I’ll be busy all day and night today finishing up our boys basketball preview, which is set to run in The Journal News on Friday. It will include features about Albertus Magnus and Byram Hills. A separate feature will follow on Mount Vernon on Sunday.
In the section will be the latest Super 7 — a selection of the top seven returning boys basketball players in the Lower Hudson Valley. That consists of players from Westchester, Putnam and Rockland Counties — public, Catholic and private.
I wanted to ask you: Who deserves to be considered for Super 7?
Send me your suggestions and let me know why each player should be considered. The list will be revealed on Friday, along with my “next 7” as well as players who return with fewer credentials but who I expect to play their way into all-star/all-county discussion by season’s end.
87 Comments
great job Josh-getting the ball rolling on basketball season-wish the girls coverage was on top of things like you
y’all are sleepin on the best balla in section 1. y’all will know his name by the middle of the year!
Joe Clarke…spelled J-O-E C-L-A-R-K-E\
y’all need to know how to spell it so you can write it down properly for section 1 MVP!
Just because a player receives D1 offers before his senior year doesn’t mean he plays better or will have a better season than upper class players. Colleges often project the development of a player based on what they see at a younger age. Some players reach that potential, and others hit the wall and do not progress as expected. I have seen offers taken off the table all the time, and I have seen players emerge in their senior year and surpass players who were better than them in prior years. A player that was off the radar can play so well in his senior year, that he recieves offers from Kentucky or North Carolina. The super 7 should be based on what players have done the prior year and what they have done over the summer, not on D1 offers.
When it comes to rockland basketball the best individual player is Mikey by far. Basketball is a team game though and that is why Peterson is the best player in rockland. He was not concerned with scoring 25 a game like most guys are. To him it is not about the points its all about the “W”. He rebounds, he is one of the best passers in the section and when need be, he will torch a team for 25 before you blink an eye. Its not inconsistancy it is him doing what the teams needs to win. That is why he is more deserving than the rest of those rockland guys.
And although they may not be super 7 worthy, dont sleep on Austin O’toole and Joe Clinton. They got some attention but not the attention they were worthy of with the spotlight being on Luke all last year. Both players will have a great year and I look forward to another great year in rockland hoops.
If you don’t have Joshua James in your Top Five, your knowledge of basketball talent is clearly lacking. Those who don’t know, will know by mid-season. He has all the tools to be a great player in Westchester and the academic mind to go any school he wants. I wish him all the BEST.
I think Cousins, Marshall, Stephens and even Doughty from Mt Vernon.
Then you still have the McCahey, Josh James from Stepinac!
Trawick and Petersen seem to be fan favorites but I have never seen them play so I cannot comment on them.
I thought the Gill kid from Mt. St. Mike’s was awesome last yr and deserves to be mentioned….
I still like Reese Williams from Woodlands and Sayer and Mcguiness from Albertus but they are not on the same level as the guys above!
If you are including mt. St. Michael then malik gill is def.
Malik gill, josh james, randy stevens, isaiah cousins, mchahey…take your pick after that.
Just think years ago it was kevin jones, mookie jones, sean kilpatrick, tony taylor, sherrod wright, melquan bolding….little different now.
Today St rays @mvernon 3pm scrimmage, c.t.k @stepinac 5pm scrimmage….lot a talent in westchester for 1 day!
Fred Bowers or Reece Williams from woodlands should be on the list they both played on westchester hawks elite team with Randy Stephens and even Randy himself could tell you that there both good players. Fred Bowers played against guys like Isiah Cousins and Jarell Marshall and the rest of the Mt. Vernon team and he did well. Tommorrow on Thursday Woodlands plays Fox Lane in the Scarsdale Tournament and it will be a huge test for Fred Bowers against Will Trautwick and i think Fred Bowers will do very well against him.
I hear that Fox Lane has a kid around 6-7, which means that Fred Bowers may be matched up against him, instead of Trawick.
