SCL Next Year

[2Year10]

I know the Basketball year is not over but who do u think is gonna pop up from this year and go uphill and have a good team next year and who is gonna go downhill. What do u think about all the SCL teams next year.

(Good luck to P-burgh)

[hoopsfan35]

I see it being even more wide open than it was this year. It's kinda early but here's what I think:

1. Prattsburgh-They lose Wade, Lewis, and Stanley but they always seem to put together a championship caliber team. Returns Parker and Caron I think

2. C-S- Good core of jv players coming up and they should compliment Matula well.

3. Hammondsport-They really found out how to win an the end of the year. Clarkson will be tough shoes to fill.

4. Arkport-We'll see how that jv team transitions to the varsity level. The coaching staff will have to work with that team because there is real talent.

5. J-T- Young team. Returns Thurber and it could be scary how good he can get if he works hard this offseason. Not enough coming from jv

6. C-G- Another young team. Decent jv team should be competitive at varsity level.

7. Addison- Graduates Dann and the Brewster brothers. Returns Bowers. Limited help coming from jv.

8. Avoca-Big loss is Wallace. Scrappy play will win them games.

9. Bradford-If they develop all those juniors then they might win.

10. Canaseraga (if still in SCL)-Lose Dunning but return Spike. Not enough to surround him though

11. A-A- Not much relief coming after winless season


It's still early but I think this is a good list. Top 7 can be different.

[DSport]

Prattsburgh: They lose five seniors but return Parker, Caron, Burke, Smith, Wightman, Digati and Dibble. They also will have some talent coming up from JV. Wade is a big loss but I'm more worried about the loss of Lewis and Stanley down low. We have already seen that Wightman can handle the ball in the SCL when Wade was in foul trouble.
J-T: Thurber will be the most dominant big man next year. He might have been close this year. Most of the big guys in the league are seniors so he will be hard to stop next year. Chris Smith will have to play a bigger role.
C-S: Sutton is a skilled player and so is Mattula. They also had a good jv. They are always tough.
Hammondsport has shown it can play well. We'll see if they start where they left off or revert to old habits. They lose Baroody and Clarkson but that's it. Bulley, Stachnik, Wendlet, House, Duncan, and Staton all return
Arkport: They had the best jv and that will help them for next year. They return Nick Smith and Max Houy and some others.
C-G: They lose a lot. Both Ryans, Wallace, Brown. It could be a little worse year for C-G next year.
Addison: Same boat as above. They lose Dann, Both Brewsters, Strong, Makowiek. They do return Lee Bowers.
Avoca: They didn't have a lot to lose and yet they also lose a lot. Mainly Wallace but they also lose Fred Klock and Brian Kidder. They get Gardiner back with Watson.
Canaseraga: They lose Dunning but have Spike and Clancy still. Will they have enough kids for a bench?
Bradford: They started their slow climb up the SCL ranks and could move up another spot or so if they improve. A good goal for them would be to make the top eight tourney for SCL.
A-A: Well, it can't get any worse right?

[2Year10]

Hammondsport-Prattsburgh/ copmaring the two because next year they will be so much alike. Losing key players H-port-Clarkson/ Prattsburgh-Fuller. They are both going to be guard oriented and both have speed. Hammondsport only losing 2players and Prattsburgh losing 5players. I think Coaching and expierence will be the factors when they meet next year. Hammondsport was finally playing to there level towards the end of the year losing to Prattsburgh twice only by 12, Beating Canisteo-Greenwood, Beating Arkport, and losing to the sectional champs for DD by 9. Prattsburhg always has good coaching and they finished the year good making it to the section D championship game and winning the SCL title.

C-S- Alaways contenders for SCL title. losing five, Returning Adam Matula losing Camden, and Maynord. Adam Matula will have good control over the team. Good JV players coming up to help

Arkport- Really good jv team and two guards from the jv team had varsity expeirence this year. Nick smith one of the best sophmores this year in my opinion will be a key player.

