Boys: Ryan Schmadel (Oriskany)
Girls: Emily Durr (Notre Dame)
It’s about that time… hoops season is among us, and everyone’s
got some games in. This being the first week that everyone is active, it’ll be
our first winter installment of Ballin’
Out, the MVT athlete of the week segment. We cover a ridiculous area
between Section II and III, so for our first week, we’ll just do Section III.
After that, we’ll do each section each week: 4 athletes per week in all. One
for boys hoops & girls hoops for each section, to be fair.
Let’s start off with the boys side. This was really a
3-horse race to me. Two Utica-area kids had monster weeks, as did a
Syracuse-area player. Kevin Warmack scored 79 points in 3 Notre Dame wins,
including 2 in a tournament in Pennsylvania. Tommy Steinberg had 49 points in 2
Bishop Grimes wins, both of them close. He scored 22 in a 4 point win over
Hannibal while making every big play on the floor, and followed it up with 27
in a 3 point win to remain undefeated at APW. However, we can only choose one,
and there was a player who made the whole section stand up and take notice reallll quick. For that, our first
winner of the Ballin’ Out athlete of
the week for this winter is… Ryan
Schmadel. The Oriskany sophomore had 27 points & 10 rebounds, including
11 in a 4th quarter where they came back from a double-digit deficit
and nearly nipped Westmoreland at their place… that was the weaker of the two
games. The better game? He dropped a cool 47 points while shooting over 70%
from the field in a 90-81 W over Hamilton. He had 17 points in a 3rd
quarter where they turned a deficit which was once double-digits into a lead
they wouldn’t relinquish, then added 12 more in the 4th to hold onto
the lead. Considering they gave up 81, he needed nearly every one of those
points, and besides a late spark from Marcus Smithling, Schmadel was the
Oriskany offense. He went on runs by himself at key points of the game to cut
into the lead, take the lead, and extend the lead. Most of the time when you
see a high scoring number like 47, it’s a little padded. Perhaps it was an
inferior opponent, perhaps it was a blowout. Hell, maybe it went into 4 or 5
overtimes. However, the opponent (Hamilton) isn’t half-bad in Class D. It was
competitive the whole way – they needed him to put up those kind of numbers on
that night to get that win, and he delivered. Averaging 37 & 9 over the
course of a week – that’s athlete of the week material to me!
The girls’ side wasn’t as difficult. Sometimes, a kid just
forces your hand. That’s precisely what Emily
Durr did. The future Cyclone played 3 games with her Notre Dame Lady
Jugglers – all wins. Over those games, she averaged 28.7 points, 5.7 rebounds,
6.7 assists, 6 steals, and a block… yeah, beat that. Started off dropping 33
with 6 boards, 7 dimes, and 8 steals in a win over New Hartford, a team that
won’t be too bad in Class A this season. They went to always-tough Nottingham
next, and she added 23 with 6 boards & 5 assists. Friends Academy was next
on the to-destroy list, and she dropped another 30 with 5 boards, 8 dimes, a
couple blocks, and 5 steals. Those are some LBJ type numbers. You knew it was
going to be like this a while ago if you watched her. Hell, I remember an AAU
tournament when she was in junior high playing with juniors that were killing
in the area at that point (Erica Pendrak, Emily’s sister Kate, etc.) and she
was the best player on the floor then. Before there was Team Edward and Team
Jacob, there was Team Durr! She got the senior Division I hoopla out of the way
well before basketball season started, which allows for less distractions and
more hoops. Iowa State’s got a monster on their hands next season! But for now,
it’s the TVL and Class B in New York State that have the big elephant in the
room – except she’s actually a girl, not an elephant, she’s a little under 6’0”,
and she’ll kill ya with a smile on her face. Guard her if you dare!
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