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Chris Banks, a freshman at Father Judge (and budding FB player), has joined our ever-expanding squad. He will make occasional reports on games he sees. He promises not to agitate Kevin Hanlon. You may reach Chris at banksshots@yahoo.com.
MARCH 18
PUBLIC LEAGUE ALL-STAR GAME
FEATURE ATTRACTION
White 100, Blue 98
Just recently, a Wiseman said, "THE PUB IS
BACK". I was almost uncertain about that until late in the game because though
this was only an All-Star game, it was not even fun to watch until about the last minute
or so when the Blue team was trying to stage a somewhat comeback. Maybe it seemed this way
because the fans weren’t into it, which possibly made the players lack intensity
(most players feed off the crowd). Intensity may have been lacked for some part but game
surely wasn’t, especially in cases of Strawberry Mansion’s Jr. SG Maureece
Rice. In only 16 minutes, "Reece" shot 8 for 11 FG’s for 20 points, 4
boards, 3 assists, 3 steals. He is definitely "THE BEST PLAYER IN THE PUBLIC
LEAGUE" if not Philadelphia. With his short and stocky frame, no guard at this
time can match up with him, and at that he even has a mean handle and consistent jump
shot. This game wasn’t like the Catholic All-Star game as players came to show skills
and no defense. Not in the Pub, even with this being an All-Star game, players still at
least showed some defensive effort if someone was in their face. Also, on the White team
along with Rice were Engineering and Science’s Matthew Jefferson (12 points,
10 boards), Lamberton’s Chris Tucker (6-11 FG’s, 16 points, 4 assists)
and Gratz Michael Blackshear (12 points, 11 boards). Most people look at Blackshear
and see all the missed shots (6-16 FG’s), which isn’t good for a big man but
just imagine if he is on a team with a true scorer. He is a scorer’s best friend. He
rebounds and passes, what more can you ask. Hopefully next year at Temple, Coach Chaney
can find him someone compatible. For the Blue team, I was extremely impressed with Kensington’s
Jr.PG Baltazar Feliciano (6 points, 7 assists) and Masterman’s Labeeb
Muhammad. More Feliciano, he is fast and quick with moves and a fair jump shot but
that will improve by next year. I can see him and Rice neck and neck for the Pub scoring
title. And though Muhammad only had 7 points and 3 assists he can score and get to the
hole at almost anytime he wants. His game doesn’t seem as pretty and/or natural as
others, he most certainly gets the job done on the scoring side. Also for Blue, Gratz
Maurice Collins (7 for 10 shooting, 14 points) and Furness’s David Watson
(8 for 13 shooting, 19 points) had team highs.
MARCH 12
CATHOLIC ALL-STAR DOUBLHEADER
FEATURE -- Maroon 126, Blue 106
PRELIM -- South 99, North 84
Another night of events and festivities. First, it was
the Senior game featuring key seniors not picked in the all-star game mixed
up with the 3rd team All-Catholic, separated by North and South
divisions. For the North, it featured such players as DeSean White of Dougherty,
Mike Ross of McDevitt and Kevin Pierce and Joe Lorenti of Judge.Lorenti
was sooooo happy scoring his first and only two points of the night, putting up "The
Big L"sign, but it was funny how all of the Abyss was pumping his heart up
while laughing and cheering. And for the South, Andre Sloan El of Roman, Chris
Del Brocco of Neumann and Souleymane Bah of West Catholic. Even
with the 3rd Team All-Catholic and Seniors together it was still shown how the
South can and will dismantle any team from the North as this game resulted in a blowout.
Both games were very playful; full of just handles and dunks.
The 2nd event was the 3-Point Shootout featuring 10
participants, 5 from each division. The three runners-up were Neumann’s Chris Del
Brocco, Dougherty’s Tim Smink and Judge’s Ryan Haigh behind
the Winner, Bonner’s Badir McCleary.
The 3rd event was the Slam Dunk Contest. It
featured, Roman’s Charron Fisher, Bonner’s Matt Kearney, West
Catholic’s Brandon Weston and Dougherty’s Shane Clark. No
players seemed prepared for the event and as a result nothing really fascinated the crowd
or judges. Fisher, a fan favorite was the runner up to Bonner’s Matt Kearney, the
Winner.
The last and final event was the game of the night was the 1st
and 2nd team All-Catholic Game. It was missing all St.Joes
Prep players and Neumann’s Richard Cunningham. With them missing, DeSean
White, Kevin Pierce and Chris Del Brocco also played this game. As it first started, the
game was dry and boring with no excitement. The spark was Ryan’s Chris Kozole,
showing a handle out of this world. Doing tricks that nobody has seen of him in league
games. That opened up everyone else bringing out their talents. Ryan Rich, the
sharp shooter from Kennedy-Kenrick starting rolling the ball on the floor as of something
off an And 1 Mix tape. Carroll’s Kashif Payne and Kozole had consecutive
back-to-back isolations showing off their maneuvers. The dunking was mostly by Charron
Fisher and Shane Clark. I can now see why Fisher led the Catholic League in
scoring. He is truly a one-man powerhouse.
The leading scorers were: Carroll's Jordan Ingram (25), Matt Kearney and
Andre Sloan-El (20) , Chris Del Brocco and Isaac Grer (17).
MARCH 5
CATHOLIC LEAGUE SEMIFINAL
Neumann 74, Dougherty 60
Once again it was shown how much the Southern division
is better than the Northern. Once again it was shown how a fourth seed can defeat a first
seed. But what wasn’t shown for once was Dougherty’s heart in the second half.
After continuous battling from both teams, in the third quarter Neumann started breaking
the game wide open. Coach Arrigale must have had a lot to say because after being down two
(27-25) at halftime, the Pirates came out on fire. Outscoring the Cardinals 28-8 in the
third quarter and leading 53-35 going in to the fourth quarter. Soph. C. DeSean White
didn’t play his usual game. He was left with 8 points on 3 for 13 shooting. Though he
and Soph. F/C Shane Clark are both phenomenal players and are good at what they do, they
are the only set of big men that I have seen that doesn’t just get the ball, turn
around and shoot. The two, Clark especially, seems to enjoy dribbling more than playing
their positions. But Clark, more so than White seems to want to be a player -- meaning
succeed individually within the framework of a team. Every game he competes, very well,
and is deserving of his first team All-Catholic honors.
He finished with 20 points and 10 boards. Also for Dougherty, Sr. SG
Tim Smink played a balanced game trying to put the team on his back but with no other
guard support, it wasn’t enough. Dougherty, a team with maybe the most offensive
weapons was missing about 3. Starting guards McDonald and Greer shot a combined 0-8 for 0
points. But Neumann also had a big game from almost all players. Soph. CG Richard
"Tabby" Cunningham again had a good game with 21 points with 4 for 4, on 3
pointers. As a sophomore, he is probably the best guard in the Catholic League, even with
al least 2 years left. His teammate Jr.PG Antwain Wynn played solid with 8 points and 9
assists. They are making a big statement as the best team for the last 2 years and at
least until next year because there is only one senior starter and 2 on the whole team.
Neumann now advances to the championship against Archbishop Ryan on
Sat. 3/9 at 7 pm. Both teams are at their peaks in the season (which they should be by
now). Though it would be nice to see Ryan get the upset, I am predicting that Judge will
still be the last Northern division team to win the championship.
FEB. 26
PL QUARTERFINAL
Northeast 56, Gratz 53
This game wasn’t quite competitive until the
fourth quarter. Northeast was leading by 16 after 3 quarters hoping to pull this game
away. But, the defending champion Bulldogs wouldn’t go away, just yet. They kept
fighting back. But heart breaking by Northeast shattered the Bulldogs 14 year streak of
reaching the semi-finals. Sr. G. Brandon Palmer dropped in 23 points as he was one
of the only 3 Vikings to score in double figures along with, Sr. F-C Troy Roundtree,
13 points and Soph. G Kyle "The Glove" Lowry with 12 points and
another 6 steals. He has a lot of heart and poise in his game. Despite being hammered
almost every time by Micheal Blackshear and other Gratz defenders, he always finds some
way to get up and rebuild from it, even if there is no foul called. He continues to make
plays. Speaking of playmaking, for the Bulldogs Sr. F Maurice Collins gave
it his all with 24 points. Even that and Sr. C Micheal Blackshear’s 17 boards
wasn’t enough to win. Now the Vikings advance to the semi-finals against an
arch-nemesis Lancers of Central, but might do so without Sr. C Chaz Crawford,
who was taken out the second half due to an right ankle injury. He still finished with 6
points, 11 boards.
If the Vikings can pull this next game off will be a test. I believe that
their home court crowd is a big advantage to their play-off and regular season success. A
reason why have a decent home record. They probably have one of the best single-school
dominated courts. That was proved late in this game as some bashing from girls of both
schools resulted in a big fight. Anyway, maybe Central will have more fans because La
Salle University is just across the street.
