Pickin' Splinters

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Trabs Gabs Week 6

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Gates-Chili’s Keith Slack (3) has topped the 30-point plateau three times this season. (Photo: CHRISTOPHER CECERE/ROCHESTER CC PHOTOGRAPHY)

BY MATT TRABOLD

TRABS KEEPS TABS

Second Half of the Season Superlatives

The 2018 half of this Section V boys basketball season is shaping up to be quite exciting with just about every classification being completely up for grabs at this point. Keeping with themes and characters of this past holiday weekend, let us document a few handfuls of players that fans of the sport should be keeping two eyes out for going forward this campaign.

All-Baby New Year Team (five underclassmen their respective teams lean on)

Dyllon Scott—F, Penfield
Kobe Long—G, McQuaid Jesuit
Dylon Foster—G, Edison Tech
Tony Arnold—G, Eastridge
Melvin Council—G, Greece Athena

The older brother of Dyllon Scott in Bryson Scott is presently the more high-profile player of the two, but Dyllon is starting to contribute more and more as his sophomore campaign goes along. His perimeter jumper and rim protection due to his lengthiness have become pretty reliable. You almost forget Long is still just a sophomore with how much he produced off the bench last season for McQuaid Jesuit, including his share of shots that just beat the horn in exciting fashion. Foster started plenty of games for Edison Tech last season despite only being a freshman.

 

Arnold only stands 5-foot-10, but his lengthiness helps him play much taller than he stands and complete a variety of acrobatic layups. The Eastridge sophomore also has the poise against all types of local competition of a much older player. Council is the only underclassman currently on the roster for the mighty Trojans. His wingspan makes him a productive pest on the defensive end to go along with his perimeter prowess.

VIEW MORE CHRIS CECERE PHOTOS HERE. 

All-Ryan Seacrest Team (five of the best point guards in the area)

Michael Brown—Jr., Northstar Christian
Devante Mateo—Jr., Monroe
Jakhi Lucas—Jr., University Preparatory Charter School for Young Men
Keith Slack—Jr., Gates Chili
Isaiah Preston—Sr., Penfield

Michael does not get as many headlines as his twin brother in Miles Brown, but the distribution skills of the former are one of the biggest reasons why the latter puts up such great numbers. That distribution also delectably includes alley-oops between the twin brothers. Many refer to Mateo by the nickname of “Pee Wee,” but do not let that make you think he can’t get to the rim to score. Jabez Thomas has not always been available for University Preparatory Charter School for Young Men this season, so Lucas has taken over the top option role for the Griffins. Lucas is noticeably bigger this year. If he misses a shot, he frequently gets his own rebound or quickly steals back possession.

 

Slack is one of the very top candidates to end this season as the leading scorer across Section V. He has a productive snarl about him that makes onlookers think the Spartans are always in every game with him taking shots on top of assisting him in grabbing a lot of steals. The Scott brothers are more than talented, but do not forget that Penfield also has Preston. He has been overpowering opposing guards for three seasons now.

 

All-Times Square Ball Drop Team (five of the best perimeter shooters in the area)

Ben Pope—Sr., East Rochester
Mark Morrison—Sr., Gates Chili
Rondell Watson—Jr., Leadership Academy for Young Men
Matthew Medeiros—Sr., Northstar Christian
Matt Thaney—Sr., Pittsford Sutherland

Mat Cicero is a very reliable perimeter shooter for East Rochester, but the game of Ben Pope might be more known for that type of offensive contribution. The elite scoring of Keith Slack and the inside-outside style of Thomas Jones III result in loads of points for Gates Chili, but Morrison is one of the very best perimeter role players currently in the section. Scoring in the eighties would be considered a slow day of late for Leadership Academy for Young Men. In a recent game for the Lions, Watson canned seven triples.
Patrick Medeiros was a recent star for the boys basketball team at Northstar Christian predominantly off how well he traversed to the tin and muscled for points. His younger brother in Matthew Medeiros rarely misses from downtown. Thaney is 6-foot-6 and has shown this season that he is more than capable of mastodon dunks, but he is primarily a polished perimeter threat despite being so tall.

Sutherland’s Matt Thaney (10) is averaging 12 points and has reached double figures in each of the last four games. (Photo: CHRISTOPHER CECERE/ROCHESTER CC PHOTOGRAPHY)

VIEW MORE CHRISTOPHER CECERE PHOTOS HERE. 

SLAP YOUR PEEPERS ON THIS FIVER
Gates Chili at Webster Schroeder—Wed., Jan. 3, 7:15 PM
With the help of well-rounded McQuaid Jesuit transfer Thomas Jones III returning to the lineup, Gates Chili won the latest installment of the Doug Westcott Memorial Tournament in Brockport this past weekend. Jones III has superb size for the area at 6-foot-4 on top of being one of the better vertical athletes that Section V has had to offer over the past few years, so the Warriors could really use a hearty performance in this one out of the bigger of the two star freshmen their roster boasts at the moment in Ky’Mere Meeks. Due to his already very developed frame, Meeks plays much taller than 6-foot-1, and he will be getting to the rim a lot over the years in this sport in this area if he chooses to stick around. The other more than promising freshman Matt Spadoni and his staff have at their disposal this season in Luke Insley will be one-half of what should be a stout perimeter battle in this one between him and Mark Morrison of the Spartans.

