One year ago, James Robinson was purely a post player playing high school basketball in Pensacola.
As a result, Niagara Falls became the Niagara Frontier League and Section VI Class AA champions and Robinson was one of the best players in the state as a do-it-all type of player.
Robinson was selected as a Class AA second-team pick by the New York State Sportswriters Association for the organization’s large school selections (Class AA and A). This is the first time a Wolverine player has been selected to the Class AA second-team or higher since Jermaine Crumpton in 2013.
A major contributor in the Wolverines’ 21-3 campaign that ended with a trip to the Far West Regionals, Robinson averaged team-highs in points (16.7) and rebounds (11.4) per game along with 2.8 steals, 2.3 assists and 1.2 blocks per game. The 6-4 senior also finished second in rebounding among all Section VI players (274) and joined Roy-Hart’s Jamel Johnson Jr. as the only area player to post over 400 points and 200 rebounds this season.
Recording 18 double-doubles, the first-team all-NFL selection knew when to turn it up a notch as he averaged 19.6 points, 13.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists through the NFL title game against Lewiston-Porter and Niagara Falls’ run through the Class AA bracket.
After being named a ninth-team selection in Class A last season, Niagara Wheatfield guard Xander Fletcher was honored by the NYSSWA for a second straight year, this time as a member of its third-team. Taking on even more responsibility in the backcourt for coach Erik O’Bryan, Fletcher averaged 23.8 points, 4.3 assists and 2.5 steals per game.
The senior finished fifth in Section VI and scoring and made the top 10 in assists (100) and made 3s (62). Along with leading the team to three consecutive sectional finals, Fletcher finished with 1,560 career points, good for second all-time in Falcons history.
Seven players in the Greater Niagara region were honored for the large school teams, including North Tonawanda’s Patrick McNeill and Canisius’ Luke Granto.
A North Tonawanda resident, Granto averaged 13 points, 4.3 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.9 steals for the Crusaders, who finished their season as the runner-up in the Manhattan Cup. A four-year varsity player between Canisius and NT, Granto scored in double figures 15 times, including a career-high 28 points against Cardinal O’Hara on Feb. 14 and had his first double-double with 13 points and 12 assists against Nichols.
McNeill, meanwhile, bounced back from a season-ending knee injury in full stride for the Lumberjacks. The 6-5 forward averaged 17.5 point and 9.4 rebounds per game, drilled 52 3s and finished sixth in Section VI in blocks (51). McNeill is the first NT player to be voted for a NYSSWA all-state team since Trevor Book was a seventh-team selection in Class A in 2018.
Niagara Falls had two more players named as Omarion Ralands and Davon Wade were both honored by the NYSSWA as Class AA honorable mention selections. Ralands finished his junior campaign second on the team in scoring (11.9) and steals (1.8) per game and converted a team-high 38 3-pointers. Wade quietly averaged 10.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game and shot 60% from the floor.
Lockport senior Kyree Jones also received Class AA honorable mention after helping the Lions post 14 wins — their most since 2018-19 — and appear in the Class AA semifinals. Jones averaged a team-high 11.3 points per game and shot 47.1% from the floor.
Twenty-nine players from Western New York were named all-state large-school selections by the NYSSWA, 17 of which came from Class A alone.
This was the third and final all-state listing for the basketball season from NYSSWA for the 2022-23 campaign.