FEB. 22
PUBLIC LEAGUE ROUND OF 16
Northeast 75, Masterman 50
Due to someone shattering one of
the backboards last week, this game was played on the Peanut League side to side courts.
That limited fan space and was the reason most people, like myself, were standing up
against the wall. Anyways, the first 4 minutes of the game started off sloppy. Maybe
because of the new playoff atmosphere to some players. While the starting moments were
both sloppy and slow, as the game proceeded Northeast started to build a bigger lead. Not
behind any high scorers but mainly their tenacious defense. Northeast forced Masterman to
11 first half turnovers to their 5. At the close of the half the score was 37-20 and 18 of
Masterman’s 20 was behind Philly’s second leading scorer Labeeb Muhammad,
who finished with 25 points, 9 rebounds. He seems to have the whole game down except the
passing part. But he is obviously a scorer. For the main stages of the game Jr. G/F
Troy Roundtree was everywhere, rebounding, scoring and passing . He finished with 23
points, 13 rebounds. In the fourth quarter Soph. G Kyle Lowry showed why his
nickname should be the glove. He raped Masterman for 6 steals and 25 points. Maybe his
halftime sneaker switch was the key. Speaking of keys, not to mention, Jr.C Chaz Crawford
missed a triple-double by two points, 8 points, 11 rebounds,11 blocks while his
opponent Sr. C Brian Holsey 11 points, 15 boards, 10 blocks. The Vikings now
advance to the quarter finals against Gratz 2/26 @Northeast.
JAN. 26
SHOWCASE AT TEMPLE
Gratz 55, Gtn. Academy 53
The best game of a night full of
festivities. This game gave both teams a chance to prove themselves in non-league
competition. I came during the Strawberry Mansion game, waiting for this (the main
event).Gratz got off to an early lead behind Sr. F Maurice Collins. He
proved his game to be very versatile in all areas. The game was very intriguing and
energetic, especially during the moments of the fourth quarter. Back to back shots by both
teams, the game was going up and down. Sr. WG Matt Walsh (6 for 14 shooting,
points, 10 rebounds) came down and hit a jumper. Next play Maurice Collins hit a jumper.
The game was tied 53-up. When GA got the ball back, Walsh was fouled and missed both foul
shots with about 1:23 left on the clock. Jr. PG "Lil’’'" Omar
Johnson somehow seemed to hold the ball and manage the clock from 1:13 to 13 seconds
when Coach Ellerbee called a timeout. I thought that would be a big risk because
GA, could’ve stole the ball on the inbound. Anyhow, Johnson threw it to Collins at
half court. Collins happened to lose the ball around the free-throw line which was picked
up by Sr. WG Augie Woodlin (5 steals) who took a shot which was an air-ball but
then out of nowhere comes Temple signee, Sr. C Micheal Blackshear to make a reverse
lay-up with his back to the basket to win the game with the clock at 0:00. He finished
with 10 points,9 boards. What a game! The MVP trophy was awarded to one player from
each team. Maurice Collins and Matt Walsh received the honors. Next up for Germantown
Academy, @Penn Charter Tues.1/29/02. Next up for the Bulldogs, home against Central
Tues.1/29/02.
JAN. 25
CATHOLIC NORTH
Judge 59, La Salle 49
Me and Mr. Livingston took a long
ride up to the wonderful facilities of LaSalle. It is sort of like a museum. Not to
mention, LaSalle has a large but good, active student fan base. This was a good game as
thought to be. Ryan Haigh had 11 of the 13 points Judge had in the first quarter to
LaSalle’s 10.He had 13 in the first half with 21 overall on 10 for 19 shooting. Coach
Fitzgerald couldn’t find an answer for Haigh. He could have scored at any point of
the game, anytime he wanted. He was a big reason why Judge got an early lead and ended up
winning but he didn’t do it by himself. His tag-team partner sr.CG Kevin Pierce had
11 in the fourth quarter and 17 overall on 5 for 9 shooting and 4 for 4 on the line. Tom
Keenan added 13 points and 6 boards. For the Explorer’s, big time player sr.CG Rob
Sullivan was the total opposite, He scored 4 points all from the free-throw line in the
first quarter. Sullivan stopped himself from scoring big; he just had an off shooting
night. Jr.F/C Doug Kelly lead LaSalle with 13 points, 6 boards and a tough defensive
performance, along with Kevin Moll with 11 points. As far as jr.PG Matt McGurkin, I
thought 8th graders couldn’t play in the Catholic league. He is a nice jump shooter
who finished 3 for 6 from 3-point land, 11 points. No one on La Salle has exceptional
defense. In fact, Haigh was crossing everyone who stepped up. Matt McGurkin was getting
bounced all night, up and down, back and forth in fact, I couldn’t forget when Haigh
faked to his left and brought the ball around his back and made McGurkin fall to the
floor. Oooooowwweeee, that was ILLMATIC!!! In the fourth quarter, LaSalle was in the
penalty with five minutes in. Judge didn’t take a concerted effort to force LaSalle
in to double bonus. They had 8 uncivilized fouls and Judge didn’t even press the
issue. Some good similarities of the two teams are that both have young players who could
and should lead the team to winning records next year. The Explorers only have 2 seniors
(Sullivan and Fedyna). They have quality juniors in Reedman, McGurkin, Kelly and Furey.
