| Westchester Report |
| This is my annual Westchester County Baskeball Report. I do it to give people who do not know much about westchester county basketball an idea of whos who and what teams are on top. I will update it from time to time during the season to let you know whats going on and who is playing well and who is not. I think sometimes people look past westchester players because they do not get as much exposure as city kids. Hopefully this will give them a little more exposure that I feel they do deserve. Thanks for your time and tell me what you think of it. Feedback would be welcomed. Thank You. Matt Grasso I.S. 2001 1.Ben gordon Mt.Vernon 6'1'' Combo Guard -- committed to Uconn. Most valuable player in the county. Led mt. vernon to class "a" state and federation championship(28-0). He can do it all. He can shoot, score at will, rebound, defend and is one of the most athletic players in 2001 in the nation and has unbelievable hops. He played great and was an all star at the ABCD all american camp. He should lead the county in scoring and should repeat as mr. basketball in westchester. He will be the best player out of westchester since elton brand and has a possibilty to be the best of all time. 2.Markus Austin White Plains 6'5'' Wing Forward -- committed to Eastern Michigan. At 6'5'' he has an advantage over any other wing that tries to guard him. He has a great shot and will hit it over anyone. He can also take the ball to the hoop off the dribble. He plays hard all the time and is the main reason white plains will be one of the top teams in the county and should contend with mt.vernon for the county championship in class"a". He attended Eastern invitational this summer and played well. He plays with the Westchester Rams in the off season. He needs to get a little stronger and then he will have the complete package. 3.Kyl Jones Pleasentville 6'4'' Wing Forward - -- Schools: Maac conference, America East, and some A-10. He can play down low with the bigs or beat you off the dribble on the perimeter and he can also hit the mid range jumper. Coming off a season where he led Pleasentville to the class " c" sectional title he is expected to be the most valuable player in class "c". He played with the Westchester Rams and was one of the leaders on the team this off season. He is very strong but needs to work on his foot speed and his handle a little to be effective in college. 4.Bobby Serafin JFK Catholic 6'4'' Wing Forward- -- Schools: Ivy League, Patriot League and a few low division 1 schools. He transfered into Jfk this year and is expected to be a leader on the team which made it to the NYS semifinals in class "B" last season and is expected to go back. He's very strong and can play down low with anyone in the county and he also has a sweet touch from the outside and can knock down the big shot. He will not refrain from taking it through the lane and jamming it on someone. He attended Eastern Invitational and played well all week. He also played a few tournaments with the NY Gauchos. He needs to work on his handle but once he has this he will be unstoppable from all over. 5.Marcus Desir Gorton 6'7'' Power Forward - -- Schools: open. He was the leader on Gorton and is the reason why they did well last season. He was an all county player and should be even better this year. He is one of the biggest players in the county and can dominate anyone down low. He needs to work on his shot. He is expected to have a big year and should be a division 1 player. 6. Mike Detmer Scarsdale 6'4'' wing forward- -- Schools: Patroit League, Ivy League.He is one of the best slashers in the county. He is very athletic and he has good size. He is the main reason why Scarsdale should contend for the class "a" sectional title with mt vernon and white plains. He can shoot the three as well. He is a very well rounded player. He plays with the LI Rising Stars in the off season. He needs to work on his handle. 6.Brian ODonell JFK Catholic 6'4'' Power Forward- -- Schools: Stony Brook, low D1, D2. One of the leaders of the JFK all star team. He was the leading scorer on the team last season. He is a true leader and is not scared of anyone. He is very strong down low and even though he does not have as much size as other bigmen he always gets the job done. He can also step out and hit the three, or the mid- range jumper. Needs to work on his handle and slashing skills to be a division 1 player. He is expected to have a big season and lead jfk back to glens falls. 7.Jason Bayuk White Plains 6'0'' Point Guard- -- Schools: Patriot League, Ivy League, America East. He is a very fundamental point guard. He can shoot the three, penetrate the lane, break the press, and his best aspect of his game is his passing and playmaking. He has great defense as well. He will join Markus Austin once again and try and bring White Plains another state title. He plays with the Connecticut Flame in the off season. He needs to work on his scoring and shooting to be an effective division 1 player. 8.Santo Provenzano Dobbs Ferry 6'2'' Shooting Guard- -- Schools: low division 1, division 2. He is a pure shooter. He is probably one of the top 3 shooters in the county. He will look to be one of the top scorers in the county. He is athletic as well and can take the ball to the hoop. He needs work on his handle, and playmaking(getting the team involved). 9.Greg Cole Sleepy Hollow 6'4'' Wing Forward- --Schools: D2,D3. Other then Ben Gordan he is probably the most athletic player in the county. He can rise and throw it on just about anyone. He is strong and can take it down low as well. If you sleep he will step out and hit the shot. He needs to work on his foot speed. 10.James Grey JFK Catholic 6'2'' Shooting Guard- -- Schools: low D1, D2. He has a big upside because he is very athletic and good finisher. He plays good defense and is one of the main reasons why JFK was so good last season. He is the secret option on the team and always hits the big shots. He has improved his shooting ability and athleticism.He plays with LI Rising Stars in the off season. He needs to work on his ball handling and strength. 