MARCH 9
CATHOLIC LEAGUE FINAL
Neumann 66, Ryan 53
   Coach Carl Arrigale says he'd match sr. WG Chris Del Brocco against mad bomber in the area. We saw why in this one. The Raiders didn't have the personnel to play Neumann man-to-man and Del Brocco made them pay, shooting 6-for-10 on treys en route to 20 points. The streaky Del Brocco made his first two threes, missed his next four, then made his last four. He never did venture inside the arc, except to drain two free throws in a double-bonus situation. He also had three assists. The two main ballhandlers, jr. Antwain Wynn and soph Richard "Tabby" Cunningham, had four assists apiece. Cunningham added 10 points, shooting 4-for-6. Soph F Adon El completed an excellent playoff series by posting 11 points, 10 boards, three blocks and three assists. Jr. F Todd Johnson shot 4-for-5 and 3-for-6 for 11 points. Neumann was quite unselfish -- it had 17 assists on 23 field goals. Also, it missed just 15 shots from the floor. The Pirates were supported by a large, VERY loud student rooting section. Most of the kids were wearing Pirate hats, seven spelled out N-E-U-M-A-N-N with their bare chests, two kids were running around in Pirate/Mummer costumes . . . It was a wild scene. From my perspective, the game changed completely with 5:30 left in the first half when Ryan sr. PG Chris Kozole picked up his second foul. Yes, I said second, not third, but the moment was huge. The score was 13-13 at the time. Kozole owned four steals and Neumann had committed six turnovers. Kozole could not be as aggressive and the Pirates took advantage. They took perfect care of the ball for the rest of the half and got out to a 27-20 edge. Kozole picked up his third foul with 4:57 left in the third and his fourth -- on an offensive foul 40 feet from the basket -- at 3:32. Everyone could have left the gym right then and there. Ryan continued to play hard, but its cause was lost. Sr. F-C Andy MacDonald bowed out with 15 points and five rebounds. Sr. WG Brendan O'Malley had 12 points. Jr. WG Mike Devine went 2-for-2 on treys en route to eight points. Jr. backup PG Sergio Colon hustled like crazy in relief of Kozole; he had a basket, two assists and a steal. Ryan trailed by 66-46 before scoring the last seven points. The two late free throws by soph C Jim Lorman were his first points of the season, so that was nice to see. I also felt good for jr. WG Jim Welsh, who hit a trey and a layup for five points. Something I wrote earlier this season caused Jim some problems. I regret what happened.

MARCH 9
PUBLIC LEAGUE FINAL
Straw. Mansion 73, Northeast 62
   The Scorelord, jr. WG Maureece Rice, was off (6-for-21) from the floor, but he went 8-for-10 from the line, still finished with a respectable point total (21) and made six steals. Mansion won this in part because of its backup guards, srs. Tyreek Graves and Wayne "Whispers" Harrington. They wound up combining for six steals and three assists in 32 total minutes and they came through on a day when sr. PG Maurice Stennis was limited to 12 minutes by foul trouble and sr. WG Aaron Brown was yanked because he committed a couple of bad turnovers. The Knights' inside guys were clutch, too. Sr. Dawud Morris shot 7-for-11 for 15 points while adding six rebounds and five blocks. Jr. Delton Morgan-Hines had 13 points and 10 boards. Northeast received excellent performances from its three headliners. 6-8 sr. C Chaz Crawford stayed on the floor for 31 minutes and posted 12, yes, 12 blocked shots along with nine rebounds and six points. Soph G Kyle Lowry zoomed and varoomed for 20 points (14 in the third quarter) and also made four steals, giving Rice problems on several occasions. Jr. F Troy Roundtree shot 10-for-17 and 2-for-2 for 22 points and grabbed eight boards. Also, he converted a follow with 3:15 to put the Vikings ahead, 62-60. Do the arithmetic: NE was outscored the rest of the way, 13-0. Mansion went ahead for good, 65-62, as Morgan-Hines converted a three-point play off a follow at 1:02. At the other end, deep sub Paul Calloway, a sr. F who was outstanding on Rice in the last 5:00, tried a shot from the top of the key. Morris flashed from out of nowhere to block it and Harrington completed a fastbreak with a layup. Mansion eased home from there.

MARCH 6
CATHOLIC LEAGUE SEMIFINAL
Ryan 53, SJ Prep 49 (OT)
        For only the second time in eight seasons of cross-overs in the semifinals, a North team is going to the final. Ryan EARNED its shot by playing with poise and intensity. I told a few people beforehand that the Raiders would have a chance as long as they never let Prep give them an uh-oh feeling (keeping in mind what Neumann had done to Dougherty the night before). For once I was right! Sr. PG Chris Kozole had three assists and four steals, including a gigantic one in OT right after a Prep player had stolen the ball, and even shot 5-for-9 (one trey) for 11 points. He claims not to be a shooter (smile). Sr. WG Brendan O'Malley shot 8-for-12 en route to 20 points and made the decisive field goal despite being triple-teamed. Sr. C Andy MacDonald shot 5-for-6 while collecting 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Jr. WG Mike Devine and soph F Joe Mullin had to settle for five points apiece, but they dealt four and five assists, respectively. (More game details are available in my DN story). The Prep went an unsightly 4-for-12 at the line (it entered at 79 percent for the season) and wound up taking 24 treys (making nine) in part because Ryan did such a nice job keeping jr. C Mark Zoller from being dominant inside. Zoller had 12 points and 15 boards, but got just 10 shots. A decent number came off offensive rebounds, meaning he rarely got the ball in scoring position out of the set offense. The Hawks did have their chances. Soph PG Chris Clark (14 points but no assists; that speaks to the problem Prep had both getting good looks and converting them) missed a trey to end regulation. Sr. F Jim Good missed one near the end of OT. Both schools had great student support and there was some vintage chanting. At one point, Ryan's kids bellowed, "We've got girls! We've got girls!" The Preppers responded, "We're goin' to college! We're goin' to college!" In the past, mostly during football seasons, I have chided Ryan for its poor school spirit. Not tonight. The kids were loud and focused all game long. It was nice to see and hear. Prep coach Speedy Morris showed great class afterward. He said Ryan deserved to win and called the Raiders "warriors who would not be denied."