And Judge with a probable staring lineup of Geiger, King, Glowienka, Keenan and one
unknown. Next up for the Explorers, home against Cardinal Dougherty on 2/1/02.And for the
‘Saders, home against Ryan on 2/1/02.
JAN. 11
CATHOLIC NORTH
Judge 40, Dougherty 37
My return to basketball in almost a
month was worth
the wait. I Missed nothing spectacular
but did see
an outstanding game that could be the
best regular
season game this year so far and to be.
The game was
bombarded by both schools on every
portion of the
gym. The true spirit of both teams was
shown. For the
'Saders Sr. CG Kevin Pierce
played phenominaly the
whole game while fellow G Ryan
Haigh went through
shooting dilemas, with an 0 for 8, 0 point
performance. In Haigh's offensive
absence, Pierce was
clutch making up most of the slack
shooting 4 for 7, 17
points. He also hit 4 free-throws in the
4th quarter to
seal the game. Towards the end Dougherty
showed their
frustration, 1st Sr. WG Tim
Smink seemed to
deliberately foul Pierce on a lay-up
that was a no
call. Then moments later Bilal
Benn was called for a
flagrant, then there was a double tech
on both Jr. G
Isaac Greer, 8 points and Soph.
WG Steven Wolf who had
a great game finishing with a solid 8
points 10
boards. Dougherty's senior support Sr.
PG Mike McDonald
and Tim Smink shot for a combined 2 for
9, 7 points. If
McDonald is the PG, the team leader he
has to put up
more than 3 shots especially with the
absence of
DeSean White. Besides
the flagrant earlier in the
4th, So.G Bilal Benn
had 8 points and sensational
defense on who some project to be the
league MVP. He
put the clamps on Haigh. Besides being
limited to
certain shots, Benn stopped Haigh from
driving to the
hole, something that I have seen no
guard do to Haigh
all year. If you got points for good
defense, Bilal
would have had 30 points. Also for So.
F/C Shane
Clark, He Hot Game.
Scoring early and finishing with 14
points,10 boards. Physically Jr.
F/C Tom Keenan matched
his performance shooting 4 for 9, 10
points, all in 1st
half. While on the line in the second
half Shane Clark
received the legendary "SOMEONE
FEED HIM" chant. To me by
his look, size and gameplay Clark
reminds me of Darius
Miles. The rematch will also be a
classic.Next up for
the 'Saders,@ McDevitt Sun.1/13/02. Next
up for the
Cardinals, Home against Conwell-Egan on "Cuttino
Mobley"
night.
Extra Shots
Honestly, Who
would have thought the Crusaders would
have won this game? Not me.I thought So.
F John King
would have shown up more effectively
against his old
team. Some look and say Dougherty didnt
have Sophmore
sensation DeSean White. Here is a theory
that could
match that. White,out with a broken
wrist = 0 points.
Ryan Haigh a bad shooting night = 0
points. On any
given day Haigh can match DeSean White
in
points. Compare both divide by 2 +
Another Judge
Victory.
DEC. 19
NON-LEAGUE
Judge 58, Kennedy-Kenrick 54
Before the game, on one side of the bleachers it was
almost packed by all students, players and coaches.
