Huck's 2002 Preview
(Posted March 23, 2001)
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    I have compiled a list of some teams from each league that look promising for next season. Of course, some of these teams may lose or gain a player of significance that could greatly affect their seasons. Anyhow, the teams that are listed could be successful if their nucleus stays in tact. Other teams that are not listed could very well become factors if, say, a transfer or freshman is added.

CATHOLIC LEAGUE NORTH:
    Cardinal Dougherty -- The Cardinals have the making of a good squad. Sr. WG Tim Smink should be counted on for some perimeter offense. Jr. WG Isaac Greer will be the most athletic player in the northern division. I expect him to add to his arsenal after a very good sophomore season. SR. PG Mike McDonald will be steady at the point. Expect soph F 6-5 John King to be more of a  factor. The Cardinals should easily make the playoffs and could give a southern division team a run for their money in a semifinal matchup.
    Archbishop Wood -- Sr. PG 6-3 Mike Spadafora will be the preseason MVP. He has D-1 talent. Wood returns all 5 starters and should be an easy choice for one of the four playoff spots. Sr. Tim Dougherty will give the Vikings a nice one-two punch with Spadafora. Team quickness and size may hamper Wood against quality opponents. However, they should be at the top or near the top of the northern division.
    Father Judge -- The Crusaders will look to rebound from a disappointing end of the season. They lose just about every contributor to last year's team. From what I hear, their JV went undefeated and has some quality talent. Headlinerss should be jr. PG Bill Geiger and sr. WG Ryan Haigh. Coach Bill Fox usually gets the most out of his players and next year should be no different.
    La Salle -- The Explorers should battle for that fourth position in the North. SR. PG 6-2 Rob Sullivan should be one of the better players in the league. JR. F Chris Reedman should help with the scoring load. Coach Marty Jackson will use a stingy defense and heady play to get the most out of his players.
CATHOLIC LEAGUE SOUTH:
    St. John Neumann -- The Pirates should once again be formidable. They will be led by sr. F 6-7 Michael Haddix who should draw some serious D-1 attention. How far the Buccos go could be contingent on the play of soph PG Richard "Tabby" Cunningham. Cunningham when focused will be a load to handle. Extremely quick and a relentless defender. The talent doesn't end there, also   returning is sr. sniper Chris Del Brocco who is undoubtedly one of the deadliest shooters in the city. Sr. F 6-3 Ramer Jones will be a defensive force and should draw the toughest defensive assignments. Sr. F 6-7 Joel Green and jr. F 6-6 Kevin Lauer will give Neumann height and depth in the frontcourt. Jr. WG Kenny Fulton will add some backcourt help. A sleeper player could be soph F 6-4 Haddon EL. A return trip to the Liacouras Center would not surprise me in the least. The Pirates should be one of the top five teams in the city.
    Archbishop Carroll -- The Patriots should be fun to watch next season with jr. sensation PG Kashif Payne. Payne will be right in the running for player of the year honors, though still an underclassmen. Jr. PF 6-7 Jordan Ingram will be entering a critical year in his development. Already a solid player, Ingram has a chance to be extra-special. Best shot blocker in the city, but has to be more assertive on the offense end. JR. F 6-5 Kyle Giresi was a nice surprise for coach J.R. Roe. He'll be counted on even more next season. A banger with a soft touch. he could be a double-double performer. Soph CG 6-3 Mike Springman should play a more prominent role for the Pats. Sr. F 6-5 Evan Dittler will provide added depth in the frontcourt. There is no reason why Carroll shouldn't be at or near the top of the league. All of the ingredients are there for a special season.
   Roman Catholic -- The Cahillites loose all five starters and their first two off the bench. However, plenty of talent remains from the JV ranks. Soph F 6-4 Charron Fisher gave us a taste of what he was about late in the season. He is a budding star in the making. As a soph I'm not sure how much of a load he will be able to take on, but some say that he is further along than Tamal Forchion was at this point. Sr. PG Tyree Wallace will run the show. Though a senior, his time has been limited thus far. It will be interesting to see what he offers. Soph F Andre Sloan-El will be asked to pick up some of the scoring load. In years past when Roman teams have been decimated by graduation, they have somehow found a way to bring in talent in from the outside. This could very well be the case, but who has yet to be determined.
    Msgr. Bonner -- After some down years, the Friars look to be back. Not making the playoffs next season would be a major disappointment. Sr. F 6-5 Matt Kearney can score inside and out. He'll post up some defenders or go out and hit a three. Very good rebounder as well. The wildcard for the Friars may be the play of sr. WG Badir McCleary who has the ability to take over games. He also has the ability to find himself on the bench for long stretches due to wild play. Sr. F 6-6 Vince Taraborrelli started off great this season, but by the time league play started he quickly faded. He'll need to be more consistent if the Bonner is to hang with the better teams in the division. Expect to see jr. PG Frank Nunan running the show more. Nunan had a quiet, but decent sophomore campaign. Bonner's team quickness may hurt them, but this group has been playing together for some time now, and that should payoff.
