Leading off today: A noteworthy boys basketball story out of Section 2 at the end of last week was actually a two-fer. That's because a development involving the school that doesn't appear to have been reported elsewhere actually trumped a decision to transfer by one of the state's top players.
The Daily Gazette reported that Niskayuna junior guard Daniel Smalls Jr. will enroll at Albany Academy this fall. Smalls, a NYSSWA first-team all-state selection in Class AA, leaves Niskayuna as the program's all-time leading scorer after helping the Silver Warriors reach the NYSPHSAA championship game.
"It's going to be tough, especially losing that state 'c'hip,'" Smalls told the paper. "Obviously, I want a ring, and that made it 100% harder, making that decision, and it's emotional. But with basketball, you've got to make sacrifices if you want to make it to that next level."
Speaking of the next level, Smalls' father told the paper that Albany Academy is moving its boys basketball program into the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council. That's a major development because the schools comprising the various NEPSAC conferences consistently attract top transfers from across the Northeast and then move them along to Division I colleges.
In Smalls' case, the paper reported that he will reclassify to the Class of 2027, banking out the extra season of NEPSAC competition to tune his game and raise his profile beyond current suitors Yale, Siena, and Albany.
Top football prospect picks Oregon
Section 5 standout receiver
Messiah Hampton will enter his senior season at Monroe High in Rochester with his college plans already set. Hampton, rated the state's No. 1 football prospect by some services, revealed on Friday that he has committed to Oregon.
Hampton, who was first-team all-state in Class A last fall, held offers from numerous major-college programs including Penn State, Georgia, Ohio State, and Michigan.
Speculation about Oregon intensified after the Ducks hired Ross Douglas to coach receivers after Junior Adams moved to the NFL's Dallas Cowboys. Douglas had been recruiting Hampton while coaching receivers at Syracuse.
Moran retires from Chaminade lacrosse
Jack Moran has called it a day after 45 seasons coaching boys lacrosse at Chaminade, where his teams won 629 games and 21 CHSAA state championships.
"Listen, 45 years is a really good run," Moran told Newsday. "I have four children and eight grandchildren, with one on the way, and my son (Ryan) is a Division I coach (at Maryland-Baltimore County). I've only seen five (of his) games in eight years. I'm 73 and it's time for me to put a little bit more time toward my grandkids and my wife (Kathryne) and children."
Chaminade already has a replacement set to take over. Greg Kay, an assistant under Moran for the last eight seasons and a coach in the program dating to 2002, will take the reins, and Thomas O'Connell moves up from assistant to associate coach.
The clock has struck midnight again
In case you didn't notice -- and you probably didn't while being caught up in the final week of the high school sports season -- the official state government
legislature calendar concluded last week.
And with that so too did the now-annual attempt to pass a bill that would require the NYSPHSAA and PSAL to conduct separate championships for their non-public schools.
State Assemblyman Matt Slater of Yorktown has proposed a law to that effect in each of the past two years without any success getting it moved out of the education committee and onto the Assembly floor for consideration.
It says here that the third time will not be the charm when Slater introduces the same bill (clunky wording and all) in 2026.
A wild finish to marathon Pa. title game
The longest baseball state championship game in Pennsylvania history came to a merciful end over the weekend after six hours and 13 innings, and it concluded in a most unexpected fashion.
Cedar Cliff captured the PIAA 6A title when North Penn pitcher Caleb Price balked home the game's only run with the bases loaded. The result may have been inevitable; there were no outs and a 3-0 count on the batter when the balk occurred.
Another step forward for flag football
The National Federation of State High School Associations has published its first
rule book for flag football, which is the nation's fastest-growing emerging sport.
The 11-member flag football committee, including NYSPHSAA Assistant Director Todd Nelson, met earlier this year to establish the broad standards for the sport.
The committee provided three choices for field dimensions and gave state associations options for attempting field goals and extra-point kicks. States adopting the rule book will also have options for hash marks, flag styles, and kicking field goals and/or extra points.
With the NFHS guidelines now official, the NYSPHSAA's flag football committee will meet to determine potential tweaks to its existing rules, with any proposed changes going to the NYSPHSAA Executive Committee for approval.