JT- Losing 4-5 starters with Thurber returning as well as two others. Thurber will give there team a great boost and will probably be one of the best big men in the league if not the best. They need some jv players to step up and help, if they don't they could go downhill.

Addison-C-G- Both losing key players. C-G Ryan brothers and Wallace. Addison Brewster brothers and strong. Both going down some seeds but we will see if both teams can work it out

Canaseraga- Big loss is Dunning and they lose nobody else. I think they might have a bigger bench next year then this year. Spikes and clancy better step up.

Bradford-Only losing three players would come back with ten and only in need to replace a few spots. Bradford figured out how to win a few games and maybe they can double it if they get all there jrs playing good and the team on track. I think Bradford might be able to pull off a few upsets.

Avoca- Losing Wallace is big because he scored about 50% of the points. I have never heard about any of the juniors on the team. there whole team was jr's and sr's so those jrs better step it up.

A-A Total oppositte from the soccer team. I don't know if its any better that 7 players are staying then the 6 players leaving. Usually it is good when players are returning. The coach better step it up and it is his job to improve the team. If i was the coach i would not settle for another season like that.

Its in the air next year hard to tell what is going to happen. Most teams losing five or more seniors and big key players.

[cartman]

Prattsburhg always has good coaching and they finished the year good making it to the section D championship game and winning the SCL title. Even with the coaching Hammondsport has, they should go into next year as the favorites to win the SCL. If you have a coach next year that will play the right players at the right times, I think hport could go far in the sectionals as well. There were way too many times this year when players for hport were ICE COLD and were left in the game when players on the bench with histories of shooting ability just sat.

[Lukelakers]

here we go :D

[btwine2001]

Prattsburhg always has good coaching and they finished the year good making it to the section D championship game and winning the SCL title. Even with the coaching Hammondsport has, they should go into next year as the favorites to win the SCL. If you have a coach next year that will play the right players at the right times, I think hport could go far in the sectionals as well. There were way too many times this year when players for hport were ICE COLD and were left in the game when players on the bench with histories of shooting ability just sat.

C'mon Cartman let's not go overboard. Yes Hammondsport does have some talent coming back, but so do the Vikings. I think until you beat them, you are not considered the favorites. Besides Parker, Caron, and Wightman, P'burgh has a couple of guys with some size coming up. Dalton Drake, Tim Baird, Elijah Hicks and Josh Sanford will be wecome additions. Time will tell, but I think you have to knock off the reining champs before being considered the favorite.

[btwine2001]

Oh ya, I almost forgot, we have the coaching advantage.

[CAL12]

If we are talking about coaching and the impact it may have on next season, we need to really take a look at Arkport. With an undefeated JV team, returning players that were decent, should they be considered one of the top teams???

Arkport has had plenty of talent in the past (O'dell, churchman, etc.) that have always underachieved. They seem to be competitive, but fall apart when it comes to sectionals. The JV coach seemed to find a way to win, they should be expected to win (not go undefeated, but win) at the next level.

Teams like Prattsburg, C-G, C-S, Addison and J-T will be down a bit this year (all losing a lot to graduation), should be fighting Hammondsport, and Arkport (didn't lose a lot to graduation) for the SCL championship next year. Coaching will truly be tested with some of these teams, lets not single out Hammondsport's coach. The pressure is on all of these coaches.

[UNCTarheels]

I do not think Prattsburgh will be down next year!

I will go out on a limb right now and say that Both Arkport & Hammondsport will not be in the SCL Tournament Final Four, maybe one of them but not both.

[CAL12]

The loss of Fuller will make them much easier to guard, less problematic on defense, and not as confident against the stronger teams. I also agree that they (h'sport and arkport) will not be in the final four. I guess we will see.

[UNCTarheels]

The loss of Fuller will make them much easier to guard, less problematic on defense, and not as confident against the stronger teams. I also agree that they (h'sport and arkport) will not be in the final four. I guess we will see.


Take Prattsburgh Lightly, I hope everybody does! I'm going to print that post off and personally hand it to the members of next years team, that should provide a little motivation.

