Former New Hartfordstar shineson Long Island
Former New Hartford High School basketball star Frankie Policelli is convinced transferring from the University of Dayton to Stony Brook University was the right move.
Is it any wonder?
Afteraveraging fewer than five minutes per game and scoring a total of 18 points in 20 games as a Dayton freshman, Policelli — forced to sit out the 2019-20 season by the NCAA Division I transfer rule — resurfaced at Stony Brook and made an immediate impact in his first season on the north shore of Long Island.
Policelli scored a team-high 16 points in his debut and despite a late-season injury, the 6-foot-7, 215-pound forward finished as Stony Brook's second-leading scorer, averaging 10.7 points per game for the America East ConferenceSeawolves.
"Yeah, I'm very happy with the move," Policelli said of his return to Long Island — he starred as a high school senior at Long Island Lutheran — and the opportunity he's gotten to prove himself as a Division I starter. "It's just a better vibe. We all get along. ... It's probably the closest team I've ever been on.
"It was fun. It just felt good, just to play for the first time in a while. I like my role. I like the team."
Policelli, an all-state junior at New Hartford who transferred to Long Island Lutheran and was a USA Today second-team All-New York selection and Mr. NYS Basketball finalist as a senior, started Stony Brook's first 14 games before injuring his hip flexor.
The sharpshooting lefty drained four first-half 3-pointers and scored a team-high 16 points in a win over UMass-Lowell and he recorded his first career double-double — 14 points and 10 rebounds — against St. John's, but the injury sidelined him for two games and limited his minutes for the remainder of the season.
Policelli, who started the season as a shooting guard but "did a little of everything" because of his size and versatility, finished second on the team with 36 3-pointers and was Stony Brook's best free throw shooter, going 49 for 58 (84.5%) for the season.
"I'm not just a 3-point shooter," he said. "I can do other stuff, and I was glad that I got that freedom."
He's also looking forward to playing three more seasons at Stony Brook. Policelli is only 20 years old, and he will return as a redshirt sophomore after the NCAA added a year of eligibility because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Norfolk State University's super sixth-man, red-shirt juniorJalen Hawkins (Utica/Thomas R. Proctor), wowed a national television audience when he led the Spartans to a 54-53 "First Four" win over Appalachian State in the NCAA Tournament. The 6-foot-2 guard scored a collegiate-high 24 points, including 20 points in the first half, when he shot 6 for 7 from the floor and 4 for 4 from 3-point range.
The Spartans led by 19 at one time, but were outscored 16-0 midway through the second half and trailed by six before Hawkins ended the drought with 4:51 remaining. The Robert Morris University transfer also made a steal just seconds later.
Norfolk State's 17-8 season ended with a 98-55 first-round loss to unbeaten and top-seeded Gonzaga. Hawkins played 18 minutes and scored eight points.
In his first season with the Spartans, Hawkins came off the bench to play in 20 games. He played an average of 17.6 minutes, but his 10.1 points per game were third on the team. He shot 45.6%from the floor and made 43.8%of his 3-point shots.
University of North Carolina-Charlotte transferTyler Bertram (Cooperstown)started the last 11 games for Binghamton University and finished his Division I season averaging 10.8 points for a team that finished 4-14 overall.
Bertram scored a career-high 20 points against UMass-Lowell and he led the Bearcats with 40 three-pointers. He also was the team's best free throw shooter (22 for 25), he shared the team lead with 15 steals, and he was second on the team in assists (37).
The Section III scoring leader at 31.3 points per game as a Cooperstown junior, Bertram left for prep school after setting school records for points (1,897), 3-pointers (264), assists (417) and steals (181). As a red-shirt freshman at UNC-Charlotte, he averaged 9.3 minutes in 12 games before deciding to transfer to Binghamton.
Northern Vermont University-Lyndon junior guardLuke Fredsell
(Whitesboro/Westmoreland)helped the Division III Hornets end their COVID-abbreviated season with three consecutive victories, including an 87-86 victory over Northern Vermont University-Johnson that ended with the former Westmoreland star beating the buzzer with a game-winning 3-pointer from the corner as time expired.Fredsell then scored a season-high 13 points in a 99-83 victory over Norwich, helping Lyndon'sDave Pasiak (Waterville)— the former Herkimer County Community College and Onondaga Community College head coach — record his 300th career win at the collegiate level.
Fredsell matched his career high with eight assists against New England College, and he finished the season averaging 7.7 points and 3.4 assists per game.
Canisius College freshman guardAsa Beyah (Utica/Thomas R. Proctor)appeared in five games for the Division I Golden Griffins and scored five points. A former prep school MVP at Cheshire Academy in Connecticut - he averaged 15.5 points per game over two seasons there — played 18 minutes in a loss to Monmouth and handed out a game-high five assists.
University of Scranton sophomore guardJack Lambert (Cooperstown)helped the Royals reach the Landmark Conference title game and finish their COVID-abbreviated season with a 7-3 record. He came off the bench to hit three 3s and score a career-high 10 points in a win over Moravian and he played in all 10 games, averaging 10.1 minutes and 2.5 points per game.
Hartwick College Hall of Fame basketball playerJared Suderley (Newport/West Canada Valley), who starred for the Hawks from 2010 to 2014, was named to theD3hoops.comAll-Decade Team for the 2010s. The two-time Division III All-American averaged 20.4 points and 10.7 rebounds as a senior, and he finished his career as the Empire 8 Conference's all-time leader in points (2,034) and rebounds (920).
Two area basketball players, RPI seniorJeffrey Coulter (Oneida)and Hobart College juniorTrevor Dow (Hamilton), were named to the Liberty League's Winter All-Academic Team. Coulter is an aeronautical engineer major and Dow is an economics major.
Adirondack grad Kranbuhlnamed toAll-Rookie Team
Former Adirondack Central star Belle Kranbuhl of Boonville made a name for herself in her first NCAA Division I basketball season at New Jersey's Monmouth University.
Kranbuhl, a 6-foot-3 freshmen center, was named to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) All-Rookie Team after averaging 7.2 points and eight rebounds and leading the conference with 2.5 blocks per game.
Kranbuhl, who twice was named MAAC Rookie of the Week, recorded five straight double-doubles in early February. She scored a career-high 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting and had 16 rebounds and four blocks against Saint Peter's.
Monmouth's 2-16 season ended with a 44-41 loss to Rider in the MAAC Tournament, but Kranbuhl scored a team-high 14 points and had nine rebounds.
