Prep Talk

By Keith McShea

Every week during the basketball season a panel of voters participates in The News' large and small school boys basketball polls.

And every week we let you know, like the title says ... how The News voted.

This week starts the postseason -- today there will be play-in rounds in both the Monsignor Martin Association's Manhattan Cup playoffs and the Section VI tournament.

This is just one ballot -- there are nine other voters in each poll. This week's News poll is available via the high school home page. The direct link is here.

Here's last week's ballot (Week Eight, Feb. 12 -- Valentine's edition). Previous polls: Week Seven, Feb. 5 (Canisius No. 1), Week Six, Jan. 29 (Super week); Week Five, Jan. 22 (inauguration), Week Four, Jan. 15 (MLK), Week Three (Jan. 8, back from two-week holiday break); Week Two (special Christmas edition, Dec. 18); Week One (Dec. 11). Also, here's last year's final 2011-12 post. 

With not much movement in the poll and not many games left, here's a look at this week's ballot along with each team's remaining schedule:

LARGE SCHOOLS

1. Canisius (17-4) [last week: 1] -- Crusaders playing at a very high level right now, right according to plan.

Continue reading "How The News voted: Let the playoffs begin" »

By Keith McShea

It is the final Thursday of the basketball regular season, which includes the final day of league play in the Yale Cup. While McKinley is expected to close out a perfect year against Bennett, I'll be headed to a great small-school showdown as Middle Early College visits East at 6 p.m.

Also big on this busy night is Bishop Timon-St. Jude at Canisius in a 6:30 start. Jamestown and Silver Creek look to finish off fine regular seasons while St. Joe's hosts Sweet Home at 7.

I'll provide updates in the live blog below. When I have my laptop out I'll be able to do play-by-play, otherwise I'll send #preptalkscores updates via Twitter, which will also appear in the blog. 

Your tweets with the hashtag #preptalkscores are welcome -- as they will appear in the live blog as well. Every night, scoring update tweets (in any sport) are welcome to those on Twitter -- just use the #preptalkscores hashtag.  

Check our scoreboard page for a complete schedule of tonight's games; the scoreboard will be updated as we receive game reports throughout the evening.

Continue reading "Thursday Night Live from Middle Early College's big win at East & your #preptalkscores" »

By Keith McShea

Every week during the basketball season a panel of voters participates in The News' large and small school boys basketball polls.

And every week we let you know, like the title says ... how The News voted.

This is just one ballot -- there are nine other voters in each poll. This week's News poll is available via the high school home page.

It's a Super Week, and we're not talking about Sunday's football game. As you'll see throughout the blog, there are several big-time games this week -- there's even one on Super Bowl Sunday that is worth a bit of hype. 

Here's last week's ballot (Week Five, Jan. 22). Previous polls: Week Four, Jan. 15, Week Three (Jan. 8, which followed a two-week holiday break); Week Two (our special Christmas edition, Dec. 18); Week One (Dec. 11). Also, here's last year's final 2011-12 post. 

LARGE SCHOOLS

1. Niagara Falls (10-1) [last week: 1] -- The 100-18 win over Kenmore East revived calls for the Niagara Frontier League to allow Falls to play as an independent. I've said they should have remained that way since the 2005 Federation championship team. 

Continue reading "How The News voted: Super Week (& we're not talking football)" »

By Keith McShea

Greetings from City Honors, again site of the seventh Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Basketball Classic, hosted by the Buffalo Public Schools. 

Today's lineup includes ranked teams in each of the four games here at City Honors. The day begins with No. 8 small school Lackawanna taking on the host Centaurs at 11 a.m., followed by No. 3 small school East meeting East Aurora (not ranked but I had them at No. 10 in my ballot) at 12:45. 

The second session begins at 4 p.m. with ECIC II leader Sweet Home taking on No. 6 small school Middle Early College. The marquee matchup of the day has No. 2 large school Canisius meeting No. 3 McKinley at 5:45. 

I'll have updates from games in the live blog below and via #preptalkscores updates on Twitter. 

Continue reading "Live from the MLK Classic: Canisius tops McKinley; Middle College, East, Lackawanna win (with video interviews)" »

Jasen Oden, a 2011 East High grad who attended North Carolina Tech Prep this past year, signed with Colorado State football Tuesday afternoon at the Delevan-Grider Community Center. 

Wearing a Colorado State lanyard given to him on his official visit, as well as a green-and-gold Rams baseball cap, he signed a financial aid agreement with Colorado State for a full scholarship in front of family and friends at Delevan-Grider. 

Oden said his trip to Colorado State went so well that he canceled scheduled visits with Illinois and Connecticut.

Oden headed to NC Tech in order to improve is standardized test score and make him eligible for NCAA Division I football. He headed there after former Sweet Home standout D.J. Nettles had attended NC Tech (Nettles signed with Bethune-Cookman after attending NC Tech, but a transcript glitch has him headed to a junior college this fall to help clear that up).

By the looks of its website, NC Tech has cranked out players to Division I.

Oden is believed to be the first football player from the Buffalo Public Schools to head to Division I since 2008 Grover Cleveland grad Steve Means headed to the University at Buffalo; the last major college signing from the former Harvard Cup schools was current Tampa Bay Buccaneer Mike Williams from Riverside (2006) to Syracuse.