MARCH 5
CATHOLIC LEAGUE SEMIFINAL
Neumann 74, Dougherty 60
   Anybody get the license number of that truck? Man, was Dougherty ever run over in the third quarter, sucking the life from what was shaping up to be a competitive game to the finish. Oh, well. Maybe Ryan can hang with SJ Prep in the other semi. Neumann won the third quarter, 28-8. Coach Carl Arrigale said it perfectly. "It looked like we had an extra player out there." The Buccos defended like crazy, rebounded well, got out on the break in organized, sensible fashion and then knocked down its shots, with four of them being treys. Better yet, all seven rotation members hit the scoring column in the avalanche. The most telling stat of the game was this: Neumann had 20 assists on 26 field goals, Dougherty had seven on 20. Neumann's scoring leader was soph CG Richard "Tabby" Cunningham, who went 4-for-4 on treys en route to 21 points. Jr. PG Antwain Wynn finished with nine assists -- in part because he saw the floor so well, in part because the shooters were so successful. Either way, he was the difference-maker. Jr. F-C Kevin Lauer shot 6-for-9 for 13 points and grabbed six rebounds. His early sniping was important. Soph F Adon El again sniffed a triple-double with 9 points, 11 boards, 8 blocks. Jr. sub G-F Kenny Fulton had 10 points and five rebounds. Sr. WG Chris Del Brocco hit just one field goal, a trey, but it came in the third quarter outburst. He also set up Wynn for a jumper that made it 39-32. As for Dougherty, I know the disappointment at 2nd and Godfrey has to be huge. The Cardinals figured they had a legitimate chance to win the title and they weren't alone in those thoughts. What went wrong? Well, there was too much one-on-one play. The Cards got very few comfortable looks. Soph C DeSean White, if I remember correctly, did almost everything facing the basket and almost never used his post-up abilities. His shooting was off (3-for-13) and most of his misses weren't close. They were the kinds of misses that can really demoralize a team because while he was making his moves, most of the other Cards just stood and watched. In some games, White made those shots at will. Not this time. Soph F Shane Clark was active and productive, finishing with 20 points and 10 boards. Sr. WG Tim Smink kept scrapping until the end. One of the more respected players in CL history finished with 21 points (8-for-8 at the line) and seven boards and departed to a standing ovation. The other starters, sr. PG Mike McDonald and jr. G-F Isaac Greer, did not score. They shot a combined 0-for-8.

MARCH 3
PUBLIC LEAGUE SEMIFINAL
Northeast 76, Central 72
   Kyle Lowry did it again. In a game where NE's main frontcourt players, 6-8 sr. C Chaz Crawford (eight blocks) and 6-5 jr. F Troy Roundtree (13 points) had to miss extended second-quarter minutes because of foul trouble, Lowry went nuts and kept the Vikings solvent. The 5-10 soph scored 29 points overall and packed 13 into the second quarter, keeping NE within 38-36 at the break. Lowry, who is likely the fastest kid in the city end to end with the ball, shot 9-for-14 (three treys) and 8-for-13. He just flat-out GOES. Sure, sometimes he's out of control and throws up the occasional what-was-he-thinking? shot, but it's impossible not to love his energy and competitive fire. Hmm. Sound familiar? There's a pro in this town who plays like Lowry. Wears No. 3. Also crucial to the victory were sr. Gs Brandon Palmer (13 points, six assists) and sub Darnell Newman (11 points). The fifth starter, sr. F Michael Schieber, is often overlooked. But in this one, he had five points (including NE's first four), 6 rebounds and 2 assists and, like always, he did all of the inbounding and little-things duty. For Central, sr. CG Sharif Bray shot 8-for-17 (three treys) and 9-for-9 for 28 points and also led in assists with six while sr. SF Khary Kenyatta poured in 24 points (7-for-12, 10-for-11). Sr. SF Richard Campbell excited the crowd with a pair of alley-oop dunks on feeds from Bray. Sr. CG Khalif Leek hustled and kept trying until the end, but he contributed just seven points because he shot 1-for-10 from the floor. I'm always bothered when good kids have subpar showings on the big stage. Freshman F Scott Rodgers grabbed six boards in 10 minutes.