    Cardinal O'Hara -- The Lions will sorely miss all league performer Gene Willard. However, the Lions do return three starters. All which are guards. Sr. WG Chris Grandieri could lead the league in scoring. He can shoot it from deep, but is shifty around the basket as well. Sr. CG Harry Dougherty can score and distribute. Jr. PG Craig Haywood will look to improve on a solid sophomore season. What may hurt the Lions is a lack of size. Nonetheless, they will be very tough to beat at home and with three quality guards with experience the could pose a threat on any given night.

    INTER-AC:
    Germantown Academy -- GA should have no problem winning yet another Inter-Ac title. In fact, they may very well be a top 15 team in the country. Headliners will be sr. WG 6-5 Matt Walsh who should draw national attention. Sr. F 6-7 Lee Melchionni had a very good junior season and should get some D-1 looks. Sr. C 7-0 Ted Skuchas will anchor the backline, and is also a D-1  prospect, possible Ivy or Patriot league. Jr. WG 6-6 Rob Kurz is similar to Walsh. He should be more of an option next year, but is probably a year away from really making a name for himself. This team will be fun to watch and mow down much of its competition.
    Episcopal Academy -- The Churchmen will be hard pressed to challenge GA, but should still have a successful season. Their leader will be sr. F 6-5 strongman Terrence Mack. Mack will be one of the premier players in the city next season. He has started to make a habit of dunking over smaller opponents. He'll need to push his game out a little further for the next level. Jr. PG Ron Frazier showed promise this past season and should improve. Sr. F 6-6 Joe Person is another in the long string of Persons to play for the Churchmen. He will be expected to add productivity in the frontcourt.

    PUBLIC LEAGUE:
    Strawberry Mansion -- The Knights feature the most dynamic player in the public league with jr. WG Maureece Rice. Rice will probably average over 30 a game next season. He is a tremendous talent and the sky is the limit. Gets to the basket better than anyone at this level. Will have a chance at the Philly schoolboy all time point record before his career is finished. That record (2,206) is   held by none other than Wilt himself. The Knights are not a one horse show, however. Soph PF 6-6 DeSean White has the makings of a force inside. Reminds e of a young Kevin Lyde. He could grow a few more inches as well, for he is only 14 years old. Sr. F 6-7 Leon Fulton who just came off an up and down season, will also be a major cog. He could develop into one of the league's best big men. Sr. G's Maurice Stennis, Sharif Jackson, and Aaron Brown will add scoring and ballhandling on the perimeter. The Knights should be right in the thick of things for the Pub crown. They will be a very entertaining team to watch and will put some huge numbers on the boards before it's all said and done.
    Simon Gratz -- The Bulldogs will look to repeat as public league champs, and have plenty of talent to help them in this quest. Sr. F 6-6 Michael Blackshear is the city's best rebounder and is manchild on the block. I look for him to improve on his range with his jumper. SR. F 6-4 Maurice Collins was not used much this year, but will be counted on heavily next season. He is your typical Bulldog, very athletic who goes to the glass and is a high riser. Coach Bill Ellerbee will have a trio of defensive minded guards in jr's Omar Johnson, Tariq Wharton, and Dashay Brown. SR. sniper Augie Woodlin is a threat from deep and should add some scoring punch. Talent wise I don't think the Bulldogs can match Mansion. That does not mean that they won't vie for yet another crown. You never know who is waiting in the wings for coach Bill Ellerbee. On top of that, the defense they play always gives them a shot.
    Martin Luther King -- King will be a intriguing team next season and have enough talent to make some noise as well. Sr. PG 6-3 Raheem Scott will be asked to run the show and pick up some of the scoring punch. Sr. F 6-5 workhorse Darron Bradley is a bully in the post and goes after everything. The wild card will probably be jr. F 6-8 Wayne Marshall. Marshall will need to stay out of foul trouble and become more of a force. King has a bunch of complementary players returning and who should help build a solid team. This team as a chance to make the final four of the pub if all things go right.
   University City -- The Jaguars return jr. PG 6-2 Tasheed Carr and sr. F 6-5 Magen McNeil. Carr with another year under his belt will be one of the better juniors in the league. When he is under control he is very effective. With McNeil the Jags have one of the leagues best rebounders. His offensive numbers will have to improve if is team has a chance against the upper echelon of the league. Sr. G Demetruis Wilkerson had some nice scoring games late in the season and will need to do more of that next year. UC will be  right in the thick of things with that second grouping of Pub teams.
