New survey ranks New York state third-best for basketball

CATTARAUGUS, N.Y. — New York state tops the nation with the most major league sports franchises in the nation, with nearly a dozen. Yet not every sport has a team in both upstate and downstate, including the National Basketball Association. 

Despite that, the state ranks pretty high as one of the best for basketball.

Dani Haskell is in her second year playing basketball for St. Bonaventure University, a D-1 school in Cattaraugus County.

She grew up in nearby Franklinville, and remembers shooting hoops in the driveway at an early age with her dad.

“Full circle moment from going to games as a little kid here to now being able to play here in front of my local community.” Haskell said. “It means a lot.”

So do the results of a recent survey from NBA analysts at Fadeaway World that ranked New York as the third-best state for basketball, behind California and Texas.

Because the Knicks, Nets and Liberty play downstate, there is no professional presence upstate, yet the survey did take into account the number of NCAA D-1 teams and championships.

“I personally really like college basketball and watching it more than sometimes the professional,” she said. “So, I think it’s just cool how important it still is even though there isn’t that professional atmosphere around here.”

Senior Melvin Council, a first year player and transfer from Wagner, is training for the upcoming season.

He too started playing at a young age and says the survey results are a good recruitment tool.

“And we just want to give it our all,” Council said. “You don’t gotta go far to find an athlete. You could just come Upstate. So all the college coaches don’t got to travel far. They could just come to upstate to find some players to play for their school.”

Coaches like his, long-time leader Mark Schmidt, who is pumped to start a new season and points to the strength of college athletics.

“So our professional teams are our college basketball teams and programs in the state,” Schmidt said. “Syracuse has won a national title, St. John’s with coach Pitino. Look at Melvin Council [who] went to Wagner last year and went to the NCAA tournament. Iona’s really successful. We’ve had a lot of success, Buffalo.”

It’s leaving Haskell hopeful that the new momentum driving women’s basketball will encourage more little girls playing in the driveway to follow their dream.

“Basketball for me has always been my first love, my passion, my everything,” she said. “So just the people I’ve met, the places I’ve got to go. So if it’s something you love, obviously go for it.”

As for the survey, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Louisiana and Ohio round out the top 10.

The results of the survey can be found below: