YORK, Pa. — Saniya Chong is a much watch.
When the 5-foot-9 Ossining point guard is on the court, the fans lucky enough to be in attendance get to see one of the nation’s best players – a dynamo in every sense of the word. Off of it, college coaches and fans wait patiently to see where the rising senior will take her talents next season.
“I do feel like I have to try my best every single game,” she said. ‘I’m the point guard. I control the ball.”
Over the weekend she played with Ossining coach Dan Ricci with the Hudson River Breeze at the Blue Chip USA Invitational at the Toyota Arena in York, Pa. Chong quickly became the talk of the tournament. She averaged 46.6 points per contest over five games as her team went 4-1 in the Platinum bracket. That includes a 53-point performance against the Pittsburgh Rockers in front of UConn head coach Geno Auriema, a memorable effort in which she also has 10 rebounds and five steals.
“When I tell her one of the coaches is here, she seems to perk up,” Ricci said.
The Bronx native has trimmed her list of suitors down to just four – UConn, Maryland, Ohio State and Louisville – after eliminating North Carolina and Miami. Because of its close proximity, Chong has already taken an unofficial visit to UConn, which she called a “wonderful place.” She plans to begin scheduling official stops in September.
A lot has changed for the reserved Chong in just a year’s time, when her only offers were Virginia Tech and Ohio State, and she was unranked by most scouting services.
“I guess you can say it was a little overwhelming,” she said of the attention. “There is a lot of pressure. You want to do your best.”
Added Ricci: “The coaches say she is getting better at it. She is doing a better job of opening up on the phone.”
There are detractors, of course. There are those who believe Chong is overrated because her Ossining team doesn’t play high profile enough teams. She plays her travel ball with the Westchester Hoopers and the Breeze, not more well-known squads like Exodus, the Gauchos or the Philly Belles. Her gaudy stats, the doubters contend, are coming against teams who can’t physically match up with the long, quick and athletic lead guard.
“To be honest they haven’t really seen me play before,” she said. “They don’t know who we are and what we do. It’s not a big deal to me. When they actually do see me, I give them all I got. I just hate when people talk and they don’t really know what’s going on.”
The results speak for themselves.
Chong averaged 33.3 points, 9.7 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 5.0 steals as Ossining went 23-1 and reached the NYPHSAA Class AA state semifinals last season. It’s lone loss came to eventual state Federation champion Cicero-North Syracuse and Breanna Stewart as Chong scored 21 points. The more than 2,000-point scorer was invited to tryout for the USA U17 national team and also dropped in 54 points, including eight 3-pointers, in a win over Archbishop Molloy at the Francis Lewis Winter Ball.
“I’ve never seen a girl who could consistently put the ball in the basket like that,” Molloy coach Scott Lagas, who has coached high school and college basketball for 14 years, said at the time. “That girl is special.”
That’s the reason why Chong has some of the nation’s best college programs to choose from and will end her career as one of New York State’s top all-time leading scores. Ricci doesn’t believe she can make a wrong choice. He just wants her to make the best one.
“It’s a big opportunity,” Chong said. “You only get this [chance] one time.”