MARCH 3
PUBLIC LEAGUE SEMIFINAL
Straw. Mansion 69, Bartram 60
   The sequence at the end of the first quarter said it all. Bartram did not even realize the clock was winding down and the buzzer sounded as a player dribbled far from the basket. The Braves ended the season 26-1 because they didn't have the proper focus and were somehow flat (nerves?). Like always, sr. F Richard Francis started out slowly, going 0-for-4 in the first quarter. He finished with 23 points, shooting 9-for-20 (4-for-11 on treys) and 1-for-3. He had two dunks and several other eye-popping moves and he grudgingly earned the respect of a Mansion fan who happened to be sitting right next to me along press row and berated him all game long. (Note to PL brass: Why were fans at the press/scouts/coaches table? Why did no one ask them to leave?) 6-9 jr. C Jason Cain scored 15 points and claimed 18 rebounds (nine offensive), but no one else brought an A game. I felt particularly bad for jr. WG Bryant Leach. He kept trying and struggling, shooting 1-for-13. A late highlight was a basket by sr. sub Ian Greaves, who earlier this season videotaped the games. Mansion was gritty and determined throughout. Once the Knights got off to a decent start, they seemed to have the thought process, "Not only can we hang with these guys. We're going to beat them." Jr. WG Maureece Rice had 25 points (8-for-16, 9-for-10), 8 rebounds, 3 assists and several other passes that led to free throws. I have really enjoyed watching 'Reece learn how to "get it." I know he made his rep with relentless scoring, but he has to feel good now that he has become a much more complete player. The two inside guys, 6-5 jr. Delton Morgan-Hines (13, six boards) and 6-4 sr. Dawud Morris (11, 10), filled their roles nicely. Sr. PG Maurice Stennis dished five assists and a big boost came from backup G Wayne Harrington (10 points, 6-for-6 at line).

MARCH 1
CATHOLIC LEAGUE QUARTERFINAL
Ryan 71, Judge 61 (OT)
   Is the balance of CL basketball power in Northeast Philly shifting, or are we in the midst of a blip? Only time will tell, of course, but we do know this: Ryan beat Judge three times this season, and has advanced to the semis for the second straight year while Judge has not. It was far from easy, though. Ryan trailed, 54-46, with 2:20 left in regulation, but received two gigantic treys down the stretch from guys who hadn't hit any all game. A right-corner three by sr. PG Chris "Socks/Mr. Energy" Kozole (16 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 6 steals) on a pass by jr. G Sergio Colon drew the Raiders within 54-52 and a left-wing three by jr. WG Mike Devine (10 points) on a pass from Kozole made it 55-55 at 0:58. Judge held for the last shot -- or close to it -- and sr. WG Ryan Haigh missed about an 8-footer on the right baseline. Sr. WG Brendan O'Malley (nine points) grabbed the rebound and Ryan called time at 6.3. O'Malley did a nice job splitting two defenders, but his 14 footer to the side of the lane was off and the teams went to OT. Kozole (who else?) made the first big play, getting a steal and making two free throws. 6-2 sr. C Andy MacDonald (20 points, 11 rebounds) added two more foul shots and the Raiders rolled from there. A huge sequence put them over the top: backup sr. F Steve "Hair" LePera (3-for-3, eight points) scored on a pass from O'Malley to make it 66-59. O'Malley then blocked a shot and LePera released and scored on a pass from Devine. MacDonald did an amazing job. He shot 7-for-10 and 6-for-9 and snatched four more rebounds than anyone else. He doesn't look particularly strong, but he's damn sure sturdy and aggressive and he shows good pacing on his various moves. For Judge, Haigh had a nice overall game with seven rebounds and five assists, but his shooting (4-for-20) was way below par. He did have many "almosts" so it had to be a frustrating night. Sr. PG Kevin Pierce (15) and jr. C Tom Keenan (13) also scored in double figures for Judge.

FEB. 26
PUBLIC LEAGUE QUARTERFINAL
Northeast 56, Gratz 53
   What a year. Roman doesn't make the playoffs at all and Gratz is ousted in a quarterfinal. Northeast received strong, energetic play from its guards, sr. Brandon Palmer and soph Kyle Lowry, and jr. F Troy Roundtree played smart and was a calming influence. Roundtree shot 4-for-5 in the first quarter and easily could have sucked into thinking, "This is MY day. I'm going to score at will and be the hero." Instead, as Gratz played better defense on him, he concentrated on finding open teammates and making sure he claimed the available rebounds. Roundtree had kick-it-out assists on two big treys by Palmer in a 15-4 third quarter and finished with four altogether. He also had eight rebounds and 13 points and converted a huge double-bonus with 18.6 seconds left, making the score 56-50 and assuring that the Vikings would at least get to OT. That was almost what happened. At 11.4, sr. F Maurice "Mardy" Collins (24 points) hit a left-corner trey on a pass from jr. PG Omar Johnson (six assists) and Lowry (12 points, six steals) missed a double-bonus at 9.6. But Gratz' last shot was a hurried, way-too-long trey by jr. G Tariq Wharton and the buzzer sounded as sr. C Micheal Blackshear was heading for a spot behind the arc after grabbing his 17th rebound. Though Northeast led, 42-26, after three quarters, it played without 6-8 sr. C Chaz Crawford (six points, 11 rebounds; ankle injury) in the fourth quarter and had some very shaky moments as the lead dwindled and dwindled and dwindled. The Vikings also went 10-for-18 at the line in the quarter; it was a good thing Gratz was missing five free throws. The loss was No. 100 in the 20-year career of Gratz coach Bill Ellerbee (along with 451 wins) and I have a strong feeling his career is over. Yes, a few times he made decisions that were hard to fathom and downright wrong, but I hope people don't lose sight of the wonderful job he did as a coach and father figure for so many young men. Meanwhile, Northeast will be playing in a semifinal for the first time since 1960!!! And the opponent will be none other than its "archest" of rivals, Central. That should make for a special occurrence.

