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March 31
  Click here for Joe Juliano's story on Gene Banks' time at Duke with Coach K.
  Updates on the Donofrio Classic can be accessed here.
  Tom Moore's great story on Collin Gillespie's Wood days has made it onto Yahoo! Click here.
Tedbit
  This century keeps flying along, but the points don't always fly into baskets. Below are the top season scorers, by school, in the Inter-Ac League and Catholic League. Alas, there is only one newcomer in 2022 after none in 2021. Malvern's Deuce Turner and Roman's Eddie Griffin (RIP) remain tied for the No. 1 spot.

March 30
  The rosters for the Donofrio Classic are here.
  **Click here for "Huck" Palmer's All-Catholic Team (three teams with notable stats) and here for his list of special honors. Thanks, Huck!**
  **Click here for the final Overall Scoring Leaders and here for the Overall Scoring Leaders over the last 23 seasons, 2000-2022.**
  Mike Ewing, grandson of former coach Bob Ewing, is O'Hara's new football coach.
  Time for a Chuck Langerman Chuckbit. Cheltenham basketball coach Patrick Fleury is sniffing rare air. Click here.
Tedbit
  Seventeen high school coaches in city history won notched at least 400 wins and that list -- top to bottom based on the number of victories --  can be found here. Below are two other versions, limited to Top 10s. The first is based on winning percentage and the second goes by wins per season. Enjoy.

-

March 29
  **From Huck . . . Counting all games, N-G's Robert Wright nipped Roman's Daniel Skillings for the top scoring average among CL players, 19.222 to 19.178.**
  Let the bitching continue (ugh). Click here. (Ted's thought: The Catholic League and all Catholic schools around the state should ditch the PIAA and form their own association. Keep all your own money and set your own rules. Heck, you could even allow a small amount of fifth year seniors and compete in the Independent Schools Tourney. College scouts would LIVE in your gyms/stadiums. A Catholic version of the PIAA did exist into the 1970s. Click here for a list of that organization's basketball champs.)
  Ryan product Izaiah Brockington has declared for the NBA draft. Click here.
Tedbit
  Basketball season No. 23 for this century is in the books and it was slightly above average in one category. Four teams finished with at least 20 wins and the average over the 23 seasons is 3.3. Neumann-Goretti owns the top spot with 19 20-win seasons -- I know, shocking! (smile) -- and Roman ranks second with 13.  Carroll (10) is also in double digits. Two teams in this century have notched 30 wins -- SJ Prep in 2003 and N-G in 2010. There's a strong tie between those teams. Speedy Morris coached the Prep and Carl Arrigale guided N-G. In the 1983-84 season, Arrigale earned Inter-Ac MVP honors while playing for Penn Charter and his coach was . . . Speedball.

-

March 28
  QB Anthony Russo (Wood, Temple, Michigan State) is preparing for the NFL draft. Click here.
  Text from Ed "Hustlin' Huck" Palmer, who compiled full-blown stats for all Catholic League teams: "I watched 239 of 243 PCL games (on tape) this year. 4 games no tape.  239 full boxes, 3 mostly full, and 1 partial. Dominance!" Without a doubt. Thank you SO much, Huck!
  Time for a Chuck Langerman Chuckbit. Good luck trying to pass South Jersey's prolific Kargman brothers. Click here.
Tedbit
  Thanks to a second trifecta (also 2015), the Catholic League now owns  17 state championships. Which guys were the heading scorers for each champ over the five games required to claim the crown? We've got you covered.

March 27
  ***Devon Prep's 2022 Tribute Page***
  ***Roman Catholic's 2022 Tribute Page***
  Click here for the updated page of CL Coaches' League/Overall Records.
  Click here for a story on Roman-Wood. And here for a story on Devon Prep. And here for another Roman-Wood story. And here for another Devon Prep story.
Tedbit
  Somebody call Sports Illustrated. This is national news! Neumann-Goretti no longer owns the best winning percentage among Catholic League teams in PIAA state playoffs . . . Wait, there's a catch. The amounts of games don't exactly match (smile). In its first state tourney, Devon Prep, a four-year CL member, toughed out a 5-0 mark to capture the Class 3A crown. N-G won its ninth (this time in 4A) and its winning percentage remains quite outrageous at .946. The Saints have suffered just three losses in States and two have come against CL squads -- to Carroll in 2009 and McDevitt in 2019. Incredible. The Saints have been beaten just once -- Donegal, in a 2013 quarterfinal -- by a school from elsewhere around the state. While racking up this year's trifecta (also Roman in 6A), the CL played 29 games. Roman-Wood and Devon-West were CL vs. CL and the total record was 26-5. Check out the lists below for two versions of the CL's gaudy accomplishments.

March 26
  Gotta love a trifecta! The Catholic League won its third state championship as Roman topped Wood, 77-65, in the Class 6A final. Congrats!
  Devon Prep owns a state championship. Congrats! In the Class 3A final, the Tide rolled past Aliquippa, 76-58.
  ***Neumann-Goretti's 2022 Tribute Page***
  In a Sweet 16 clash of double digit seeds, Miami and Bonner-Prendie's Isaiah Wong bested Iowa State and Ryan's Izaiah Brockington.
Tedbit
  West Philadelphia's state record for consecutive victories (68) was tied yesterday by Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in the Class 2A final vs. Constitution and will no doubt be broken against some creampuff in the first game of the 2022-23 season. But those Speedboys will always remain special to anyone who saw them (and wrote about them). West lost its opener of the 1975-76 season vs. La Salle and point guard Fran "White Magic" McCaffery, now the coach at Iowa, then fell again in late January to Long Island Lutheran and superstar Wayne McKoy. The streak then began and wasn't halted until Overbrook edged West, 62-61, on Feb. 21, 1978. Coach Joe Goldenberg's squad regrouped and won its fifth consecutive Public League championship, along with a fourth straight City Title. The Speedboys' record over those five seasons was 129-8. The thumbnail sketches for the last three seasons are below. Hoops nuts would be justified in thinking future NBAer Gene Banks was the best athlete on those squads. However, a strong case could be made for Burt Biggs, a starter in '78. Burt was what he went by then. But over time he became known as Tyrell and won an Olympic gold medal in boxing in 1984. In '87, he challenged Mike Tyson for the heavyweight title and lost on a TKO.