    Bartram -- The Braves lose all three of their terrific backcourt group, but does have enough talent coming back to make noise once again. Sr. WG 6-4 Richard Francis will be back firing and will be the club's number one option. JR. F 6-5 Khalil Abdus-Salaam gained valuable experience last season. However, with the graduation of his teams top three scorers, he will have to bring more to the table on the offensive end. Coach Lou Biester will count on jr's F 6-8 Jason Cain and PG Charles Jones. The play of these two players will greatly effect how far the Braves will go.
    Dobbins Tech -- This is my sleeper team of the league. Coach Rich Yankowitz had his young team playing extremely well at the end of last season. The Mustangs lose only one starter. IF they can somehow find a couple of more players to go with the returning group they will be very dangerous. The backcourt will feature a couple of small, but effective players in, jr. PG 5-7 Ronald Davis and sr. WG 5-7 Hakeem Dunn. Davis was the teams leading scorer this past season. Sr. F Barren Grier will rebound and inside  scoring. Jr. F 6-4 Tyrell Mathis showed a ton of promise last season and is extremely strong. Mathis is very effective around the basket both with his scoring and his passing.
    Olney -- Sr. F 6-4 Tyree Hankerson returns for the Trojans and should be a good low post scorer. Guards are a plentiful for Olney, especially if jr. WG Kenneth Eady and sr. PG Neil Green return from academic woes that they suffered at the end of last season. If not, soph PG Andrew Terry did a nice job in running the team late in the season. Sr. PG Marvin Kilgore and sr. WG  Terrell Priester will also be prominent parts in the backcourt. With the abundance of experienced guards returning, Olney should be a solid playoff team.
    Robert Lamberton --  SR. F 6-4 Russell Walker could average 25 a game if all goes right. Walker is very strong and surprisingly athletic for his size. He is relentless on the offensive glass. Sr. sniper Chris Tucker has a beautiful stroke and when he gets it rolling is extremely effective. Jr. PG Nafis Shamsud-Din struggled at times last year, but got valuable experience in doing so. His play will greatly influence how far his team goes. Sr. F Marcus Johnson should add a nice scoring option. Lamberton has a chance to  surprise some teams and has good chance of being a playoff contender.
    Southern -- The Rams started three freshman last season and barely missed making the playoffs. They also played a significant part of the season without their best player, sr. swingman 6-3 Roosevelt Brown. Brown who has fully recovered from a leg injury should once again be his team headliner. Soph's PG Antoine Brown (Roosevelt's brother), PG Keith Grimes, and F 6-5 Shawn Sabb should all improve, grow and get stronger for the Rams. Saab is a good rebounder and shot blocker for the Rams. Probably a year away from serious contention the Rams should do enough to garner a playoff berth.
    Ben Franklin -- The Electrons lose a lot, but this is when they usually go out and replenish. Two players they will have back in the fold will be sr. WG Murvin English and jr. PG Darnell Corbitt. English can also play the point. Corbitt is a defensive whiz and thrives in the open court. If Franklin can add a couple of players to go with them they once again will be a league power.
    E&S -- The Engineers return three contributors from last year's playoff team. Sr. CG Justin Scott is a heady player and should be the teams leader. SR. PG Andre Hightower can also run the show, but like to shoot as well. He is extremely tough in the open court. SR. F 6-5 Matthew Jefferson could be the league's most dynamic shot blocker. He is extremely quick off his feet and goes after everything. The Engineers are extremely tough to beat at home. If they win the majority of their home games and steal a couple on the road, they should easily make the playoffs.
    Overbrook -- SR. WG Angelo Hernandez saw a wonderful junior season come to an abrupt end because of academics. However, he has the ability to be one of the leading scorers in the league next season. SR. F 6-4 Shawn Ikokwu hits the glass and scores some himself. IF the Panthers can add some other parts they should make a run at the playoffs.
    FLC -- The Bobcats lose only two players off their roster. Sr. F 6-6 London Houston may be one of the more underrated players in the league. He has a nice stroke, runs the floor, rebounds, and blocks shots. He does need to be more assertive and demand the ball more often to become a complete player. The starting backcourt of sr. WG Noll Black and sr. PG John Owens also returns. Both Black and Owens had their moments this past season. Both will have to be more consistent if the Bobcats are going to be a serious threat. Jr. G's Tyreek Byard and Michael Green got significant playing time and will again be counted on. Soph 6-4 Joshua Grier will help Houston inside and looks to be a player.
    Central -- The Lancers will return all-public selection sr. WG Sharif Bray. Bray has unlimited range and lulls you to sleep before striking. Sr. leaper F 6-3 Khalif Leek is very athletic and could turn some heads before it is all over. The Lancers should be a middle of the pack team, with a chance to move up depending on who else steps up.