MARCH 23
PIAA CLASS A FINAL
(At Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center)
Constitution 68, Lincoln Park Charter 49
  Go figure. A non-charter Pub member finally wins a state championship and it’s one that’s only in its third year of existence. Hail to the Generals! Not only did they triumph, they did so in relatively easy fashion. Even though LP had a 6-10 guy, Devontae Watson, who’s committed to Temple, they tried to run up and down with Con. Um, that didn’t work out too well. LP was guilty of 29 turnovers and took some very poor shots en route to a 19-for-54 performance. Admittedly, Watson is not exactly a hulk and is still quite raw, but I expected the Leopards to force-feed him while trying, if nothing else, to get sr. F-C Savon Goodman into foul trouble. On a blocking foul along the baseline, Goodman did incur his second personal 5:53 before halftime. Con led at the time, 24-15, and LP missed its golden opportunity for headway. Right before intermission, coach Rob Moore waved Goodman back onto the floor and he converted a feed from sr. F Fajion Jones, thus making it 33-22 heading into the break. The third quarter (17-11 for Con) largely belonged to sr. PG Tamir Bolger, who whirlwinded to two of his four assists and four of his seven steals and ended the session by draining a trey on an inbound pass from sr. CG Daiquan Walker. There was no fourth quarter titillation and the Generals led by as many as 21. Bolger received the DN ink and it was a pleasure to give him positive attention. He was the guy, you might remember, who touched off a very ugly situation in Con’s VERY first varsity game, in December of 2009, by slapping a World Comm opponent. The game was halted early and ruled a double forfeit. Can you imagine that? Your school’s very first game winds up being a double forfeit?! Bolger got past it, in fine fashion, and now can enjoy having been prominent in the school’s very best basketball moments (Pub title, state title). The young man deserves high praise. Though Goodman suffered blocked shots on as many as five of his dunk attempts/close flip shots, he finished with 27 points (five GOOD dunks), 10 rebounds and four blocks. Walker was also quite special with 22 points, seven rebounds, six assists and six steals. The other starter not yet mentioned was sr. F Craig "Poppy" Slade while sr. G Amonie "Moonie" Holloman and frosh G Akeem King served as rotation subs. In the very last moment, deep sub Kevin Dukes, a soph F, canned a layup on a feed from frosh G-F Barry Taylor for his first varsity points and the starters exploded off the bench in glee. It was cool to see the old heads support the young bucks with such passion. Since Con’s first six players were seniors, it’s unclear how the program will proceed. The ever-amped Moore is quite the go-getter, however, and he feels many of his younger players have potential, so we’re guessing the Generals will be heard from again. Camped out right behind the end of Con’s bench were two Philly guys – Penn State coach Pat Chambers (Episcopal) and sitting-out transfer Devonte’ Newbill (Strawberry Mansion '10). Of course, Newbill usually goes by “DJ” but I recently saw his Facebook page, via someone else’s, and he’s listed as "DJay" (with no hyphen, periods). So, I asked him, "Is THAT the version of your nickname you actually prefer?" It IS. Maybe I’ll go back and change his name in some of my records (smile). And maybe he’ll be known as DJay Newbill when his career resumes next season. Remember where you read it first, OK? Ha, ha, ha.