Leading off today: Having done both in my time in the newspaper business, I can tell you that covering high school basketball isn't much different than covering a Division I college program these days: The stream of stories to report, in this case in Section 2, doesn't stop flowing just because it's the offseason.
The latest development is a head-turner, with The Times Union reporting that former University of Albany men's head coach Will Brown will coach Green Tech boys basketball in the upcoming season.
Brown is replacing DJ Jones, who stepped down in June to become the coach and AD at the new KIPP Capital Region Charter School in Albany. Jones' Green Tech team went 118-39 with three straight sectional titles capped off by the NYSPHSAA Class AAA crown in 2024.
Brown resigned last week as the women's basketball coach at Division II Queens College less than three months after accepting the job. Before that, he joined the coaching staff at UAlbany in 2001 and became head coach in December of that year. Over the next two decades, his Great Danes won 315 games and made five NCAA appearances from 2006-15.
More recently, he coached the Division II College of St. Rose women's squad to a 21-7 record and NCAA berth in the 2023-24 season.
Another Section 2 star on the move
Will Brown's first foray into high school coaching as DJ Jones sets up shop at a new school is hardly the only basketball development of the Section 2 offseason.
Over the weekend, The Post-Star reported that Semaj Cuyler, a top contender for boys state Class D player of the year, is making a cross-country move.
Cuyler, a 6-foot-2 guard who was fourth-team all-state in Class C last season for North Warren after making the Class D second-team the previous year as an eighth-grader, is moving to play at Bella Vista College Prep in Scottsdale, Ariz.
In the upcoming season, North Warren will return to Class D, where the school won a NYSPHSAA state title in 2024.
According to the paper, more than 75 Bella Vista players have landed college scholarships over the past three years.
"I think this is the next best step," said Cuyler, who averaged 27.2 points a game last season. "I cannot wait to get there and meet my new teammates and continue this basketball journey. My AAU coach helped get me to this point and I couldn't be more excited."
Section 2 has become a major exporter
Top basketball talent has been flying out the door from Section 2 this summer, primarily to prep schools in the Northeast. Chief among them has been
Daniel Smalls, who is making one of the shorter moves.
Smalls, who was first-team all-state for Niskayuna in Class AA last season, has enrolled at Albany Academy ahead of that schools move into the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council.
According to the NYSSWA's Steve Grandin, others known to be on the move include:
Stetson Merritt (Troy), fifth-team all-state in Class AA.
Davon Maloney (La Salle Institute), 11th team in Class AA.
Treddy Faison (La Salle Institute), honorable mention Class AA.
Antonio Fairley (Canajoharie), fourth team in Class C.
Hey, guys, it's going to be a long wait
The Times Union ran a brief story updating La Salle Institute's appeal of its year-long ban from the Section 2 postseason.
As I previously reported, the matter is now in the hands of New York State Commissioner of Education Betty A. Rosa following the NYSPHSAA's decision upholding the penalty imposed by the section.
School President Kevin Calacone vowed La Salle would keep fighting, even heading to court if necessary.
"Right now, we are waiting to hear from the Commissioner of Education," Calacone told the paper. "I don't have an accurate timeline to when I will hear back. That is where we are right now."
Take it from someone who's poured through literally hundreds of decisions handed down both by Rosa and her predecessors over the years: Don't hold your breath while waiting.
The commissioner's office moves at a snail's pace, so much so that many of the decisions, which are published to the department's website, say that there is no ruling because the matter in question has been rendered moot since the person for whom the appeal was filed is no longer a student.
Even if the La Salle appeal is fast-tracked based on the number of students potentially affected, I'd be stunned if a decision came down before the start of fall sectionals. At this time of year, the State Education Department is bombarded with appeals of rulings by districts having to do with students attempting to register at schools outside the district or looking for accommodations for transportation or placement in special ed programs.
Following up on the Three-Region Rotation
Robert Zayas and Todd Nelson of the NYSPHSAA office are in Central New York today for the annual mandatory meeting for Section 3 athletic directors. It's the third of 11 such sessions across the state that began last week in Western New York and will continue through Sept. 23 in Section 4.
For the first time in several years, I sat in on the Section 5 meeting last week to get a refresher course on topics like transfer rules and recent changes to state safety regulations.
Zayas also discussed the Three-Region Rotation for postseason tournaments, which kicks into effect this fall. I've written on the plan, which introduces an at-large berth in some classes of some sports, a few times in the past year and reviewed drafts at various stages as the NYSPHSAA office and the Executive Committee addressed issues and planned for assorted contingencies.
While sitting in on the Section 5 meeting, which gave ADs the opportunity to ask questions to help with their grasp of the Three-Region Rotation, it occurred to me that one aspect is going to get a lot of attention in the first year: Sections must make important decisions about handling at-large berths. Here's why:
There can be only one at-large berth in a sport's class, and that only happens if there is an odd number of sectional champions participating -- remember that Long Island doesn't have a lot of small schools and the North Country doesn't have a lot of large schools, resulting in a lot of nine-team fields.
In girls soccer this fall, an at-large team from Section 11 will add a 10th team to the Class AAA field and Section 9 will add a 10th team to the Class AA bracket. The question becomes how those sections assign their teams. That's because the sectional runner-up doesn't necessarily have to be the at-large representative; instead, the sectional champion can be designated as the at-large team.
I learned at the ADs meeting that Section 5 has determined that it will always designate its runner-up as the at-large team this school year in the handful of cases where it is the section's turn to fill out the field. How other sections handle it adds some potential intrigue.
In the soccer example, Section 11 is paired with Section 8 in a Class AAA regional final, with the winner advancing to the state semifinals. Meanwhile, the Section 11 at-large rep travels upstate to play at the Section 4 champion, again with a semifinal berth on the line.
There are only three Section 4 schools in the state's largest class but 15 in Nassau County, so it stands to reason that the Section 8 rep is probably going to be the more formidable opponent. If given the option, the Section 11 champ is probably better off making the long bus trip to Section 4 to keep the season alive.
In Class AA, there is a subregional in which Sections 1, 2, 3, and 9 play down to a single state semifinalist. Those could be two tough games for Section 9, even taking into account that Section 9 will host the first-round game. Meanwhile, the section's other rep plays a regional final in earby Section 4. Regardless of the relative strength of the opposition, it feels like a no-brainer for the Section 9 champ to only want to play one game instead of two.
Zayas has acknowledged each step of the way that there could be growing pains with the implementation of the Three-Region Rotation and that tweaks may be needed a year from now. My money is on at-large berths as a frequent subject of discussion between now and next summer's Central Committee meeting in Buffalo.