SUMMER HOOPS HAVEN AT UNION
Area standouts test themselves against other top talent
SCHENECTADY, N.Y. » High school girls basketball players from around the Northeast arrived at Union College for a chance to play competitively over the summer.
Empire State Takeover youth basketball summer league founder Jeff Mliner, who is in his third year running the program, said that numbers have grown every year.
“Each year, the girls program has expanded, it’s grown and I am getting more of the players I really like in it, more players are coming from further away now,” Mliner said. “Even though it is here (at Union College) there are kids from central New York, three kids from Watertown, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and thanks to them it as really started to take off. It is a different outlet.”
The program allows the top girls high school talent to come together and show what they can do against some of the best players in the region without the travel involved with other hoops teams.
“What I really like is that it is great that a lot of these kids, whether they are local or from farther away, have a local in the
capital district, where they can come and play at a high level,” Mliner said. “It doesn’t matter what school you go to, doesn’t matter if it is a Double A school, a D school, it doesn’t matter what AAU program you play for, it is open, if you can play, regardless of any school size or AAU program.”
One such player who participates in the league is Saratoga Springs Dolly Cairns, who is heading into her sophomore season after a strong freshman year.
Cairns said that Empire State Takeover gives her the chance to fine tune her game and get a look at other players from around the area.
“It allows me to pick up things I haven’t learned yet or haven’t noticed yet and trying to translate them to a school season,” Cairns said. “It helps me learn more about myself and how to play. It also helps because when we are playing these kids in the school season, we know what they have and what they can do.”
Mliner said that players like Cairns and players who come from all over, who show dedication to the league, are the reason the program has become a success.
“It is a beautiful day, these kids could be out by the pool, they could be out at a baseball game, they could be out hanging with each other somewhere else, at the movies, but they are playing basketball,” Mliner said. “Some of these kids who are coming from one hour, two, even three hours away, the amount of travel that comes into it just shows how dedicated the families and kids are. Obviously I couldn’t do it without them. I may have the league, but this is all them. It’s just great to see all these kids in the gym going at it. It is a summer league, but when you get a lot of good players in the gym they want to win and it is fun basketball to watch.”