turn into a defense that everyone is invested in, which has been the case in this situation - a big reason for the success of these teams thus far.
Teams whose players consistently attend, more often than not, become winning teams. It sounds simple, but for the 3rd straight year, it has become evident. It has been of huge benefit for undefeated Next Big Thing, as 7 of their 10 players have been in uniform for every official league game & no one has missed more than 1 night so far. Same for 4-2 Next Level, who was undefeated before losing two games on the last league night by a combined 6 points. 8 of the 11 on their roster have been there every night, with no one missing more than once. Teams such as Dynasty & Young Guns started off on the wrong foot in the summer, largely because the makeup of the teams looked different on each of the first 3 nights. Those two teams had their best-looking performances of the summer on the 19th, as teammates are now getting used to each other's tendencies. Although it was a late start, it could be a strong finish for them as they're now getting consistent showings from a solid core of players. Show Stoppers, much like the 'Too Easy' team last summer, has been plagued by this as well. Time will tell how the last three nights go for a team like that, as they have the talent to make noise, but haven't been able to put together a full 40 minute performance yet.
The quality of talent in the region's younger classes has scary potential. Over the first two years, some younger players have paved their way in the league and made noise. Two years ago, it was Grace Heeps, Sophie Tougas, and Kerry Flaherty as rising freshmen. Last summer, more rising freshmen jumped on the scene like Kelsey Wood, Julia DeBeatham, and Mikyla Mitchell. This summer, however, is different. Not only do you still have the youth of the aforementioned Wood, DeBeatham, and Mitchell - all going into their sophomore years - there are more emerging in the 2020 class, such as Millbrook's Erin Fox, Adirondack's Belle Kranbuhl, Hoosick Falls' Logan Thayne, and too many more to name. On top of that, the 2021 class could potentially have the most high-level talent throughout upstate NY out of any that I've been around for. Catholic Central's Sarah Mattfeld, Cambridge twins Lilly Phillips and Sophie Phillips, Melanie Hoyt (Stamford), Aysia Pink (Guilderland), and Jenalyse Alarcon (Troy), along with a few others, have made legitimate differences for their teams. Pink is tied for 1st in the league in scoring. Mattfeld is averaging 7.5 PPG & 4 RPG and scored 15 big ones in knocking Next Level from the unbeaten ranks. Sophie Phillips was the Next Level killer in the next game, scoring 14 including the game winning basket with 3 seconds left. Throw in players from the 2022 class such as Jackie Piddock (South Jefferson) and Amelia Wood (Averill Park) - the first year I've ever seen rising 8th graders legitimately good enough to compete against the best of those 3-4 years older - and you can see why I'm so excited about the future of girls' basketball in upstate NY.
Stephanie Jankovic - undervalued by many, but as valuable to her team as anyone in EST. The rising Averill Park senior has been known in the area for a couple years at this point, but her name isn't necessarily brought up by many when talking about the 'best' players in the 518. The way she has played this summer in EST should wake folks up that overlook her. Statistically, she's filling the stat sheet in a way that's almost unbelievable from your point guard. She's averaging 9.7 PPG (10th in EST) while shooting over 40% from the field, 8 RPG (3rd in EST), 4.5 APG (T-2nd), and 2.5 SPG (T-4th). This is while playing on a team that has consistently had 8-9 bodies in uniform, so she's not playing every second to get those numbers. On top of that, leadership qualities and intangibles have shone through. Her Next Big Thing team closely resembles the 'Outwork' team of 2015 that featured under-the-radar & undervalued older players with a mix of younger talent, and that team stunned opponents en route to the top seed. Jankovic has been a catalyst for 2017's lone undefeated team heading into the final two weeks. She's currently receiving attention from some Division IIs but doesn't hold an offer - with continued play like this, she could be breaking through sooner rather than later.