FEB. 22
CATHOLIC SOUTH
Carroll 74, Roman 68
   I experienced a very strange sensation. For the first time in 31 years of going to Roman's gym, I actually expected the visiting team to win. Carroll needed the win to claim first place and the Cahillites were out of the playoff hunt. Yes, Roman played hard and that was fully expected. But unlike all the other times I've been at Roman, I never once had this feeling, "They'll find a way to win this." I guess that speaks volumes for what kind of season it was for the Cahillites. One can't help but flash back to the first Prep-Roman game, which was moved to Phila. Univ. so more people could see it. I doubt Prep, at that point, would have won in Roman's gym. On the neutral court, Prep prevailed in controversial fashion and the teams' seasons went in opposite directions. Anyway, Carroll's headliner was 6-4 soph F Mike Springman, who shot 13-for-13 at the line en route to 19 points, grabbed eight rebounds and was his usual tiger self on defense. Jr. PG Kashif Payne had 17 points and four assists, and packed nine of his points into the fourth quarter. Sr. F Evan Dittler had 13 points, shooting 5-for-6. Jr. C Jordan Ingram shot 5-for-7 and finished with 12 points, 12 boards. Also, his attention to boxing out and doing the little things helped see to it that Roman star Charron Fisher, a 6-3 soph F-C, was limited to five boards. Fisher scored 23 points, shooting 10-for-22 and 3-for-6. His most impressive moment came when he went end to end, screeched to a halt right under the basket, jumped off both feet and wolfed down a dunk. Fisher will have to develop his ball skills in the offseason. When he gets the ball out on the floor in a face-the-basket situation, his first instinct still is to turn and back his man in. He needs to learn how to simultaneously start a big-step move while putting the ball on the floor and lowering his shoulder. For the moment, he just kind of flies toward the basket and often throws up underhand flips with little chance of going in. Once that happens, he will truly be a combination of Donnie Carr and Tamal Forchion and defenders throughout the league will be crying "uncle!" Meanwhile, soph WG Andre Sloan-El is now releasing his jumper in much-faster fashion. But he took only seven shots in part because Springman did such a nice job denying him the ball. It'll be interesting to see how Roman reacts to not making the playoffs. Rumors are already flying about Public League stars wanting to transfer to Empireville because they know playing time will be available next season.

FEB. 21
PUBLIC LEAGUE ROUND-OF-16 PLAYOFF
King 35, Frankford 25
   Since when do Catholic North teams compete in The Pub? 35-25? Are you serious? There was an overflow crowd on hand, along with a jazz band, dance team, cheerleaders, color guard, etc. What did they see? Not much. Frankford finished the first half with no field goals. As in none. As in zilch. As in NOT ONE. The Pioneers shot 0-for-8 with 14 turnovers and went 5-for-6 from the line. King had 15 points. Frankford finished 6-for-28 with 20 turnovers and just two players got field goals -- 5-5 sr. G Roland Samuels had four (with two treys) and jr. G Marvin Dutton had two (one trey). Despite all of its scoring miseries, Frankford actually had a shot to win this. It got within seven and six in the late going, but both times 6-4 sr. F Akeem Wright had an answer. Wright posted 13 points and six rebounds and was the only Cougar to attempt more than six shots (4-for-11). 6-10 jr. C Wayne Marshall went 0-for-4 and kept passing the ball right back out even though he had an eight-inch advantage over sr. F Donte Wood. Several college coaches were in attendance, but there were very few chances to make evaluations. There was one spectacular play -- King sr. F Darron Bradley ran from the baseline into the low part of the lane, caught an alley-oop pass and did a reverse dunk. Both teams really did dig down on defense. King jr. G Quincy Marshall was responsible for many of Frankford's turnovers, directly and indirectly.

FEB. 17
CATHOLIC NORTH
Judge 67, Wood 56
   My DN story focused on Judge coach Bill Fox, who won his 500th game in 26 seasons (19.2 per year -- not bad, eh?). He got the monumental victory mostly because of sr. WG Ryan Haigh, who shot 9-for-16 (4-for-6 on treys) and 1-for-5 for 23 points. He also had three assists. Haigh scored on stand-stills and on the move, showing his usual air of confidence. Jr. F Jim Glowienka packed 10 of his 11 points into the fourth quarter, going 8-for-10 at the line. He had seven rebounds total. Soph F John King did little until the fourth quarter, when he totaled five of his seven points and all four of his boards. The PGs did well -- sr. Kevin Pierce had 10 points, jr. Bill "Disco" Geiger (tell me you can't picture him hanging out with John Travolta -- smile) had 4 points, 6 boards, 3 assists. Wait, here's another one -- Bill "Hang Ten" Geiger (tell me you can't picture him as a California surfer boy). For Wood, sr. PG Mike Spadafora did not show a seize-the-game mentality until the fourth quarter. He took six of his 15 shots and got to the line for the first time. It was nice that he wasn't forcing, but he has good enough body control to LIVE at the foul line, and he needs to take advantage of that. He did make at least three VERY nice moves on drives and one, in particular, where he angled back in from the baseline and scored righthanded through traffic, was quite special. Mike added four assists and two steals. His brother, Matt, a freshman WG-SF, shot 5-for-9 and 6-for-6 for 16 points. He also had three blocked shots. Sr. F Tim Dougherty just didn't have it. I suspect Friday-Sunday sequences are still too taxing on his body because he was short on mostly everything. He went 1-for-9 and 1-for-5. He did add eight rebounds and three assists. I felt good for sr. SF Blair Klumpp, who's kind of a forgotten man. In this one he hustled like crazy and came up with nine points, six boards. Jr. WG Greg Arrow scored 10 points, but shot 4-for-14. Mike "Air Horn Guy" Madera kept things lively in Wood's rooting section. Goose, Fat Ringo and others made the trip to Warminster for Judge. They had the best cheer, keeping in mind Wood's "farm country" location (ha ha). When the game was decided, they began chanting, "Start your tractors!" Judge's Joe Lorenti again gave wonderful pre-game chest bumps to the starters as they ran onto the court. He also saw late action and cradled the ball as the buzzer sounded. He'll be the answer to a trivia question someday. Who cradled the ball as the buzzer sounded when Bill Fox won his 500th game? Big Joe Lorenti. (I'm doing my best to make this kid famous -- smile.)