Aw, Hoopsfan, did I hurt your feelings? You sound a tad insecure, I’m shocked. Since your typical response involves name calling and other sophisticated methods of communication, I am not terribly surprised to see more of the same today. Now please feel free to reply with your usual backpedaling and assurances that you were pushed to your juvenile behavior by …insert blog name here… .
Eastchester’s Solano is deserving of super 7 he is a four year starter that has carried eastchester
these past three years. He averages 20 points a game and is a real good ball handler. He will break the all time scoring record at Eastchester this year. Solano along with J Daley will be like Stockton and Malone. Look for the eagles to improve on their school best record last year of 15-5. He is heavily being recruited by Stony brook, Iona and Manhattan. Best of luck Dave go for the gold ball.
Cousins-MV, Stephens-MV, Peterson-TZ, Lynch-Byram, Solano-Eastchester, McCahey-South, Sky Williams-Tuckahoe
Honorable Mention:
Sam Evans-Solomon Schechter, McGuinness-Magnus, Golden-Byram, Doughty-MV, Trawick-FL, Brian Daniels-Briarcliff
if Gill is eligible def top 7
4 guys from MV(Which they wont do) Gill,James and McCahey
next 7
Peterson and then all names above would be fine (except Lynch and Golden) – very good players but not there yet
Is Fox Lane and Hor Greely now in “A” not “AA”?? Not sure – If Fox Lane in A they will be good
Still not totally clear why Magnus and Burke Catholic are in public league – I heard the reasons but my guess not enough Catholic schools to plat against in Rockland?
Gill is not eligible. Our paper no longer covers Mount and Fordham and the Super 7 only includes players in the coverage area.
Also, Darrell Glover is no longer at Roosevelt and Kirkland Ottey’s status is up in the air for this season.
finally some recognition for sky williams. the kid is the real deal! hes 6 ft now thats amazing size for a section 1 PG especially for a C school like tuckahoe. sky WILL lead the section in scoring and i think that should be good enough evidence to at least consider him for super 7. obviously he does not play the greatest competition but that ain’t his fault. hes gotten miles and miles better since freshman year and Id take him over Lynch or Mcguinness no questions asked. cant really compare him to those other big guys
Jeff Lynch of Byram Hills is absolutely deserving the Super 7. Anyone who has seen him play has witnessed teams attempt and fail to guard him, while he scores at will. This year (his junior year) he will score 1000 points for his career, and the competition he has played against is extremely formidable, unlike anyone from class C or B. Lynch is a stud, and don’t forget that he led his team to a sectional title, a regional title, and then onto the state final four. That fact that he is not being considered by some is ludicrous. He should be a lock.
Well said Hoops Fan…Scary is a joke.
maybe not this yr but the boys from mahopac will make some noise next year..with only 3 seniors and 1 sophmore this year and a JV team that went 18-0 last year they look like they could be in the mix with scrimmages against new rochelle (split) fox lane (3-3 in 6qtrs 1-1 with starters) ..byram hills (1-1)...played all teams tough ..first 3 games will be a test..poughkeepsie..yorktown..peekskill…..then we will be able to guage..
An undefeated JV team means absolutely nada. How many 10th graders in the school played on the Mahopac Varsity last year? 0. They had 12 seniors on the team. Ask Mount Vernon about their JV team’s record and they will laugh at you. They played 6 quarters in a scrimmage and only had their starters in for 2?? I wonder what Peekskill’s record on the JV team would have been if all their freshman and sophomores played down? Can you say who cares?
Any info. On the stepinac / c.t.k. scrimmage?
Step Alum,
Check Josh’s twitter on the upper right hand portion of the screen. He was kind enough to provide live updates.
not sure what your getting at but unless you were on mt vernon last yr you were behind us…wow guess you dislike mahopac….wasnt talking about this yr..was talking about next yr….who is “they” that had starters in for 2 out of 6 quaters??
Statesman
just saw thx. Looks like stepinac won 2 quarters and held their own.