[btwine2001]

The loss of Fuller will make them much easier to guard, less problematic on defense, and not as confident against the stronger teams. I also agree that they (h'sport and arkport) will not be in the final four. I guess we will see.

Everyone knows that P'burgh loses Wade, and i'm sure everyone is saying their not going to be able to bring the ball up the court, well I beg to differ. Patrick Wightman showed that he can handle the point with the utmost confidence. Although he is not or probably never will be the defender that Wade was, but he's more of an outside threat than Wade was. So now you have a 6' point gaurd that can shoot the rock, a 5'11' shooting gaurd, a 6'3" shoot the lights out center/forward, two of those fellas your gonna see for two more years. I don't know, I still find them to be very problematic to gaurd.

[DSport]

Hammondsport will be good next year but i wouldn't call them the front runner. Prattsburgh loses a lot but they also still have a lot left. They were the deepest team this year so they have a lot of great players returning and some good ones coming up from JV. Hammondsport could be in the mix and Arkport as well. Don't take J-T lightly. They will have the most dominant post player in Thurber. He was hard enough to contain this year but next year will be harder. C-S has a very talented player in Sutton and Matula also comes back. They will be in the hunt as well. I think it could be another strong year with 4 or 5 teams battling for the top. Maybe we won't have an undefeated champion like this year.

[CAL12]

Before all of the Prattsburg faithfuls set me straight, I was commenting to look at the ramifications of losing Wade. I did say that I thought they were still one of the teams to beat and up there with C-S, C-G, Addison, and J-T. I know that you are all a little touchy about the recent loss, but relax. i realize they will still be tough. I just think they will be more beatable than this years team was; therefore, I stated that I think they will be down a bit.

[2Year10]

I really don't know why everybody from Prattsburgh is complaining because everyone who posted on here put Prattsburgh as #1 next year. All people are saying is that they will not be as strong as this years but still a really strong competitive team. Hammondsport has the experience with 6 people who will be on the team for there 3rd year and 2 of them still have a fourth year. But Prattsburgh definately has good coaching but Coach Lowin still try's his best. Know one should take Prattsburgh lightly because no matter what Prattsburgh is always a good team.
Sorry if u took the thread in a wrong way.

[Lukelakers]

Here we go again

[2Year10]

on every thread i see that people are arguing, lets just get back on the topic that started the thread.

[JTWildcats11]

I plan on playing on the JT team next year...I'm 6'1" almost as big as Thurber but he is younger and bigger than I am. Thurber is 6'5" or really close to it.

Both Thurber and Smith returning. Some good jv players to be moved up, hopefully a successful season.

[btwine2001]

JT is always good buddy, I think your water has something in it to produce three point shooters. Yes, if Thurber can stay healthy, not many teams in the SCL are going to have an answer for him.

[2Year10]

I think JT will still be a competitor for next. How good is there bench they did not use them much this year.

[JTWildcats11]

btwine2001, I shoot three pointers well... Thats pretty much the only thing i am practicing now, is making the threes.

We lost 7 seniors. 2 were left. 4 others are moving up.

[iheartbasketball]

JT is always good buddy, I think your water has something in it to produce three point shooters. Yes, if Thurber can stay healthy, not many teams in the SCL are going to have an answer for him.

I think there is something in our water that stunts our growth. Both the boys and girls teams are small, this leads us to resort to three point shooting. Good three point shooting.

[JTWildcats11]

I think there is something in our water that stunts our growth. Both the boys and girls teams are small, this leads us to resort to three point shooting. Good three point shooting.

yes i agree. We do have some good three point shooters too. (This year: Ryan Hadley, Jimmy Willis, Randy Graham, Connor Thomas, and Caleb Drake) I always watched Connor in practice and he did great at his shooting. JT does have some more 3 point shooters coming up from the JV team, should be a good year.

