Section V rosters set for prestigious weekend basketball festival

When it comes to high school sports, keep your eye on the ball.

This includes this weekend, even though it is July.

Justin Ritzel of the Canandaigua Daily Messenger with Democrat and Chronicle reporters Marquel Slaughter and James Johnson share what is happening in this and other Varsity Voices newsletters:

Wayne's Blankenberg leads BCANY boys basketball team roster

Wayne guard Cam Blankenberg, the 2024 All-Greater Rochester Boys Basketball Player of the Year, leads a list of Section V hoops stars who will play for Team Rochester at the 12th annual Basketball Coaches Association of New York Summer Hoops Festival this weekend in Johnson City.

The BCANY Summer Hoops Festival is an annual boys and girls basketball tournament between the top returning players from each region from the state. This year's festival runs from Friday, July 26 to Sunday, July 28.

Blankenberg, who is entering his junior season, scored his 1,000th point during Wayne's state championship game appearance in March. Blankenberg will join a few other AGR all-stars like Fairport point guard LaShard Lowry, Avon sharpshooters Josh Harter and Trevor Stroud, and Alexander big man Dylan Pohl.

Here is the complete BCANY boys roster:

• Cam Blankenberg, Wayne
• Josh Harter, Avon
• Griffen Hopkins, Victor
• Micah Johnson-Breedlove, East High
• Jaiyden Jones, McQuaid
• LaShard Lowry, Fairport
• Dylan Pohl, Alexander
• Justin Smith, Batavia
• Hunter Streb, Spencerport
• Trevor Stroud, Avon
• Lucas Wachter, McQuaid
• Christian Zarzycki, Penfield

High talent level on BCANY girls basketball team

Jeff Parizek has coached Rochester teams since the very first Basketball Coaches Association of New York Summer Hoops Festival.

This year's squad of players from schools in Section V could be one of the best to go play in the BCANY tournament at Johnson City.

There are at least six potential college scholarship players on this year's team. Four of these players are guards, and unless there is an injury, that means one is a reserve even if the decision is made to have three in the starting lineup.

The BCANY festival is July 26-28. All seven girls teams play two games on Friday and another pair on Saturday to determine pool play standings. The elimination and championship games are Sunday.

Rochester went through the 2023 BCANY undefeated after a win over Southern Tier in the final. Southern Tier finished with one loss in that tournament. There are eight players back on the Rochester squad, marked with stars next to their names below. The players who have offers to play on scholarship are in bold:

• *Payton Bentley, Hornell
• Cadence Brecker, Harley Allendale
• * Rhylin Fehrenbach, Victor
• Klarissa Goode, Bishop Kearney
• Taryn Goodness, Palmyra-Macedon
• * Loren Green, Aquinas
• * Mallory Heise, Hilton
• *Addison Morgan, Webster Schroeder
• AJ Orr, Aquinas
• * Molly O'Toole, Aquinas
• *Kendall Parker, Dundee/Bradford
• *Takyla Vaughn, Newark
• Asia Wilson, Bishop Kearney

Former East High football star headed to Albany

Seven McGee will play closer to home at UAlbany this fall. An All-Greater Rochester running back at East High, McGee was a four star recruit by ESPN and played at Oregon in 2021 and 2022. He then transferred to Jackson State and caught 19 receptions for 136 yards and four touchdowns at receiver as a junior.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Section V rosters set for prestigious weekend basketball festival