FEB. 15
PUBLIC LEAGUE
Roxborough 54, Bok 37
   This makeup could have been a goodie. Roxborough was locked into first and did not have the hunger factor in its favor. Bok needed the win to make the playoffs. One problem: Bok was missing four of its top six players. Three went to Florida for a club-team tournament. Another left early for a family reunion. That left sr. G Maurice Hunter as the only Wildcat with anything resembling scoring ability and honestly, he's not a true scorer. Hunter finished with 14 points, five rebounds and seven steals and tried to rally his squad, but Bok had no chance. My DN story deals with the whole mess (postponements, bus problems, snaufs at the school district's end, a leak in the gym, the promotion by Bok coach Lloyd Jenkins of five JV players to flesh out the roster). One of the JV players, soph F Stephen Dunn, did some nice things in a brief appearance. He had five points and two assists. Soph G Leo Robinson also scored. The other regular rotation member, jr. C John Brown, had eight points and three boards. Roxborough was led by sr. G-F Dahliek Powell and sr. G Armond Saunders. Powell had 19 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, and several times streaked downcourt through everybody for baskets or last-moment passes for layups. Saunders scored 11 of his 17 points in the first quarter. Jr. PG Tyrone Crawley had three assists, four steals. Sr. F-C Jon Elliott claimed eight boards. A late highlight was a field goal for sr. G Florian Zetzsche, who's here from Germany. I wonder if there's anything like The Pub over there?

FEB. 14
PUBLIC LEAGUE
Dobbins 62, Washington 38
   There's nothing like a good pass, especially on Valentine's Day (smile). The Dobbins guys were making lots of passes -- at each other. Not that there's anything wrong with that. High numbers of assists usually go to guards, but the Mustangs' frontcourt players again and again gave each other beautiful feeds. Jr. F Tyrell Mathis had eight assists along with 18 points and eight boards. Sr. F Barren Grier had six dishes along with 11 points and eight rebounds. Sr. C Pat Grant managed two assists in addition to 12 points and 14 boards. That's a lot of production from an unheralded frontcourt and, in all honesty, part of it could be traced to Washington's weakened status. A good forward was academically ineligible and 6-8 jr. C Dontay Tabbs had to watch because he'd been ejected from the previous game. (St. Joe's aide Monte Ross was out to see Tabbs. Oh, well. Another time.) Mathis was excellent along the baseline. The lefty often made hard, athletic drives that he finished righthanded, while using the rim for protection. Dobbins sr. PG Ronald Davis had eight points and six assists. This was one of the worst crowds I've ever seen in the Friendly Confines (couldn't have been more than 35 people), but the kids did make some noise when sr. Marvin Shuler, a FB player, scored a late field goal. He also snatched a rebound. For Washington, the frustration level was high. Jr. WG Joe Ndanu suffered early foul trouble and wound up 4-for-14 (one trey) for nine points. I like this kid, though. He has very long arms for roughly a 6-footer and shows free-and-easy athleticism. If he and Tabbs remain together, and get help from some other underclassmen, the Eagles could be decent next year. Washington shot 17-for-60. Coach Calvin Jones went ballistic at a call in the second quarter. He kept trying and trying and finally, the ref had no choice but to give Cal a tech. He was halfway across the court. By the way, it's likely Cal, an ex-minor leaguer, will coach baseball this spring at University City.

FEB. 12
PUBLIC LEAGUE
Overbrook 74, West Phila. 58
   One of these years (decades?), the rivalry will regain its former status and I'll be glad I stuck with it through the lean years (decades?). For whatever reason, West coach Ed Wright started four deep subs and Overbrook frolicked to a 27-4 first quarter. Jr. WG John Groover went wild, pouring in 15 of his 19 points. He shows a nice jump shot and a pretty good build. Every time I see 6-7 sr. C Kristian Clarkson, I'm more impressed. This game was up tempo and he was running and jumping with everyone and he easily stuck about a 16-foot jumper in transition. He had 10 points and nine boards. The state schools should be camped out on his doorstep. I'm not sure what will happen down the line, of course, but right now he is further advanced than was Robert "Pug" Battle in his Northeast days, and he has become a VITAL player at Drexel. Sr. PG Murvin English, who's a legit 5-11 (I mistakenly listed him at 5-8 earlier this season; sorry 'bout that Murv), had 17 points, four assists and five steals. He's qualified and hungry. Sr. F Shawn Ikokwu had 10 points, nine boards and four assists. Any time I've seen him over the last two years, he has made at least two passes that any point guard would be proud to call his own. He truly knows how to play and help a team win. Jr. PF Elijah Talbert posted 11 points and 13 boards, but went 1-for-6 at the line. He's a strong kid and needs to add a shade more polish to have a big senior season. For West, the only true contributors were the Myatt brothers, senior Eugene (8-for-19, 20 points, seven rebounds) and junior Andrew (8-for-15, 18, 12). Even as 'Brook played zone, the nimble Eugene was going around and through people and he swished at least three big-boy baseline jumpers off the dribble; the kind of shot that separates players from pretenders. Andrew has a similar skills. It's a shame they're stuck in a program that's rapidly becoming a wasteland. Coach Wright is a nice man, but can't control his team and gets no support from the administration because they all want him to give up the job. Also, his decisions are highly suspect. With his team down by 16 points, and with Overbrook shooting free throws, he called a timeout with ONE second left in the third quarter. (There were no extenuating circumstances.) West has played just three non-league games this season, so the total number of games for the season will be 16. Sad. Very sad.