Peterson is a good player but he does not even stand out on his own team. OShea, Latizia, and the Donahue are all just as valuable to that team. TZ is good because they are a complete team and dont say that Peterson does not dominate because he chooses to. He doesnt because those other kids on the team are just as valuable to the team. He is a very good player but for Super 7 McCahey, Sayer, and McGuiness are all more deserving
Step,
No problem. You got the same take-aways as me. This team is only going to get better so it’ll be nice to see their progression w/ you providing updates throughout the year.
Tuckahoe’s Sky Williams is a clear contestent for the Super 7. He lead his team to a sectional championship last year and will definitely continue to lead his team this year. I do not recall how many he averaged per game, but he was hands-down the MVP of Class 7.
Solomon Schechter is the sleeper in Class C this year. Although only returning one starter, Sam Evans, they’ve jumped to a great start, winning their tournament with a point spread of +29 in total. Evans deserves a little more credit considering he averaged a double double last year between points and rebounds and carried the team for the most part until he was injured, and is top scorer averaging 13 ppg this year. With a back court backed up by strong returner Jeremy Kelly, Schechter could possibly be a very decent contender with Tuckahoe. These two players, although Kelly may not necessarily be Super 7 honorable mention material, at least deserve some recognition.
Ryan Golden needs to be on this list with Jeff Lynch. He hit two huge free throws to help them beat Kennedy and was one of the most clutch players in the postseason as a sophomore.
I like Sky Williams but the fact is there are so many quality players in AA and A that it is hard to put him on. Definitely a small school list. 7 players is tough and at least 30 should be considered. Byram had a very good year and leave it at that. Lynch is just ok and may play D3 one day. He is not a Super 7 candidate. Byram fans and parents are trying to give players a vote, but they are not even in the class of so many other players. Start with MV, New Ro and go from there.
Get real:
“Start with mvernon and new ro and go from there”
Don’t ever put new ro in the same sentence with m.vernon, please!
I can see mvernon, but new ro…..are you serious?
okay lynch and goldne deff should be considered super 7 at least both deserve to be put on that list in my opinion.. lynch is deff higher then d3 player….. they prooved everyone wrong last year and made it way farther then they ever thought they would.. this year i wouldnt be suprised if they make it farther
Everyone what about Felix Abongo from Iona?
He’s a 6’4 point forward who led the team in scoring and rebounding last year. He should be up for consideration here.
David Haye – Ramapo High School
Get real,
I understand that MV should have multiple players on the list, and for good reason, but there is no way that New Ro should even be in the same sentence as MV, like ”?” said. Byram played New Ro in a scrimmage and they split the two quarters they played, but New Ro did not look anywhere near MV caliber. And to say Lynch is possibly D3 talent is very untrue. He definitely has D3 talent and could possibly go D1, which is not as likely, but to say that he isn’t as talented as other players around the section is absurd.
1. Cousins MV 2. Stephens MV 3. McCahey CS 4. Lynch BH 5. Gill MSM 6. James S 7. Trawick FL
Honorables: McGuiness, Peterson, Williams, Marshall. This is probably the best list you can get. These men play at the highest level.
Gill cant be considered super 7 anymore josh said there not covering mount anymore, however i saw the livestream of the mount hempstead game live on msg varsity today and gill was lighting it up played very well
get real is 100% wrong about Lynch. He is without a doubt one of the best 7 players in the section. He also produces and plays at a much higher level in the summer. He has been doing it for years now and it shows on the court. Josh James is the best PG, Lynch is behind him. Josh James is a D1 point guard, Lynch isn’t. But so what. D1 player doesn’t equal super 7. Josh James is deserving and so is Lynch.
Watch the kid play. His first step, passing ability, leadership and shooting form is excellent. The kid can play. He is a D2 player and there is nothing wrong with that. Any kid that plays in college deserves praise..
scary,
I’m not telling you to be quiet. I’m telling you to explain why you were attacking Step and Iona players…and if you can’t explain it, then don’t bother talking. If the only thing you can muster out of yourself is to insult hard-working teenage student/athletes, then play the victim when I call you out on it…then you have nothing worthwhile to say.