2002 1.Donnie McGrath JFK Catholic 6'3'' Point Guard- --Schools: St Johns, Notre Dame, Syracuse,Umass, UVA-- - He has a bright future. Behind ben he is the most talented player in the county. He was the leader of the JFK team last year and is expected to do big things for JFK this year. He can shoot, break down defenders off the dribble, play d, and his passing is his best aspect. He can also throw it on someone if you sleep. He plays with the NY Gauchos during the offseason and attends many camps. He increased his stock this summer and is now one of the top 7 players in the city. He needs to get a little stronger and he will have it all. 2.Jomo Belfour Mt.Vernon 6'1'' Point Guard Schools: Georgetown, Ohio State, Rutgers.- -- He is the floor general of the mt vernon team. He will look to lead them back to the state championship. He increased his stock a lot this summer and got a lot better. He is one of the top 20 players in the city. He brings a lot to the floor. He can create off the dribble in the lane. He worked on his shot and will hit it in your face. He also has great defense and his athleticism improved greatly. He will throw it on someone in the lane. He played extensivly with Riverside Church and is expected to do big things this year for mt vernon. He needs to work on his shot and scoring . 3.Rashard Turner Peekskill 5'10'' Point Guard- -- Iona, Hofstra, Marist. - -- He is a very quick penetrating guard. He can shoot the three too. Peekskill is relying on him to do big things for them this season. He has to pick up the scoring load left by Tyrone Welch and Neil Pervis. He is very strong which makes up for his small size. He can defend well too. He played the entire AAU season with the Westchester Hawks. He did great with them and raised his stock a lot. He needs to work on his playmaking . Hopefully he will get a little taller because the height is what he is lacking to be an effective division 1 player. 4.Rushid Simmons Ossining 6'0'' Point Guard- -- St Johns, Maac.-- He is very quick left handed point guard. He is going to be the star and leading scorer on Ossining. He will have to almost double his scoring total but he will be able to because of his skills. He has improved his shot and has great quickness and handle. His defense is tight too. He can create as well. Last season he was more of a playmaker getting about 12 assists because his brother was the main scorer. This year he wil excite crowds with his scoring. He plays with Riverside Church in the off season and has been a big part of their team since he was young. He raised his stock this year and is a top 20 player in the city as well. He has a bright future. He needs to work on his shot athleticism. 5.Justice hall Hamilton 6'5'' Power Forward- -- Mid D1.-- He is one of the strongest players in Westchester. He is once again the main player on the team which he led to the class " d " state championship team last year. He has been the star on his team since freshman year and has had an amazing career and continues it this year. He is very strong under the hoop. He has good hands and post moves as well. He needs to work on his foot speed, his jump shot, and he needs to thin out and become more of a versatile player. If he does this he will be a good down low/ slasher player in college. 6.chris murphy Iona Prep 5'11'' point guard-- Schools: Iona, low D1.-- He is a very fundamental point guard. He is great at getting everyone involved in the game. He will be a floor general along with Jim Janacek. He improved all aspects of his game. He can shoot, has a good handle, and can pass well.He needs to work on his foot speed. He plays in the off season with the Long Island Rising Stars. 6.Will Cherry Mt.Vernon 6'0'' Shooting Guard--Schools: Rutgers, Low d1.- He is a pure shooter. He had a huge game at the county center against Poughkeepsie. He can shoot well off the pass and dribble. He has a bright future. He will be a big part of Mt. Vernons success this year. 8.dave ryan Eastchester 6'5'' wing forward- -- mid d1.-- he has great size for his position. He can shoot the ball well and is a good slasher. He has good potential and will be a great player in the future. He is one of the leading scorers in the county and will be one of the top players in the "c" league. He needs to get stronger and work on his handle. He plays in the off season with the LI Rising Stars 9.Randy Brunson Mt.Vernon 6'2'' Combo Guard- -- D2.-- He will be a good contributer to the mt vernon all star team. He is a good slasher and can get to the hoop well. He has a good handle and played well in the offseason with Riverside churchs b team. He needs to work on his shot and strength. 9.Brain Scordato Greely 6'4'' Wing Forward- -- D2, D3.-- Great size for his position. He has a good upside. He needs to work on his shot and finishing. He can get into the lane well though. 10.Rashad Bilal Woodlands 6'1'' Shooting Guard- -- D2, D3.-- He is a good shooter. He needs to work on his game but if he does he will be very good. He should be the top player on Woodlands this year. He needs to work on his strength, decision making, and handle. OVERALL 1. Ben Gordon 2. Donnie mcgrath 3. Markus austin 4. Kyl Jones 5. Jomo belfour 6. Bobby Serafin 7. Marcus Desir 8. Mike Detmer 9. Brian ODonell 10.Rashard Turner 11.Rushid Simmons 12.Justice Hall 13.Jason Bayuk 14.Santo provenzano 15.Greg cole TOP TEAMS IN WESTCHESTER 1)a) Mt. Vernon 1)b)JFK Catholic (somers) 2. White Plains 3.Peekskill 4.Iona Prep 5.Scarsdale Mt. Vernon- They have lost their two leading rebounders (Greg Jenkins and John Plenty) but they still have Mr. Basketball candidate Ben Gordon and junior Jomo Belfor. Both of these players should dominate play in their league. But in order for this team to return to the state championship game they will need Will Cherry, Bryan Browne and Randy Brunson to step up. Browne is the most crucial player of these three in my opinion because his play at the point off of the bench will be crucial. This team will need Cherry to be the 3rd scorer, and they will look for Brunson to score at times but also grab rebounds. JFK Catholic- This team is led by possibly the most talented player in westchester, Donnie McGrath. McGrath was an all-county player last year as a junior with his 15 points and 7 assists a game. This years team is almost identical to last years that only lost 1 game, except for the edition of 6'4 wing man Bobby Serafin. With him and Brian O'donnell dominating the glass and inside scoring this team will be unbeatable in their league. Their biggest test of the season comes very early as they play Rice in December and if they win that game they will play Oak Hill Academy the consensue #1 team in america. |
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