FEB. 10
CATHOLIC SOUTH
Bonner 55, O'Hara 49
   This was one of those rare occasions where the winning team received no attention in the DN. Sorry, Friars, I didn't mean to slight you, but my story focused on O'Hara coach Bud Gardler, who on Friday collected his 500th career win. Amazing, huh? FIVE HUNDRED! Anyway, Bonner won this one by scoring the final five points after sr. F-C Pat Baylor (six points, nine rebounds) drove the right baseline for a basket with 1:48 left. After jr. PG Mike Shalon, a sub, converted a one-and-one at 1:39 to make it 52-49, Bonner played great man-to-man defense and allowed O'Hara nothing close to a comfortable look. Finally, sr. SF Mark Barrar (really a G, like everyone aside from Baylor) drove the left side of the lane and lost control while appearing to be fouled. There was no call. Jr. PG Frank Nunan converted a double bonus at 0:32 and the rest was comfortable. What helps Bonner is that its hustlers -- Nunan, Shalon, FB star Kevin LeSage -- are also capable of scoring, at least a little. And they're brassy enough to not be shook by late-game situations. Sr. G-F Matt Kearney had 14 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks. Sr. WG Badir McCleary, a true shoot-first, answer-questions-later-from-the-coaches guy, shot 6-for-14 overall and 3-for-8 on treys en route to 17 points. Though O'Hara had almost no height and its one halfway tall guy was the very thin Baylor, sturdy 6-4 sr. F Anthony Bennett got few touches and took just five shots. 6-8 sr. C Vince Taraborrelli had six points and three blocks, but wasn't used down the stretch as Bonner went small. For O'Hara, which is playing without jr. PG Craig Haywood (ankle woes), sr. WG Harry Dougherty had a strong performance. He went 8-for-9 at the line en route to 17 points and dished seven assists. He also put up a serious contender for Move of the Season late in the third quarter, making a reverse layup/flip from behind the backboard. If I know Harry, he'll be marketing the video any day now (smile). It was a GREAT move. Sr. G-F Chris Grandieri never got untracked, in part due to frustration over foul trouble. He finished 3-for-11 (nine points). I wish Chris would give the impression that he enjoys himself. He always looks like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. He has talent. He just needs to let it flow a little more, in my opinion. Barrar, who usually doesn't play much when Haywood is healthy, had 10 points and three steals. Nice effort by him. For whatever reason, sr. WG Ryan Cleary appears to have lost his jump-shooting confidence. But he did make three consecutive free throws after getting fouled on a trey. Bonner's main rooters, Mike "Fat Fat Koz" Kozak and Tim "Brownie" Brown, were in attendance (though Brownie didn't arrive until halftime). There was no organized cheering until late in the game, but Brownie did unfurl a couple of cartwheels. Overall I'd give the Bonner kids a C-minus. Not bad for a Sunday, I guess. Friday night crowds are much more energized.

FEB. 8
CATHOLIC NORTH
Dougherty 64, Judge 58 (OT)
   Dougherty scored 18 of the first 24 points and 25 of the first 38. Then, Judge star Ryan Haigh, a sr. WG, drained a right-corner trey on a pass from soph F Steve Wolf for his first points of ANY kind in the teams' two meetings this year and we started to have a ballgame. The night was very strange. For Dougherty, soph F Shane Clark (11 points) grabbed five rebounds in the blink of an eye, or so it seemed, then finished with only seven. Sr. PG Mike McDonald had two points and two assists deep in regulation, then finished with 10 and six. For Judge, jr. backup PG Bill Geiger (14 points, 3 assists, 3 steals) made six consecutive shots in the third and fourth quarters combined, then didn't shoot again. Dougherty put the game into OT when sr. WG Tim Smink (14 points, game-high 10 rebounds) nailed a left-corner trey at 4.4 on a pass from McDonald. I had a bad angle, but Geiger was flying at Smink and might have bumped him on the head. It was a great clutch shot. As OT began, McDonald took and swished a three. He liked the feeling, so he took and hit another. He also had assists on two field goals by soph swingman Bilal Benn (11 points). 6-7 soph C DeSean White had 17 points and five boards. Jr. WG Isaac Greer had four steals. Haigh went 0-for-5 in the first half before rallying to eight points. Benn was the primary defender. Sr. C Dan Welch, who's about 6-7 and very thin, shot 4-for-5 for eight points. The lefty could help a D-III program down the line. Like the brassy Geiger, Wolf showed no fear. He often took his man and wound up 6-for-13 en route to 14 points. The crowd wound up nearly filling the gym and, of course, the Looney Bin occupants were wild. They had some yelling exchanges with the Judge guys and at one point yelled specifically at Goose and Fat Ringo, "Lose some weight! Lose some weight!" Don't worry about it, guys. I got a much worse going over than you did. I met up with Andrew "Skip" Matysik, whom I kiddingly torched in a game report last week, out in the parking lot and shook his hand, hopefully showing him that I truly wasn't trying to hurt him, just have some fun. He seemed OK with it. Assorted knuckleheads standing nearby and passing by in cars cursed me out and yelled some pretty vulgar stuff. QB Sean McGovern did his best to keep them calm. The Bin Boys also made a sign on a bedsheet. Two of them held it up while standing on the steps leading down to the locker room, as I was getting ready to interview McDonald. I took a quick glance when they yelled, "Hey, Ted!!!" The writing was yellow on white. I thought I saw the word a-hole on the first line, then looked away and began talking with Mike. He was trying not to laugh. But not succeeding (smile). It's nice to be loved.

