I have followed this great website closely for four years as my son played for St. Joe’s and I want to thank the editor/publisher for helping to boost the great sport of boys high school basketball. I divide this post into two parts; first to express my opinion about the best players I SAW PLAY in actual games (not scrimmages) this year; second to express some facts about one overlooked player. I coached this player in grammar school so no one should credit my opinion but “facts are stubborn things.” (John Adams) (Obviously, there are many good players I did not see play this year.) The best players I saw this year were in no particular order except for the first player mentioned: Noah Hutchins, POY Ebuka Quentin Nnagbo (Park) Lucas Theisen (best player on Frannies) Dewayne Vass (best player on Canisius) Tahron Goudelock (best player on Timon) Justin Hemphill (best player on O’Hara) Rodriquez Gayle (added the three to his game since the previous time I saw him) The last player I will mention, SG Will Ostrowski, I coached for five years so I am biased. With a new coach and six new players in the rotation, he was part of a balanced attack and did not get the shot opportunities or minutes he might have gotten on another team. Yet, he went out and played good, hard, team basketball at all times. He averaged 11.1-4.5-1 per game. Here are some more stats. *Joe’s forced Park into overtime in the playoffs and Will was the best Joe’s player in the game, the biggest game of the season in Monsignor Martin “A”, the best division in the state. (Park demolished Canisius in the finals.) Will had 15 points, 7 boards, and 2 steals. *Adjusted FG % for the season was 53 (good for a shooting guard and higher than any starter on Canisius or Frannies!). *Joe’s record was 12-13 with a tough schedule BUT was 7-3 when Will shot 11 or more times—the three losses were in OT, by one and a close loss to Frannies where he had 20. *Joe’s was 5-10 when Will shot 10 or fewer times! *Will was plus 30 in a huge comeback against Aquinas, who Joe’s had not beaten in years. In 22 minutes, he scored 24 pts, 4 boards and 3 steals in a 35-point swing at home. Joe’s won by 8. *Will generally played well in big games including the three wins over Timon—he scored the winning points in triple OT at Timon and had 15 and 6 boards in the playoff win, Joe’s first playoff win in years. Will and Tino Martone (another very underrated player), led Joe’s to victory over Lyons (20-3), the highest ranked team they beat this year. *Will played a key role in most of the other quality Joe’s wins: Iroquois on the road—15-8-3; CBA on the road—15-7-1; Nichols—11-8-1; St. Mary’s—4 threes. Bottom line: about each candidate for post-season honors, we need to ask four questions: 1. Did he maximize the opportunities (shot attempts, minutes) he was given by his team? 2. How hard was his schedule? (Joe’s had the fifth toughest schedule in WNY according to Max Preps) 3. What did he contribute to his team’s key wins? 4. Did he show up in the tough, close losses? All eight players above have met these tests.

Wow! You really take pride in your work. Old school.