By PAUL GOTHAM
With eight returners from last year’s championship squad, Jeff Parizek and the Rochester girls’ basketball team will look to defend its title at the Basketball Coaches Association of New York (BCANY) Summer Hoops Festival this weekend.
“It’s a lot of fun to have the best kids in your section come together,” Parizek said. “These kids are such high-level kids. You give them structure, a basic understanding and then you let them play. Let them do what they do best.”
Molly O’Toole (Aquinas) finished with a game-high 17 points when Rochester knocked off Southern Tier, 81-69 in the 2023 BCANY final. O’Toole highlights a veteran group that includes Payton Bentley (Hornell), Rhylin Fehrenbach (Victor), Loren Green (Aquinas), Mallory Heise (Hilton), Addison Morgan (Webster Schroeder), Kendall Parker (Dundee/Bradford) and Takyla Vaughn (Newark).
“What we’ve been giving them in practice these past three days are some basic pieces, offensively and defensively,” Parizek said. “At the end of the day, it’s them playing that will make the difference.”
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Heise (12) and Green (10) also scored in double figures to help Rochester in the title game. Fehrenbach (5), Morgan (3) and Vaughn (2) contributed to the scoring as well.
“There are obviously some very talented kids,” Parizek said.
Newcomers include Taryn Goodness (Palmyra-Macedon), AJ Orr (Aquinas) and Asia Wilson (Bishop Kearney). Wilson recently received a scholarship offer from the University of Pittsburgh.
Klarissa Goode (Bishop Kearney) made the team, but an injury will prevent her from playing. Cadence Brecker (HAC) will take Goode’s spot on the roster.
“Eight kids back from a championship team and then you’re adding a kids like Asia Wilson, AJ Orr, Cadence and Taryn it’s pretty special. Asia is unbelievable. She’s big-time D1.”
Rochester will open the tournament against Hudson Valley on Friday afternoon with a game against Buffalo later in the day. The local team will play Mid Hudson, Saturday morning and Capital to finish off the pool play portion of the tournament.
Cam Blankenberg (Wayne) and LaShard Lowry, Jr. (Fairport) return to the lead the boys’ team.
“We had a lot of guys try out,” said first-year head coach Garrison Knapp. “It was a great turnout. We had about 60 kids from 45 Section V schools.”
This past winter, Blankenberg helped Wayne to a program-first appearance in the state finals while Josh Harter (Avon), Trevor Stroud (Avon) and Griffen Hopkins (Victor) each were big contributors to sectional champions and eventual regional finalists.
“Obviously, you’re looking for talent, but when you’re picking a team guys who produce in those winning moments and had some good runs in the post-season stood out to us. Making sure we have guys who’ve had big-game experience. That’s going to help out in this tournament.”
Micah Johnson (East), Jaiyden Jones (McQuaid), Dylan Pohl (Alexander), Justin Smith (Batavia), Hunter Streb (Spencerport), Lucas Wachter (McQuaid)and Christian Zarzycki (Penfield) will round out the Rochester roster.
“It’s a real diversified group of guys that complement each other,” said Knapp who was an assistant with the 2023 Rochester BCANY team. “It’s a good vibe in the gym.”
A year ago, Rochester lost to Buffalo in the opening game and then Central to start the tournament O-and-2. Knapp brought in Merritt Holly, Jr., Jake Pangrazio, Trevor Hofer and Garrett Clar from last year team’s for a scrimmage to help the current group get an early edge.
“The margin of error is so slim,” he explained. “If you don’t have some rotations going into that first game, it’s tough. Five minutes against Buffalo last year cost us for the weekend. We wanted to make sure we had a run through of some of our stuff. The guys responded really well.”
Rochester opens against Mid Hudson and Capital on Friday. Games against Nassau and Suffolk are scheduled for Saturday.
Semifinals and finals will take place on Sunday for both the boys’ and girls’ tournaments.
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