Amauro's
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Amauro "Amar" Austin is another of our trusty observers. He is not to be confused with Ruben Amaro, the Phillies' assistant general manager. Like "Huck" Palmer, Amauro is a West Catholic graduate. He will make reports on the MANY games he sees. You may e-mail him at Thurlbough@hotmail.com. Tell him you appreciate his hint of a smile in the new photo.
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Games seen by "Amar" in November/December 2001 . . .
DEC. 31
NON-LEAGUE
SJ Prep 57, La Salle 46
This was a good one to end the year for me. I have seen so much
Pub Ball lately, I forgot how the other side of the game played. This was Basketball at
its purest form and I really enjoyed it. Catholic League Basketball is so easy to keep
stats for, boy I'll tell you. The Prep led all the way throughout this one. At the end of
the third though LaSalle made a run and cut the lead to 2 going into the 4th. Then the
Explorers went cold again, not scoring for the first 3:23 of the 4th. The Prep was led by
6-6 Jr. C Mark Zoller. The Big fella could have scored 40 today because
every shot he took, he should have made. He went for 26 Points (9-for-15, 8-for-9) and 10
Boards. He is the go-to Hawk to say the least. His main help today came from Guard-tandem
6-3 Jr. T.J Valerio and 6-1 Soph. John Griffin. Both
needed to step up big because starting PG Soph. Chris Clark went down in
the opening stages of this one with an ankle injury. Valerio held down the fort for the
most part as he played the PG the rest of the way. He scored 8 Points & dished 4
assists. Griffin came through late in this one making 7-of-10 Free Throws in the 4th
Quarter and dishing 3 of his 5 assists in the final stanza. He finished with 10 Points
total. For the Explorers, 6-2 Sr. G Rob Sullivan once again had an
awesome showing. If he only had some help here, they may have stolen this game. Rob scored
28 of his team's 46 Points. He shot 7-for-14 from the field, 13-for-13 from the line
(Amar's Note: Phew what a relief that somebody makes foul shots after watching Bartram
last week), grabbed 5 Boards & dished 3 assists. He scored 13 straight explorer points
in the 4th and 7 in 20 seconds that made this one interesting in the 4th. He was
clearly the best player on the floor. I think that he could even play in the Patriot
or Ivy League. He brings his game night in and night out and has to work so
hard just for his team to be competitive. He even promted a Speedy moment as
Griffin committed a silly reach-in foul on "Sulli." Coach Morris yelled,
"GRIFF!, You may as well just walk to the scorestable and give them 2 Points cause he
don't miss. Use your feet and your head." Rob had next to no help in this one. I
did note how Sub, 6-6 Jr. C Will Furey has gotten a little better.
He scored 4 Points & grabbed 4 Boards in spot action. He made two nice 10 foot bank
shots. He has a nice frame and looks like he could grow another inch or two. Happy New
Year to all, 2002!
DEC. 29
GIRARD COLLEGE TOURNAMENT
FINAL
Strawberry Mansion 69, Southern 40
I'll keep my reports on these two games very brief as
there was a "Duck" sighting and he may chime in with his own
thoughts on the Championship game. I'll say this though: these Young Ram kids seem to
take a step forward, then two steps back. They reverted to the same things they were doing
when I first saw them. That is: not giving Shawn Sabb the ball enough, Keith Grimes taking
"Doo Dirty" off the Point and forcing the issue, ect. They actually could have
been competitive if they had executed. The Knights absolutely picked apart the Ram zone.
They just passed and passed and passed until they got good shots and the penetrated when
they felt like it. Their leaders were Jr. G Maureece Rice (17 Points), Sr.
G Aaron Brown (15 Points) & 6-5 Sr. F Dawud Morris (10
Rebounds). Once again they got a nice contribution from 6-4 270-lb Jr. C Tony
Slocum (4 Points & 9 Boards). The Big fella showed a nice touch and very good
hands. He may help them before long. He doesn't mind being a role player and a team needs
guys like him. Soph. WG Keith Grimes shot 1-for-16 for 2 Points. His shot
selection is terrible to say the least. He did dish 6 and steal 4, but he seemed to take
everybody else out of their game with his selfish acts. I don't get it. One day he was
very good and the next well you know. Soph. PG Antoine "Doo Dirty" Brown
scored 15 Points (3-of-6 on 3s) & dropped 3 dimes. Often times Grimes took
him off of the Point and he isn't at the Point, he isn't as effective and this team just
doesn't stand a chance. I hope you read this Doo, but here's a message from Amar: TAKE
CHARGE OF THIS TEAM, BE THE LEADER SO THAT EVERYONE GETS INVOLVED!
CONSOLATION
George Washington 52, Roxborough 50
This contest went back and forth throughout. This was
very much and evenly matched game. Both teams could wind up somewhere in the Middle of the
Pub Pack. The Eagles just excuted a little better down the stretch. They were led once
again by 6-8 Jr. C Dontay Tabbs with 17 Points, 15 Rebounds & 6
Blocks. As I said yesterday, he seems to get a little better every time out and boy when
he grows into his body watch out. The play of the day was his nasty baseline spin move off
of an Indian defender for a slam. This time next year, I see the Big guy being a monster.
He looks like he could grow another 2 or 3 inches and fill out very nicely onto his 210-lb
frame. Successful, Big Man Coach Rick Barrett. the head of Gym Rats AAU
based in Voorhees, NJ, thinks that he's outstanding and could be a star. I second that
notion. As I said yesterday, Jr. PG John Hampton (6 assists, 3 steals)
would not come out of the game for me. He controlled this game without even scoring when
he was in. He didn't score until very late when he sank 4 free throws to ice this one. 6-2
Jr. WG Eugene Zlotnikov has a nice Lefty stroke. He played well in this one.
There will be better days for 6-5 Sr. swingman Dahliek Powell. DP shot
9-for-26 for 23 Points, grabbed 12 Rebounds & swiped 5 steals, but once again his
teammates let him down down the stretch as they looked as if they forgot he was on the
floor. Jr. PG Tyrone Crawley Jr. (6 assists, 4 steals) is one to watch.
He has some potential. He settles a bit too much for the long jumper, but he also passes
well and works well with Powell. I really like Sr. PG Armond "Monny"
Saunders. He just leaves it all on the court night in and night out. He scored 15
hard earned ones in this one and picked 6. No one has a bigger heart. Even though they
struggled here, the Indians are still my favorite to win Division D. They have the best
player in the Division and every game is winable.
DEC. 28
GIRARD COLLEGE TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS
Southern 53, Roxborough 52
This contest could have been a whole lot different had
all of the Indians got there on time. Coach Burnett seemed to think that the game didn't
start until 5:30 so many of his plaers arrived late. Southern got an early lead and lead
throughout. These young Rams were once again led by Soph. PG Antoine "Doo
Dirty" Brown. Brown scored 13 Points, dished 8 assists & snatched 6
steals. He is the suicide man at the top of the Ram one-three-one and he does it better
than anybody because of his deft hands. He go alot of help from his backcourt mate Soph.
WG Keith Grimes. I was impressed with Grimes today as he was much more under
control. He let Brown run the offense and fimd him in spots where he could get better
scoring opportunities instaed of forcing the issue as much. He scored 17 Points (5-for-9
from 3). 6-5 Jr. F Shawn Sabb did work down low. He only scored 8 Points,
but snared 13 Boards. Sr. swingman Roosevelt Brown matched his little
brother's output with 13 Points of his own. The Indians were led by their star 6-5
Sr. Swingman Dahliek Powell. Powell arrived just seconds before the tip and when
he got in the score was 15-2 midway through he first. He went on to score 17 Points &
grab 8 Rebounds. He also made many nice passes that were too hot for his teammates. He
seemed to trust them a little more then he should have in oppose to looking more for his
own shot. Sr. PG Armond Saunders (Powell's best friend, who also arrived
late) played very hard and scored 10 Points. He also contained Brown better when he was in
the game. 6-2 Sr. WG Chris Elliot led with 11 Window Cleaners. He took a
horrible shot that would have won the game at the end of this one though. Not only was it
a bad shot, but Powell was wide open on the opposite elbow. I was very much disappointed
in 6-4 Jr. F Jonathan Elliot. He was one of the biggest, strongest
players on the floor and he just gave them nothing. He even shied away from contact. As
out of sinc the Indians may have been, they still should have won this one. The key stat
lied in their 6-for-16 performance from the charity stripe. That's just unacceptable.
Strawberry Mansion 100, George Washington 74
Before this one, the Bossman of this site Ted Silary
said that Maureece Rice could break another record against GW. For some reason, many
records over the years have been shattered against the Eagles. After watching this one, I
know why. These guys idea of defense is in a word, OLE! This indeed was a track
meet. Of course as always the Knights were led by Jr. super-guard Maureece Rice.
Rice shot 15-for-22 from the field, 7-for-7 from the line for 39 Points. He could
have had alot more. He could have got 50 if he wanted. He got many nice looks from Sr.
PG Maurice Stennis (6 assists). 6-6 Jr. F Delton Morgan-Hines had
one of his better games as he scored 14 Points (6-for-7 shooting), grabbed 8 Rebounds,
dished 3 assists & made 4 steals. The Knights have two large Juniors that come
off of their bench. One is 6-6 220-lb C Brian Draper (2P,2R).
The other is 6-4 270-lb C Tony Slocum (6P, 3R). Slocum is a major
league crowd favorite. He had his own cheering section. I could see him being an
enforcer type down the line. For the Eagles, 6-8 Jr. C Dontay Tabbs
seems to be getting better each time out. He scored 18 Points, collected 12 Boards
& Blocked 4 shots in this one. He has very good feet and some nice post moves.
The Big Fella has a bright future. The team's best athlete is 6-4 205-lb Sr. F
Tyreece Harris (15 Points & 11 Boards). He was better today than when I
last saw him, yet and still he drifts too much for my liking. If he were aggressive
at all times, he could be really good. He's one of the city's better athletes. He jumps
like he has springs in his sneakers. I am really starting to like Jr. PG John
Hampton. He is the only guard on this team that seems to have a concept of what
is supposed to be done. He wouldn't come off the floor for me. He scored 10 Points,
grabbed 6 Rebounds & dished 5 assists in this one. He is this team's leader. They
would win no games without him. The other guards on this team still haven't gotten the
concept of team ball. It could be a long season if they don't get the idea real soon.
DEC. 28
ARDMORE ROTARY TOURNAMENT FINAL
Penn Charter 69, Overbrook 57
There are times when we talent evaluators/gurus/writers
over-evaluate a situation. We may look at a player or a team and just look at the things
that it he/it can't do or what they don't do well instead of what they do right and the
intangibles things that just get it done. Why am I saying this? Well I must say I really
missed on this Penn Charter club. They absolutely destroyed a quality Overbrook squad, a
Team that probably had more talent from top to bottom. This game was never even close.
This PC Team just knows how to win. They play harder than everybody else and they play
together. PC was led by its Franchise 6-8 Soph. Swingman Rob Kurz. Rob
went for 20 Points, 15 Rebounds & 3 Blocks. He was as aggressive as I've ever seen
him. The thing that I have been most impressed with about Kurz is the fact that he seems
to be getting tougher. The knock on him has always been that he just doesn't have the
inner toughness that it takes. He seems to be getting it now. He's got college coaches
coming from far and wide to see him and I'm sure he hasn't disappointed. His main help in
this one came from underrated, 6-5 Jr. F Matt Ryan. Ryan scored 14
Points & grabbed 9 Rebounds. He is the wildcard of this bunch. Opposing teams
have to guard him or he'll kill them. I was also very impressed with Freshman G
Zack Zeglinski. He scored 10 Points & dished 6 assists, but the best two
things that he did were his handling of the Panther pressure and his stellar defense. The
Quakers got a solid outing out of Sub Sr. G Mike McKenna (6P &
5R). All three of his baskets were timely. They all seemed to come when
'Brook was gaining confidence and trying to mount a comeback. 8th Grade
Guard Joe Zeglinski got a buzz from the crowd. He is already an inch
taller than his older brother. Many already are saying there is a 7th Grader Zeglinski
(he'll probably reclassify as wel! l) that is just as good as both of his brothers
right now. I knew this one would be bad for 'Brook when PC PG Mike McGarvey grabbed
5 first quarter rebounds. Not even high-scoring, alum Na'im Crenshaw ('97,
currently St. Joe's), who sat behind the bench to cheer them on could help this team. They
were led by 6-4 Sr. Swingman Shawn Ikokwu with 14 Points, 9 Boards
& 5 assists. Many of his points came in the 4th when they attempted to mount a
comeback. His two partners in crime Sr. PG Murvin English and Sr.
WG Angelo Hernandez were benched for the final quarter for their
lackluster play in this one. They combined to shoot 8-for-24, but both took some
questionable shots. 'Brook's two Soph. Guards 5-8 Maurice Milner
& 5-6 Kyle Copeland came in in the 4th and did a nice job. These kids
have a bright future. Milner scored 8 Points and played aggresive defense. He has a
nice looking shot. Copeland scored 6 and played tenacious defense. He
stripped McGarvey 3 times. He will be the best on-ball defender in the Pub in time. There
will be better days for these Panthers with the League looming. They open with Dobbins. Oh
yeah, this one didn't tip off until 8:54 PM. I walked in the gym at 8:45 thinking I was
late and they hadn't even announced the starting line-ups yet. What were these Tourney
directors thinking? Did they think they were playing in Western Standard Time?
DEC. 27
STRATH HAVEN CHRISTMAS TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP
Episcopal Academy 46, Northeast 43
This contest proved exactly how much of a mastermind
Episcopal Coach Dan Dougherty is. All the credit for this win deserves to
go to Coach Doc. He deserves MVP of this Tounrney as he beat two teams that he
probably shouldn't have. In this one, the Churchmen franchise 6-6 225-lb F
Terrence Mack struggled. He only scored 12 Points, but he did what a star is
supposed to do in grabbing 17 Rebounds. He had alot of trouble with the Viking size.
He was very aggressive though as he should be held responsible for both of the Viking
frontcourt studs fouling out. His main help down low came from 6-6 235-lb Sr. C
Joe Person. Person battled for 9 Points & 8 Boards. Mack got alot of help
from outside from Jr. G Matt Deasey and Soph. G Brian Shanahan.
Deasey looked very good scoring 8 Points, 4 assists & making 3 thefts. He is very
crafty and can play either guard position. Shanahan scored 12 Points. He shot well
from deep and made the hustle plays that no one else wanted to. This Episcopal Team
played hard and smart. They had back-to-back Ws over very good teams in this Tournament
(Chester & Northeast). This should be good preparation for what lies ahead with the
League Schedule looming. Northeast two front court studs, 6-7 listed (I
say he's 6-8) Sr. C Chaz Crawford and 6-5 225-lb PF Troy Roundtree both
battled foul trouble throughout the night. Crawford played approximately 19
minutes total. When he was in, he impressed. Chaz blocked 4 shots. He only scored 4
Points, but 2 came on a coast-to-coast two-handed dunk in which he dribbled the length of
the floor left handed. That shows that he is ambidextrous, another quality that college
coaches just love. His other basket came on a nice looking foul line jumper. This kid
has serious potential. The Vikes were led by Roundtree with 14 Points & 8 Boards.
He is very hard to control down low, but he easily step out and drain the Mid Range
jumper. They got a nice spark off the bench from 5-9 Soph. PG Kyle Lowry (10
Points). This kid has ice-water in his veins as he made a acrobatic layup
and was fouled to tie the game up. Then he had the heart to take the three that could have
tied the game. It went in and out. I'll be looking to see a lot more of the young
buck. For now, the trail must go on...
DEC. 26
4TH ANNUAL OLNEY CHRISTMAS TOURNAMENT
QUARTERFINALS
Frankford 53, William Penn 40
This one was hard to watch as were most of the
games in the first round of the Tourney. Yes, once again Olney's gym was a bit chilly, not
as frigid as last year, but chilly. The story of this one lied in the fact that Penn only
had 5 players show up. 3 of them were true Freshman. 2 of them were last minute JV
call-ups. Before the game Coach Phillips said, "what am I going to
do, my guard is at Friends Central (Mustafa Shakur), my Forward is at West
Philly (Eugene Myatt) & my Center is at King (Wayne Marshall).
Then if I wanted, I could have a Team of Ineligible Casualties and they would
beat my Varsity, but give me 2 years and we'll be good again." There are hard times
over on Broad & Master. Coach Handler really just went easy on his
former school. He played all 15 of his guys for good minutes. They were led by 6-3
240-lb C Donte Wood. Wood scored 17 Points (8-for-11) and gradded 15 Rebounds. Sr.
PG Isaiah "Zeke" Thomas scored 8 & dished 6. They got help from 6-2
Soph. WG Mark Tyndale (4A & 3S) and 6-3 Sr. F Tyree Draft (8R &
4B). Penn was led by 6-1 Frosh. swingman Curtis Shaw. In his first
Varsity game he scored 15 Points and grabbed 13 Rebounds. The other JV call-up 5-11
Freshman WG Alfred Jackson scored 6. The normal Freshman starter PG Albert
Denby scored 9, dished 4 & stole 4. 6-4 Sr. WF Anthony Harper
(9P, 10R, 3B & 3S) & 6-5 Jr. PF Gary Beverly (9R) were the other
two players. One thing is for certain, the future holds a better fate for the Lions.
John Bartram 67, Germantown Friends 50
The talent gap in these teams wasn't close, but GFS was
able to hang around for 2 quarters. I was surprised. When the third quarter bell rang, the
Braves woke up though and stopped toying with the Tigers. They were led by the kid who I
am more impressed with in the early saeson than anybody in Jr. PG Charles Jones.
Jones only scored 2 Points (1-for-3), but he controlled this game as he grabbed 6
Rebounds, dished 10 Assists & swiped 10 Steals. In the decisive 3rd stanza he had 4A
& 4S. He is going to be the key to this team making its Championship run. He is
the PG. If they get to the promised land, it will be because of him and if they don't,
it'll be his fault. His main help came from 6-3 (but his wingspan makes him
taller) WG Richard Francis. "The Franchise" shot 9-of-15 for 19 Points,
grabbed 6 Boards & dished 5 assists. I am going to make a brash statement in saying
that this kid is the most talented player in the Public League. He isn't the best player
or best prospect, but the most talented which means if he ever put it all together he
could be all-everything. He made the four spectacular plays of the game as he was
thrown an ally-oop with his back to be basket and did a 180 degree turn all in one motion
for a scintilating lay-up. He wanted to dunk that one and if he would have, he may
have pulled a muscle, but maybe not as this kid is flexible like gumby. Then he went
coast-to-coast got into the lane and went over all the trees for a George
Gervinesque double-clutching finger roll. Next, he went up with two hands in
traffic and dunked hard over GFS's 6-7 Center. This was absolutely ugly! Last, but not
least, he was then thrown a ball off of the window. He went up high to get it and threw it
down with two hands. The acrobatic, Francis is going to be the captain of my All-PECO
Energy Electric Men Team for the City's most exciting/energetic players. 6-9 Jr. F Jason
Cain once again was solid with 14 Points, 11 Rebounds & 4 Blocks. 6-3 Jr. G Bryant
Leach was also more aggressive with 12 Points (he's still in a shooting
slump), 5 Boards & 5 assists. GFS's leader was as always 6-4 Jr. swingman Jason
Tucker with 23 Points & 8 Rebounds. His Coach/dad Mark Tucker says he's
a Combo guard. I don't know about that, but maybe he'll develop into that. His main help
came from a kid that I have a close eye on and that is 6-3 190-lb Freshman WG Noel
Wilmore. Wilmore has the tools to be a Big Timer. He is already a man physically
and has a sweet stroke. He is alo the team's best athlete. He has the looks of a
PG in the future as well. He finshed with 12 Points, 9 Boards & 4 steals in this
one. The scary part about this group of Braves was the fact that they didn't even come out
with the killer instinct until they felt like it and often times laughed and joked at
this GFS Team. They basically toyed with them. They won this game by 17 Points, but get
this they missed 14 Free Throws and turned the ball over 22 Times. Not to mention the
fact that GFS played as hard as they could and they have 2 to3 D1 Players. Yeah 2 of them
are Freshman, but they both start and are loaded with talent.
Olney 89, Calvary Christian 35
I won't even do a full Report on this one. I'll just use
a few lines. As you can tell, this was a laugher. Calvary has a first year Coach in Steve
Kikendall of FLC & Franklin fame during the late Pete Merlino
days. He will get it done over there in time. He'll get kids to come out to the deep, deep
Northeast. But here's my summary: Rebounds Olney 58, CC 22, Olney started off the game
23-0. 12 guys got in the books for the Trojans. Calvary's leading scorer was 5-9 Sr. PG Jerome
Monroe with a game high 14 Points. He can play anywhere in D3 and maybe in D2.
Olney will have a tough test against Central. A win could send them on the right track.
DEC. 22
NON-LEAGUE
Overbrook 68, Strawberry Mansion 67
Sorry to be late with this one because it does this
contest no justice. This game in one word was a Barnburner! I knew it would be . This was
a game of runs and the Panthers had the one that mattered with a 26-17 4th Quarter. 'Brook
was led by the ever-improving 6-7 Sr. PF Kristian Clarkson. The Big Fella
scored 19 Points (7-for-12, 5-for-5), swiped 15 Boards & dished 3 assists. He has a
butter soft Mid Range touch and an inner fire that spells his better days are ahead of
him. Her is just starting to realize how good he can be. He could be a monster in a year
or two. His help has come from one of Amar's most improved, Sr. PG Murvin English.
Murv's transfer from Franklin to Overbrook has to be the acquisition of the year. I don't
know where the Hilltoppers would be without him. He makes this club an upper echelon team.
In this one he scored 17 Points & dished 7 assists. He is the calming influence on
this team. Even though he wasn't with them the past three years, he is their
leader. 'Brook's best overall player, the deep shooting, 6-3 Sr. WG Angelo
Hernandez (6-for-20, 1-for-9 on 3's, 14 Points) really struggled in
this one. Since his return, he's been in a funk. What I was most impressed with about the
yesterday about the brassy Hernandez was the fact that he stayed aggressive and did other
things though his shot wasn't falling. He also made the big shot from 3 in the 4th Quarter
to put the Panthers ahead and swing the momentum. My favorite part of watching Angelo is
his knack for getting open, kind of like Reggie Miller. He has that same cold-heart
like Reggie. He really makes the guy guarding him work. One again 6-5 Jr. PF Elijah
Tolbert (10P & 8R) did the dirty work as he always seems to. 6-4
Sr. WF Shawn Ikokwu overcame early foul trouble to be a major league
factor in the latter stages. His line was a modest 6P, 9R & 3A, but he is this team's
best defender, best athlete and their emotional leader. His big time slam in traffic
brought the house down and put the Hilltoppers up by 5. Shawn informed me yesterday
that he has scored a 1030 on his SATs so he is qualified. I feel he can play D2 Ball. He
could be the League's best utility player. For Mansion, once again 6-0 210-lb Jr. G Maureece
Rice put on an amazing performance. He went for the easiest 33 Points you'll ever
see. He shot 14-for-23 from the field. I don't know if anyone ever in the City lets the
game come to him the way Reece does. He is the ultimate calming influence. 6-2 Sr.
WG Aaron Brown, Rice's cousin, struggled with his shot, but managed 16 Points. 6-6
Jr. PF Delton Morgan-Hines battled for 11 Points & 9 Rebounds. He always
gives maximum effort. Sr. PG Maurice Stennis struggled for most of
this one, but in the 3rd he was the reason who Mansion had taken over as he
dished all 7 of his assists in that frame. Mansion has been in 6, count em, 6 wars
(Chester L by 3, Central 2OT W by 3, Glen Mills W by 13, King OT L by 4, U-City 2OT W by
1 & Overbrook L by 1) in the early season. This team is so mentally tough
it's ridiculous. Win or lose, you are in for trouble when you play them.
DEC. 21
MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION CLASSIC
Engineering & Science 42, Abington Friends 34
This was the first game of the doubleheader ad as the
score indicates it was a slow down affair. The Engineers basically controlled this one
from the 2nd quarter on in. They were led by the ever-improving, 6-6 Sr. F Matt
Jefferson. Jefferson hit for 17 Points, 11 Boards & 4 Blocked shots. He he
great hands and feet and he plays way above the rim. He is also starting to develop wing
skills which is a key to his recruitment. He will need to strengthen his academics so Prep
School or Juco will be the route taken. Nobody else for Carver produced big numbers.
Though everybody played together and was solid. 6-1 Sr. PG Justin Scott (4
assists) was his smart self on the court. 6-5 Jr. PF Marvin Satchell did
all of the grunt work. I would like to see 6-9 Sr. C Tom Threatt get some
more run. He really intrigues me. This lefty threw down a monster slam late in this one.
He still has a ways to go and that may be an understatement, but he's been playing ball
for less than 6 months. He has a chance. Prep could be an option for the Big Fella as
well. For the 'Roos, 6-1 Jr. PG John Owens , an FLC transfer, led with 15
Points. His main help came from 6-5 Soph. swingman Danny Lepone with 13
Points & 7 Boards. I'd like to see more from McDevitt transfer, 6-6 Jr. PF
Will Gause. He is listed as a Junior, but I'm very much surprised he didn't
reclassify. If he just transferred to AFS, it doesn't make sense. He needs the extra year.
Germantown Academy 83, George Washington 55
In this one, I though GW had a chance to hang around and
be competitive for a while, but boy was I wrong. It wasn't that they didn't have what it
took. I just felt that GA was running on all cylinders and some of the Eagles were
shell-shocked. One thing is for sure though and that was that the Florida bound, 6-6
Sr. WG Matt Walsh was amazing yesterday. Matt played the PG in this one as Sr.
