Former Attica star Derek Wolfley made his NCAA Division I basketball debut last night for Iona.
He actually started the game for the Gaels, playing the first two minutes of the game.
Wolfley had a turnover and a personal foul. Iona nearly surprised No. 24 ranked Wisconsin, leading during regulation. But Wisconsin came back and tied the game at 52 in regulation.
The Badgers went on to win 60-58 in overtime.
Iona falls to 1-1.
Last year's Oakfield-Alabama basketball team was very good.
The Hornets went 20-3 last season, with the final loss coming to East Rochester in the sectional semifinals.
That team had a ton of talent, with James Davis and John Gerber graduating after the season. But, Davis missed a lot of time due to injury, and essentially four starters return to the squad to try to capture a GR title for a second straight year and finally win a sectional championship for the school.
The biggest name on the roster, not just because of his size, is Noah Seward. The big man averaged a double-double last season, scoring 11 points with 10 rebounds per game. He's had three years on varsity and is expected to be a premier player in the post this season.
Brad Riner may not have Seward's size, but he's just as tough. Both were stars on the very successful football team and Riner will run the point for the Hornets.
He is a defensive-minded player that will look to turn defense into offense, while distributing the ball like a true point guard is expected to. He has plenty of varsity experience and will also score when needed.
Guard Tim Smith won't admit it, but he's going to be expected to pitch in on the scoring end of things. While Davis and Gerber were the focus of the offense when they were on the floor, Smith managed to have some pretty solid games putting the ball in the hoop.
Expect him to be a big part of the offensive gameplan. A.J. Kehlenbeck is a big body with the ability to play solid defense and put the ball in the basket.
Oakfield-Alabama also has plenty of depth, with several players returning from last years team and newcomers that were on the 20-0 jayvee squad last season.
The only really big change you will see from the Hornets is at the top as Gary Kurkowski returns to coach the varsity squad because Merritt Holly stepped down. Kurkowski has been a part of the program for a very long time, coaching at every level.
His coaching style is very similar to Holly, so there won't be a big change. But many of the players respect his old school approach to the game.
The only way to top the Division I title and semifinal appearance of a year ago will be a championship, which is a long term goal for O-A. First the squad must get through a tough regular season and mesh as a unit - with a few players still banged up from football season.
For this area, if a high school basketball program has one or two players that move on to play the next level, it's a pretty remarkable achievement.
The Batavia boys basketball program makes one or two playing in college look like nothing, as five former Blue Devils are playing at the Division III level, with the best-of-the-best in the area.
Mike Chmielowiec is the elder statesman of the group and is starting his senior season at the University of Rochester tonight, with a game against Pitt-Bradford.
Kevin Saunders is a junior and playing at Fredonia State and Adam Brasky is a sophomore at King's College.
Mike Hoy and Bryan Anderson are freshman, Hoy playing at Geneseo and Anderson at Roberts Wesleyan.
Chmieloweic and Saunders both start.
"I've definitely learned a lot of different things as the years went on," said Saunders, who started 13 games as a freshman. "Being a junior I've played a lot and learned a lot of different things along the way. I've grown as a player overall."
Chmielowiec has had a tremendous career and is one of two seniors starting for UofR this season.
"I think there is a different element to (being a captain in college)," said Chmielowiec, a political science major. "Most kids on the team were captains or the man where they are from. It's a different responsibility. Now you have guys that were the best. It's almost a different kind of leadership role."
He played every game (including three starts) as a freshman, scoring 4.2 points per game, leading the team in 3-pointers with 14.
Chmielowiec was the MVP of the Chase Tournament as a sophomore and started all 26 games. He led the team in scoring with 12.4 points per game, also leading the team in rebounding with 3.5 per game. He had 48 assists, good for fourth on the squad.
He was third on the team in scoring last season at 12.4 per game, starting 19 games and missing some time due to injury.
Chmielowiec was recently featured on the UofR Web site.
After spending the summer living in Los Angeles and putting on over 10 pounds, he is ready for a big senior season. After that, he will either go into the workforce or play basketball overseas, where a former coach has some contacts that will be interested.
Saunders started 19 games and saw action in all 24 in his freshman season at Fredonia, finishing second on the team in 3-pointers (28) and assists (48).
He led the team in assists last year with 63 and started 13 games, playing in all 26.
Saunders is a captain for the Blue Devils this season, and his team is off to a 2-1 start. Fredonia is a team on the upswing and the hot start is big, especially with the 66-63 victory over Penn State-Behrend this week. The Blue Devils were down 18 points with six minutes to go and went on a tear at the end of the game.