[Jay_Van]

Speaking of next year, what does it look like as far as who will be getting the majority of the playing time at the guard positions for J-T next year? Thurber received a lot of the attention on this year's team, but to me the real key to J-T's success this year was the play of Drake and Hadley, both seniors. It will be tough to replace that senior leadership and experience at the guard positions next year. Are there players who were reserves on varsity this year or who will be moving up to the varsity level next year that are ready to step into these roles? If I'm not mistaken, there weren't many (if any) juniors on the team this year, so would it be safe to assume that most of the players on next year's team will also be back two years from now, when Thurber is a senior? If he continues to improve, Thurber should be a dominant big man in the SCL, but without the guard play to bring the ball up the court against pressure defenses, limit turnovers, and get him the ball inside, will he realize his potential? Maybe some of the folks on this site who follow the J-T hoops scene a lot more closely than I have (especially those who have followed the JV team) could comment on this. I'm not putting anyone down here, I'm just curious as to who J-T has "waiting in the wings" over the next couple of years to replace all of those seniors they are losing this year... thanks.

[JTWildcats11]

We do have JV players moving up who are great guards. Brendon Capuralo and Evan Cornell (Sophomores) both moved up to Varsity for sectionals this past year, I think they will be good guards. They lead the JV team this year to their victories. Chris Smith is also a good guard, he played this year on Varsity. Trevor Irvine (Junior) played some of the year last year, i dont know if he is coming back to play next year.

Yeah it is going to be tough to replace the senior leadership but i think we have a good team coming up.

[CAL12]

I can think of the obvious ones, like Thurber or Smith from J-T, Parker or Whiteman from Prattsburg, Matula or Sutton from C-S, Bowers or Brewster from Addison, Peters or Marlatt from C-G, House from H'sport, Bayus from A-A, Smith from Arkport. How about Avoca or Bradford?

Who else?

What are your thoughts on these players and their ability to make more of an impact on the 2008-2009 season?

[DSport]

I can think of the obvious ones, like Thurber or Smith from J-T, Parker or Whiteman from Prattsburg, Matula or Sutton from C-S, Bowers or Brewster from Addison, Peters or Marlatt from C-G, House from H'sport, Bayus from A-A, Smith from Arkport. How about Avoca or Bradford?

Who else?

What are your thoughts on these players and their ability to make more of an impact on the 2008-2009 season?

Caron, Burke, and Smith from Prattsburgh
Bulley, Stachnik, Wendlent, Duncan and Staton from Hammondsport
Spike and Clancy from Canaseraga
Talbot and Houy from Arkport
Watson and Gardiner from Avoca
Overhiser from C-S
I know I went a little overboard but any one of these players or the ones you stated could have good years next year. Some have better chances then others.
I look for Thurber from J-T to be the best big man.
I think the top teams for next year right now would be Prattsburgh, C-S, J-T, Hammondsport and maybe Arkport.

[UNCTarheels]

Is officially a member of the Allegany County league next year, so they'll actually no longer be included in SCL talk which is weird.

I know they'll still play some Steuben County teams non-league but we can't include them in this conversation.

[DSport]

Is officially a member of the Allegany County league next year, so they'll actually no longer be included in SCL talk which is weird.

I know they'll still play some Steuben County teams non-league but we can't include them in this conversation.

didn't know that. So the round robin of the bottom three teams next year will be only two?

[JTWildcats11]

Caron, Burke, and Smith from Prattsburgh
Bulley, Stachnik, Wendlent, Duncan and Staton from Hammondsport
Spike and Clancy from Canaseraga
Talbot and Houy from Arkport
Watson and Gardiner from Avoca
Overhiser from C-S
I know I went a little overboard but any one of these players or the ones you stated could have good years next year. Some have better chances then others.
I look for Thurber from J-T to be the best big man.
I think the top teams for next year right now would be Prattsburgh, C-S, J-T, Hammondsport and maybe Arkport.

Yes I agree but we will never know until next year.

