This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Schools

New Rochelle's Ottey Plays Multiple Roles For Hudson Valley

The Huguenots' guard was an integral piece for Hudson Valley, which couldn't answer to Long Island in BCANY festival.

After playing Pippen to P.J. Torres' Jordan as a junior at New Rochelle last season, Kirkland Ottey has emerged into a scoring and play-making guard. That was evident in Johnson City this weekend, as Ottey operated offense for the Hudson Valley/Section 1 team in the inaugural Basketball Coaches of New York Summer Hoops festival.

The event features the top players in each region of the state.

Ottey quickly acclimatized himself to a team featuring several players from archrival Mount Vernon and a wealth of top juniors and seniors. The chemistry experiment was solved early, as Hudson Valley ran roughshod over Mid-Hudson in a 100-60 first round blowout. Hudson Valley dropped a tight 94-91 overtime battle against Long Island, but recovered to trounce Buffalo in a lopsided 97-69 drubbing.

Find out what's happening in New Rochellewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“Kirkland did a good job, he hit a couple big shots for us, and he defended really well,” said Hudson Valley head coach Bill Thom, the longtime coach at Croton.

“(Mount Vernon senior) Josh Doughty was our point man, he fouled out one game so we had Kirkland playing some point as well. He played in the paint and was able to handle everything we threw it him. He did a lot for us.”

Find out what's happening in New Rochellewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Ottey said his function as a jack-of-all-trades-type player comes with the territory of being a role player. He likened the experience to that of a close-knit, balanced team.

“Everybody pretty much contributed in each game,” said Ottey, a freakish athlete and superb on-the-ball defender. “We all enjoyed each other’s company. It definitely had the feel of a high school game, with the support from the bench during the actual game especially.”

With a surplus of college coaches on hand, Ottey was the orchestrator. He create offense, churned out plays and helped ignite the high-horsepower transition game. Ottey battled bigger, stronger players for rebounds and possession. His high-octane level of play is indicative of just how hungry Ottey is for a scholarship.

The team had been eyeing a medal when they again encountered Long Island in the third-place game. Despite an astounding 29-point, 14-board performance from Mount Vernon’s Randy Stephens—who will fill the scoring void left by West Virginia-bound Jabarie Hinds next season—the Hudson Valley again lost the battle on the boards. In another tight feud which saw the teams see-saw throughout, Long Island held on for an 89-84 OT victory.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?