Jeff Curtin is out with a badly sprained ankle. He didn't disappoint as he scored
29 Points (11-for-14, 5-for-5) & 5 assists in three quarters. His sidekick, the Duke
bound, 6-7 WF Lee Melchionni was equally impressive. His floor game may
have been even better with 16 Points, 8 Boards & 6 Assists. I have really grown to
appreciate this southpaw over the years. He is so solid. He has to be one of the top 100
players in the land. Vandy bound, 6-11 Sr. C Ted Skuchas (4 blocks)
overcame early foul woes and was effective in the 2nd half. 6-6 Frosh. F Brian Grimes is
going to be a star. He went for 10 Points & 5 Rebounds in this one. He is the
most mature player in thre loaded Freshman class in the area. Not to mention his vast
ability. He may be the best right now. 6-3 Frosh. WF Ryan Ayers was solid
with 4P & 4R. This coach's son also has a bright future. The Pats have yet
another Project in the fold in 6-7 Soph. C Matt Washabaugh (4P & 4R).
The GA staff say he's a great listener and fast learner. He showed a nice Mid Range touch.
For GW, I was really impressed with 6-8 Jr. C Dontay Tabbs. Tabbs shot a
mere 4-for-17, but that was for lack of aggressiveness as he scored 10 Points, 17 Rebounds
(12 off.) & blocked 5. He could be a Big Timer if he stays on course. He may need
a year of Prep. Jr. PG John Hampton was also impressive. He played a nice
floor game with 8 Points, 5 assists & 4 steals. I look for more from
DEC. 19
NON-LEAGUE
Father Judge 58, Kennedy-Kenrick 54
This one was a very good test of the Crusader mettle.
The Wolverines of Kennedy Kenrick are much improved. This team will be in no way, shape or
form be an easy W for anybody. They are unselfish and tough. They play very hard. They
actually led the 'Saders by 10 going into the 4th Quarter. Judge was without Jr.
PG Billy Geiger, who is out with a ankle injury. They were led by Sr.
WG Ryan Haigh once again with 16 Points and 3 assists. Haigh is this team's
leader. he plays with alot of confidence. I really like 6-4 Jr. PF Tom Keenan.
he plays very hard and could be a difference maker for this team. He scored 11 Points,
grabbed 7 boards and blocked 3 shots. He had a nice dunk on the break in the 2nd quarter. 6-0
Sr. CG Kevin Pierce shot well from deep early. He passed very well late. he
finished with 11 Points (3 threes) & 4 assists (all in the 4th). 6-3 Jr. F Jim
Glowienka was the difference maker in this one. He only scored 5 Points and
grabbed 5 Boards, but all five of his points came in the 4th Quarter and he hit the three
to put Judge ahead for good. For KK, 6-1 Sr. WG Ryan Rich was
outstanding. Rich shot 11-for-16, 6-for-11 from deep for 28 Points. If he gets going, he
is tough to stop. D3's should be all over him and the state schools should even be
looking. This kid will bomb you if he's left open. The Wolves once again got a solid
performance from 5-10 Sr. PG Dan Rafferty. He is never much of a
scorer, but he always does other things. He finshed with an impressive 5 Points, 9
rebounds & 9 assists. He is a tough kid. That may be an understatement. 6-4
Jr. inside-outside man Quincy Goggins also was solid with 11 Points & 9
rebounds. Last, but not least, I was impressed with KK's 6-2 Soph. WG Amarildo
Matos. He was the best player/prospect on the floor tonight. he is another one of
those great Sophs. He only shot 2-for-8 for 4 Points, but he dished 5 assists and played
awesome defense. He is already as intense as they come and make snappier passes than Donovan
McNabb. He is a D1 Prospect. He'll be the first at Kenrick since? Bad CL
Officiating alert! I know it seems like I am the head of a witch hunt against them,
but these guys have been awful. They were fine until they called a senseless intentional
foul on Sr. swingman Mike Rafferty with 4 secs left. This put this one
out of reach for the Wolves who still had a chance to come back. It turned Coach
Neeld red in the face. It made me say, "Here we go again."
DEC. 19
NON-LEAGUE
Germantown Academy 74, Friends' Central 70
This game was everything that I thought it would be.
There were anywhere from 7 to 10 (depending on who you ask) D1 Prospects on the floor
tonight. 7 colleges were in attendance tonight and GA's gym was filled to capacity. Let's
start with one stat. GA won this one because they shot a white-hot 23-for-36 for the game
and 24-for-28 from the line. Stat 2: GA 37, FC 19 on the boards. How could the other
team even be in the game? Well this was Friends' Central. I can't say exactly how they
stayed in it and even led late in this one, but they did. It was just one of those games.
GA was really banged up coming into this one. 6-6 Sr. F/C Alex Lee didn't
even suit up. 6-1 Sr. PG Jeff Curtin played with a severely sprained
ankle, but did a very good job before he had to sit for good because he just couldn't go
anymore. 6-6 Sr. WG Matt Walsh was playing on a bum knee. He was supposed
to miss at least a week of action, but he wouldn't sit this one out. Walsh didn't
disappoint either. He scored 32 Points, grabbed 6 rebounds and dished 4 assists. He played
the PG in the 4th Quarter after Curtin went out for good and made 8-8 from the line. For
the game, Matt shot 16-for17 from the line. He used his slick handle and superior size to
get wherever he wanted on the court and score. If he can't play at Florida, I don't know
who can. This kid is as good as they come. His main help came from the arguably the
Nation's best Role player, 6-7 215-lb Sr. WF Lee Melchionni. Lee shot
7-for-10 for 20 Points and snatched 11 Rebounds. He also played outstanding defense on
Friends' Central's top offensive threat, Mike Cook. As stellar as
Matt's play was, Lee may just have been better. He just does all of the little things and
is the sturdy glue that holds this team together. Coach K, would have been smiling like
that cat that ate the bird. The difference maker, however, for GA had to be 6-11
Sr. C Ted Skuchas. Skuchas played his best game in a long time. He was more
aggressive than ever. He scored 16 Points (7-for-9), grabbed a game high 14
Rebounds & blocked 2 shots. He was everything that Vandy hopes he will be in this one.
For the Phoenix, 6-3 Sr. PG Mustafa Shakur was once again amazing. He
scored 28 Points on 11-of-18 shooting. He was sensational. Every college coach in America
will want this kid before the end of this season. That's how good he is. Mark my words.
This was also the return of the old Shejdie Childs. Childs has been
up and down for the past year or so, but today looked like the player that
evertone knows he can be. He scored 14 Points (7-for-10 shooting), drooped 7 dimes &
swiped 7 steals. He was great. I left more proud of him than anybody. I hope the old
"Shah" is here to stay. There have been better days for 6-4 Sr. Swingman
Mike Cook. It seemed that every time he drove the lane, he got fouled but nothing
was called. He shot 6-of-24 for 18 Points. He didn't play a bad game, but just could
have had a better one. With the Phoenix down three, Cook took the big shot to tie the
game. The ball went down and came out. This was truly a great game. Neither of these teams
deserved to lose. In actuality. neither team did lose. In my book, there were no losers
here today. There were a set of Patriots out there that beat time and a set of Phoenix
whose time just ran out. I'd love to see this one again. The quote of the night comes from
Coach Fenerty. After this one was over, he came to me and said,
"Amauro, tell them to spell Over-rated right this time." What a game--Game of
the year.
DEC. 18
NON-LEAGUE
West Philadelphia 60, Edward Bok Tech 53
This one wasn't as close as the score indicated. Bok was
missing 3 key players. Two of them were starters. They just never got in the rhythm. They
should have because not one of the guys who started for West was a projected starter. 4 of
the starters were benched and the other has not been with the team as of late. This
program has really gone down over the years. Its tough to even walk into the legendary
Speedboy gym. You see the title banners and the retired numbers of Gene Banks
('77) and Clarence "Eggy" Tillman ('78) and you feel
the magic, but you see a legacy and a program that has been destroyed. One player
that the legends would be proud of is 6-5 Sr. swingman Eugene Myatt. If
he played for the West Philly of old, he would have been courted by every school in the
land. He is still good enough that most evaluators say that he is a Mid Major D1 caliber
prospect all across the board and maybe better after the year of Prep that he'll need. In
this one, the skywalking Myatt went for 18 Points, grabbed 6 boards, dished 4 assists and
swiped 3 steals. One of those steals led to one of his patented take off from the foul
line and spread his legs like an eagle slams. Gene can absolutely fly! That might be an
understatement. Myatt is our great city's best athlete. He is one of my favorites to
watch as he is graceful and ultra-skilled. He has the best Middle game in the City as
well. I think he truly could be a Big Timer in time. That is if he does everything that he
needs to do. His main help came from another normal starter but bench man today 5-10
Sr. PG Donta Williams. Williams went for 15 Points, 7 assists & 4 steals. I
don't think that this kid should come off of the floor if Coach Wright hopes
to be competitive. He's a coach on the floor. When Wright takes him out bad things happen
and the offense just doesn't go. I just don't understand it. I did like 6-5 Jr. C
Dominique Wilson. Wilson still has no real offense game, but his strong build
allows him to be a man on the boards. He didn't score in this one but he cleaned the glass
11 times and blocked 3 shots. The problem as it stnads for the Speedboys is that there are
atleast 4 guys who don't belong in a Varsity uniform on Varsity. There are only 7 kids
that can really help this club on the roster. There are 3 kids in the building, who are
not ineligible, that could really help this team but don't want to play for one reason or
another. There are two more quality players that are ineligible. It is really sad on 47th
& Walnut. For the Wildcats, their best player 5-11 Sr. PG Leroy Byrd struggled
early. He did finish strong with 24 Points. He is very crafty and he has a nice mid range
shot. He can definitely play D2 Ball. Strong 5-11 Sr. WG Maurice Hunter has
a scorer's mentality. He had some success in this one as he went for 17 Points and 10
Boards. He plays hard and with heart. I am really disappointed in the fact that 6-4
265-lb Soph. C John Brown has never really developed. As a youngster, his future
looked promising, but now he is just out there. He scored 8 Points and snatched 10
rebounds, but he just didn't do enough. He could have done more. I like the aggressivemess
of 6-4 Soph. F Marcelluas Barnes. He fouled out playing only 1 Minute in
the second half, but in the first half he grabbed 7 Boards and blocked 4 shots. He brings
is DB mentality to the basketball court. I'd like to see these Wildcats again. I get the
feeling that they'll be better than what they showed today.
DEC. 17
NON-LEAGUE
Roman Catholic 82, Cardinal Dougherty 71
Ted has already told Roman's side of things. Here is
Dougherty's. The story of this one lied in the fact that Roman beat CD on the Boards 35 to
19. That just goes to show that these kids didn't hustle and give the maximum effort in
the little things department. Also there were just too many mental lapses on Defense to
beat a team as well-coached as the Cahillites. As talented as 6-7 Soph. PF DeSean White
is, and I think it could be argued that he's the best in the League, he
still isn't willing to play hard defense. He has to realize that all the great
ones are defensive stalwarts. He did score 18 Points, but had his worst rebounding
game of the season with 3. He averages about 12. I think the big guy will admit that
this may have been his worst game of the season. 6-6 Soph. WF Shane Clark was CD's best
player on this night. He flirted with a triple-double as he went for 18 Points, 9
Rebounds & 8 assists. He also blocked 3 shots and tried his best to handle
that Manchild named Charron Fisher (34P & 16R, after a recount). I think out of all
the top notch Sophs in the area, Shane has the potential to be the best. That says a lot.
I am starting to worry about Jr. WG Isaac Greer (12 Points 3-of-6 on 3's). He just hasn't
seemed to make the adjustment to the new guys and has had some nagging injuries. He has
been in an early season funk. He is a better player than the kid that has been out there
thus far. I look for him to step it up in the coming weeks. He did have some
good moments late in this one. There was a pleasant surprise for the Cardinals however, as
tough, 5-7 Soph. PG Timmy Smith came in and gave them good minutes. Smith shot 3-for-3 (2
threes) and scored 8 Points. The Cardinals become a full team on Friday as the other
quality Soph. returns for the Penn Charter game.
DEC. 17
NON-LEAGUE
Kensington 75, Charles Audenried 69
This was my third time seeing the K in the last week.
That has to be a record for anybody seeing them in a whole year. I must say that they are
very much entertaining. Their free-wheeling offense lives and dies by the three and Sr. PG
Miguel Mendez and Jr. PG Baltazar "But" Feliciano really put them up. In this
one, they combined to shoot 11-for-28 from 3 and came back from a 25-12 1st Quarter
deficit to dump the Warriors. Feliciano finsihed with 35 Points (7 threes) and 5 assists.
He is one of the better Jrs. in the League. He really makes it happen at 5-6. Mendez
struggled from the field, but did wind up with 17 Points and 4 assists. These guys really
work well together. They received alot of help today from two others. 6-2 Sr. WF Izeem
Whitaker (11P, 14R & 5S) was good today. He showed that he could be a good third
option for this team. They also got a nice boost from 5-10 Soph. G Willis Pagan. The
long-haired Pagan is a defensive pest. Today he made 5-of-6 from the line in the 4th
quarter. He finshed with 10 Points. For 'Reid, 6-3 215-lb Jr. PF Prince Johnson played
well. He came off the bench to score 18 Points and grab 8 Boards. I was impressed with 5-8
Sr. PG Glover Colbert. Colbert only scored 3 Points, but he dished 8 assists. Audenried
also has a good player in 6-3 Jr. swingman Donald Henderson (12 Points). He could have a
future if he works on his craft and does the right things.