[hoopsfan35]

What will be the format for the county tournament now? now the round robin is only 1 game with 10 teams in the league. they could give the top 2 seeds byes and let everyone in the league play for the title. the only problem with that is that not everyone will get 3 games and there is potential to have to play 4 games

[Jay_Van]

Here's my two cents worth (if it is worth that much) for what the SCL could do next year for a schedule and a county tournament:

Now that Canaseraga has moved to the Allegany County League, there will be 10 teams remaining in the Steuben County League. Rather than just playing each team once (a total of only 9 league games in a 20 game season), how about if the league was split up into two divisions, either by geography (a North Division and a South Division OR an East Division and a West Division) or by enrollment (the 5 largest schools placed in Division I and the 5 smallest schools placed in Division II). There would be 5 teams in each division, so if a team played each of the other 4 teams in their division twice (home and away) and played each of the 5 teams in the other division once, that would be a total of 13 league games for everyone.
That would leave enough openings in a team's schedule for 4 non-league games; a couple of non-league games early on (a lot of teams play in season opening tournaments) and a couple of non-league games somewhere in the middle of the season (such as a Christmas tournament, or a home and away matchup such as the one Prattsburg and ND had this year, etc), and a county tournament.
The county tournament could then be made up of the top 4 teams from each 5 team division, for a total of 8 teams, with the 5th place teams from each division playing a home and away series against each other at the end of the league schedule. The 8 teams making the tournament could be seeded any number of ways for the first round, such as by overall league record as they are under the current format, or by division finish (1st place vs 4th place, 2nd place vs 3rd place for each division), or crossover between divisions (1st place in Division I vs 4th place in Division II, 2nd place in Division I vs 3rd place in Division II, and vice versa). The winners of round 1 would then be reseeded and play off for first thru fourth places in the next two rounds, the losers of round one would be reseeded and play off for fifth thru eighth places in the next two rounds, as they do under the current county tournament format. That would provide 3 additional games for the top 4 teams in each division, for a grand total of a 20-game season for those teams, and 2 additional games for the fifth place teams in each division, for a grand total of a 19-game season for those teams.
Of course, this is not a fool-proof solution, but I would like to see something like this happen in the SCL next year. To me, 9 league games isn't a large enough portion of a 20-game schedule; the league schedule needs to be beefed up some more. And, while the county tournament in my mind is just that, a tournament, it has still become an important part of the season for the players and the fans, so it should stay intact. And the non-league portion of the schedule can also be important to a team, as it can offer some variety as competition and help some teams better prepare for sectionals, depending on the teams they choose to schedule in their non-league games. This format I suggested provides for all of this.
I'd like to hear input (both positive and negative) regarding my suggestion above, or if anyone else has an idea on what they would like to see, I'd like to hear that also.

Does anyone know for certain why Canaseraga decided to move to the Allegany County League...geographic location? less travel? more schools similar to them in enrollment size?

[ref11]

what i heard they did not like playing campbel savona when they buried them all the time. they thought have a better league playing andover, scio, whitesville,, belfast and friendship 2 times. then play fillmore, cuba rushford, genesea valley, bolivar richburg and houghton 1 time. thats 15 games for them. also 2 in andover tourny and arkport tounry only need to fine 1 more game.

[Duke#3]

It wasn't that Canaseraga was tired of getting "buried" all the time. Then decision was made to change because of the opportunity and what is best for all the athletics for the future. Winning or losing games did not factor in the decision.

[redskinsrock32]

theres no possible way that neone can say that c-g is goin to beak, yes we lose 5 good seniors, but this coming years starting 5 are going to be huge, you have peters at point how can run circles, and also creates a lot of opportunites/assists and ocasionally hits an outside jumper, and then you have bryce davis who undoubtley can shoot the best on the team, he may not dribble great but he shoots lights out, and marlatt at the other guard who can dribble and run, as well as shoot very well and has the potential to be a big man when needed, the 4 and 5 man spot are up pending on eveingham playing, assuming he plays mckibben will be 4 man, and he is beast in the post, he clears a lot of space and is also a huge rebounder as well as having more than enough potential to hit a trey pointer in your eye, and evingham is a big(tall) kid and creates a big threat in the post, however if he doesnt play mckibben goes 5 and zack canne who comes up goes four and he is also a big kid and cn shoot very well, and they have a little depth with mickey dineen, and ryan rice as well as canne coming yup from jv.