Oden was a third-team All-Western New York selection at defensive back in 2010. He helped East to a 6-3 overall record and a 4-2 record in Class B Central, although the Panthers were ineligible for the postseason due to an administrative move that placed East, an A-sized school, in Class B. East impressed with a victory at Cheektowaga and were part of a very strong first season in Section VI for the Buffalo Public Schools.

Colorado State of the Mountain West Conference is entering its first season under coach Jim McElwain, who came to the Rams after four years as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Alabama, where he was part of two national titles. In the recruiting process, Oden dealt mainly with assistant head coach/quarterbacks coach Billy Napier, who came with McElwain from Alabama. 

I'll have more in my Prep Talk column in Wednesday's paper.

---Keith McShea

(@KeithMcSheaBN on Twitter)

buffalonews.com/highschools     facebook.com/preptalkblog     twitter.com/bufnewspreptalk

Tonight's lineup isn't the busiest, but I'll be on hand for McKinley's visit to East at 6 p.m. The Macks have shown they are the team to beat in the Yale Cup, while the Panthers have been a ranked small school for much of the season.

While I'll have updates from that game, tweets to the hashtag #preptalkscores will also automatically show up in the live blog. So if you are a game tonight and you're updating via Twitter, be sure to include that hashtag. I'll have periodic tweets updating the game at @KeithMcSheaBN, but most of my play-by-play updating will come in the live blog.

Check out tonight's full schedule on our scoreboard page, where you can check back throughout the night for updated box scores and highlights.

See you out at the games, in the chat and on the tweeter. :-)

---Keith McShea

(@KeithMcSheaBN on Twitter)

buffalonews.com/highschools     facebook.com/preptalkblog     twitter.com/bufnewspreptalk

Three Yale Cup standouts are among an impressive recruiting class for Niagara County Community College and coach Bill Beilein.

All-Western New York first teamer Tremmell Fisher of East and honorable mentions John Black of McKinley and Kadeem Hillman of International Prep at Grover Cleveland will all sign letters of intent to the school on Wednesday. Also signing will be two Niagara Frontier League standouts in Jake Hughes (Niagara-Wheatfield) and Marc Morreale (Lew-Port) as well as Dut Dour, a 2010 Bishop Timon-St. Jude All-WNY honorable mention who is transferring from St. Bonaventure.

The class will be introduced at 5 p.m. Wednesday during a press conference in NCCC's athletics lobby.

Also signing are two out-of-town recruits: Jordan Green from New Rochelle of downstate's Section I and Andre "TJ" McCrea from Brien McMahon High School in Connecticut.

Also making it official tomorrow will be Marcus Feagin of Niagara Falls, who will sign Wednesday with Monroe Community College.

I've written before about how I think Feagin might be the type of player who could use his time at MCC to possibly springboard to a scholarship somewhere; I think Hillman and Fisher could become candidates to do the same via NCCC.

---Keith McShea
(@KeithMcSheaBN on Twitter)

buffalonews.com/high-schools     facebook.com/preptalkblog     twitter.com/bufnewspreptalk

Hello from Rochester's Blue Cross Arena for the fourth of five Far West Regional games and the first of the two evening session contests.

Feel free to monitor the game and even comment, but PLEASE be mindful that I won't be able to answer many questions while I'm live blogging. It is a very busy day and I'll need every moment to work on my stories. 

Afterwards, feel free to add your comments on the post.

The box scores for all games will be up at our scoreboard page as soon as possible.

---Keith McShea

buffalonews.com/high-schools     facebook.com/preptalkblog     twitter.com/bufnewspreptalk

If you weren't at Buffalo State for Western New York's boys basketball finales, you better watch the latest episode of PrepTalkTV, put together by video reporter/producer Lauren Mariacher:

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You can find all of our videos -- including highlight packages on the Manhattan Cup as well as all of Championship Saturday's Section VI finals -- easily by going to the video player and clicking "PrepTalkTV."

So much to talk about as a thrilling basketball postseason heads to the regional round -- which makes our weekly chat good timing. The discussion will get started at 9:30 p.m. here on the blog.

---Keith McShea

buffalonews.com/highschools     facebook.com/preptalkblog     twitter.com/bufnewspreptalk

Hello from Buffalo State for the last two boys basketball games of the season to be played in Western New York.

In the first game, the overall Class B championship will be determined as B-1 winner Lackawanna faces B-2 winner Cassadaga Valley at 6 p.m. That's followed by the scheduled 7:45 p.m. start for the overall Clas A final between A-1 winner Williamsville South and A-2 champ East High of Buffalo.

We'll have separate "live" blogs on each game.

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The winners move on to Saturday's Far West Regionals against the champions of Section V (Rochester area).

The box scores for both games will be up at our scoreboard page as soon as possible.

After the games, let us know what you thought of the action -- and the regionals -- in the comments section.

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Here's my game story on East's double-overtime win over South.

Here's Allen Wilson's game story on Cassadaga Valley keeping its playoff ride going.

---Keith McShea

buffalonews.com/high-schools     facebook.com/preptalkblog     twitter.com/bufnewspreptalk