DEC. 17
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Well we are now two weeks into the Basketball
Season andI felt that this was the perfect time to give my first edition of Food for
Thought of the Season. I have to say one thing. I have a serious problem. I am a Junkie. I
have already been at about 25 Games in this young season. When do I sleep you ask? How
about almost never. I really love this and love working with these kids. There are some
big games to be played this week:
Tonight: Roman vs Dougherty @ Philadelphia University -
this game wuill be the tell tale sign of how for real this CD team is. They are
still missing one key piece to the puzzle, but that player won't be back until next
week so for the moment in game like this they can only count on 6 guys. Roman can really
only count on 7. They only have 9 on Varsity and are missing a kid that could really help
as well. This is a very evenly matchup game. Roman gets good play out of their
guards. I can't wait to see them jump it up.
Tuesday 12/18: Strawberry Mansion @ University City -
this is a big one. Mansion has already been in 4 wars on the early season and this will be
no different as the Jags are undefeated at 5-0 with good wins over Olney and E&S, but
this one will be tough. The key will be the return the the Jaguar lineup of 6-3
swingman Brandon Moton, a transfer from E&S. He sprained his ankle early in
their opener and expects to return against Mansion. 6-3 Jr. CG TaSheed Carr
has been outstanding early in the season as has 6-5 Sr. F Magen McNeil.
The match-up between T. Carr and Maureece Rice could be a good one. For
Mansion, the play of 6-2 Sr. WG Aaron Brown has been notable. He has
been one of the City's most improved players. The key in this one will be 6-6
Mansion Jr. Delton Morgan-Hines. U-City doesn't really have an inside presence.
This could be a Big game for him.
Wednesday 12/19: Friends Central @ Germantown Academy - this
game pits my Pre-Season #1 vs my PreSeason #2. This will be a good game. I really
concerned about what GA will do with FCS's guards. 6-3 Jr. PG Mustafa Shakur could
be large in this one. He is now ranked as the #1 Jr. PG in the country by the Hoop Scoop
and #15 Overall. He has Temple and the whole Big East watching his every move, Kansas and
the ACC schools such as Virginia and Florida St. trying to get in where they fit in. 6-4
Sr. swingman Mike Cook was awesome last weekend vs Central. He could be the man
again in this one. I don't want to give a prediction, I'll just be there. GA,
ofcourse has its three stars, but its best post player is slim 6-6 Freshman Brian
Grimes. He is going to be a Big Timer and could exploit FCS's weaknesses down
Low.
Thursday 12/20: Ben Franklin @ Southern - this will be
a good one to kick off the Public League Season as two of the League and the City's better
PGs will square off as Franklin's 6-1 Jr. Darnell Corbitt will face
Southern 6-2 Soph. Antoine "Do Dirty" Brown. That should be a
good one. The key here is the Rams 6-5 Jr. PF Shawn Sabb. If he gets off,
this could be a W for SP. This is a good game for who can emerge as the 2nd best Team
behind Mansion on the C-D side of the League.
Friday 12/21: Cardinal Dougherty @ Penn Charter - this is
another evenly matchup contest, that is, if Sr. PG Mike McGarvery is on
the court. He is the key if the Quakers expect to win this game. The Cardinals 6-7
Super-Soph DeSean White has been the best player in the League early on. He and 6-6
Soph. WF Shane Clark are a nice inside outside Forward tandem. Both can go inside
or out. The key here may be the play of PC's 6-5 Jr. WF Matt Ryan. He had
been steady early on in this young season.
Saturday 12/22: Strawberry Mansion @ Overbrook - boy did Coach
Hendricks schedule a killer Non-League schedule. This is a Rematch of last year's
first rd playoff game. I see 'Brook PG Murvin English getting off in this
one. He has been sensational to date. He controls games for the Panthers. This is his Team
and his teammates know it. 6-3 Sr. Angelo Hernandez is working his way
into things. He is the team's best Offensive player. 6-4 Sr. WF Shawn Ikokwu is
one of the better Utility players around. He does a bit of everything. Mansion will need a
ig one from their big gun Maureece Rice if they hope to take home a W on
the top of the hill.
Those are just some of the Big games this week. There will some other good
ones to check out as well.
I must say that in the 3 games between CL and PL teams that I attended
this weekend, the officiating was awful. It was totaly one-sided for the CL Teams. The
Zebras runied the Carroll-Overbrook game in the 4th Quarter with 3 awful calls in a row
that put Carroll ahead for good. They were at their worst in the Franklin-Roman game. They
just didn't let the Franklin kids play. In yesterday's Bartram-Neumann tilt they werew
awful, not as bad as in the Roman game, but awful. Not to take anything away from the kids
because they just play the games, but these guys are ridiculous. I took at stat. I counted
9 horrendous calls against Bartram and one against Neumann (Fulton's 2 was a 3). There
were 4 charge calls called against the Braves and only one of them you could even argue
being right. I mean not only did Bartram have to beat a rather formidable Neumann team,
but the bad CL Refs as well. I know all of these teams were the home teams, but man. These
guys need to go back to school.
I have a comment: The Public League Division B is Murder! There
are 7 Teams in that Division that have atleast 1 D1 Prospect. West Philly (Eugene Myatt
& Derrick Hall), U-City (TaSheed Carr), Central (Sharif Bray), Overbrook (Angelo
Hernandez), Bartram (Richard Francis, Jason Cain, Bryant Leach, Jones and Abdus-Salaam
could be as well and Freshman Dasiah Miller is also a good one), King (Raheem Scott, Wayne
Marshall, maybe Darron Bradley and Quincy Marshall) and Gratz ( Michael Blackshear,
Maurice Collins, Omar Johnson, Matthew Walden). Germantown has some very good Sophs and
two Jrs that could be quality D2 players in 6-1 G Wallace Battle and 6-5 F Keith Shanks.
There will be no easy outs in that Division. I think that everybody will lose at least
once. That Division could be just as good as any Division around. Division A ain't shabby
either. Northeast, Dobbins Tech, Olney, Frankford and Washington will all be good. I have
said it before and I'll say it again, the Pub is back. I'm a large fan of the Pub and good
times are here again.
I want to give you guys my updated favorites since we are two
weeks into the season. The CL South is seriously up for grabs. Carroll may be the
favorite, but I think we all would agree that there is something missing from that team
for the moment. Bonner has struggled, but has the talent to do it as they only have one
loss. Neumann executes better than they did lasy year and that team had 5 D1 Players
on it. They have a quality 4 guard rotation and I've been very impressed with 6-5 Soph.
jack of all trades Adon El. They do need more from their other frontcourters though. Roman
is young, but they are Roman and they have the mosy physically dominant player in the
League in Charron Fisher. They too, are young, unselfish and scrappy. West Catholic and
Prep are major League Sleepers. I wouldn't be surprised if one or both made the
Playoffs. Prep is the most well coached team in the League. West Catholic just plays
harder than everybody else and they throw waves of guys at you. They are the most mentally
tough team in the League and that's because they have the most mentally tough Coach in the
League. O'Hara is going to steal a few games from teams. When their guards get hot,
they can play with anybody. Kennedy Kenrick is better. this will be one of those years
that every team will have 3 or more losses. I can see the winner of the South
having 4 Ls. Cardinal Doutherty is clearly the team to beat in the North.
In the Pub, there is no clear cut Favorite in
my opinion. There are 6 of them and there are Gratz (2-0), King (5-0), Bartram (7-0),
Overbrook (2-2), Northeast (6-1) & Mansion (4-2). Also Central, Dobbins Tech and
University City are breathing right down their neck and I really feel that Roxborough with
the return of Dahliek Powell and Big, Deep Frankford will be very good by February.
Also I'm looking at E&S, FLC, Washington and Southern with a close eye as they could
make some noise.
Last, but not least, I'll be making updates to my list next week
around this time. There will be some additions and some subtractions, some position
changes and many some movers and shakers. There are a few guys that I want to mention
right now that have really made an impression on me and they are Bartram Jr. PG Charles
Jones, Mansion Sr. WG Aaron Brown, Overbrook Sr. PG Murvin English and Sr. PF Kristian
Clarkson and Central Sr. WG Khalif Leek. These are just a few names that will make jumps
on the list. Until the next Food for Thought, I'm signing off.
DEC. 15
ARCHBISHOP CARROLL CLASSIC CHAMPIONSHIP
Archbishop Carroll 51, Overbrook 44
First I must talk -- well, probably laugh -- about
another Tom "Hockey Puck" McKenna moment. Before the game the
over-zealous Puck kept babbling about who was going to do the Carroll scorebook.
He attempted to skip a step when going from the scoretable to the floor and tripped
over the step that he missed, he fell to the floor taking the Carroll banner
with him. This was classic as the whole gym was hysterical. The funniest part about
it was the fact that Puck just got up and looked around like nothing happend and
there weren't 500 laughing people in the gym . . . Now to the game. This game was played
to the Patriot pace and when you play to their pace it is tough to win. This one was close
all the way. Carroll was led by the incumbant 5-9 Jr. PG Kashif Payne.
Payne scored 13 Points and dished 4 assists. He took over the game in the 4th Quarter as
well. He had to because this one was tied at 35 after 3. The most impressive thing
about Payne in this one was the fact that he played man to man defense against the
white-hot Overbrook Sr. PG Murvin English (0-for-9) holding him to a
donut. English came into this game averaging 25 PPG. "Sheefy" also
controlled the game in the latter stages as he also seems to when they have
a lead. He is the best PG in the League, period. Payne main halp came as always from
6-7 Jr C Jordan Ingram. Ingram scored 12 Points, snatched 15 Rebounds
& swatted 5 shots (3 in the 4th). His offense still isn't close to being there,
but his defense and rebounding may be sceond to none in the area. I
was impressed with two other Pats and they were 6-3 Soph. CG Mike
Springman and 6-5 Sr. PF Evan Dittler. Springman couldn't
buy a basket as he was 0-for-5 from 3, but dished 8 assists. He saw that his shot
wasn't falling and went to the other facets of the game. Dittler showed a ! nice mid range
touch. He scored 10 Points on 5-for-6 shooting in a 6th man role. 6-9 Jr. F Sean
McKeon got his first start of the season. He showed nice touch in scoring 4
points. He also grabbed 4 Boards and blocked 2. 6-8 Freshman C Kenny Tribbett played
very well off of the bench. The big guy went for 4P & 4R of his own. He is the best
Freshman in the area, he was very active. By next year, I don't think Coach Roe will
be able to keep him off of the court. Its a shame that 6-5 Jr. F Kyle Giresi may
be out for the season with a leg injury suffered the night before against Malvern Prep. We
all wish Kyle a speedy recovery. Though English had a bad shooting night, he still may
have been 'Brook's best player in this one. Murv dropped 8 dimes and stole 3. He also kept
his composure when he could have really blew up. He makes this team that much better. In
the Pub wars you need a general like English. 6-3 Sr. WG Angelo Hernandez had
a poor shot selection in this one. He does have an excuse as this was only his second game
back. He hasn't practiced in three weeks either. He shot 6-for-17 for 18 Points. He is one
guy that the opposition doesn't want to get rolling as he can bomb you for 40 if he does.
He has Low to Mid Major abilities. He did grab 6 rebounds and picked 4 steals. Every
time I see 6-7 Sr. PF Kristian Clarkson, I leave more and more impressed.
His upside is tremendous. He scored 10 Points and grabbed 11 Rebounds. He had two
beautiful slams in traffic. One of those slams made for the play of the day as he went
over three Carroll guys and was fouled. 6-5 Jr. PF Elijah Talbert snared
12 Rebounds. 6-4 Sr. WF Shawn Ikokwu who was also in his second game back
had a nice line of 10P,7R,3A & 2S. You'll get that kind of production from him all
season. That Panther bench was nonexistant in this one. Their normal 6th Man 5-8
Soph. PG Maurice Milner was out with a thumb injury. He could have been a
difference maker, especially in guarding Payne late in the game. I must say again that the
Pats received alot of help from the Zebras especially in the 4th Quarter. These Refs were
bad as they made three bad calls in a row in one stretch. This was a good test for both
teams as it will get them ready for the wars in the respective League.
DEC. 15
NON-LEAGUE
Roman Catholic 91, Ben Franklin 71
Though the Temperature is beginning to feel more wintery
outside, the heat was on Hell yesterday in Roman's Legendary gym. The Cahillites shot a
sizzling 34-for-52 (65%) from the field and dished 25 assists on 34 baskets. Roman scored
the game's first 12 Points and led 25-9 after one. It also helped the Roman cause that
Franklin committed 8 first Quarter Turnovers and played suspect defense all night long.
Not to mention that the Refs were very much Pro Roman in this one. They seemed to call
every ticky-tack foul they could on Franklin instead of just letting these kids play. The
Cahillites were led by sweet-shooting, 6-2 Soph. lefty, Andre Sloan-El.