canisteo with be very big this year

[Attackthebasket]

Divante Staton from hammondsport was a freshman this year and played varsity, the kid can just flat out jump, he can shoot and he can penetrate ne defense you give him. When hammondsport needed some lockdown defense they put him in. coming into his sophmore year next i know that he will improve in the offseason and come back playing at the level of the juniors and seniors of the league. with the combination of Staton, house shooting the three ball, ricci wendlant, brian stachnik, and will duncan grabbin boards they will win ball games

[UNCTarheels]

Make sure he's playing this summer in Leagues, 3-on-3's & attending camps, that's very important for younger players. That's one of the things that baffles me around here is some players just don't work on their game in the summer.

I've run a 3-on-3 tournament in Avoca every summer and have for the past 7 years and you'd be very surprised by the lack of teams coming from local High School Basketball players, I have had a couple of Hammondsport J.V players the past few years and Coach Lowin's boys but that's it, I did not have one member of Hammondsport's varsity squad play in my tournament last summer. But you're not alone, several Steuben County League Schools were also not represented.

I'm trying VERY HARD to change this......................

[courtrunner]

hammondsport has a good team next year, but will that matter if the right players are not played at the right time. Prattsburgh is always a tough team to beat but its not impossible for H-port to take the win next year with only losing one player, Jake Clarkson. Everyone else will return with the upcoming JV players Brandon Allen who is tall but not to strong and could use work, Justyn Shuck who is quick and can get around his defender, and Ryan Clark who has a nice shot from the outside and can play some strong D. These players will benefit the lakers next year but it all depends on if the lakers really want it next year, otherwise P-burgh is going to run all over them.

[sectvbball44]

what i heard they did not like playing campbel savona when they buried them all the time. they thought have a better league playing andover, scio, whitesville,, belfast and friendship 2 times. then play fillmore, cuba rushford, genesea valley, bolivar richburg and houghton 1 time. thats 15 games for them. also 2 in andover tourny and arkport tounry only need to fine 1 more game.

CR has 2 games each so far with addision & CG, houghton xmas tourney, & AC IAABO and perhaps campbell but i havent heard that for 100% yet. i think its safe to say they wont be playing the smaller AC schools

[hoopsman2007]

I love the talk about Prattsburgh being im from here but come on, we all are talking Prattsburgh vs. Hammondsport for the final? I think either or both teams could struggle to get there. JT with there size is going to be tough to beat next year. Yes Prattsburgh is great and they have some great young talent that isn't even being talked about. As far as Hammondsport goes, they talk every year how they are going to be the league champs. I think Prattsburgh has to be the league favorite to repeat but they needn't try to guarentee anything, there is alot of good teams around the league. Whatever happens, it should be fun to play it out. It will be good when it comes time to hit the hardwood and stop using the internet to try and win the games.

[UNCTarheels]

http://sectionv.talksback.com/showthread.php?t=3717

[CAL12]

As hard as it is for someone in Steuben county to admit (if they are not from C-S or Prattsburg) they find ways to win. The players, families, and coaching staffs have been surrounded by winning over the past 4 or 5 years (if not before that) and that is tough to compete with. J-T, C-G, Arkport will all be strong next year, but have not found a way to string it all together. I personally think C-G has a good group, but are going to struggle to find ways to score. J-T will need young guards step up and make an effort to get the ball in to Thurber. Arkport will have hungry young players who have had success, but I think the coaching from JV to Varsity is much different (styles conflict with eachother) and it may be tough for the players to adjust. Hammondsport will be good, but I feel they are inconsistent. Many people question the coaching, I don't know much about that situation but it makes me wonder. Addison is losing a lot with Dann gone, but Bowers is strong and their size will give some teams fits. I am sure I have left out a bunch of teams, but here are some of my thoughts.