"I don't know if we are a better team this year, but we are more experienced, said Saunders, a sports management major. "When I was a freshman and sophomore, we had young guys. I was seeing a lot of minutes as a freshman, so we were young. Now the core of our team is all juniors and seniors."
Adam Brasky - son of Batavia coach Buddy Brasky - played in all 19 games for King's College as a freshman, where he played 5.9 minutes per game, scoring 1.2 points per game with nine assists on the season. King's won a conference title last season.
He expect to have a big sophomore season, and has averaged 17.5 minutes per game in the first two contests of the year.
"There is a big difference for me from my freshman year," said Brasky, a history major. "The game doesn't feel as fast as last year. It has slowed down and I feel more comfortable now."
Brasky is playing a new style of basketball compared to Batavia's high-octane, man-to-man full-court pressure defense.
"We don't press much and aren't an up-tempo team," Brasky said. "We don't want them to get to the basket and offensively we set up plays and run motion. In high school the players aren't all this good. Here you run motion and use your basketball IQ to run plays, rather than run the court.
Hoy and Anderson are just getting their feet wet in the college game, but the two freshman are off to solid starts.
Anderson was a big signing for the Raiders and starts his college career off as the backup center.
Roberts is off to a 3-1 start and Anderson has played 18.3 minutes per game, scoring 8.8 points with 4.5 rebounds per game.
"I thought that as a freshman I would only get 2-3 minutes per game," said Anderson, who is a physical education major. "There were a couple problems and one of the big guys couldn't play, so it has helped me to get more playing time. It showed the coach that I can play at this level. Myself and another freshman are the big guys right now."
Hoy is mentioned as a sharpshooter in the Geneseo Web site preview, and he's already contributing after just one game.
He grabbed four rebounds and scored two points while playing 19 minutes in the opening game victory.
"I was a bit surprised," said Hoy, who has not declared a major yet. "It was more of a surprise in the scrimmages because I didn't expect to play this much. I got a lot of time and was like 'wow'".
Hoy - like all five former Batavia players - has found the transition to college basketball easy because of the guys he plays with.
"Playing basketball is fun for me," Hoy said. "I like all the guys on the team. It has made the transition easier. I've been really happy about that part."
With seven-straight Monroe County League Division III titles, the Batavia program has been one of the best in the area. And with five players contributing on Division III teams, it shows.
Last season was a down year for the Notre Dame girls basketball team.
The program was going through a transition year and went 15-7, getting knocked out of the sectional playoffs in the quarterfinals - to rival Elba.
That loss hurt. And the four returning starters from that team are going to remember one of the earliest sectional losses the Fighting Irish have had in a long time when the season starts.
There is no reason to believe Notre Dame can't be one of the top teams in the Genesee Region League and make a serious run at a sectional title this season. The returning starters, a key addition and some solid depth gives ND a ton of hope.
Tri-captains Trisha Pike, Nichole Hart and Brittany Morelli all started last season and can get the job done.
Hart was the second scoring option for ND last season and Pike is a natural point guard with the ability to score as well. The two work very well together in the backcourt.
Morelli and Liz Geandreau showed their potential last season and will have to make up for the graduation of Charlie Scott-McGrail, who scored 13 points with 10 rebounds per game a year ago.
Coach Dave Pero got a nice surprise this season when Jill Marshall transfered from Elba to Notre Dame. The switch from one rival to another could make a huge impact on this season.
Marshall scored 10 points and had seven rebounds per game for the Lancers last season and was named to the Genesee Region League all-star squad.
The Fighting Irish also have plenty of solid reserves coming off the bench and shouldn't have a problem spelling starters when they need a rest.
Pero expects the GR to be strong again this year, but the highlight games are always between Elba and Notre Dame. Those games are on Dec. 16 and Feb. 10, with a third probably in the sectional playoffs.
When you look at the Pembroke bench, you are not going to see a lot of players wearing uniforms.
The Dragons only have seven players on the roster. But even with those low numbers, expect Pembroke to be one of the top teams in the Genesee Region League this season.
The reason is because of two returning GR all-stars, both big men. Ken Babcock and Andrew Wright combined for over 50 points in a game three times last season and will probably do it a bunch of times this year.
Babcock is 6-foot-5 and a rock in the paint. He scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds per game last season.