Sloan-El shot 8-for-12 from the field and 8-for-10 from the line for 26 Points. He also
dished 5 assists and snatched 4 steals. His partner in crime on the gridiron and on the
hardwood 6-4 225-lb Soph. Manchild, F Charron Fisher had a line of 22
Points (8-for-10, 6-for-6), 12 Rebounds and 4 Blocks. Charron may not be quite 6-4, but I
you can list him at 6-6 if you want because he plays bigger than anybody in the area. He
had two of his monsterous slams in this one. One of them was a goodie off of a miss and
over two Electrons. Villanova assistant, Joe Jones calls him a Freak.
Charron is a specimen. He is going to terrorize the Catholic League this year. I was very
impressed with 5-8 Sr. PG Tyree Wallace. Ty is finally getting a chance
to run the show and he has been successful thus far. In this one he only scored 6 Points,
but he dished 6 assists and plucked 3 steals. 5 of his assists came in the 1st Quarter. I
like the way 6-4 Sr. F Jon Duperon (14P & 9R) has stepped up. He did
yeoman's work down low for the Cahillites. 5-8 Frosh. PG Bobby Jordan saw
quality action in this. He scored 5 and dished 4. He is one of the city's better Freshman
PGs. For the Electrons I left very impressed with 6-3 Sr. Warrior Danny Jackso! n.
Jackson scored 22 Points and snared a game high 16 Rebounds. He battled and battled
and battled for Franklin all game. His main help came from 6-2 Freshman Phenom
Andre Glover. Glover only shot 5-for-15 for 12 Points, but seemed to get a shot
whenever he wanted and wherever he wanted. They just didn't all drop today. The head
Electron 6-1 Jr. PG Darnell Corbitt (8 Points) was plagued by foul
trouble in this one. I'm looking forward to this rivalry bring annual. These schools are
no more than three blocks apart.
DEC. 14
NON-LEAGUE
Friends' Central 62, Central 59
Whew! I'm still catching my breath after this one.
This game had game of the year potential. This game had everything you wanted in a
high school Basketball Classic. You want a loud, raucus crowd, Central's spirited gym
was filled to capacity. You want stars in the crowd, every prominent High school player
that didn't have a game was here as were many High School Coaches (Yankowitz,
Ellerbee and Powell) and Summer Coaches (John Hardnett, Greg
Wright and Larry Waiters). Hard-working, Temple assistant
Dan Liebowitz was also in attendance. Needless to say, there were all kinds
of faces in the place tonight. This was a large game. Though these Lancers lost this one,
they not losers in any way, shape or form. This team BRINGS IT especially in their
gym. I don't see too many teams winning here, no matter who they are. This may be the
toughest team in the League mentally outside of Gratz. They really took
this star-laden Friends Central squad to the limit. These guys have become one
of my favorites to watch in the League. They have nobody over 6-4, but everybody crashes
the boards. Nobody is above this team. Let's look inside the numbers. The star of this
game was Friends Central's 6-4 215-lb Sr. swingman Mike Cook. Cook scored
27 Points on an amazing 17-for-24 from the line and 2-for-3 from 3. He also grabbed
10 Boards. Cook was outstanding. I don't know how some of the high major schools that have
questioned some of his abilities are not recruiting him. This kid just plain gets it done.
He could have fouled out Central's whole front line. Superstar, 6-3 Jr. PG
Mustafa Shakur didn't have one his better games and for some reason he never does
against Central and Sharif Bray inside or outside of school. You could
tell that it weighed on him a little in this one. He kind of rushed things and got into
the crowd stuff. He rushed at times (8 Turnovers) like he had something to prove instead
of just being himself and letting the game come to him. He did finish with 14 Points, but
only shot 5-of-14. He did wow the crowd in the 2nd Quarter when he crossed a frozen Bray
over and went to the hole for an acrobatic lay-up. That may have been the play
of the night. 5-10 Sr. PG Shejdie Childs, who really struggled in the
first half, came through just like he always seems to in the second. In the third
quarter alone he scored 5 points, dished 2 assists and picked 4 pockets. His
finishing line was 8P,4R,4A & 4S. 6-7 Jr. F London Houston blocked 4
shots and grabbed 6 Rebounds. His shot was off so he only scored 2 points. For Central,
the two kids who impressed me the most were 6-3 Sr. swingman Khalif Leek and
6-2 Sr. WG Khary Kenyatta. Both of these kids are better than I thought.
Leek was 0-for-6 and had only 2 Points in the first 3 Quarters, but forget all that
because in the 4th he really showed what he is made of scored 13
Points, securing 4 Rebounds and making 3 steals. On two of those steals, he
played tough man-to-man defense against Shakur and plucked him clean. Leek played all
three perimeter positions in this one. he was very impressive as he ended with 15 Points,
7 Rebounds and 3 Steals. I feel that the state schools should be knocking on his
door. This kid is unassuming, but he really gives maximum effort night in and
night out and just does so many things well. Kenyatta, as well, is a staunch defender. He
really got this team through some of the tough moments like when Friends Central went up
by 14 early in the third (11-2 run). This team took a knock-out punch on the chin and
came back behind Kenyatta. He finished with 15 Points as well and swiped 3 steals. This
kid scores with ease. He gave Childs fits in the first half with his defense. There will
be better days however, for 6-2 Sr. PG Sharif Bray. He just couldn't
buy one from deep (0-for-7 on threes). It seemed like all of his long balls went in
and came out. He did finish with 10 Points, 5 Boards, 4 assists and 3 steals before
fouling out. He played Shakur one-on-one early on and go the best of him. His length
really bothered "Staf." This is one of those cases when a player just has
another player's number. 6-3 High-Rising Sr. WF Richard Campbell played
with great energy early, but was almost non-existent in the first half. He caught a
ceiling scraping ally-oop from Bray in the first half that had the whole gym going
nuts. He scored all 8 of his points in the first half, but did have a game high 13
Boards. Last, but not least 6-2 190-lb Freshman swingman Scott Rodgers
(4P,5R,2S) was also impressive. Coach Harper calls him his best Post Player. He did a
great defensive job on Cook. Cook was just a freight train tonight. He's the future of
Central's program. Some other interesting citing s at this one were that even the
brainiacs at Central are part of the Pub. They chanted Bull$#!% in the 4th Quarter
when the refs made a questionable foul and call and even staged a walk-out with 9
Secs remaining. This game was legendary. I was just happy to be a part of it.
DEC. 13
NORTH CATHOLIC TOURNAMENT
West Catholic 68, Bishop McDevitt 47
In this one, I'll concentrate on McDevitt as the man in
charge, Ted and I tag-teamed on this one. However, I must say one thing about the
Burrs of West Catholic. I was really wrong about this young bunch. They could really be in
the thick of things during League Play. This is just one of those years and this is one of
those teams that really brings it night in and night out. This team is deep and unselfish.
They wear that Family logo on their T-shirts very proudly. In this one they dismantled the
Lancers and really took them out of what they like to do, and that is run. Their only two
real bright spots were 5-9 Sr. PG Isaiah Pinckney and 6-5
Jr. C-F Mike Ross. Pinckney, who has a very funny looking shot, went for 20
Points on 8-for-20 shooting and he doled out all 4 of the McDevitt assists. I joked with
Ted and Huck, that Pinckney's shot is broke, but don't fix it because it goes in. Ross had
a tough game from the field (2-for-10), but scored 11 Points and grabbed a game
high 15 Rebounds. This lefty has excellent body control and even better footwork. I
really like him. His one flaw is that he doesn't finish all that well at this point in
time. Once he realizes that he is a lefty and that being lefthanded makes him a
tough guard he'll be even better. McDevitt did get a little deeper as 6-2
Jr. WG Chris Hanes, another southpaw, came back from academic woes in this one. Coach
Rutter looks to be bringing him along slowly.
DEC. 13
NON-LEAGUE
Frankford 68, Robert Lamberton 55
DEC. 12
NON-LEAGUE
Abraham Lincoln 77, Kensington 69
I went to this one at the last minute. Last Season I
really didn't get to see some of the have-nots of the Pub and this year I told myself that
I didn't want that to happen again. This one could have went either way I figured so I
went. However, when I arrived Kensington Coach Joe Egenolf told me that he was benching a
few starters for missing practice the day before. With three Tiger Starters on
the Bench for the 1st Quarter, the Young Rail-splitters jumped out to a 17-7 Lead after
one and never really looked back. Lincoln was lead by 6-4 Sr. WF Nick
Martin. Martin scored 26 Points, had 17 window cleaners and blocked 3 shots.
He is very athletic. he would be good for a D3 School. He is very good from the foul line
in. The rest of Lincoln's team was basically a bunch of Freshman and Sophs. One Jr.
5-8 PG John "Wes" Davis had a nice game. He scored 13 Points
and snatched 4 steals. I like 6-2 Soph. Swingman Dennis Davis as
well. He is as frail as they come. I list him at 135-lbs, but he does a good job with
what he has. He scored 14 Points and dished 4 assists. He really turned it up in the
second half when The K went on a furious run. Two Freshman were also impressive for
Lincoln. 5-10 PG Drescon Diggs (6P,4A,5S) started at the off Guard
and strong, 5-11 WG Rhymil Walker was the sixth man. Walker doesn't have
the build of a Freshman. He already plays above the rim. This kid was doing I kinds of
dunks in the warm-up line before the Refs came. Both of these guards could be promising in
time. For the Tigers, the slow start really hurt them, but boy did they finish with a
flurry. Their two stars 5-7 Jr. PG Baltazar Feliciano and 5-11
Sr. PG Miguel Mendez combined to shoot 6-for -9 from 3 in the 4th Quarter.
Kensington scored 32 4th Quarter Points. it was very exciting. Feliciano, who didn't
start, ! went for 18 Points, 4 assists and 4 steals. Mendez, who screamed at the bench
during the first quarter , "Ya'll better come to practice tomorrow," went for 20
Points, 5 assists and 2 steals. Mendez is a gamer. He can play anywhere in D3 and probably
D2. He plays very hard and is fearless. He is also said to be a very good student.
However, today they got something from 6-3 Sr. WF Izeem Whitaker.
Whitaker, who didn't start either, went for 10 Points, 6 boards and 3 steals. He also had
a resounding dunk on the break. He's got some lift. That makes sense because he is
the first cousin of Dobbins star Barren Grier and FLC Soph.
Joshua Grier. All three are first cousins. That has to be Kensington's most
athletic family. The Tigers also have an impressive Soph. in 6-2 WF Lamont
"Black" Berian (9P,11R). He, too is a very good athlete. His hands are
like suction cups. If this Kensington Team can stay together as one all season, they may
steal one from somebody down the road. They are not bad when they are hitting on all
cylinders.
NON-LEAGUE
DEC. 11
Martin Luther King 71, Strawberry Mansion 67 (OT)
Is it Late February? Was I at St. Joe's
yesterday? Well I sure felt like it
yesterday as this Public League contest had a playoff feel. The
one comment
I will make right now is that the Pub is back! It may have been
down for a
while, but the Pub is getting back to prominence. Mansion's
early season
schedule has been brutal. They've already played Central,
Chester, Glen
Mills, West Philly and King. They have U-City and Overbrook
coming up in the
next week or so. This was serious preparation for what's to
come. This was
as good as it gets. Nobody in this one had a lead of more than
6 points. It
went all the way down to the wire. The Cougars won this one
behind their
dominant size at all positions except. That could prove key
when the stretch
run does approach. These Cougars are undefeated for many
reasons. I think
this team really wants it. This isn't like any of the Teams of
old. They are
absolutely loaded from 1 through 7. My only concern is that
they just don't
have an 8th guy who could step up if they needed one. In games
like these in
the future, they could be in trouble. Nevertheless, today's
star in my
estimation was the unassuming, 6-4 Sr. swingman Akeem Wright.
Wright, who
doesn't always seem to be confident, brought it today and
showed all of his
talents. He has some nice skills and he's only 16 which means
that Prep
could be an option. He scored 20 Points (6-for-10, 2-for-4 from
3,
6-for-10). He was great today. Some of his teammates had more
complete games
today, but Wright was the difference. This isn't the first time
I've said
this and it probably won't be the last, but 6-10 235-lb Jr. C
Wayne Marshall
is a stud. I just wish they would feed the Big Fella a whole
lot more on
Offense. This kid is the best passer on the team. He could be
like the Shaq
of the Pub as nobody can pass out of a double team like him. He
may have
some high assist games this season. He needs to get more shots.
