Graceketball

Great Boot Camp on 10/23. GraceAnne was pretty beat and had difficulty getting through it but they must have run 20 or more different drills. Everything from ball-handling to shooting and even some low post moves. In addition Jason Fraser was there and both he and Marc had quite a few words of inspiration and motivation for the kids. Grace still has not taken the second part of her test for selective classification. She did very well on the first part but her teachers won't let her miss any class to take the second part. She did get all the paperwork she needs to fill out yesterday, physical and doctor's reports, so maybe that's a good sign? Two games this upcoming weekend.

From today's NY Post; "Former Mary Louis star Amanda (Buzz) Burakoski signed her release form with St. John’s University on Wednesday and will transfer from the Big East school, The Post has learned." Buzz was super nice to GraceAnne at the camps over the summer and I could tell all of the kids really liked her. The fact that she is transferring is interesting because it shows where basketball can take you... and the different paths and options that become available to you from the hard work you put in. Buzz seems to have made a great choice to pursue academics and to get her degree in a field that she seems really good at. "Burakoski, who is still under scholarship at St. John’s until May, said she is considering Division II schools where she can come in and play right away. The 6-foot dead-eye shooter from Brooklyn said she never adjusted to the high-Division I lifestyle. “I want to go somewhere where I don’t have to live, eat and breathe basketball,” Bura...

Don't like to lose but the girls got better in a loss yesterday. Grace had a breakout game defensively, blocking shots, ripping rebounds, generally getting in opponents faces. Offensively she took it to the basket and drew fouls or dished just about every time she did. Rough game, a grind, many fouls called but Woody stayed out of foul trouble the whole way and played big minutes. Third quarter comeback from being down 11 to get within 4, couldn't hold the momentum. Lots of defensive lapses. Fun game to watch against a team with good ball movement and active help defense. That's why we play up!

A future in broadcasting? Was just checking out Hofstra's really impressive non-league schedule for this season and stumbled upon this picture of Nicole giving an interview on the Hofstra site. Looks like she should be doing play by play! Both Hofstra and St John's are kicking off their season tonight with a pep-rally. Yep, it's time for midnight madness and the beginning of the college basketball season with official practices starting tonight at 5:00. Games begin Nov. 7th. Hofstra should have a good team this year and it's definitely reflected in their non-league schedule. They will start away against Gonzaga and then play Hartford, Kansas State and two of our favorites St John's and Princeton. They may also play Emma O'Conner and the Marist Red Foxes in the  Holiday Invitational which Hofstra hosts in December.  All these teams danced last season. GraceAnne knows lots of players on St John's, Princeton and now Hofstra too... her allegiances will ...

Lots of basketball for GraceAnne over the long Columbus Day weekend. Friday night started with an open gym at GCHS for her CYO St Hyacinth Storm team. The newly minted Storm was preparing for a preseason tournament to help them get ready for their first season with a couple of new girls on the team. Surprised by how many did not know the offense but they got it together after an hour or so. Marie shooting over Maya Moore From Glen Cove we went directly to St Mark's in Rockville Center for an excellent Boot Camp with Nicole Capurso and some of her Hofstra teammates. Very nicely run with the girls split up based on age and ability. Three stations were set up with a starting Hofstra player manning each one. Marie Malone showed the girls post moves and footwork. Drop steps, inside pivots, step through moves... the progression reminded me of all the time Grace spent learning the very same moves from Brittany Hunter. With only four girls at the station everyone got plenty of reps...

GraceAnne is attending open gym with Glen Cove Girl's Varsity Basketball on Wednesday nights.  First one was this past Wednesday. Coach Gus Sirakis will be working with the girls, super nice guy. She also just got notification and permission slips for Selective Classification so she should be tested in the next week or so. Hopefully she does well, she's been working very hard towards it. Tonight GraceAnne has an open gym with her CYO Storm team. They need to prepare for a tournament this weekend. Should be interesting to see how they do playing up in 8th grade A division CYO. Grace has played up before in both super-league and AAU so it shouldn't be too much of an adjustment but... this is a different team and some of the girls haven't seen this level of play. Later tonight she will be attending a Game7 training session with Nicole Capurso. Really like Nicole.  Nice person and great trainer, has a good feel for what the girls need and how to get 'em where they ...

Oct. 4, 2011 NEW YORK - MSG Sports and the Dixon family announced today that top national teams University of Tennessee, Baylor University and DePaul University, along with local favorite St. John's University, will play in the annual Maggie Dixon Classic on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2011 at Madison Square Garden. The national matchups will mark the sixth anniversary of the Maggie Dixon Classic and the fifth-consecutive season The Garden will host one of the premier women's college basketball events. Tickets for the Maggie Dixon Classic start at $20 and go on sale Friday, Oct. 7 at noon. They can be purchased at the Madison Square Garden box office, all Ticketmaster locations and online at www.thegarden.com. The Dixon family and Madison Square Garden will honor Lady Vols' head coach Pat Summitt with the Maggie Dixon Courage Award. Summitt recently announced that she was diagnosed with early onset dementia. Distributed annually, the award is presented to an indiv...