Adirondack Squad Takes BCANY Title

The BCANY Summer Hoops Festival finished up this passed weekend, but there was a different outcome this year. The Adirondack team, coached by Watervliet High’s Orlando DiBacco, fought to a 77-75 victory over the efending champions, Hudson Valley. When asked about the game plan, Coach DiBacco said, “We wanted to execute and do it late in the game. We wanted to be able to execute under pressure.”  That is exactly what they did. Green Tech standout, Jamil Hood Jr., hit a crucial three-pointer that helped take the game into overtime for Adirondack. Last year, the Capital Region-based team fell just short of the gold, and their coach felt it was that extra year that helped. “The core guys, the ones who are playing late in the game, gained expirience over the past year, which helped a lot.”  

Adirondack’s talent was on prominent display, but  DiBacco noticed every other team showcased gifted players, too. “We had roughly ten of the top 20 players, and we really liked the turnouts for tryouts. There were a lot of players- Kevin Degnan, from Pearl River, who is seeing D1 offers;  Donovan Fields from NFA;  Romero Collier, who is a top guard in New York State from the Syracuse area.  There was just a lot of exceptional talent.” We asked him how Section 2’s talent compares to the rest of the state, and he answered: “Section 2 is underrated, but Jimmer Freddette and Talor Battle really put our area on the map.”

The BCANY is a great opportunity for every player and coach in the state to come together and gain bragging rights for the year.  When asked what he enjoys most about the festival, DiBacco said,  “It gets players, who are usually the best players on their high school teams, to accept roles.  Watching talent work with other talent, and just having the common goal of wanting to win”.

We also talked with the coach on the losing end of this year’s championship game, Coach Bill Thom, the head coach at Croton-Harmon High School, and he said he had a lot of fun over the weekend, despite the outcome. “It’s a lot of fun. I got to have my sons help me coach, which was nice. We get to see a lot of solid players you don’t normally get to watch, and the camaraderie of the coaches around the state makes it nice as well.”  Coach Thom also pointed out that he had previously coached at the Empire State games, so it’s not surprising that he knows how to coach these types of teams.

While Thom is pleased with the results, he did take notice of other teams and specific players, especially the Adirondack team. “They are an overall great team.  They looked like a college type team, a D1 team. They had size, not just height, but girth, and quick guards. They also had depth, and the ten kids, top to bottom, can really play. Throughout the (championship) game, we were getting killed in the first half, getting dunked on, so we went to a diamond and one defense, and had Mike DeMello and Ricky McGill to guard and slow down Jamil Hood. So we were able to keep it close in the second half.” Coach Thom said they were mainly worried about Adirondack and the Central squad, coached by Eric Saroney of Henninger High School. Thom also took notice of exceptional players throughout the tournament. “Kevin Degnan, at 6’7″, is getting looks from A-10 schools. Elijah Burns, from Blair Academy, and Jamil Hood from Green Tech.”  He also mentioned how it was a nice venue for recognizing and exposing Section 2 basketball.

The BCANY festival is an exceptional tournament, and it is a great thing for all of New York State to be able to showcase the talent each section has to offer. We would like to thank Coach DiBacco and Coach Thom for their time and dedication to the game of basketball. We would also like to thank the BCANY and Johnson City for holding the event. We look forward to next year’s tournament to see if Section 2 can defend their title.

– Robb Bareis Staff Writer