If I'm Coach
Moore, he's my Primary Option. In this one he scored 11 Points
(4-for-5
shooting), grabbed 12 Boards, snatched 5 steals, dished 2
assists and
blocked 3 shots. He also had two monster dunks. One of them,
with a Mansion
defender holding one of his arms. He actually dunked the ball
and went up
and took the guy with him. The crowd went nuts. He is so
aggressive that he
tries to dunk every time he's near the basket and he should. He
is the best
Prospect in the League. For now, the Hoop Scoop rates him the
#125 Jr. in
the Country. I feel he's better than that. He'll be in the Top
50 before
long. Coach Billy Hahn and his top assistant were in attendance
as well as a
Temple assistant. The Cougars are very lucky to have a kid like
6-2 190-lb
Sr. PG Raheem Scott. They have a second Coach with him on the
floor. His
decision making is second to none. It makes up for the fact
that he is a
step slow and not all that athletic. His basketball IQ and the
fact that he
is a lefty make him a very good basketball player. Scott had a
more complete
game than anybody with a line of: 17 Points, 9 Boards, 5
assists and 5
steals. Chiseled, 6-5 215-lb PF Darren Bradley was also good.
His line was
an impressive: 17P, 9R, 4B & 3S. For Mansion, "The
Phenom" 6-0 210-lb Jr. CG
Maureece Rice was merely good, not great. He went for 24 Points
(9-for-22)
and 3 assists, but only scored 4 of those between in the 4th
Quarter and the
OT Periods. He didn't score at all in the 4th and took only 2
shots in that
frame. He just wasn't aggressive enough down the stretch. When
you are as
good as he is, you have to demand the ball in these situations
and he knows
that. The kid that has been lighting the scoreboards up has
been 6-2 Sr. WG
Aaron Brown. Brown has really brought it this season. He scored
20 Points
(8-for-15, 4-of-6 from 3) today. He averages 21. He is more
confident than
ever. He may opt to Prep as well. his grades are fine. He may
qualify from
what I know, but is also very young for a Sr. at 16. I was
really impressed
with King Transfer 6-6 Jr. PF Delton Morgan-Hines (9P,12R &
4S). He is very
intense, aggressive and active. His body looks as if he could
grow a few
more inches as well. He is a Division 1 Player. Two other
Mansion players
brought their A Games. They were 6-5 Sr. WF Dawud Morris (6P,8R
& 2B) and
5-11 Sr. PG Maurice Stennis (6P (2-of-3 from 3),6A & 3S).
Morris should have
the D3s salivating over him and maybe the D2s. He is so long
and has a nice
outside touch. Stennis played one of the better games that I've
ever seen
him play. He was much stronger with the ball than he has been
in the past
and he made great decisions. Mansion also has a good youngster
in 6-6 220-lb
Soph. C Brian Draper. Draper's body-type mirrors DeSean
White's. He did
nothng productive today, but will really help them by season's
end. It would
have really been interesting if Mansion's 6-2 Sr. F Sheriff
Jackson and 6-1
Sr. G Wayne Harrington had played in this one. Both players
didn't make the
trip. They are two of the Knights top 8. Both of these teams
are in my Top 6
Pub Teams along with Gratz, Bartram, Northeast and Overbrook. I
just can't
figure out who is #1? and who is #6? It will be a very exciting
year in the
Pub.
NON-LEAGUE
DEC. 10
Horace Furness 81, Kensington 67
I looked at the schedule and I knew that this would be a
good one. This was going to be my first trip to 4th and Shunk. Both teams have underrated
guards and no size so I figured it would be a track meet and a fun one to cover. I wasn't
wrong either. Today's star was Furness' 6-1 Sr. CG David Watson. Watson has grown 4
inches (5-9 to 6-1) since last season. He was good then. He's better now. His athleticism
allows him to elevate over people and he now plays above the rim. Today Watson put on a
show as he scored 33 Points (13-for-25, 6-for-11), pulled 16 Rebounds and swiped 3 steals.
Watson should be getting widespread D2 Interest. He tells me that Coppin St. and Lehigh
are sniffing. He also says that Prep School is an Option. I know that he doesn't
turn 17 until later this month. His Coach tells me that his GPA is over a 3.0.
Today's other star for Furness was reckless Freshman 6-1 CG Amir Ryan. Ryan is wise
beyond his years and can play with anybody. He plays extremely hard and is effective from
either guard position. Today he played more of the Point and went for 10 Points, 11
Assists, 5 rebounds and 5 steals. This kid dives on the floor on every play. He could be a
stud in the making. He also has a very nice build for a Freshman. 5-8 Sr. PG
Daniel Saunders was solid with 16 Points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. This Furness Team
has 6 very good Point guards on its roster. The others are 5-7 Sr. Muneer
Young (8P & 3A), 5-9 Sr. Marques McIntosh and 5-10 Soph.
Tywain McKee (neither dressed for this one). Furness doled out 22 Assists on 31
Baskets. They play a nice unselfish brand of basketball that is very fun to watch.
Especially because of the fact that sometimes there are 4 PGs on the floor at the same
time. They could be very formidable in their division. With those Guards,
they'll win some games and maybe even slip into t! he playoffs. However, with no real size
(their biggest guy is 6-3 240-lb So. Jared Hunter) there will be some tough times. For the
K, there are only two guys to mention. They'll probably be the only guys to mention all
season. They are 5-11 Sr. PG Miguel Mendez and Edison transfer, 5-7 Jr. PG
Baltazar Feliciano. They put up big numbers game in and game out and play an exciting
brand of free-wheeling basketball. They just plain bring it night in and night out. I just
wish they had better players around them. In this one Mendez went for 30 Points on
13-for-25, 4-for-12 from three and Feliciano went for 27 Points on 9-for-21, 3-for-11 on
3's and 6-for-10 from the line. He also had 5 Boards and 4 assists. The problem is that
nobody else was even close to being a factor. This game was very close until the 3rd
Quarter. The Tigers led at Halftime 33-32. Then Furness went on a 9-0 Run to start the 3rd
Quarter and never looked back. Watson scored 22 in the 2nd Half alone and Ryan dished 6
assists in the 4th Quarter. This was good basketball. I could watch this all day.
NON-LEAGUE
DEC. 9
Cardinal Dougherty 58, Monsignor Bonner 47
This one was a dogfight to say the least. I though it was January
and
I was watching Prep-Carroll. This was a good experience for those young Pups
of Cardinal Doughery HS. Bonner's physical play really bothered them.
Nevertheless, the Cardinals still came through. The head Card today was 6-7
Soph. PF DeSean White. White, in my etismation, is the best player in the
League right now. He goes inside and out and rebounds with the best of them.
On this day, he went for a triple-double of a hard-earned 17 Points
(6-of-18, 5-of-8), 14 window-cleaners (That's a new one) and 10 Blocked
shots. His last 3 Blocks were key as they all came on the same sequence in
the 4th Quarter as he blocked three Bonner shots in a row. The Friars demise
came as a result of them not scoring for the first 4:20 of the 4th Quarter.
White's main help came from 6-2 Sr. WG Tim Smink. Smink has added some off
the dribble game to his deep shooting arsenal. Today, he played a very
complete game. He scored 14 Points (6-for-11, 2-for-4 from 3), grabbed 10
Boards and dished 3 assists. 6-6 Soph. WF Shane Clark was also outstanding.
The long, lanky Clark scored 12 Points and grabbed 8 Boards. I think that he
could the best player in the Soph. Class in the end. He is a stud. Villanova
assistant, Joe Jones was out to see Clark and White. He left very impressed.
There will be better days for Bonner's franchise 6-4 Sr. WG Matt Kearney. He
was more aggressive in this one than I've ever seen him, but he may have had
the worst game of his whole career as he shot 1-for-17 an only scored 4
Points before fouling out late in the 4th. Yet and still he played
outstanding physical Defense on White, Clark and 6-0 Jr. G Isaac Greer (8P &
3A) and he snatched 11 Boards. Bonner's most improved player and probably
the most improved player in the whole League, 6-3 Sr. WF Anthony Bennett was
today's star. 3 or 4 D3 schools were in attendance to see him and he didn't
disappoint. He is the best defender in the League. Bennett scored 14 Points,
cleaned the window 11 times and blocked 5 shots. He defended White and Clark
alot as well. It was ironic, but Coach Welde didn't start 6-7 Sr. C Vince
"Call Me 6-8" Taraborrelli. Vince played less than 8 minutes in this one. The
irony lies in the fact that he may have had his most productive game
considering the circumstances. He went for 6P & 4R in limited time. I'd also
like to see more of 5-9 Sr. PG Kenny Jackson on the point. I feel that he is
theor best pure floor general and the fact that he's a Sr. makes him
deserving of the PG chores. There is a tough road ahead for these Friars as
they take on always tough Glen Mills this week and go down to D.C for the
always tough Gonzaga Tourney before Christmas.
NON-LEAGUE
DEC. 8
St. John Neumann 75, Southern 57
This matchup should have been
set up ages ago. There was a Full house
at 26th and Moore to see the Battle of South Philly. Many
former SJN and
SPHS players and South Philly Legends were in attendance.
Donnie Carr (Roman
96'), Daniel Prescott (Southern 93'), Rashid Bey (SJN 94'),
Charles "Chew"
Bostic (Southern 97'), Jarrard "Mutch" Jones
(Southern 99') and the backcourt
from 2001's Neumann Championship Team Cantrell
"Man-Man" Fletcher and Robert
"Beattie" Taylor just to name a few. This was how it
should be. I had a
brain storm about 15 minutes before tip-off. Why don't Coach
Arrigale
and Coach Anderson put their heads together and try to get some
sponsorship
for this event in the future. It could be called "The
XXXXX Classic." The
game started and one player stole the show. Even though it in
was a losing
effort Southern's 6-2 Soph. PG Antoine "Do Dirty"
Brown proved to everybody
in South Philly and to everybody in the building that he is the
best PG
Prospect in the Sophomore Class. I have been saying it for the
last few
months, but it became true last night. "Do-Dirty" was
outstanding in the
first quarter as he scored 9 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Brown
was the best
player on the floor last night. I've said it before and I'll
say it again,
He's a Big Timer in the making. He finished with a game high 19
Points
(7-for-13 3-for-6 from 3) and 3 assists. I didn't take turnover
stats, but
I'm almost sure that he didn't turn the ball over once.
Everybody walked in
the building talking about the exciting Neumann guard Richard
"Tabby"
Cunningham (11 Points & 3 assists), but left raving about
the relentless
Brown. Well-Respected National and Local Talent Evaluator Norm
Eavenson was
in attendance and he said to me that "Brown could be a Big
Timer." The
problem was that for many stretches of the game, the Young Rams
lost their
composure. Neumann was led by the outstanding play of Sr. WG
Chris Del
Brocco. He played like a Sr. in this one as he went for 15
Points (5-for-11
from distance), 7 assists and 3 steals. I know that all summer
and before
the season, the Neumann Coaching Staff challenged Chris to do
more and be
more than just a shooter and today he was more. His defense has
improved and
his passing was pinpoint. The other player that I said before
was underrated
that really played well last night was 5-8 Jr. PG Antwain Wynn.
Wynn, a
lefty, has really gotten more aggressive on both ends and is
looking to
score more now. Nevertheless, he's does all the things that a
PG is supposed
to do. In this one he had an impressive line off the bench of:
9 Points, 7
assists and 4 steals. They also got a solid outing from 6-5
215-lb Jr. PF
Penn Wood transfer Todd Johnson. Johnson, who was playing with
a thigh
injury, went for 12 Points and 10 Boards. He also made the play
of the day
at the end of the 1st Quarter when he picked off an errant pass
at halfcourt
and took it home for a monster slam. This kid may be the CL's
best Athlete.
He's a skywalker. I'd like to see 6-8 250-lb Jr. C Ben Smith
again to make
another evaluation. He is a mountain of a kid though. Neumann's
passing may
have been the best part of the game as they had 24 assists on
30 Baskets.
That's as good as it gets. Brown's primary help came from his
Big Brother
6-3 Sr. Utility Player Roosevelt "Ro-Ro" Brown. Brown
was playing in his
first game of the season. He shot 5-of-8 and 5-of-7 for 15
Points. He is
this Team's leader. 6-5 Jr. PF Shawn Sabb scored 10 Points
(4-of-6) and
grabbed a game high 12 Boards. Sabb has to get more shots than
that for this
team to win a game like this. I'm really starting to worry
about 6-1 Soph.
CG Keith Grimes (1-for-10 3 Points). Grimes has the potential
to be very
good and he is solid now as he may be quicker with ball than
anybody in the
city, but he seems to play out of control a little too much for
my liking.
When he's under control, he's a good player. He really hurt
them in the 3rd
quarter. As they were battling back Grimes made some key
turnovers and took
some Iladvised shots. If he had let the game come to him, this
game could
have had a different because this was the stretch in which the
Pirates made
the run to put them away. The other reason for this one going
out of reach
in the 2nd Half lied in the fact that Grimes in his aggressive
nature wanted
to handle the PG chores in the 2nd Half taking the Ball out of
Brown's sure
hands and taking him out of the flow of the game in the 3rd
quarter.
Nevertheless, Coach Anderson will have these guys ready come
playoff time.
The one thing that I always like about the Bronx Native is that
he never
ducks anybody with his schedule. He almost always plays one of
the tougher
schedules in the Public League. Nobody wants to see him come
playoff time
because his guys are always ready and I see good things for
these young
Rams.