Wright is listed as a 6-foot-2 guard/forward and is a natural scorer. He picked up 18 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and four dimes per game last season.
Those two are givens and will garner most of the attention of other squads this season.
The third scoring option is also a returner in guard Andy Gabbey. Gabbey is a solid shooter and does not take it to the hole much, but can hit the three as well as anybody in the league.
Matt Seward, Eric Leffel, Matt Phelps and sophomore Kyle Stocking are the other players that are on the roster, and will all see significant playing time.
Pembroke went 10-11 last year after losing in the Class B quarterfinals.
Pete Loney's Daemen College basketball team is off to a hot start.
The Wildcats have won four of five games so far, and the Byron-Bergen graduate has played in all five games, starting one. He is having a great season so far from beyond the 3-point line. Loney has hit 13-of-21 attempts and is scoring 8.2 points per game.
He is fifth on the team in scoring while playing just over 15 minutes per game.
Loney's career-high of 16 points in a game came against Urbana College last season.
Oakfield-Alabama grad James Davis missed much of his senior season with an injury, but has gotten off to a nice start at D'Youville College.
The freshman started the first two games this season, scoring six points per game. He has averaged 31 minutes per contest while 2 1/2 rebounds and four assists per game.
D'Youville is 0-2 to start the season, but Davis is one of five freshman hoping to turn the program around.
Bryan Anderson and Mike Hoy handled most of the scoring duties for the Batavia boys basketball team last season. Both are gone to graduation, meaning the returning players will have big voids to fill if the Blue Devils are going to win an eighth-straight Monroe County League Division III title and compete for a sectional crown.
The good news is, coach Buddy Brasky's squad is filled with talented guards with a ton of experience. And those players were motivated during the offseason by last year's 53-52 loss to Pittsford Sutherland in the sectional finals.
It was unique last season when the four Hoy brothers played varsity - and started a game together - but the squad is down to three Hoy boys.
Andrew is the a sophomore and the youngest, and has the most responsibility of the three. He is expected to be the team's top scoring option. He was the third option last year as a freshman, and did a good job. He's the go-to guy now.
Marcus returns to run the point. He stepped into that role last season and was one of the best defensive players Batavia had on its roster.
Marcus is expected to be the floor general, playing solid defense and distributing the basketball. His scoring role will also increase this season.
Robert is listed at 5-foot-11 and will be a starting forward, cleaning up rebounds and attempting to battle some of the giants playing for the large school teams the Blue Devils get during the season.
Batavia does have size issues.
Joe Schlossel is the other returning forward and is listed at just 6-foot-2.
Dakota Irvin (6-foot-3), Mike Lee (6-2), Josh Budlong (6-1) and Kris Bartz (6-2) are the other big men for Batavia.
Adam Pettinella returns as a shooting guard and will be expected to help out with the scoring. He didn't start last season, but saw quality minutes in some critical situations during the season.
Donovan Rolle will see action as a guard and forward.
Batavia finished 20-4 last season and should be considered one of the favorites in Division III. The Blue Devils are playing a brutal regular season schedule, including tipping things off at the Olean Tournament, with two defending state champions in the tournament.
Mark Hamilton did a great job of getting the Batavia girls basketball program back to respectability.
When he stepped down, the school looked for a coach that can take the program to another level. Bill Wade appears to be that man.
Wade coached Byron-Bergen to the state finals in 1984, won a state title in 1999 with Notre Dame and then retired, spending four years as an assistant coach at SUNY Brockport. Wade's career record is 215-52.
He looks to help the squad improve on last year's 16-5 record and be competitive in the Class A sectionals.
The veteran coach has a pair of returning senior stars that are expected to lead a young team this season.
Jaycee Shirk showed marked improvement as last season went on and the 6-foot-1 forward/center is expected to be a force in the paint. Shirk teamed with Alyssa Tretter for that role and now will be handling those duties on her own.
Shirk averaged 12 points with eight rebounds and two blocks per game last season.
The other returning starter is senior guard Brittany Mazurkiewicz, who poured in 10 points with five assists and three steals per game.
Every other player on the roster is a junior.
Stacy Hein is expected to run the point with Brittany Wormley, Alicia Emminger and Michelle Jordan also expected to be key players for the Blue Devils.
Batavia earned a fourth-seed in the Class A playoffs last year, but were knocked out by No. 5 School of the Arts in the quarterfinals, 62-44. Shirk had nine points in that game and Mazurkiewicz had eight.