There were people from Dougherty, North
Catholic, McDevitt and so on. All in attendance to a
game that was thought to be a blowout. It started off
to be a high pace game for both teams. For Judge Sr. G
Kevin Pierce started off hot,EARLY!!! Judge
was
leading 17-10 after the first quarter. 2nd quarter KK
tied things up showing the Saders and everyone else
that they have improved from last season. During the
2nd Jr.PF Quincy Goggins looked like somebody
off the
Sprite commercial rim-blocking a wide open fast break
dunk. Ryan Rich came up big the whole game making big
shots, keeping the game close. He is a great pure
shooter and scored 28 points with 6 three-pointers. In
the 4th quarter Jr. SF Jim Glowienka
hit a key
three-pointer to tie the game at 51 after being
down 10 in the start of the fourth. So. SF John King
had
a quiet 8 points but did hit 2 key free-throws to have
Judge leading 55-54 with about 15 seconds left. With 4
seconds left Sr. PG Dan Rafferty made a very
stupid
intentional foul on Ryan Haigh in which
completed a
tough effort and hard win for the 'Saders.The
Wolverines were lead by Sr.WG Ryan Rich with
28
points.Judge's high scorers were Ryan Haigh with 16
points and Tom Keenan and Kevin Pierce both with
11. Next up for the 'Saders West Catholic Fri.12/21.
DEC. 14
NON-LEAGUE
Judge 83, Haverford School 41
This game was an early blowout. Basically the score
speaks for itself. Judge started off on a 23-9 run. Ryan
Haigh had 18 points in the first half and that was all
for the night. And John King added 16 points. I
believe that every Crusader scored at least 2 or more
points. For Haverford Cameron Youngblood had about 20
points to lead the game in a losing effort.
Neither JV Or Varsity teams for Haverford seemed to be
good. Next up for the 'Saders Kennedy
Kenrick on Wednesday 12/19. Besides, this game not even
being close, one thing
that got the crowd hyped was a posterizing dunk by Tom
Keenan on Cameron Youngblood. Do not think that I was
going to forget putting that in.
DEC. 9
NON-LEAGUE
O'Hara 57, Judge 55
The attendance here was dismal. O'Hara's student body
was outnumbered by Judge's 4 and we were at their
house. Of course you know who those 4 were, right? Me,
RINGO, GOOSE, and my main man LOU. From the start you
knew it was going to be a good game. An early start
by Ryan Haigh kept the 'Saders in the game, EARLY!!! It
seemed as though Judge was trying to redeem themselves,
from the Penn Charter game that they could've won. 2nd
half the Lions game out to an early comeback from the
start. O'Hara had good playmaking and extra-hustle out
of those 2 twins, Pat and Steve Baylor. After a third
quarter burst of energy by the Lions, SR.WG/PG Ryan
Haigh answered the call with a 2nd half barrage of
points. He came up huge from the start but it was not
enough to finish off the never say die attitude of
O'Hara. Haigh had 11 points in the first 3 minutes of
the fourth quarter. Tom Keenan and John King also
finished strong, keeping the game competitive. Craig
Haywood showed impressive moves and speed, though he
only had 9 points.Harry Dougherty was quiet throughout
the first half, but in the second half he lit the
house up with four straight 3 pointers. Dougherty took
the talking by us 4 very lightly and proved himself as
a man & good sportsman in the final minutes of the
fourth quarter.With about 6 seconds left Haigh put up
a shot in the paint that was an obvious foul that
wasn't called, maybe because they were home. With 5
seconds left King shot an 3 pointer that was followed
by 3 or 4 tips by Tom Keenan, Haigh and King again; none
went in and the end result was 57-55, Cardinal O'Hara.
The Lions were led by Chris Grandieri with
19 points and Ryan Haigh led the 'Saders again with 25 points.
DEC. 4
NON-LEAGUE
Penn Charter 65, Judge 59
From the Judge side, this game was hyped during
warm-ups. With the NBA's theme song playing, the
crowd and players seemed to be intense. They
also played Capone 'N' Noreaga's "Invincible"
hoping to play that way but from the start
P.C. showed that wasn't happening. They played a
team game. Each player was noticed early doing
something good for the team. P.C. led most of
the game; in fact I don't believe Judge led
the whole game. Before the end of the first
half Billy Geiger put up a shot that seemed to
go in before the buzzer, but the refs saw it
differently. What could have been 2 point game
was an 4 point game @ half with Penn Charter
leading. The 3rd quarter was all Quakers getting
a few easy baskets off turnovers and mistakes.
During the 4th, the Crusaders looked as though
they were coming back, bringing the lead down to
2. But there was a missed three-pointer by Ryan Haigh & two
missed free-throws by Tom Keenan, one an air-ball. The
Quakers capitalized and basically
wrapped the game up.
Penn Charter was led by Mike McGarvey with 16
points and Zack Zeglinski, the freshman who's not
really a freshman, and Judge by Ryan Haigh with
17 points, the game's high scorer. Next up for
the 'Saders is Haverford, which was postponed
on Thursday.
When I saw Amar at the game I wasn't going
to write ,but I thought it would be time to
turn in my first column.