NON-LEAGUE
DEC. 8
Overbrook 84, Mastbaum Tech 61
The one thing that I have
been telling everybody during my Fall Travels
is to not Count Overbrook out of the Favorites Equation. Some
have said that
I'm going too far or their not that good or whatever, but I'm
not so sure
that this Team isn't the Favorite to cut down the nets. These
guys play
together nore than anybody besides Gratz and they have good
size and depth.
On this day, they were missing 7 Players from what will be a
finsihed
Product in March. 2 Tall Forwards are Ineligible and 3 Reserves
and 2 (Srs
6-3 WG Angelo Hernandez and 6-4 WF Shawn Ikokwu) out of their 3
Team Leaders
were suspended 2 Games for Violating Team Rules. They'll be
back next week
for the Carroll Tournament. However, the thrid member of the
Big Three has
more than stepped up for the losses. Franklin transfer 5-11 Sr.
PG Murvin
English has really worked on his game over the summer. He is
going go to
make a nice jump on my list when I do the my Updates before
Christmas. Today
English went for 30 Points and dished 3 assists. I have really
grown to like
him. The best part about him is the fact that he's an honor
student and a
good kid. State Schools have been in steady contact already
with Murv. He
got alot of help today from his two Sophomore Understudies 5-8
Maurice
Milner and 5-6 Kyle Copeland. These two have the potential to
be the best
backcourt in the League in a few years. both are agressive and
play
tenacious defense. Milner can Dunk! Right now I feel that he is
the better
of the two as he has a nic jump shot and he just plays with an
edge. Milner
went for 13 Points and 4 steals today, while the even more
Defensive-minded
Copeland had a line of 16 Points, 4 assists and 3 steals. They
should be
both watched with a close eye. Coach ford tells me that they
are both Good
Students as well and that Milner is an Honor Student. Playing
with a heady
Sr. PG like English can only help this tandem. As goos as all
of them were
thebest player for 'Brook today was 6-7 210-lb Sr. PF Kristian
Clarkson.
Clarkson is another kid that the state schools should be all
over and maybe
even better before long. He has improved more than anybody in
the city from
one year to the next. His impressive line was: 12 Points, 11
Rebounds, 9
Blocks and 4 steals. He was awesome. The sky is the limit for
this kid if he
keeps working on his game and getting better. He too is a great
kid as
during his Jr. Year he played 3 Sports (Football in the Fall,
Basketball in
the Winter and Baseball in the Spring) and held down a night
job at the
Grays Ferry Pathmark in South Philly where he is from. He
transfered to
'Brook from St. John Neumann after his Freshman year and has
also been said
to be a very good student. The Panthers also have a quality
Freshman who
receives minutes in the line-up in 6-4 Swingman Ryheim Miller
(3P & 3R). He
is going to be very good by the end of the season and may be
the star of
this bunch by next season. This bunch could be poised to go all
the way by
Late February. They have all the tools. For Mastbaum, this is
truly a down
year. They do have one bright spot in 6-3 Jr. WF James Robbins.
Robbins is a
great athlete. He went for 19P,12R & 3S. They got a nice
boost off the bench
from strong 6-0 Sr. swingman Kevin Leonard. Leonard scored 16P
and pulled
10R. They also got a nice boost from 6-1 Soph. CG Marion Rose.
His line was:
9P,5A & 4R. They also have a nice player in 6-5 Sr. PF
Keith Peel. Peel sat
out the whole second half with a sprained ankle. He has grown a
few inches
over the summer and is very active around the basket.
NON-LEAGUE
DEC. 7
Monsignor Bonner 55, Archbishop Wood 52
Sinve myself and Ted
tag-teamed on this one, I'll concentrate on those
Vikings of Archbishop Wood. The Viks started very fast in this
one behind
their franchise 6-3 Sr. G Mike Spadafora. Spadafora is
receiving Lower Level
D1 Interest. Patriot/Ivy would be the ideal situation for him.
Mike scored
10 first quarter points and pushed Wood to a 18-11 lead after
one. After
that, it went downhill for Mike, who has been said to have been
out with an
injury until right before the season. He finshed up shooting
4-for-19 for 15
Points. However, he did get on the boards as he led the Vikings
swith 9. His
main help this season will come from 6-2 Sr. swingman Tim
Dougherty. In this
one he played tough and went for 11P & 8R. 6-2 Jr. CG Greg
Arrow also had a
nice game with 13 Points. This one went down to the wire and
could have gone
either way, except for a turnover by Spadafora. That's the only
way I would
have went down if I were Coach Sette even though Mike struggled
throughout.
The surprise of the season for Wood has to be the fact that 6-3
Freshman
Swingman Matt Spadafora (8P & 3A), Mike's younger brother,
is in the Viking
Starting lineup. Reports all Fall were that Young Matt was
impressive during
workouts. One thing's for sure: He is athletic, sound and
poised beyond his
years. He's going to be a player. The one disappointment that I
have is not
seeing 6-5 Sr. C Pat Thompson out there for Wood. He would
really be a
difference maker on this team. He was one of my favorites. He
just plays and
he was the team's best and well only Rebounder. His loss really
hurts this
bunch because with him they challenge Dougherty for the Title.
Without him,
they will have to battle for everything.
NON-LEAGUE
DEC. 7
John Bartram 89, Parkway 58
This one was fast and furious
just the way the Braves like it in their
spirited gym. This Brave team has the potential to be even
better than last
year's. This Team more size and skill. The one thing that they
lack is
experience. Their leader can be anybody on any given day, but
on this day it
was 6-9 Jr. F Jason Cain. Cain went for 19 Points (7-of-9,
5-of-6) and 7
rebounds. He was outstanding today. He had the play of the day
even though
it didn't count when on a 3-on-1 break, he came down the the
lane taking off
from the dotted line for a VICIOUS Two-handed dunk. A walk was
called, but
there was no walk here. That was VICIOUS. Cain is really coming
full circle
as he sacrafices alot of his game for the good of the Team. I
think that
this kid when its all said and one will be a High Major D1
Caliber Player.
He grew 2 inches from last season and gained 20 Pounds (175 to
195). The
docters say that he has another growth spurt in him and his
future looks to
be on the wing. I am keeping a close eye on him. The other
thing that many
love about Cain is the fact that he's a Major League Crowd
Favorite and a
Great Student. Nobody has anything bad to say about Jason.
"The Franchise"
6-4 Sr. Swingman Richard Francis was also on top of things
today. Francis
didn't shoot all that well, but wasn't bad (6-for-14, 2-for-4
on 3's) from
the floor as he was bothered by a sprained wrist that he
suffered the day
before against Edison after being Lower-bridged on a Dunk
attempt. However,
he still did excite the crowd with his Electric Play. He is one
of my 5
Favorites to watch in the City. In this one he went for 14
Points and 8
Assists. His passing was Pinpoint. He did Wow the crowd with
one of his Big
Time Dunks as he has throw and Ally-Oop and he went to
the rafters pull it
down and had to come down a bit just to dunk it. "The
Franchise" is going to
need Prep School after the Season, and I'll add this if he goes
he could be
a Big Timer as well. He has Mid Major Talent right now all
across the board.
There's nothing that he can't do with the Ball. I feel that he
is the
toughest player to guard in the city. He also did a good job in
this one of
channeling his emotions. The Braves also received good
game from 6-5 Jr. PF
Khalil Abdus-Salaam. He did yeoman's work down low for 8P &
12R. 6-3 Jr. WG
Bryant Leach and 6-1 Jr. PG Charles Jones were also Great. They
are both
interchangable in the Backcourt for the Braves as both handle
the PG chores
and both are more than capable of going to the wing. In this
one, Leach had
a Line that his Big Brother would have been proud of: 15P,6R
& 6A. His sweet
shot was off though as he only went 1-for-6 on threes. Jones is
a kid that
I've been more impressed with than anybody. He has also
sacraficed alot of
his game for the cause. He will move up the charts on my list.
In this one
he manned the ship and made all three of his baskets, one of a
three, for 7
Points. He also dished 4 assists and plucked 3 steals. I also
must mention
that 6-5 Freshman F Daziah Miller (5P & 4R) has been a key
contributor for
the Braves. He has vast potential as well. This kid has a nice
handle, a
soft touch, a strong build (195-lbs) and is already intense. He
will be
heard from over the next 4 years. Coach Biester is really
building something
special in Southwest Philly. I'm talking about a powerhouse.
For Parkway, I
kind of felt bad because they couldn't have played much better
than they
played considering the situation. They were led by the
ever-improving 6-1
Jr. CG RaShawn Dennis with 21 Points, 4 assists and 4 steals.
This one had
to be special for him as he is from the Bartram neighborhood
and the fact
that he and Leach are best friends. Dennis is becoming one that
I really
love. He just brings it night in and night out. His future will
be at the
Point. He plays tenacious On-Ball defense because of his Long
Wingspan and
just has Big Time Heart. Dennis also created some excitement
when he went up
with two hands on the break and tried to dunk on Francis.
Francis met him at
the summit, but that just went to show that "Shawnie"
as he is called was
coming no matter what. This kid has no quit in him. 5-11 Jr. CG
Javon Alston
also had a strong outing with 17 Points (3-for-5 from 3). I was
disappointed
with the play of 6-6 275-lb Jr. C Jason Harris. Jay has some
game, but 2P &
4R is unaccpetable from him. The Hoyah Team is young so they
will be heard
from around next year with another year of seasoning.
NON-LEAGUE
DEC. 5
Dobbins Tech 75, Roxborough 44
This one was not as
competitive as it could have been as The Indians
were without Star Swingman Dahliek Powell. With him, this game
could have
gone either way. Without, him well Blowout City. The Mustangs
are very tough
in their pint-sized gym and today was no different. Dobbins was
led by
smooth 6-4 Jr. lefty, Tyrell "Smooth" Mathis (24 Pts
11-of-19, 11 Boards).
Mathis is a natural lefty, but he is ambidexterous. He is so
tough to guard
because of this. I like him alot because he doesn't waste any
motions. He
just plays and plays hard. He is a Mid Range specialist.
Diminutive, 5-4 Sr.
PG Ronald Davis had a great line of 14 points, 8 rebounds, 6
assists and 3
steals in front of his uncle Shawn "Reds" Smith
(Gratz 94, LaSalle 98'). He
also made the play of the day when he shook a Roxborough
defender and then
shot a floater over him. The crowd went nuts. Davis is one of
the City's
Crowd Favorites. The Team's Emotional Leader is Barren Grier,
who is
pound-for-pound one of the City's better athletes. He has to be
on the floor
at all times. When he's out there, good things happen. In this
one, the 6-3
Sr. WF scored 17 Points, grabbed 13 Rebounds and plucked 3
steals. One of
those steals led to an emphatic Slam. He is also the second
best rebounder
in the League Pound for Pound behind a certain Broad St. Bully.
This kid
just plain Brings it, night in and night out. Big, Patrick
Grant (6-3 265),
a Sr. PF also played well. He finished with 10P,11R & 3A.
The 'Stangs
outrebounded Roxborough 54-27, OUCH! No way they could win like
that. Most
of the Indians looked lost out there without their leader. Two
guys played
very well in the Sr. PG tandem of 5-9 Armond Saunders and 5-9
Victor Powell.
Saunders plays with alot of energy. he leaves it all on the
floor. His line
was 20P,4A & 5S. Powell is poised and more under control.
He plays very
smart like a 10 year Vet. He finished with 15 Points of his own
off of the
bench. Even with D.P, they will need to get more out of the
Brothets Elliot.
Jon, a 6-4 215-lb Jr. F and Chris, a 6-3 Sr. swingman combined
to shoot
3-for-17 and only scored 6 Points. That is unacceptable for
players with
their talent. There was another pleasant surprise on the
Roxborough Roster
and he was 6-2 Freshman WF Jarrett Nichols, the younger brother
of Jamal
Nichols and Hakim "Skinny" Warrick. his build is very
similar to "Skinny's."
He could be good in time.
NON-LEAGUE
DEC. 4
North Catholic 67, Thomas Edison 51
In this one, I hoped to see
Edison's 6-8 Jr. C Maurice "Wall" Williams.
He was said to be absent from school. He did play in the Owls
first game
last weekend, but missed their second game as well. He would
really help
this team because they are small to say the least without him
and they'd be
small with him. North Catholic won this one with a balanced
attack. 7
Falcons scored between 6 and 10 Points. The two best players on
this team in
my estimation are 6-4 Sr. swingman Charlie Hook and 6-1 Sr. PG
Donnie Welte.
Hook finsihed with 10 points and 6 boards. He has a nice
outside touch and
good athleticism. Welte is a slick passer and a good shooter.
He finshed
with 10 points of his own. Both of these kids could be solid D3
Players.
Many others contributed for North as they just ran guys in and
out of the
game. I was impressed w/ aggressive 6-2 Soph. WG Charlie Evans.