FEB. 8
PUBLIC LEAGUE
King 62, Univ. City 47
   Not many people, not much noise, no legendary moments. Phila. U, Mansfield, Kutztown and Kent State were in the house, though. That makes me feel good because people must be paying attention to our reports, both here and in the paper, on the fact that King has four recruitable players. My DN story focused on 6-5 sr. PF Darron Bradley, who is qualified. He did have a jump-through-the-basket dunk while contributing 10 points and eight boards after sitting for the first quarter (missed practice the previous day). Bradley is a powerful inside leaper with the chance to be a high flier later, as his confidence and ball skills improve. He has a very good build and has developed a habit of playing well against quality competition. I have passed on his name to some lower D-I coaches; I hope Darron can really find a nice situation basketball and academicswise. The other two sr. Fs, 6-5s Akeem Wright and Rayheem Brown, also had some success. As I've stated in other reports, Wright could be a franchise for someone down the line. For now, I like that he doesn't force things. He needs to develop a little more of the eye-of-the-tiger look. Not for THIS team, but down the road. 6-10 jr. C Wayne Marshall posted up a few times in strong, give-me-the-ball fashion. Over time he'll learn that the good ones do that EVERY SINGLE POSSESSION and just take it as a fact of life that the ball doesn't always enter the post. Sr. PG Raheem Scott, a low I recruit, shot 10-for-10 from the line in the fourth quarter. That skill could come in quite handy in the playoffs. UC's best senior is 6-4 SF-PF Magen McNeil (3.5 GPA, 850). He's a little tough to project. He likely has the fastest, get-around-guys first step in the whole city. I mean, it is very quick. But then he's not always clean on his moves and he sometimes loses his place, winding up too close to the baseline to be effective. Magen is acknowledged to be a great kid. In time, he could be a D-II SF, I feel, but for now I'd project him more as a PF. (I hadn't seen UC until this game). Jr. G Tasheed Carr had an uneven performance. At least five times, he made good penetration into the lane, then left jumpers way short. It makes you wonder if he needs to wear glasses (???). I like how he plays with an edge, though. The three other mainstays -- Demetrius Wilkerson, Brian Nichols and Brandon Moton -- were similar. Decent builds, pretty aggressive, somewhat lacking in polish. This team showed some chemistry problems. Also, there was an ugly argument after the game. Meanwhile, sr. C John Berkley saw a little bit of playing time. But his sport is FB and he's maybe 6-5, 250. D-II coaches, please tell your FB coach about him. He had some decent moments in games last fall and is receiving some state school interest. I liked the way he handled himself in a brief conversation. I think he "gets it" and wants to do well in life and football.

FEB. 5
PUBLIC LEAGUE
Southern 51, Furness 49
  My DN story focused on the Brown brothers -- sr. F Roosevelt "Row-Row" and 6-1 soph PG Antoine "Doo Dirty". Hey, I don't make these names up. I just pass them on to you the ever-entertained public. Row-Row said he gave himself his nickname. On a hunch, I asked Doo Dirty if maybe he had a problem with overly soiled Pampers as a baby. He claimed not. He said he just "kind of wound up with that name" and didn't really know why. We promise to investigate further!! (ha ha) Row-Row had 13 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and two blocks. He could definitely help a D-III program, and he's a decent student, but he said he might skip college and learn to become an auto mechanic because he likes to work with his hands. Nothing wrong with that. Doo Dirty had a bad shooting game (1-for-12) and even blew two free throws after a tech, but he had six assists and could have had more if not for missed layups, short jumpers, etc. The best Ram was soph F-C Shawn Sabb. He shot 11-for-21 for 22 points and claimed 17 rebounds. It must be mentioned that Furness had almost no inside presence from a player with height. Still, Sabb was impressive. He is finally playing with confidence and energy and he looks much more athletic than I remember him. He had a few strong two- or three-dribble moves that he finished by exploding up to the hoop while making himself very wide (by stretching out his arms and legs). Sr. WG-SF Leon Pettyjohn went 2-for-3 on treys en route to eight points and did his little-things duty. For Furness, 6-foot sr. David Watson was terrific. He'll be a PG or WG in college, but on this team he often has to play SF. He went for 27 points, 17 boards and 3 steals. Twenty-one of those points came in the first half, in part because impressive freshman G Amir Ryan got into foul trouble and Watson mostly played out front. With Ryan back on the floor, Watson lined up on the baseline or near wing and Southern better kept tabs on him out of its zone. The Coppins/Morgans/etc. should definitely check out Watson. I like his game and he has grown 3 inches in the last year. A few times he grabbed a rebound and went end to end through traffic and the play did not look the least bit selfish. It looked natural. Furness is fun to watch. Ryan could be a real player and soph WG Tywain McKee (lean, youthful face, much to project) is also promising. Sr. PG Daniel Saunders (four assists) gave non-stop effort. Another soph, the somewhat bulky Raul Vazquez, had five boards and made a tough shot along the baseline. One ref, Sharon Bey, handled the first half herself until Russell McCullough showed up (he was supposed to work Lamberton-Prep Charter, postponed by transportation miseries). But get this: the good, ol' DN had two photographers! George Miller was already in the house when Jennifer Midberry rolled in. Jennifer came over and asked, "What do you need?" I said, "I need you to talk with George and find out why both of you are here." She spent a couple minutes with George and I could see them laughing about the mixup. She then left. George stayed. Scheduling snafus are limited to PL officiating.

FEB. 3
CATHOLIC NORTH
Dougherty 67, Wood 52
   Guess what? Air Horn Guy and Dan the SalaMANder did nice jobs with their reports, so I'm going to keep this very brief and return to working on a major project. This report will deal only with Dougherty sr. sub Andrew "Skip" Matysik. This dude needs to get it in gear. The Looney Bin Boyz (barely plural) kept begging coach Mark Heimerdinger to throw The Skipper into the game. So, in the waning moments, "Ding" answers their prayers and what does The Skipper do? Stinks it up, big-time. First he drives and has a shot blocked out of bounds. Then as the game is ending, he goes to the right corner and clangs a trey off the side of the backboard. What's up with that? C'mon, Skip. You have a responsibility. Your fan club loves you. You need to bring game to the hardwood. We expect big improvement next time out. (OK, I have removed tongue from cheek. You still da man, Skip.)  

FEB. 1
CATHOLIC NORTH
Ryan 53, Judge 45
   This was an interesting night on the trail. Three techs were whistled in the early stages -- one on a Judge player for complaining about a call and two more when players from each team bitched at each other. Judge took a lead on a 3-ball by sr. PG Kevin Pierce, but Ryan spurted to a 10-3 lead and stayed ahead the rest of the way. My DN story profiled sr. PG Chris "Mr. Energy/Socks" Kozole, and was he ever fun to watch. He had 8 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 2 skinned knees, 2 skinned elbows and probably 20 bruises by the end of the night. If every kid played with as much passion as Kozole, there would be no such thing as a bad basketball game. The Raiders also received grit from 6-2 sr. C Andy MacDonald. He had 13 points and 11 boards (six in the fourth quarter). Sr. WG Brendan O'Malley shot 5-for-8 (one trey) en route to 15 points. Jr. WG Mike Devine hit one trey apiece in the first three quarters and finished with three assists overall. I know one thing for sure about Ryan: These guys are in excellent shape. The offense necessitates lots of running and moving and the Raiders were still strong down the stretch. For Judge, sr. WG Ryan Haigh shot 5-for-13 (3-for-9 on treys) for 13 points and dished four assists, so he showed rather well. As for the rest of the Crusaders: some had a few good moments, but not enough. Ryan consistently beat Judge to loose balls and just played with more fire. I know coach Bill Fox was extremely upset with the early-game techs. He prides himself on running a program where the players conduct themselves in a classy manner. The Abyss had another off night. Goose and Fat Ringo were away on football visits. A lot of kids started to leave with roughly 1:30 remaining. G&FR will not be happy to hear that. Cool moment of the night: at halftime, a tree came crashing down on a power line right near the front driveway entrance and the gym, very briefly, was completely dark. A generator supplied power for the rest of the game. Or was it Kozole??

FEB. 1
CATHOLIC SOUTH
Roman 48, Neumann 47
   The Empire Strikes Back. Roman was 3-4 and viewed as fading, but with 0:01 left soph WG Andre Sloan-El swished a left-corner jumper on a pass from sr. PG Tyree Wallace and, at least for the time being, people had to stop kicking dirt on the Cahillites' coffin. In fact, they had to open the lid. Sloan-El was told during the National Anthem that he'd be coming off the bench; he hadn't been playing his hardest lately. He finished with 15 points, shooting 7-for-10 (one trey) from the floor. He also grabbed five boards. Wallace did not have an easy time because Neumann, in effect, has two PGs in jr. Antwain Wynn and soph Richard "Tabby" Cunningham. But Tyree mostly maintained his composure and concentrated on running the team and put together a solid outing (six assists, six steals). Freshman G Bobby Jordan went 5-for-6 at the line and hit a trey for eight points. As for soph F-C Charron Fisher: He had a strange day. He went ballistic in the beginning, shooting 4-for-5 from the floor in the first 2:42. He then missed his final 11 shots. But he did go 11-for-12 from the line (19 points) and did grab 13 rebounds, so overall, how could anyone complain? Cunningham took just six shots, making three. Soph F Adon El had 8 points, 8 boards, 4 blocks. Sr. WG Chris Del Brocco shot 5-for-9 (one trey) en route to 13 points. Wynn had five dishes. A key to this one, from my viewpoint, was that 6-8 jr. Ben Smith went 0-for-4 from the floor. He got the same kind of easy, short jumpers he always seems to get in his brief appearances, but this time he couldn't put them in. In fan news: Roman's student rooters went all out to bust Neumann's Todd Johnson, a bespectacled jr. F. They all bought cheap glasses, made up eye charts and funny signs and called the game "Todd Johnson Appreciation Day." But when Neumann's players came out for warmups, there was one big problem. Johnson wasn't wearing his glasses! All that trouble for nothing! The first chant from the Roman boys was, "Wear your glasses! Wear your glasses!" Never happened.