Dolly Cairns - from one of the region's best young players to one of the region's best players, regardless of age. It almost seems weird that Saratoga Springs' standout PG is a member of the 2020 class. It feels like she's been around forever, mainly because she has. She was starting on the varsity team as an 8th grader, and the buzz around her name was at a deafening tone in basketball circles even as a 7th grader. Cairns is the only member of the 2020 class in the 518 to hold a Division I offer. She's always played and acted mature for her age, and by now, she plays like a heady veteran even though she's not even old enough to get her permit. Dolly has been a puppet master of sorts while at the PG spot for her Rising Stars team, as she's able to dictate the flow of the game and the movements of the other 9 players on the court with the ball in her hands. Always an unselfish player, her willingness to occasionally take the game over by scoring - and knowing when to do that - has added another level to her game. She's 3rd in EST in scoring, averaging 14 PPG, and has shot 50% from the field, around 45% from the 3 point line, and 80% at the charity stripe. She's rebounding well from the guard spot, averaging just under 5 per game, and is slightly under 3 assists per game as well. Without even bringing up statistics, her impact on the game is very noticeable. The attention she draws opens it up for teammates, and she provides a calming presence on the floor for her 4-2 Rising Stars team. The guard/post combo of her and Shenendehowa 2019 Cat Almeida - also holding a few D1 offers - has been as potent of an inside/outside threat as there has been in the league, and with several other players stepping up on any given night, the Rising Stars team is a tough one to beat.
Grace Heeps, the facilitator. The transformation of Heeps' game from a young star at Columbia to one of upstate NY's most recognizable faces in girls' basketball has been evident. She jumped on the scene as a bigger, taller guard with parking lot range. Over the next couple years, her offensive game expanded with the ability to get to the rim or use an in-between game, and her court vision also became something to note. Now, Heeps has made the on-ball transformation into being one of the best at creating for others that there is to offer. In 2016, she was in the top 3 in scoring in EST. This year, the scoring has dropped considerably as she's become the league's leader in assists by a long shot. Her 6.3 APG leads 2nd place by nearly 2 per game. Her 10 assist game on July 19 set a new league mark for most in a single game. She followed it up with 7 more assists in the 8:30 game that night. For her 4-2 Next Level team, future Northfield Mount Hermon teammate Silke Milliman is tied for the league lead in scoring at 14.5. Belle Kranbuhl has taken many by surprise, becoming a dominant post presence as a rising sophomore and averaging 9.5 per game. Aubrey Halloran has enjoyed great success in EST, becoming an impact player at 7.8 PPG. Standout wings Jenna Zimmerman and Sophie Tougas are averaging 7 & 6.6 PPG, respectively. All are more than capable scorers, but Grace has made their lives even easier by knowing exactly when & where to get them the ball and putting her passes on the money. She is the straw that stirs the drink for a supremely talented group.
Speaking of Silke... she has proven to be as close to unguardable as anyone in EST. She has the height & frame of a true 4, at a full 6'2" and well-built, with the perimeter jumper of a 2. No defensive matchup has been able to keep her under wraps for long, as she's able to figure out her advantage and go to work. She steps out against posts; if they sag off, she'll hit the three (2nd on Next Level with 8 threes made), and if they step out, she'll use the handle to get by them & get to the rim. She has worked into the blocks and scored on post moves against smaller defenders, and she's been just as tough on the offensive glass at times, as she's been good for a couple baskets per game on second chance points. Having three offers coming into the summer league, a strong July on the circuit with NY Havoc has earned her three more offers from Fordham, Vermont, and Northeastern. That list should continue to grow quickly with what she brings to the table.
Chloe Chaffin and Brianna Rozzi have noticeably improved what they've needed to improve on, and Outwork is better because of it. Longtime Section IX standouts, they've dominated competition in their area for years. Chloe is as supreme of an athlete as there is in upstate NY, and Bri is a firecracker PG that can go off at any time. However, they both had weaknesses to their game. Chaffin's jump shot was suspect in the past, and Rozzi could be a high risk/high reward player. The improvement in Chloe's midrange & long range jumper has been evident. She's shooting with better mechanics and more confidence, and it's now something that defenses truly have to respect. She had a 22 point game back on July 17, primarily from jumpers. She followed it up that Wednesday with a 27 point outing, where it was put back on display. In her first year of EST in 2015, she made one three. In 2016, she made three. She's already knocked down six this summer, and she still has three more nights to play. Her counterpart, Rozzi, has taken a major step from being a scoring PG into a floor general that can still take over a game by scoring. Her assists have went up, her turnovers have went down, her field goal percentage has went up, and she's become a willing vocal leader for a team full of other Section 1 & 9 standouts. Defensively, she's transformed into a willing lockdown defender at the guard spot, and will take pride in frustrating her opponent. It was a great July for Bri and has been a great showing in her 2nd year of EST so far. As her maturation & development continues, look for her to become one of the shining stars of the 2019 class.
There could be several other things included in this rundown, but those are the top few that have stuck out over the June/July segment. As we hit the home stretch of the 3rd annual summer league, look for some more girls to come through and make their presence felt. Catch the action of the last three nights of EST - July 31, August 2, and August 9 - at Union College!
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