King of Kings may be a Utica league, but Syracuse has long had a major imprint on the success of it. Such is the same this season, where you can find Syracuse area stars of past & present in all three leagues.
Men - The Brandon Triche led Motivated is the #1 seed and already has advanced to Friday night's semifinals with a 32 point win. Triche (Jamesville-Dewitt/Syracuse) had a triple double, with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists. They were led in scoring by another Jamesville-Dewitt 2009 graduate who went Division 1 (Canisius) in Alshwan Hymes. He hit ten threes and finished with 36 points. They also pick up consistent production from other Jamesville-Dewitt graduates Mickey Davis and Jailaan Kinsey. Both enjoyed successful careers at Morrisville after. Algeron Torrence, former Corcoran standout who most recently has played at Gannon (where Dan Kaigler is headed), gives them production in the post at 6'6" and 250 pounds. Upstate Swagger, the #2 seed, will be playing in quarterfinals tonight at 7:45. They're mainly Utica area based, but Scott Morton (Westhill/Geneseo) has been a standout for them again. The 2012 men's league MVP may be a 1st teamer again this year, being the facilitator for the 2-time defending champs. They've been greatly assisted by the addition of Jordan Prior (Cortland/Morrisville), who averaged 19.5 points per game in the regular season. The 4 seed, Hoopsfiend Select, gets explosive scoring from Le Moyne's Naté Gause. The 5 seed is Syracuse Elite - name says it all. They're all from Syracuse, with Chris Gilkes (Fowler/Oswego) and Tez Thomas, a former 1,500+ point scorer at Onondaga, leading the way. Terry Smith (Bishop Ludden/Mercyhurst) is a proven leader for them when available. The #6 seed, Hard 2 Guard, has been aided by the addition of Cornelius Vines (Henninger/Hofstra). Vines, who already held the King of Kings single-game scoring record with 50, added single-game assists record to that list with 17 in a game this year. Colyn Hanley (Jordan-Elbridge/Onondaga CC) provides them with a shot-blocking presence down low.
Syracuse Elite & Hoopsfiend Select play at 6:30 Wednesday, followed by Upstate Swagger & Lo Entertainment in quarterfinals. The winner of the first game plays Motivated at 8:30 on Friday - the winner of the late game plays Hard 2 Guard at 7:30 on Friday. Semifinal winners move onto the men's finals at 5:00 on Sunday. All games are at Mohawk Valley Community College.
Women - Utica Select, the unquestioned #1 seed, is filled with Syracuse talent of different types. Rachel Coffey just finished up her career at Syracuse University. Alexis Peterson is just starting hers. Molly Hourigan (Jordan-Elbridge/Holy Cross) gives them double digits in rebounds as a guarantee. Tessa Pucello (Solvay/Le Moyne) still holds the single-game women's record for most threes made in a game (9), and the standout who earned 1st team honors last year isn't too far off her pace this season. Maggie Brown (Cortland/Le Moyne) is another consistent contributor for undefeated Utica Select. You can say the same thing about 2nd seeded Believe Me, with former Syracuse player Tyler Ash and current Lady Orange Cornelia Fondren running the show. Kirsten Dodge (Fabius-Pompey/Pace) is their biggest contributor in the blocks, and Heather Stec (Cazenovia/Siena) has been a dominant presence when available. Alyssa Gratien (Jamesville-Dewitt/Onondaga CC, Morrisville) provides a perimeter scoring threat as well. The #6 seed, Lo Entertainment, just knocked off an OCC-heavy Lazers to make it to semifinals, and they are loaded with Syracuse as well. They're led by Sophronia Sallard (Nottingham/Pittsburgh), Irene Hudson (Corcoran/Goldey-Beacom), and Olivia Luciani (ES-M/Buffalo State). Sallard is a supremely talented do-it-all player, Hudson is one of the league's hardest workers, using her energy and toughness to be one of the women's league leading scorers and rebounders, and Luciani continues to improve, electrifying the crowd at times shaking defenders before hitting threes. #5 seed Hard 2 Guard has some younger Syracuse-area talent - CNYCL, to be exact. Lauren Getman, Fayetteville-Manlius grad headed to Hamilton in the fall, is one of their most consistent scorers. Her high school teammate, D'Jhai Patterson-Ricks, helps facilitate. She does that, in part, alongside rising Auburn senior Annie Giannone. She's scored over 1,000 points already in high school, but shows her court vision in this women's league and is a main distributor for her team. They moved on with a double-overtime win over Rim Rockers, featuring Fabius-Pompey grad Stevie Ray, East Syracuse-Minoa grad Gabby Eure, and her sister, rising ES-M senior Sydni Eure.
Lo Entertainment battles Believe Me in semifinals on Friday at 5:30, followed by Hard 2 Guard and Utica Select at 6:30. Winners play in the women's finals at 3:45 Sunday. All games are at Mohawk Valley Community College.
College Prospect - Syracuse-area standouts in their respective leagues will battle each other Thursday night in quarterfinals. 3rd seeded Utica Select has got 8.7 points & 8 rebounds per game from West Genesee junior Troy Temara. His teammate, Jim Grabowski, gives them 5 and 4.3. They face the #6 seed, Dynasty. They're led in scoring by Bobby Leslie, Skaneateles standout headed to prep school in the fall, with 13.2 per game. He adds just under 5 rebounds per game. Cazenovia's Ross Gerber has added 8.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. He's also headed to prep school in the fall. They've also received contribution from Jamesville-Dewitt and Cicero-North Syracuse rising seniors Evan Dourdas and Connor Evans. There's even some OHSL representation on a team whose name doesn't represent the area code: Skaneateles senior Jake Peterson has improved in each game for Team 518, who won their first game last week and are riding on a high note heading into quarterfinals. The 6'7" Peterson averages 7.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game for perhaps the biggest squad in the league - they have three players standing at 6'5", two at 6'6", along with 6'7" Peterson and 6'8" Fayetteville-Manlius senior Cormac Bettinger.
Dynasty & Utica Select play at 6:30 Thursday at Notre Dame High School. Team 518 has the 7:45 game that night, playing #4 seed Takeover. Semifinals are at 2:30 and 3:45 Saturday and finals 2:30 Sunday, both at Mohawk Valley Community College.
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