Glens Falls Chronicle Serving the Glens Falls/Lake George region; Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties since 1980
By Ben Westcott, Chronicle Staff Writer
Semaj Cuyler, 16, who as an eighth grader helped North Warren boys basketball win its first ever state title in 2024 at the then-Cool Insuring Arena, has already received a power conference Division I offer from Ole Miss as a Class of 2029 rising sophomore.
Cuyler says he left North Warren for Bella Vista after his freshman year, partly on the recommendation of his Albany-based AAU team’s coach.
“It’s just way better competition out there; a lot of better players,” Cuyler told The Chronicle on Monday, July 27.
He’s home for the summer and will return to Arizona in mid-August.
“I got way better out there,” he said. “I train like three times a day.”
Is it hard being away from home? “Not really. I actually like it out there. It’s nice. It gets really hot though.”
It took some adjusting for Cuyler to get used to the higher level of play.
“My sophomore season was a bit rough,” he admitted. (He’s reclassifying as a sophomore again for this upcoming season “so he can get more offers and more college looks,” he said.)
` “I played on the third team. I didn’t get a lot of minutes because there were a lot of seniors and juniors on that team, and they had to get them in college. They were really focusing on the seniors and juniors.”
“But I had a way better AAU season” this summer, he said, playing for Arizona Unity, which posted an 18-3 record.
Cuyler says Mississippi gave him an offer after watching him play at the Nike EYBL Peach Jam in North Augusta, South Carolina July 14-19.
North Augusta’s website touts it as “one of the most longstanding and prestigious grassroots tournaments on the amateur circuit, featuring the best high school basketball players from across the country and Canada.”
“They watched all four of my games at Peach Jam, and (my coach) told me while I was at the airport that Ole Miss offered me,” Cuyler said. “He said they liked my game, how I play, my play style.
“It was an amazing feeling. I was happy. I didn’t expect that to be my first offer. That’s a big school
“My dad told me they have guards that play like me there,” Cuyler said.
Cuyler’s dad James Cuyler played junior college ball and remains the North Warren boys basketball head coach.
Of Ole Miss, Semaj Cuyler says, “They like guards that are tall and can shoot and attack the rim. It would be a good option to go there, I can’t lie. But it’s a little early to tell right now. I feel like more schools will come and I’ll have more options. I have a lot of coaches that follow me. They just watch what I do.”
Physically, Cuyler thinks he has two to three more inches left to grow. “Hopefully I can get to 6’6” or 6’7”, because I feel like that’s a good height for a big guard.”
Cuyler has also received an offer from Division I University of the Pacific.
His dream school is Arkansas because “Coach Cal” (legendary coach John Calipari) is “so good with his guards.”
For now Cuyler is focused on the present and the process. “Got to take it one step at a time,” he says.
He working on following through on his jump shot and shooting a good percentage, as well as his ball handling and “holding the ball strong.”
“I’m trying to get more athletic,” he says, because “I know that’s what catches college coaches’ attention.”
During the school year he says he lives in a house with two coaches “that take care of us.”
Through high school and AAU ball, he has played in such states as Nevada, Utah, Tennessee, Kansas and Georgia.
“It’s a great experience, I can’t lie,” he says of traveling the country through basketball. “I’m having fun.”
Cuyler’s dad introduced his son to the game and has trained him since he was three years old. “I used to not like it, because he used to make me do the workout every day,” Semaj said. “But then I just grew into it, and now I love playing basketball every day.”
Talking about his journey, he said, “I had a lot of bad games where I put my head down and thought, is this really going to be my future?
“There were some times I was giving up on myself. But I just kept going and putting in the work. After my last couple performances, this is what I want to do. I want to play basketball for the rest of my life, at a higher level each year.”
Cuyler credits trainer Jon Mabb of Primal Movements in Glens Falls with “getting me stronger…When I come back for breaks I still train with him. I’ll probably be training with him for the rest of my life.”
He said he also works on his game with TJ Fredette, brother of Glens Falls basketball legend and former NBA player Jimmer Fredette. He “teaches me a lot of good stuff.”
When not hitting the hardwood, Cuyler says he likes to play pickleball and chill with his family. He says gym is his favorite subject in school.
He used to play baseball, but “it wasn’t for me. I’d just sit in the outfield. The sun was just hot.”
He also played soccer, but again it “just wasn’t for me. I can’t lie.”
What’s his favorite NBA team? “My dad likes the Knicks, so if I had to pick a team I’d go with the Knicks,” he says
Favorite player? “I’ve liked Kyrie Irving since I was young,” he said.
Cuyler says he’s still in contact with pretty much all of his North Warren state championship teammates.
He said that win “felt crazy. I was crying and everything, because we lost the year before in the Final Four, but my dad was like ‘we’ll be back.’ And then we went and won it all the next year. So it was a great feeling to get revenge.”
He says he’s grateful for the support he receives from back home.
Cuyler has big dreams. “My biggest goal in basketball is to go to the NBA,” he said. “I have a couple other small goals, but that’s 100% my biggest goal.”
Copyright © 2026 Lone Oak Publishing Co., Inc. All Rights Reserve
