ST. THOMAS AQUINAS, GIANNA CHUFFO BETTER INVEST IN A GOOD PAIR OF SUNGLASSES….”FOCUS” MEETS GAME

There is always kids who shock you the first time you see them play. You may not know much about them or even know where their from. You just know a good thing when you see it. I do not leave the Shore Conference to watch games across the state. Many people say I favor the Shore Conference. They would be 100% right about that. But that does not mean I cannot appreciate a talented player when I see one. That’s why when I stopped by Red Bank Catholic, to watch then battle St. Thomas  Aquinas, I got a real surprise. That’s because I saw a smooth baller in action. Her personality reminded me of the great  NY KNICK guard Walt “clyde” Frazier. That’s because she was without the coolest most level headed player in the game. GIANNA CHUFFO, is exactly the type of player I love watching play the game. She is an old school, throw back  type of player. She doesn’t wave her hands when she does something good. She doesn’t put up three fingers when she knocks down a three. She doesn’t put her finger to lips when she silents the crowd. That because she is too busy putting in work. You see GIANNA CHUFFO IS TOO FOCUSED, her game as we used to say in the hood….is just TIGHT.

Great game by Gianna Chuffo last night….Check it out. 2nd game in a row she hit 6 3’s⁦@CoachAngSzumilo⁩ ⁦@gianna_chuffo⁩ ⁦@BrianDeakyne⁩ ⁦@FDUKnightsWBB⁩ ⁦@CoachGerlich⁩ ⁦@NYGHoops⁩ ⁦@sfbkad⁩ ⁦@CGBR27⁩ ⁦ https://t.co/EZYoSQkNKK

— St Thomas Aquinas Girls Basketball 2022-23 (@SclafaniTom) January 21, 2023

RBC  has D1 players up and down their roster. They are a college coaches dream roster. They have players with Power 5 offers and other players with multiple D1 offers. RBC players are known throughout the state of New Jersey. I am not sure if and who is recruiting GIANNA CHUFFO, because last Friday was first time I laid eyes on here. But I do know this, if you’re a college coach and you don’t know who is this young lady is, you be wise to learn as much as you can about her. That’s because she may not get the attention of the RBC players. But her game is every bit as worthy of coaches attention. I watched on Friday as RBC hounded St. Thomas all night in an effort to sent them away. They pressed St. Thomas, tired to wear them down and did all they could to break the St. Thomas teams sprit. Nothing seems to work and that’s because only true basketball fans understood why. Gianna Chuffo too busy making every little play a guard can make in a big game. You see Gianna Chuffo, does the little things and the big things, she does them without fanfare. Like every time RBC tired to make a get away, there was Chuffo, with an extra pass, a feed to the post, a steal and a hustle play back on defense. She simply was wonderful to watch all evening. She played like a seasoned veteran, a player whose game is so mature. Gianna Chuffo is just a 2025 but game is so much older. In a time when coaches want and crave older players. She is that rare high school player that in time will be ready to handle all the things that come with being a college player, right now.

https://twitter.com/gianna_chuffo/status/1620898104265383954?s=20

I went on youtube this weekend and tired to watch as much video of Gianna Chuffo as possible. While nobody will ever call me and Joe Whalen buddies, there is no question he is a master coach. Spending time watching  Gianna play proved he has done a masterful job of developing her full game. Now I know after watching her play, there are going to be those who try to label her as shooter. The would be total injustice to this young lady. Here is why, I know the mind blowing 86 three’s on the season is easy to jump on and promote.  That’s the hype everyone will try to sell. But what people have to understand most about her game is this. She eats pressure up likes it breakfast. This young lady never changes her expression towards her teammates and coaches ever. You simply cannot speed her up unless she wants to get sped up. She reads 2nd level defenders with care and precision. Her assists are not show stopping. They are simple and effective, the type college coaches love at the next level. She had 56 dimes on the season to go with those 86 threes. You watch her on defense and you know the defensive potential is certainly there and being coach by Joe Whalen will not hurt over the next 2 years.  You never see her giving phony hustle.  But you do see the active hands and the head constantly on the move. See these are the things college coaches will see once they understand and learn more about her. Her game is way more than buckets and three point shooting. Those are just the things that most notice, because we all love shooters and scorers. Gianna Chuffo, just happens to be able to do all that and more. She is the kid the drops the dime to teammates and when they miss a layup, moves on to the next play….after giving her teammate a few words of encouragement. You see that’s the maturity of her game.

  NOTHING RATTLES GIANNA CHUFFO

I went on Gianna Chuffo  twitter account this weekend and saw something that brought a smile to my face. Before the game, RBC everyone was picking St. Thomas to beat RBC. What did I see, a retweet of one of my tweets. It was tweet so loaded with her maturity. She spoke of her respect for RBC and how she and her teammates expected RBC to be prepared and ready to play…just like St. Thomas.  Like her game and her approach to the game. Gianna Chuffo, is that player you want in a foxhole. Not because she scored 25 against Saddle River Day or because she had 13 points  national ranked LuHi. Not because she had 4 games with 6 three’s or twice with 7 three’s.  You want her in that foxhole because she will not surrender. She will just show up and focus on the job at hand. She is only a sophomore and made 1st Team All Middlesex  County. All signs that lead me to believe is going to need a good pair sunglasses,

BECAUSE HER FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT