ESG - Basketball
UB cagers get summer workout on open men's, women's squads
by JASON NADOLINSKI Reporter

University at Buffalo's Darwin Young is a newcomer to the Western Region men's open basketball team. Western took silver last year.

The University at Buffalo won't be the only area Division I college supplying basketball players for this week's 30th annual Empire State Games, but it will just edge Canisius College to be the most well represented of the big three area schools.

Three players on this summer's open men's team - Greg Gamble, Darwin Young and Byron Mulkey - and two players on the open women's squad - Rachelle Matthys and Stephanie Bennett - hail from UB, while a pair of Canisius cagers dot each roster as well. Niagara University, meanwhile, has a pair of its players on the open women's team.

"Every one of these players is capable of contributing," said open men's coach Rob DeGrandpre, an Orchard Park resident. "We select kids to play for us who have very high expectations, and these guys all expect to win."

"It's fun, like I'm coaching an all-star team," first-year open women's coach Timothy Williams said. "They all have great basketball knowledge and all the Division I kids know each other."

Stephanie Bennett was one of the Western Region's women's open team's best players at last year's Empire State Games. She was the University at Buffalo's second leading scorer last season.

Bennett was one of the better players on last year's open women's squad that went 2-2 and came up just short in an 84-72 loss to Adirondack in the bronze medal game. Bennett was UB's second leading scorer last season (11.2 points/game, to go along with a team-best 4.3 assists as well as 3.5 rebounds per game) and brought that game to last year's tournament, leading Western with 17 points in an 81-75 win over Central.

Matthys, Bennett's UB teammate and Games newcomer, also brings a decent scoring touch to the team, as evidenced by her 8.9 points per game that ranked third best for the Lady Bulls last season. Matthys also chipped in 2.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game last season.

"We want to bring home the gold first and foremost, but after going without a medal last year, we want to at least get something," Williams said. "They've got the leadership, the ball-handling ability, the shooting ability … the girls are working hard towards their goal of earning the gold."

Of UB's men's team participants, Mulkey had the biggest impact statistically with his 9.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. Mulkey did, however, play in less than half as many games as Gamble (6.2 points, 4.7 assists and 2.2 assists per game) and Young (2.7 points and 1.3 rebounds per game). None of the Bulls played on last season's silver-medal winning squad, however.

"We know we're going to see teams with a lot of guys who can shoot the ball, but our guards have done a good enough job matching up on the perimeter the last couple of years," DeGrandpre said. "That's made a big difference."

Of course, DeGrandpre is also expecting big contributions from his non-Division I players, including a former All-American at Potsdam State College in Michael Brown, multiple Roberts Wesleyan College record holder Joe Rebisz and Glen Ufland, De- Grandpre's former charge at Hilbert College.

"I think there's a lot of respect from all the kids," DeGrandpre said. "They know what their roles are going to be, and they know they can count on each other."

The open women's team kicks off its tournament at 4 p.m. Thursday when it plays New York City at Westchester Community College, while the men's team begins its medal quest at 8 p.m. when it plays New York City at Iona College.

Scholastic teams

Roster turnover is inevitable at the scholastic level, so first-year boys coach Bud Brasky of Batavia and veteran Games girls coach Chris Durr of Williamsville East know that it'll be a challenge to contend for a medal. But, who ever said anything worthwhile was easy?

"All three coaches are very excited to get back down there coming off a gold medal performance last year," said Durr, a Clarence Center resident. "We've got a good mix of kids this year, and I think the team is a little better than the one we had last year."

"We've got a real similar team to last year, with kids who have high basketball IQs," said Brasky, who took in the Games last year as the father of a player on the team he now coaches. "You just don't know from year to year what the other teams will be like."

The boys' team has a 50-50 split between Rochester and Buffalo talent, but this summer's tallest player hails from Williamsville. Nichols sophomore-to-be Will Regan used his 6-foot-8 frame to average nearly 14 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks per game for the State Catholic Class A finalists. He's joined by fellow private schooler Phil Scaffidi, a Kenmore resident and St. Joe's senior-to-be who averaged about nine points and seven rebounds for the 22-3 Marauders.

"I'm the guy who goes for all the loose balls and rebounds, who makes all the hustle plays," Scaffidi said. "Everyone on the team is good and can score, so it's kind of like this is an all-star team."

"I'm just hoping to get some playing time," Regan said. "I just hope we do well because I don't want to be on the team that doesn't win too many games. I'd rather be able to say I played on a team that won the gold at Empire State Games and not play much, than be able to say I played a lot on the team that didn't win a medal."

The girls team, meanwhile, has just two Buffalo-area players in Pioneer's Joelle Connelly and Jamestown's Erinne Cunningham. Both players led their respective teams deep into the playoffs, however, and combined with the players from Rochester who did the same with their squads, Durr is justifiable in having faith in his team's chances at a golden repeat.

"We know that we're playing two teams that we didn't play last year, but I still think we've got a very good shot at medaling," Durr said. "The first game is always the toughest because the kids are still feeling each other out. By the time we get down there, we won't have seen them for a week prior to the first game."

The scholastic girls' squad kicks off its tournament at 10 a.m. Thursday when it plays New York City at Westchester Community College, while the boys' team also begins its medal quest against New York City when it takes the court at Iona College at 2 p.m. Thursday.

e-mail: jnadolinski@beenews.com