Batavia graduate Adam Brasky and his King's College basketball team improved to 2-0 this past week with a huge upset victory.
King's shocked two-time defending MAC Commonwealth Conference champion Widener 80-67 in the championship game of the Ramada Inn Classic on Sunday.
Brasky had a key 3-pointer in the contest and finished the game with seven points, according to a story on D3hoops.com.
In the first half the teams went back and forth as the teams were tied 26-26 with 6:14 remaining on the clock. King’s would use back-to-back three-pointers by Mike Wagner to build a 32-26 advantage with 3:44 left. After Widener countered with a three-pointer by B.J. Smith, Adam Brasky answered for King’s with a trey of his own to give the Monarchs with a 35-29 advantage with 3:03 left.
Widener was ranked seventh in the Division III small school poll and 23rd in the nation.
The Iona College basketball team is playing right now (7:30 p.m.) and the game is being broadcast on the Internet here.
This is where you can watch Attica grad, and one of the best players in the history of the Genesee Region League make his Division I college debut.
The Blue Devils' all-time leading scorer, Derek Wolfley, is a freshman on the squad. Enjoy the game.
(UPDATE: Derek did not get in the game. The Gaels are playing in a tournament next weekend, so hopefully he will get a chance to make his college debut then.)
The Genesee Region League has some quality basketball, but typically stuggles in the sectional playoffs (with the exception of Notre Dame in Class D).
There is proof of that when you look at the results from last season, when Elba was the only team to make the finals where they lost to Fillmore 53-43.
Batavia also made the finals in Class A, playing in the Monroe County League during the season.
As teams have started practice this week, we are looking at a season in which the GR has the potential to make some noise down the road.
Oakfield-Alabama and Pembroke are expected to be two of the favorites, but are going to have some tough teams to battle in the larger of the C classes, including East Rochester, Gananda, Avon and Cal-Mum.
Alexander and Kendall are improved programs that are going to look to surprise people during the regular season, but have to deal with Perry and Lyons (which is usually stronger in basketball than football) in the lower C bracket.
Elba and Notre Dame have a very memorable game in Class DD last year and are amongst the favorites again this year. But Genesee Valley and Arkport have had solid teams in the past.
There is obviously a long way to go and this should be a great year for GR boys hoops, but it is interesting to see how the classifications break down and imagine the league bringing home a couple of championships.
Notre Dame boys basketball coach Mike Rapone and Prattsburgh coach Jim Burke have had some great battles over the years. Burke won a regular season contest between the two squads last season, making Rapone wait another game before getting his 500th career victory as a boys basketball coach.
Rapone beat Burke to the 500-win plateau as Burke is still sitting at 499 career victories heading into this season. But Burke beat Rapone to the Section 5 Hall of Fame and will be inducted on Saturday at the Clarion Riverside Hotel in Rochester.
Burke's daughter, Jamie, will also be inducted at the ceremony as well as NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy, who is a Brockport native.
Here is the description given on Burke at the Section 5 Web site.
Attica's Derek Wolfley dominated Genesee Region League competition last season and finished as the school's all-time leading scorer with 1,474 points. He also had 932 career rebounds.
He landed a Division I basketball scholarship at Iona College and the Gaels open up the season on Friday with a home game against Hampton University.
Wolfley's college career is getting off to a tough start after the 6-foot-7, 230-pound forward has been fighting mono. Here is what coach Kevin Willard said in his blog about Wolfley.
"Derek has had the toughest time adjusting because he is just getting over mono and is trying to get back into shape. He had the worst first practice of any freshman I have ever seen – even worse than Rashon Dwight last year. But he has come back strong and is starting to play very well. He is a great passer and has a very good 17 foot jump shot. Derek’s new best friend is Khyl Farrison our strength coach. I feel bad for Derek."
Iona went 2-28 last season, but signed eight talented freshman for this season.
Here is some video of Wolfley playing at Attica.
Notre Dame and Batavia High alums will be getting together to play some basketball and raise money for a good cause on Saturday, November 29 at Notre Dame.
The Hometown Hoops for Hope game will feature Batavia and Notre Dame grads battling each other on the court.
The game is going to be held to raise money for the Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation, which is set up in honor of Michael Napoleone, who passed away from Burkitt's Lymphoma/Leukemia.
Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. and admission is just $2 at the door.
The fall season has been coming to a close in recent weeks, and many of our local teams did very well. Le Roy footbal is, of course, still going and will be playing in the Far West Regionals on Saturday.
