McCauley likes his squad’s chances at the BCANY Summer Hoops Festival

By PAUL GOTHAM

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — John McCauley is not afraid to admit he is a confident guy. So when it comes to talking about the team he will take to the 2018 Basketball Coaches Association of New York (BCANY) Summer Hoops Festival, McCauley didn’t hesitate when asked about his squad’s chances this weekend in Johnson City.

“Whenever you ask who I think the favorite is, I’m going to start with us for sure,” said McCauley who coaches the Aquinas Li’l Irish during the school year. “I like the guys that we have. I like the combination of guys that we have, the versatility in the guys we have.”

With a group containing sectional champs and state-level performers, McCauley’s roster backs up his claim.

“I’m psyched to have a team full of guys who can do multiple things. It certainly makes my job easier as a coach and very fun too. I’m looking forward to the challenge myself.”

Led by Irondequoit’s Gerald Drumgoole, the Rochester roster also lists Logan Blankenberg (Wayne), Justice Smith (Lyons) Tah-Jae Hill (Hilton), Kobe Long (McQuaid), Steve Mahar (Aquinas), Fidel Brock (Monroe), Kelvin Reaves (Greece Athena), Mike Brown (Northstar Christian) and Drumgoole’s Irondequoit teammate, Patrick Thomas.

“You got so many guys who can go the basket,” McCauley said pointing out Blankenberg, Hill, Long and Thomas. “My main job as a coach is getting these guys to play together and buy in on the defensive end first.”

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Hill, a ninth-team Class AA All-State performer, averaged 21.5 points per game at Hilton last season as a sophomore. Blankenberg (8th team NYS Class A) scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds per game to lead Wayne to its second straight A2 title. A lethal shooter from long range, Long averaged nearly 14 points for McQuaid which advanced to the NYS Class AA semi-final.

“I don’t know what’s in the water these days, but these kids are bigger, stronger and faster than ever before,” McCauley added. “They can do so much more.”

Thomas recovered from an early-season wrist injury to score more than a dozen per game for Irondequoit which advanced to the NYS Class A semi-finals for the second straight year. Smith scored 22 per game while grabbing eight rebounds and handing out six assists. As a junior, he earned Tournament MVP honors and led Lyons to the Class C2 title. Brown, a 3rd Team NYS Class C performer, scored 12.4 and dished out nearly seven assists for Northstar which advanced to the NYS Class C final.

Make no mistake, though, Drumgoole is the leader.

“He might be the best player in the state,” McCauley stated. “He is phenomenal in the thing that he can do on the ball, off the ball.”

As a sophomore, Drumgoole earned Tournament MVP leading Irondequoit to the Section V Class A title. The Eagles went on to win the program’s first NYS title before falling in the Federation.

The 6-foot-5 guard scored nearly 22 points per game as a junior while shooting 49 percent from the floor and 76 percent from the line in leading Irondequoit back to the NYS semi-finals. He grabbed more than 8.2 rebounds and handed out 4.6 assists to garner 3rd team Class A honors.

All that looked like an opening act as Drumgoole exploded on the national stage this summer helping City Rocks AAU to a quarter-final finish in the Peach Jam Classic and Las Vegas Fab 48. He garnered Peach Jam Breakout Team honors scoring 10.3 with 6.3 boards and nearly two assists. Along the way he grabbed offers from Georgia, St. Bonaventure, UMass and Albany among others.

“Gerald is now beginning to be seen on a national stage for everything he can do. He’s shocking the world. A lot of people didn’t know he was capable of doing the things that he does with the ball from a decision-making standpoint, from an attacking and most importantly from a shooting standpoint. I don’t think people gave him credit for how good of a shooter he is. I was certainly classify him as a knock-down shooter. He’s been able to show that all summer.”

 

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Rochester opens play Friday night at Johnson City High School. McCauley’s squad tips at 5:30 PM against Hudson Valley. They later take on the reigning champion, Central, at 8:30 PM.

“Everybody’s got a strong squad, top to bottom. This is the best of best. It seems like the last four or five years or certainly the last three years for sure the competition amongst the players has picked up a lot. Being involved with AAU you get the opportunity to be around all the guys from all the areas. This is something that they talk about. This is something that some guys look forward to. This is a competitive thing just from a section standpoint. This has certainly turned out to be a competitive, fun tournament for sure.”

For the complete schedule click here. For all rosters go here.