A Weekend in the 518: Zero Gravity 'Spring Fling' Notes & Standouts

It was a long drought, but AAU basketball events have finally returned 'back to the crib' in upstate NY & with that, 2021 already feels like more of a return to 2019 times than a rerun of 2020. Zero Gravity, a company that has made themselves synonymous with event coordination in Northeast club basketball, did the honors in the 518 as Hunter Stratton & crew brought back the ZG Spring Fling to various Albany area facilities. There were more teams than this old accounting major cares to look back and count between boys & girls, but I tried to pay particular attention to the 38 teams spanning 7th grade to varsity divisions on the girls end. Over the course of the weekend, I was able to see approximately 30 of them in action while catching a good number of those teams, especially the ones that played deep into Sunday, on multiple occasions.

Albany area ZG events have often been the place where I find who's 'next up' in the 518 when they're in 7th/8th grade, before they're playing at the varsity level & often before they build any profile on the AAU circuit. For proof of that, look no further than standout area talent like Sophie & Lilly Phillips, who I got a good look at four years ago at a ZG event around this time of year - well before the state championships & D1 attention. With that in mind, you can probably see why I enjoyed the opportunity to focus on this event. This one also brought a good deal of that Section 2 up & coming talent, which is reflected in the upcoming list. A few players that caught my eye with their weekend performances while bouncing from facility to facility, in alphabetical order:

Mercy commit Abby Racine (listed deeper in the article), one of Section 7's premier players the last few years, had a strong showing Saturday night.

The Winter Sprint: Thoughts From A Season Worth The Wait

Well, that was fun. Unexpected, but fun.

It's the beginning of April. Ten weeks ago, any thought of a scholastic basketball season in New York seemed like not much more than a pipe dream. Fast forward to now, and we made it through some sort of a season. Not everyone had an opportunity to play - various schools & a couple leagues shut it down, and all of NYC was left in the cold - but the overwhelming majority in upstate NY were at least able to get a few games in.

It's not completely over yet, at least at the time I'm typing this. Herkimer County, the last ones seated in upstate NY (first day of practice was March 1), have stretched their season through the first full week of April. However, everyone else is on to AAU/spring/fall II/things that aren't winter sports, and unless I hit one or two more Mohawk Valley games, I'm also onto club season. This season, albeit short, was well worth the wait for many reasons. From the breakout individual performances to youngsters getting a few weeks of valuable experience to a star-studded senior class riding out one more time, every night felt like it meant something in a season that wasn't guaranteed.

With the cooperation of many athletic administrators & coaches, I was able to stay pretty active in February & March and get to a decent amount of games. The 54 games I've been able to catch in person (46 in NY, 8 in PA) is a far cry from the usual 200-250 game winter haul that I'm used to - a shorter season and lack of neutral site games or events with several games at a single facility will chop that number down in a hurry. It was more than enough to see a lot, cover a lot, and learn a lot, though. Some thoughts on the winter sports sprint of 2021:

My first game of the winter - January 21 at Wyoming Valley West outside of Wilkes-Barre, PA. In the days following, NY allowed the go-ahead for winter sports as well.

A Monday In The Mohawk Valley: WCV Holds Off Little Falls, Herkimer Runs Past Dolgeville

March 29, 2021

A two-for-one! While the vast majority of New York (and the entire country) has moved onto AAU season, a couple pockets of the state are still getting some high school games in. That includes Herkimer County. The last ones to remain seated after "high-risk" indoor sports got the state go-ahead have now become the last ones standing with contests stretching into early April. Mix that with a friendly schedule change allowing me to catch two games Monday, and it was an easy destination choice to start the week. In the opener, West Canada Valley made plays in the final minutes to hold off host Little Falls, and in the nightcap, Herkimer used a big 3rd quarter run to separate themselves and earn a win over visiting Dolgeville. First, from Mountie country:

Stifling Defensive Effort & Big Night From Beaver Push Southwestern to B2 Finals

March 25, 2021

Southwestern 50, Eden 31

Wednesday was dedicated to B1 semifinals... might as well make Thursday about the B2s. The Section 6 playoff sprint continued with another day in the Southtowns, this time Eden as they faced off with a familiar playoff opponent in Southwestern. A competitive grind of a start turned the visitors' way with a big run to start the 2nd half, and the Trojans took the momentum & ran with it to the finish line to pick up an impressive victory.

Reece Beaver turned it up in the 2nd half & led the way with 27 points in Southwestern's W.

Depew Rights The Ship & Runs To Section 6 Class B1 Final

March 24, 2021

Depew 61, Springville-Griffith 50

A Wednesday that started with a plan to attend the 'top half' Section 6 Class B1 semifinal turned into an eventful drive, a last-minute change of plans, and a stop in Depew for the bottom half of the B1 bracket. It proved to be a win-win situation in the 716; while East Aurora was overcoming a double digit deficit at City Honors to earn their berth in the sectional final, 2nd seeded Depew & #6 seed Springville-Griffith provided their own entertaining battle. After losing all of an early 15 point lead, Depew bounced back in the 4th quarter to put their pesky visitors away and lock in a third matchup with EA, this time for all the marbles.

Kaylee Krysztof dropped a game high 20 points, 18 of them coming from beyond the arc, in Depew's sectional semifinal W.

Chautauqua Lake Catches Fire, Wins Going Away At Southwestern

March 18, 2021

Chautauqua Lake 62, Southwestern 42

Another day, another section! Thursday took me to Chautauqua County, the far reaches of Section 6 & southwestern NY, for the longest drive I've had in the condensed season. Host Southwestern and visiting Chautauqua Lake have experienced success over the last month, with the teams combining for a 20-2 record in games that aren't against each other. Chautauqua Lake won a close one the first time around, and they were in the process of another tight battle most of the way Thursday, but the Thunderbirds put their stamp on the game's later stages to break it open and earn a quality road victory heading into sectional season.

Lily Woodis got it going in the 2nd half and led Chautauqua Lake with 15 points.

Mount Markham Regroups Late, Escapes WCV With OT Win

March 17, 2021

Mount Markham 48, West Canada Valley 42 (OT)

Most NYSPHSAA sections have wrapped up their winter sports seasons, with many wrapping up over the weekend. Out of the four sections still participating in basketball, three of them (VI, VII, X) have all of their areas still competing. Section III is the outlier with a clear divide. While the entire Syracuse area & most CNY counties wrapped up on Saturday, Herkimer County just started at the beginning of March 1. With that, not only are they the only place in NY currently scheduled to play into April, games have just started for the county's schools. West Canada Valley & Mount Markham have experienced success in their opening games, so it only made sense to make the trip to Newport as they matched up against each other, and they made it worth the trip.

Hayleigh Gates had her hand in many big plays and led all scorers with 20 points in Mt. Markham's W.