Starting next week, we will be featuring previews of some area squads and am hoping to give tons of quality, in-depth coverage of our winter teams.
The first thing I want to post in is the preseason state wrestling rankings. Thanks to a tip (please feel free to email me at brian (at) thebatavian (dot) com), I see that we have some local wrestlers that are ranked high in the state in the preseason poll.
Warsaw's Ian Paddock is the top-ranked wrestler at 130 pounds and teammate Zac Griffith is third at 171 pounds.
Holley's Quenton Murphy is second-ranked at 112 pounds and Letchworth's Mike Nevinger is top-ranked at 140.
Batavia's Ryan Darch is the No. 5 seeded grappler at 160 pounds.
We are always looking for tips, story ideas and blog contributions. Please send me an email any time, or register and share stories of what happens with your teams during the season.
While starting to prepare myself for the basketball season, I stumbled upon a pretty cool post on www.familyoldphotos.com featuring this photo of the 1925-1926 boys basketball team at Batavia High School.
The lettermen on the team were captain John Luther, Klein McCurdy, Albert Morehouse, Elbert Martin, Roy Wickens, Donald Sutherland and manager Charles Hodgson. There are also three unnamed players in the photo.
I looked around and tried to find a record, but statistics from those days don't tend to make it to the Internet.
It would be cool get get more information on this team, if anybody knows that history.
Batavia product Missy Thurston is looking to help the Keuka women's basketball team this season as a returning player for the Storm.
Thurston was a star point guard for the Blue Devils and is entering her junior season with Keuka.
She scored 5.9 points per game last season and led the team with 66 steals, while dishing out 33 assists.
Here is a full preview of the Kueka women's basketball team, which went 14-10 last season.
Tim Sullivan was an unlikely Division I basketball player when he graduated from Notre Dame High School back in 1978.
He lacked the size and didn't put up numbers in high school that would make big schools look at an undersized player from Genesee County.
But he did just that, walking on to the Canisius basketball team and playing at that high level. He also played for the Syracuse Shooting Stars and spent a few weeks on the roster of the Buffalo Rapids of the ABA, just a few years back.
I have gotten to know Sullivan over the years as he has helped many area youngsters with the game of basketball and we had a chance to catch up Tuesday afternoon.
It turns out, things are going quite well for the shooting expert.
He recently won a 3-point shooting competition - at the still Hooping 3-on-3 3-point shooting contest - against some pretty hefty competition, namely former NBA stars Glen Rice, Hersey Hawkins and Dale Ellis. He won the contest two years ago and was second last year.
Sullivan is continuing to work as an instructor at camps all across the country.
He puts on about 250 clinics per year and works for ADIDAS Phenom camp in San Diego, California.
Sullivan does one-on-one work with individual D-1 prospects and helps with instruction at many colleges, including Syracuse University, Indiana University and the University of Kentucky.
Sullivan said he has studied the science of shooting and has figured out how anybody can be a 3-point shooting star. Check out this video I found on YouTube, where he does not miss an attempt in almost 3 minutes.
You can also check out his Web site for more information.
There is further proof that being a solid role player for the Batavia High basketball team is a great place to start if you want to get into college coaching.
Last week we reported that Joe Zinni had recently accepted an assistant coaching position with Saginaw Valley State University women's basketball, and now Russ Phillips is moving up the ladder at his college alma-matter, SUNY Cortland. He will be serving as the top assistant to coach Tom Spanbauer this winter.
Phillips led Batavia's team on the floor as a point guard and that knowledge along with the work ethic it takes to play BHS coach Buddy Brasky's high-octane pressure defense has translated well into his coaching career.
Phillips went right from his playing days to coaching when he started working as an assistant coach for the Batavia jayvee program in 2004.
He picked up valuable experience as an assistant with both the jayvee and varsity squads at BHS for two years. During that time he also was the head coach for four different Rochester Area Players AAU teams. He also worked as a member of the Board of Directors for RAP where he was involved in planning AAU tournaments.
Phillips has also been Brasky's assistant coach for the Western Scholastic boys basketball teams at the Empire State Games for the past two summers.
At Cortland, he got his start in college coaching as a team manager during the 2006-2007 season, where he handled film work along with game and practice preparation.
He was promoted to student-assistant coach last year.
His work in assisting Spanbauer, scouting, coordinating practice and game day video along with breaking down statistics earned him the top assistant position.
Phillips appears to be on the fast-track to achieving his career goal of being a head basketball coach for a college team.
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