Fairport at Irondequoit—Wed., Jan. 3, 7:15 PM
The Red Raiders will be squaring off against a pair of local powerhouses this week that contain a starting backcourt featuring a guard with a lot of height. Wednesday night, the opposing player that will fit that description is 6-foot-3 Frederick June Jr. Friday night against Rush-Henrietta, Fairport has to deal with 6-foot-3 senior guard Kailee White. Scott Fitch and his staff will probably be leaning on 6-foot-2 junior guard Brett Heininger against that size. With Patrick Thomas out with a fractured wrist, the play of Tanner Pioch is a major storyline for this game because Irondequoit frontcourt mate Gerald Drumgoole spends more time than his senior companion out on the perimeter. Even with Jackson Sullivan capable of converting from downtown, the front line for the Red Raiders usually goes the more traditional route through doing much of its damage in the trenches.

Leadership Academy for Young Men side that regularly scores in the nineties. (Photo by PAUL GOTHAM/PICKIN’ SPLINTERS)

McQuaid Jesuit at Leadership Academy for Young Men—Fri., Jan. 5, 6:15 PM
Before the 2017 Josh Palmer Fund Elmira Holiday Inn Classic last week, McQuaid Jesuit was maybe the hottest team in the sport in Section V. Occupying the area directly on the other side of the scorer’s table in this game will be a Leadership Academy for Young Men side that regularly scores in the nineties and above behind piles of threeballs from Rondell Watson. The Knights are also capable of easily hitting handfuls of shots from deep in a ballgame due to the exploits out there of Anthony Iglesia, Kobe Long, the bulked up Josh Purcell and Jermaine Taggart. The slimmer Davon Brown has shown this season for the Lions that he can expertly do just about everything on the court at 6-foot-4. 6-foot-6 Connor Zamiara has displayed some passing acumen this campaign, but 6-foot-4 sophomore Rueben Daniel has shown enough versatility of late to be considered the best remedy for Brown for McQuaid Jesuit in this contest.

Clyde-Savannah at Lyons—Fri., Jan. 5, 7:30 PM
The backcourt trio for the Golden Eagles of Derrick Chance, Marcus Chance Jr. and Camden Chance should have the speed advantage in this outing, but the backcourt for the Lions is one of the biggest in Section V behind 6-foot-4 Justice Smith and 6-foot-2 Justin Smith. That fact might make 6-foot-2 senior Dru Carnevale the most important player for Clyde-Savannah in this one. The rangy individual battle on Clyde Road this Friday night between Carnevale and Justice Smith will be fun to monitor. A 6-foot-5 senior for Lyons in Seth VanBuskirk does not always start, but he certainly gets after it on the defensive end whenever he is out there on the floor. If the Golden Eagles are going to show why they are so highly ranked in the state in a few nights, they will probably have to grab an early lead. The rotation for the Lions is deep, and Clyde-Savannah only has eight players overall on its roster.

Pittsford Sutherland at Brockport—Fri., Jan. 5, 7:15 PM
As has been documented in this column earlier this season, Pittsford Sutherland might just have the tallest rotation in the section this year in terms of average height. Productive 6-foot-6 center Noah Schultz will certainly help Brockport combat that aspect of the Knights. Assisting him up front for the Blue Devils is University at Buffalo football commitment Cory Gross Jr. Gross was not even listed on the roster for Brockport to begin the season, but his return and his athleticism thoroughly change the outlook for that team this go-around. The younger brother of recent Brockport football and basketball notable name Raphael Odey in Amire Odey can get hot from the outside. John Nally and his staff will probably employ the lengthiness of 6-foot-6 senior guard Matt Thaney on Odey on the perimeter.

 

SECTION V IN DIVISION I UPDATE
Nahziah Carter—Fr., Washington (Bishop Kearney)
Carter has certainly been getting a lot out of his sometimes limited playing time over the last week. In the thirteen minutes that he logged this past Friday against previously ranked Southern California, Nahziah shot a perfect 2-of-2 from the field with two steals. He did not score as much this past Sunday on the road against California, Los Angeles as he did versus the Trojans a pair of days prior, but he did pen one of the most exciting plays of that contest from either squad. Carter received a transition feed and took off from narrowly outside of the lane for a dunk that put his Huskies up twelve points towards the very end of the first half. Unfortunately for Nahziah and his teammates, the Bruins came back to win by a sizable margin. That victory might have put Washington on the right side of the 2018 NCAA Tournament bubble conversation if the season ended this past weekend, but the Huskies still find themselves void of a terrible loss so far with quality victories over Kansas, Southern California and Belmont.

 

Deyshonee Much—Sr., Iona (Gates Chili)
Much is currently in the best stretch of his collegiate career from a rebounding perspective. Last week, Deyshonee recorded a combined eighteen rebounds against Niagara and Canisius. Last time out, he pulled down a career-high twelve rebounds versus those Golden Griffins. Much has come away with a pair of steals in three of his last four outings. On top of that, he has reached double figures in scoring in seven ballgames in a row for the Gaels going into their contest against Saint Peter’s this Friday night. That game at 7:00 P.M. ET will be on national television on ESPNU.

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