Time goes by, but certain memories don’t fade so easily. Ask me what I had for dinner on Friday – I probably can’t tell you. However, I’m now fourteen years removed from opening day of my high school senior season (who’s counting?) and the Day 1 feeling is still something I can remember vividly. Even … More Hoopers’ Holiday: The 2022-23 NYSPHSAA Season Begins

Whether I’ve had the opportunity to watch a player a couple times or a hundred, everyone started with a ‘first look’ at some point. Most of them, however, didn’t come at an EST event. Out of the Fall Showcase’s 92 participants, 40 of them were EST event first-timers – a higher-than-usual percentage. I was familiar … More Starting Strong: New Faces Leave Good First Impressions at EST Fall Showcase

I’ve been doing this for close to a decade at this point. Although it certainly isn’t a lifetime and there are people that have been in this game for much longer, it’s plenty long enough to learn a thing or two. Here’s some ‘free game’: You get out what you put into these individual showcase … More Put Some Respect On It: EST Fall Showcase ‘Stock Risers’

92 players made the voyage to Riverfront Sports in Scranton on October 2 for the 8th edition of EST Fall Showcase. All different levels of future collegiate basketball were represented, and participants came in at various levels of the recruiting process or their basketball journey as a whole. As has consistently been the case in … More Big Names Back It Up at EST Fall Showcase

Safe to say that the last six months have been moderately busy. Empire State Takeover 2022 event prep started the week after March’s NYSPHSAA state championships, starting off with the inaugural WNY Warmup in Rochester in April. That transitioned into the Middle School Combine in Utica in early June, followed immediately by the Summer Kickoff … More Stars Shine & New Faces Emerge at EST Fall Showcase: Part I (The Note Sheet)

8th Annual EST Fall Showcase The Fall Showcase is perhaps the prime example of EST’s growth from the most humble of beginnings to one of the Northeast’s most recognized & respected entities in the girls’ basketball world. The initial one-day EST event, the inaugural Fall Showcase in 2015 (held at Skidmore College) boasted 24 players. … More 8TH ANNUAL EST FALL SHOWCASE: Info & Registration

It may not have felt like it, but looking back at the date receipts… it’s been a while. For the first time since 2019’s Fall Showcase, Empire State Takeover brought a one-day event back into the home base of the Albany area. After a two-year hiatus from the 518 – none in 2020 due to … More Summer Kickoff Makes Its Return to the 518: Notes & Standouts

It took long enough, but it was apparently just the right time. After seven years of operation and nearly 20 one-day events that have taken place in the Albany, Utica, and Scranton areas (along with several dozen summer sessions), 2022 became the year of the first EST showcase based in Western New York. St. John … More A Friday Night in Rochester: 1st Annual EST WNY Warm-Up Notes & Standouts

5th Annual EST Summer Kickoff *** THIS EVENT IS CURRENTLY AT CAPACITY. ALL SUBMITTED REGISTRATION NOW ENSURES YOUR SPOT ON THE WAIT LIST! *** Site: Poole Athletic Center @ The Albany Academies (Albany, NY) Date: Fri, June 10, 2022 Time: 5:00-9:00 (two separate sessions – 5-7 & 7-9 – athlete’s choice on first-come first-serve basis) … More 5TH ANNUAL EST SUMMER KICKOFF: Info & Registration

4th Annual EST MS Combine *** THIS EVENT IS CURRENTLY AT CAPACITY. ALL SUBMITTED REGISTRATION NOW ENSURES YOUR SPOT ON THE WAIT LIST! *** Site: Accelerate Sports Complex (Whitesboro, NY (Utica area)) Date: Fri, June 3, 2022 Time: 6:30-9 PM For: Girls in Classes of 2026-2027 (7th/8th grade) Cost: $75 Registration (done/submitted online): https://jeffmlinar.wufoo.com/forms/mboq59l1ha2jl9/ Payment: … More 4TH ANNUAL EST MIDDLE SCHOOL COMBINE: Info & Registration