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Player to Watch: Eric Paschall, Dobbs Ferry
Lonnie Webb
Follow basketball in the Hudson Valley on Twitter: @MSGVarsityKDJ
At this point last summer, Eric Paschall was a relative unknown, even in Section 1 basketball circles. He was a promising sophomore in the Dobbs Ferry program, one that was expected to compete for a Class B title. The role Paschall was expected to play in that quest, by most accounts, would be nominal.
Everything, however, changed on opening night of the season. It happened with one thunderous dunk. And it was confirmed by another.
Paschall burst onto the Section 1 basketball scene last December, nearly tearing the basket down with a couple of dunks in the Eagles’ season opening win over Pelham. The night — a 15-point, eight-rebound effort in an easy victory — set the stage for the entire season at Dobbs Ferry.
The 6-foot-5 Paschall not only played a vital role in the Eagles’ reaching the Section 1 final for the second straight season, he established himself as one of the region’s most productive, and exciting, players.
Paschall averaged a team-high 17.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game for the Eagles, who went 19.2. They lost only to Woodlands and to Albertus Magnus in the sectional final for the second year in a row.
Paschall scored at least 10 points in all but one game last season and posted six double-doubles. It all added up to earn him all-section and league MVP honors, an astounding accomplishment for a sophomore.
Following a breakout summer in AAU, Paschall has emerged as a serious Division I prospect.
This upcoming season could yield plenty of more hardware for Paschall. He enters the year as arguably the favorite to win the prestigious Mr. Basketball Award for Section 1.
Visit MSGVarsity.com each weekday this summer as we unveil the next athlete on our Players to Watch list. Click here for the complete list.
Email Kevin Devaney Jr. at kdevaney@cablevision.com
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