I write about everyone else’s stuff. Maybe I should get back to diving deeper into my own? Rewind a couple weeks back to April 24, the Friday after the first evaluation period of the year, when the epicenter of Upstate New York basketball was in the 585 for the night. The 5th Annual EST WNY … More EST WNY Warm-Up: Stream of Consciousness Recap

*** THIS EVENT IS CURRENTLY AT CAPACITY! Any submitted registration forms going forward will ensure a spot on the wait list, which often gets tapped into with backouts leading up to the event. (as of 5/19) *** Since its inception in 2018, the Middle School Combine quickly grew into being one of my favorite days … More 8TH ANNUAL EST MIDDLE SCHOOL COMBINE

DATES & SITES (all Friday nights) How Many Sessions? One Event/Location $99.00 USDTwo Events/Locations $179.00 USDAll Three Events/Locations $225.00 USD Scholastic season in the books, AAU season underway – and that means it’s EST event season. Back at it for Year 12! 2026 brings another edition of the EST Spring Showcase Series. My goal remains … More The 2026 EST Spring Showcase SERIES

This post is a little shorter than the Upstate 20 intro last year. Promise. And the wait will be shorter too. The inception of The Upstate 20 was well worth the time & effort put into it last winter. Feedback was active & productive. It forced me to look at teams & games from a … More The Upstate 20 Returns for 2025-26

DATES & SITES (all Sundays) How Many Sessions? One Event/Location $99.00 USD Two Events/Locations $179.00 USD All Three Events/Locations $225.00 USD Last fall, which was the 10th year of Empire State Takeover operations, brought a seasonal showcase “series” for the first time with sessions based in various areas of the EST coverage region. That was … More The 2025 EST Fall Showcase SERIES

Believe it or not, I’m pretty good at making the time to sit & really break down game film from all Empire State Takeover events. It serves as a tremendous resource for me to identify & evaluate talent from all corners of my coverage region. I’m just not very good at taking the additional time … More Views From The Couch: EST Game Film Review (June 10)

*** THIS EVENT IS CURRENTLY AT CAPACITY! Any submitted registration forms going forward will ensure a spot on the wait list, which often gets tapped into with backouts leading up to the event. (as of 5/11) *** Since its inception in 2018, the Middle School Combine quickly grew into being one of my favorite days … More 7TH ANNUAL EST MIDDLE SCHOOL COMBINE

DATES & SITES (all Friday nights) How Many Sessions? One Event $94.00 USD Two Events $165.00 USD Three Events $210.00 USD Fall 2024, the conclusion of Year 10 of Empire State Takeover’s existence, brought a showcase “series” for the first time with events across the general coverage region. That went so well, let’s just make … More The 2025 EST Spring Showcase… SERIES

Setting the Scene: The early part of my last week of February has been dedicated to the Hudson Valley. Back-to-back days with drives south on the Taconic… hey, at least it isn’t four straight days on I-88 like last week? After Monday’s double dip in both Sections 1 & 9, I couldn’t resist turning around … More Fit For Further: Hen Hud Outlasts Pearl River in Instant Classic

If I was really on top of my stuff, I would’ve had this post out to the masses weeks ago. Drake was correct when he said ‘never late is better’, but hey, flipping back to the old adage still applies. This post drags on – bear with me, it all comes back around. Or at … More Time to Expand… EST Diversifies Coverage Avenues in 2024-25