New York to launch boys basketball event to replace Empire Games

Brigham Young senior Jimmer Fredette out of Glens Falls leads NCAA Division I in scoring this season, Hofstra's Charles Jenkins from Springfield Gardens in Queens is sixth and UConn's Kemba Walker from Manhattan Rice is seventh. A little further down the list, Penn State's Talor Battle, who cut his teeth at Bishop Maginn in Albany, is also in the top 20.

But identifying the next New Yorker who'll emerge as star material at the college level gets tougher each year as more showcase opportunities disappear.

That's why an announcement Tuesday from the Basketball Coaches Association of New York is an encouraging step in the right direction. Executive Director David Archer said the BCANY will organize scholastic boys and girls basketball events this summer to fill the void left by the demise of the Empire State Games.

The organization's board of directors will finalize details at its meeting March 18 as the New York State Public High School Athletic Association holds its boys final fours in Glens Falls.



Archer said coaches throughout the state are eager to add events to the schedule for high school players, who have seen opportunities outside the AAU circuit dwindle in recent months.

The Empire State Games, scheduled for Rochester this July, were scrapped late last year when the state government slashed the operating budget and the local organizing committee was not able to secure the estimated $1 million needed to operate the Olympics-style event.

More recently, the NYSPHSAA announced an extension into the 2011-12 school year of a schedule reduction to just 18 games – the shortest in the country according to the BCANY -- for its member schools.

PSAL TOURNAMENT SEEDS ANNOUNCED
The PSAL boys basketball final will come down to another all-Brooklyn affair between Abraham Lincoln vs. Boys & Girls if the seeds announced Sunday hold to form.

Lincoln (Brooklyn) (23-2) and Boys & Girls (Brooklyn) (20-6) are seeded first and second, respectively in the 24-school Class AA bracket. Wings Academy (Bronx), Cardozo (Oakland Gardens) and a third Brooklyn power, Jefferson (Brooklyn), round out the top five seeds.

First-round games are this week, with the round of 16 set for March 1-3.



Lincoln beat the Kangaroos 62-60 on Dec. 16 and 61-56 on Feb. 1. Boys & Girls is the defending PSAL champion and lost to Christ the King in the 2010 Federation large-school final in Glens Falls.

Lincoln is coming off a weekend victory over Thomas Jefferson for the Brooklyn borough championship, and Wings Academy (Bronx) and Cardozo (Queens) also won their respective tournaments.

If there's a mild surprise in the tournament pairings, it's that McKee Vo-Tech (Staten Island), also a borough champ, was only seeded 11th. That means no first-round bye as well as possible extinction at the hands of No. 6 Wadleigh (New York City) in the round of 16.

The top four seeds in the Class A draw are Midwood (Brooklyn), Long Island City, Columbus (Bronx) and Grand Street Campus (Brooklyn). In Class B, it's Frederick Douglass Academy III (Bronx), Pathways College Prep (Queens), Roosevelt (Brooklyn) and Evers College Prep (Brooklyn) holding down the top sports.

FATAL CRASH OUTSIDE ROCHESTER
The final week of the Section V regular season began on a somber note following a two-car crash that killed one Churchville-Chili basketball player and seriously injured the Saints' leading scorer.

Marcus Blythers, 18, was driving to a youth basketball practice with Dijon Pratt, also 18, when he lost control of his minivan Saturday morning and went into the oncoming lane, striking a car, according to Monroe County Sheriff's deputies. Many area roads were slippery in frigid temperatures in the aftermath of overnight snow.



Blythers suffered critical injuries and was listed in guarded condition at Strong Memorial Hospital; Pratt was pronounced dead at the hospital. The driver of the other car suffered minor injuries.

Blythers scored 14 points the night before in a 67-49 loss to Greece Athena.

Hundreds of students gathered Sunday at both the hospital and at the school, where grief counselors were on hand.

"Both boys, especially Marcus, were the face of the basketball program," Churchville-Chili coach Tim Miller said. "Both were very involved in the youth basketball programs. They love the game of basketball and sharing that love with others. Dijon will be greatly missed and I am praying for a complete recovery for Marcus."

ANOTHER SCHOOL CLOSING
For the third time in less than a year, an all-girls high school with a history of excellence in New York basketball will be closing its doors.

A month after deciding to shut down more than two dozen elementary schools, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York announced Friday that it is also closing St. Peter's Girls (Staten Island) this spring because of declining enrollment.



The Staten Island school has 105 girls enrolled this year and the figure was projected to drop to less than 100 next fall. Similar issues led St. Michael Academy in Manhattan and Nazareth Academy in Rochester (which merged with Aquinas) to cease operations last summer.

St. Peter's Boys High School, located on a nearby campus, is not affected.

Bob Daggett, who is in his 23rd season of coaching the team that frequently finishes state-ranked, learned the news from his wife shortly before he walked into practice Friday.

"The girls knew before I knew and it was heartbreaking going into the gym and seeing everyone in tears," he told The Advance. "They're kids. It's very difficult for them. It's very hard."

When St. Michael Academy closed, most of the girls in the program followed their coach to Nazareth Regional in Brooklyn. Daggett doesn't expect a likely scenario for the St. Peter's returnees, given the limited number of remaining private schools in the area and the likely lack of job vacancies.

"My wife and I are coaching the Diamonds (travel team) 13s. We're committed to that," he said. "Right now, that's our next coaching position."



MILESTONES
* Taylor Mundell scored a career-high 19 points for Kenmore West (Buffalo) in a 49-39 senior night win over North Tonawanda in girls basketball. It was career victory No. 300 for coach Mike Licata.

* Conroy Baltimore of Archbishop Stepinac is living in rarified air, having reached the 1,000-point mark last week to go with his 1,000 career rebounds.

ODDS AND ENDS
* Tappan Zee (Orangeburg) downed North Rockland 50-47 for its eighth straight victory, giving the Dutchmen (14-4) top Rockland County boys honors for the first time since 1950. Earlier in the week they wrapped up their first league crown in two decades.

* In Section IV, Moravia completed the first unbeaten regular season in the history of its boys basketball season with a 58-43 triumph against Groton. Moravia (17-0) plays Friday vs. Spencer-Van Etten in the IAC Championship game.

* Nazareth wing player Bra'Shey Ali has made it all the way back from a foot injury (freshman year) and torn ACL (sophomore year) that threatened to derail her basketball career. Confirmation came Friday that she committed to West Virginia over Rutgers, Louisville and Kentucky.

John Schiano, who has written about high school sports in western and central New York for more than 25 years, covers New York for MaxPreps. He may be reached at john.schiano@maxpreps.com.