He came off
the bench to score 9 points. The young Crosstowners will live
and die with
6-3 Jr. Swingman Tim Young. Young has loads of talent and
potential that
would really show on a good team. He is a Big Time athlete and
a devastating
one-on-one player. He scores with the greatest of ease. On this
day, Young
finished with game highs of 24 Points (9-of-18, 6-of-7) and 9
Boards. I
don't think that he got enough shots. There were many occasions
when his
teammates looked him off when he should have had the ball. He
could have
gotten 40 today because no North Player could check him. I was
also
impressed with 6-0 Soph. PG Jerome Allen (8 Points). Allen is a
slick passer
and a crafty finisher. However, this group of Owls has no set
plan. It seems
that whoever brings it over half court shoots it. On top of
that, they play
small ball over at Front and Luzerne. The other starters are
5-7, 5-8 and
6-3 270-lb Jr. C David Eshun. Nobody on the bench is bigger
than 6-0. There
is only 1 Senior. This could be a Long year for the Owls
especially if the
Big guy keeps pulling no shows. I'll attempt to catch them
again. Hopefully,
he'll be on the court next time.
NON-LEAGUE
DEC. 4
Penn Charter 65, Father Judge 59
I made to the Judge gym half
way through the 1st Quarter thinking the
Abyss would be in Mid Season form and wait a minute, nobody was
up there.
There were a bunch of school desks stashed up there. It seems
that I can't
in for losing in this early season. This turned out to be a
good one though.
Penn Charter's starting 5 proved to be too much in the end as
they scored
all but 4 of the Quaker points. They were led by 5-9 Sr. PG
Mike McGarvey.
Mike went for 16 points, 5 assists and 6 steals. He made some
big plays down
the stretch. I was impressed with the new 5-10 Fr. PG
"Dunking" Zack
Zeglinski. Yes Zack dunks now. He made some Big shots in this
one for the
Quakers and finished with 15 Points. Again I have to note the
improvement of
6-5 Jr. WF Matt Ryan (10P,9R,3A). Ryan is another Big Play
Maker for the
Quakers. He takes and makes Big shots and snares Big Boards.
He's their
toughest player. There will be better days for the Franchise
6-7 Soph. Rob
Kurz. He did go for 9 points and 12 Boards, but he didn't shoot
too well and
was roughed up by the fiesty Crusaders. Many evaluators
question Rob's
toughness. He was that today. He didn't have much choice today
against these
physical Crusaders. Judge's Leader was 6-3 Sr. WG Ryan Haigh
with 17 Points
and 3 assists. "The Nature Boy" 6-1 Jr. PG Billy
Geiger came off of the
bench for 8P,5R & 3A. Why do I call him the Nature Boy? For
Obvious Reasons,
he has that Ric Flair look and he plays the game with a certain
flair. It
was kind of weird watching 6-4 Soph. WF John King in Crusader
Blue,
nevertheless he donned the Trademark Judge Socks. He had a
solid 7 points
and played half of the game. I am a new fan of Judge's 6-4 Sr.
CF Tom
Keenan. he is a warrior. Keenan wentfor 8P and 11R. He did,
however, miss 2
free throws late in the 4th quarter that could have tied the
game at 57. Yet
and still the 'Saders would not have gotten to that point
without him. They
were down 44-31 going into the final stanza, but Keenan made
some nice plays
to help bring them back. They were also aided by the Refs. I
have to mention
that the Zebras called 17 fouls on the Quakers in the 2nd Half
to Judge's
10. That's gotta help. Well, the Trail goes on...
DEC. 3
NON-LEAGUE
Bishop McDevitt 71, Mercy Catholic 34
I went to this one in hopes
of seeing the "Big City" Tom McKeown (6-10
260), but the Big fella was hurt with a bad back. I did get a
chance to take
to the Big guy though and he told me that he's being recruited
by Bucknell,
Lehigh, Kutztown, Widener and Wentworth. Arcadia was in
attendance. They are
also looking at the Big Fella. Hopefully I'll get a chance to
see him
another time on the trail. I did however, get a chance get a
warm welcome at
McDevitt. Father Bill Chiriaco, the former school minister and
Basketball
P.A announcer in my days at West Catholic is now in Wyncote and
we had a
chance to reminisce about old times. He's a great guy. Also I
was hounded
like a Rock Star by the McDevitt students. (smile) The ring
leader of this
group was scorekeeper Kate Rogers. She was on top of things
though. McDevitt
reminds me alot of West. Just like 46th and Chestnut, its a
major league
family atmosphere here and great ethnic diversity. I really
felt at home. Oh
yeah, there was a game. There wasn't much to talk about though
because
McDevitt ran away with this one from the beginning. They were
led by 6-2 Sr.
swingman, Anton Stewart with 22 Points on 10-of-12, 2-of-4, 8
boards, 6
steals and 3 assists. They also got a quality game from 5-9 Sr.
PG Isaiah
Pinckney who went for 15P,4A & 2S. They also got a good
performance from Sr.
CG/QB Bill Holden (15P,4A,3S). I look for better dats from the
Runnin'
Lancers top College Prospect 6-5 Jr. WF Mike Ross. He just
never got it
going in this one. I like 6-5 225-lb Sr. C Jeff Beach. He is an
enforcer.
There wasn't much good to talk about for Mercy. They really
needed the Big
guy who will miss one more game.
DEC. 1
CHESTNUT HILL TOURNAMENT
St. Joseph's Prep 60, Perkiomen School 40
This was a must see for me.
Perkiomen has two Outstanding City Kids who
bug me all of the time about coming to see them play. (smile)
Both of them
are solid D1 Players. 6-5 220-lb Sr. WF Kelvin Green and 5-11
165-lb Jr. PG
Sean Singletary are both outstanding. Green is an amazing
athlete/specimen
as he is a D1 Basketball, Football and Baseball Player.
Singletary as well
excels in multiple Sports as he's not only D1 in Basketaball,
but he's a Big
Time Wide-out on the Gridiron who is being courted by the likes
of Purdue
and Boston College. Both are a year young for their grades and
will graduate
at 17. This was a good opportunity to see them against some of
the City
Competition. It was also a good chance to get my first look at
Speedy's
Hawklets. This game was very competitive. It wasn't as lopsides
as the score
indicates. However, the Prep just had too many horses as
Perkiomen could
only really count on 3 guys, the other being 6-1 Sr. CG Larry
Andrews. The
Prep was led by the great play of 6-6 Jr. C Mark
"Tree" Zoller. Zoller
scored 16 Points, grabbed 18 Boards and dropped 3 dimes. I
really like this
kid. He has a bright future. I feel that he'll be a Patriot/Ivy
type next
year as he looks as if he could grow some more. He did a very
good job
against one of the area's best in Green. 5-8 Soph. PG Chris
Clark played a
very good game. He scored 15 Points and snatched 3 steals. I
can't really
say he contained Singletary in his scoreless first half because
Sean didn't
look to score, but Chris had a part in it. I was also impressed
with the
improvement of 6-4 Sr. WF Jim Good. Good has gotten bigger and
stronger as
just plain better. His line was 9P,5R,4A & 3B. His passing
was the best part
of his game, but what I noted was the fact that he has taken on
the role of
Team Leader. 6-3 Jr. WF Kyle Eisenmann (4R,2A,3S) is a quality
role player.
He played outstanding Defense on Green especially in the 3rd
Quarter. He'll
do anything for the cause. For Perkiomen of course Green and
Singletary did
their part. Green scored all 9 of his team's first quarter
points. He
finsihed with 21 Points (8-for-17, 5-for-7) and 12 Boards.
Green is the Best
Utility Player in this area. He's a Mid Major. On O, he's a
nightmare of a
matchup problem. His ballhandling is outstanding. That is what
makes him a
natural 3-Man that can swing down to the 2, but his Adonnis
body lets him
mix it uo down low with the Big Guys. The thing is that no 2,3
or 4 can
guards him. He's just too strong for a 2 or a 3 and he may even
be stronger
than the 4's, but he's definitely quicker. Right now Kelvin
tells be he is
getting strong interest from Rider, Monmouth, Boston U., Robert
Morris and
Wagner. Many others will jump on in the Spring. Singletary,
started slow as
he always seems to, but finishes stronger than anybody. Sean
has a knack for
letting his teammates get involved early on and then turning it
on during
crunch time. In this one the story was no different. In the
first half, he
shot 0-3 and had no points. The second half started and he had
the look in
his eye as he scored 9 sraight third quarter points. During
that stretch,
Perkiomen cut the lead down to 38-30 and Coach Morris yelled,
"You don't
want this game." He finished with 13 Points and 4 steals.
Sean's main
problem lies in the fact that more than half of his teammates
can't or don't
catch his slick passes. On a good Team, he'd look like an
All-American. He
might be an All-American on a good team because he can take
over a game
without putting up Big scoring numbers. Villanova, Seton Hall,
Drexel and
many others are already feeling for Sean. This one was fun
especilly seeing
Coach Morris' passion for teaching and his competitiveness as
this level.
Hopefully, I'll get a chance to see Perkiomen again. I had to
give a special
thanks to Prep's Jr. scorekeeper, Dan Timby. He really kept me
on top of
things in this one.
NOV. 30
NON-LEAGUE
Penn Charter 68, Cardinal O'Hara 46
I figured this would be a
very good way to start the season. O'Hara I
felt would be competitive and PC with its new transfers could
be very good.
Well this one wasn't even close. Besides 6-3 Sr. WG, Chris
Grandieri, nobody
could get a rhythm for the Lions. Grandieri finsihed with 23
points on
9-of-19 shooting. However, his two partners in crime PGs, Jr.
Craig Haywood
and Sr. Harry Dougherty, fresh off Football season, weren't so
successful.
They combined to shoot 2-for-13 from the field and 9 points.
They just
didn't have their legs yet. The physical Haywood did snatch 3
steals and
the slick-passing Dougherty did dish 4 assists, but neither had
their
Basketball legs. Penn Charter jumped out to a huge halftime
lead behind its
new Franchise 6-7 Soph. WF Rob Kurz. Kurz outscored O'Hara by
himself at the
half as he had 16 to their 15. The score was 39-15, Ouch! Kurz
finished with
24 points and 10 boards. He was very good as he scored from all
over the
court. He is thought of as one of the Top 30 Sophs in the
country and he
looked like one yesterday. Roman Transfer Jr. Mike Boles (6-4
220) was also
good. His line was 11P,12R,4A & 2S. Boles is extra intense.
He plays hard
and has Team Leader Potential. The Team Leader for now is 5-9
Sr. PG Mike
McGarvey. Mike scored all 9 of his points in the first half and
dished 4
assists. The surprise had to be the improvement of 6-5 215-lb
Jr. WF/QB Matt
Ryan. Ryan was 5-for-10 from the floor 3-for-5 from downtown
for 13 points.
He also pulled down 7 boards. He will really help the Young
Quakers. There
was also an 8th Grader Sighting for the Quakers. 5-8 CG Joey
Zeglinski was in
the rotation. He is already a deep shooter and poised beyond
his years. Well that's all for the opener and now I'll steal
one from the
G'Town Gang, BANG! BANG! AC Gang, Early!
NOV. 30
NON-LEAGUE
Friends' Central 93, Luthern Academy 41
You didn't think I could open
the Season without seeing the Best Player
in the area in action did you. This game was never really
competitive and I
knew it wouldn't be, but I just had to see these Friends'
Central Phoenix and
the guy who is rated by the Hoop Scoop as the #15 Jr. in the
Country, 6-3 CG
Mustafa Shakur. "Staf" didn't disappoint either. He
finished with 24 Points
(10-for-13, 3-for-4 3s, 1-for-3 FT) and 4 steals in 3 quarters
of action.
During one stretch of the second quarter he was downright
murder as he went
for 13 straight points. Here was the sequence, First he hit a
three from the
left elbow, followed by a steal and dunk, then a quick, hard
drive from the
right for 2, followed by another three from the left elbow and
finally a
steal for a layup plus the foul. This was scintilating. He
finished with 16
2nd Quarter Points. Luthern only had 14 First Half Points. All
of the other
key players for the Phoenix only saw three quarters of action.
Shakur's
sidekick, 6-4 215-lb Sr. Wing Mike Cook went for 16 points and
11 boards.
Jr. FLC transfer 6-7 WF London Houston went for 8P,9R & 6B.
Sr. PG Shejdie
Childs had a nice line of 8P,7R,6A & 4S. He also drew the
tough assignment
of guarding the slick-handling 5-7 Legit-Sr. PG Yusef
"Ebo" Patrick .
Patrick is a legend on the Northwest Playgrounds. He is shake
and bake
personified. Childs did a good job of controlling him and in
the 3rd quarter
really got the best of him. "Ebo" did finish with a
tough 19 Points on
7-for-17 shooting and he had 5 steals. His normal help comes
from 6-9 (5th
or 6th yr) Sr. C Juel Holston, but Holston is out with a broken
hand. He did
receive some help from 6-5 220-lb Jr. C Brian Gaddy (11P &
18R). The Phoenix
also got production from 6-4 Jr. PF Graedon Zorzi with 9P,9R
& 2B and from
one of my favorites scrappy trickster 5-10 Sr. PG Jason
Polykoff with 7P &
3A. This kid doesn't know what a normal pass is. He is getting
widespread D3
interest. He has great vision and court sense and a deep
stroke. I'll be
back at FCS sooner before later to keep tabs on Shakur and
friends, but
for now the trail goes on.