Available playoff boxscores from that era . . .
City Titles
1973-76
1977-80
Public League Finals
Finals, 1973-76
Finals, 1977-80
Earlier Playoffs
Semis, 1976
Semis, 1977
Qtrs/Semis, 1978

March 25
  In the Class 2A final, Public League member Constitution fell to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, 92-71, and OLSH now owns 68 consecutive wins. That ties West Philadelphia's state record from 1976-78.
  Click here for a story on N-G's win.
Tedbit
  Just because Carl Arrigale's passion is basketball, by now you know he loves pursuing -- and collecting  -- Triple Crowns. Last night in Hershey, Carl's Saints thumped 27-0 Quaker Valley, 93-68, and the title was No. 3 in the 2021-22 season. First the Catholic League, then the Class 4A City Title, then the 4A state championship. Since the Catholic League joined the PIAA for the 2008-09 school year, 14 Triple Crowns have been possible. Carl owns five. No one in MLB history has accomplished the feat more than twice. Those guys are Rogers Hornsby and Ted Williams. Ten guys total have sniffed that rarified air. During his high school days at Penn Charter, Carl was the Inter-Ac's basketball MVP as a senior in 1984. His second sport was baseball. The Saints (nee Pirates) have been involved in 39 championship games during Carl's 24 seasons. Number of crowns: 12 apiece in CL and CTs, nine in States. The various records 12-5 in CL finals, 12-1 in CTs, 9-0 in State finals. Thirty-three wins, six setbacks. Beyond amazing. Congrats, Carl! 
  Six guys scored in double figures: Aamir Hurst 20, Robert Wright 16, Bruce Smith 14, Khaafiq Myers 12, Masud Stewart and Sultan Adewale 10 apiece.

March 24
  Neumann-Goretti owns another state championship. Congrats! In the Class 4A final, the Saints topped Quaker Valley (27-0 going in), 93-68.
  Note from Ted: The 1977-78 basketball season was my first at the Daily News and it produced all kinds of fun. Top of the list . . . Watching West Philadelphia claim the state record for consecutive wins, at 68. Then, near the end of the regular season, on Feb. 21, the Speedboys fell at Overbrook, 62-61. Click here for the beginning of the game story, and here for the rest of it along with a column, boxscore, details, etc. (The Tedbit right below explains what could happen tomorrow afternoon. Constitution coach Rob Moore noted via a text that saving West's record "is definitely a big part (of the motivation) for us." 
Tedbit
  Over these next three days, players from four Catholic League schools will have a chance to see their name added to the list below. What is it? Top statistical performances by CL guys in PIAA state championship games. All seven efforts by Neumann-Goretti players have been posted in victories. Breakdown for the others: Wood, three of four in wins; Carroll, one of four in wins, Roman, one of one in a win. This year's entrants will be Devon Prep in Class 3A (Saturday, 2:30), N-G in 4A (tonight, 7:30) and Roman vs. Wood in 6A (Saturday, 7:30). There will also be a big game in the 2A final (2:30, Friday). Constitution, of the Public League, will be trying to prevent Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, in Coraopolis, a Pittsburgh suburb, from tying the state record for consecutive wins, at 68, set by West Philly from 1976 to 1978. Good luck to all!
  New records added.

March 23
  Click here for a story on N-G sophomore star Robert Wright.
  Click here for a preview on Thursday night's Class 4A final, N-G vs. Quaker Valley.
  Click here for a story on Hysier Miller's (N-G) freshman season at Temple.
Tedbit
  When quarterback Matt Ryan was traded on Monday to the Indianapolis Colts, I wonder if he knew he was leaving Atlanta with a Philly record? Unless I missed someone, Matt ranks No. 1 among "Our Guys" (Public, Catholic. Inter-Ac) for the longest stretch with one NFL/AFL team. The 2021 season was his 14th with Falcons, one more than HOF member Marvin Harrison, Jim Katcavage and Bucko Kilroy. Some of the guys on the list below played elsewhere after their long stretch with one team ended. Matt, a Penn Charter grad, is the Inter-Ac's lone representative. The breakdowns for others is six Catholic, three Public. With the Falcons, Matt appeared in 222 games and never once was a sub. He passed for 59,735 yards and 367 TDs. He missed just three games, two in 2009 and one in 2019. Counting his time at PC and Boston College, Matt has passed for 72,032 yards and 445 TDs while leading his teams. Best of luck with the Colts, Matt! Maybe Marvin will help you by coming out of retirement (smile).

March 22
  Mike Jensen asked people to describe and/or take a pic of their oldest basketball possession. Click here.
Tedbit
  At the conclusion of a game with a semi-high final score, it's common for the play-by-play man to point out that four members of the winning team scored in double figures. This is very uncommon: Four guys scored at least 15 points and did so in almost exact numerical order. That feat was accomplished Saturday as Devon Prep, coached by Jason Fisher, edged Holy Redeemer, 73-72, in overtime, in a Class 3A state semifinal. Believe it. Jacen Holloway and Lucas Orchard led the way with 19 and 18 points, respectively. Argel "IV" Pettit and Allen Cieslak were thisclose with 16, then 15. CL teams have participated in 235 state playoffs over 14 seasons and just two other times have four guys scored at least 15 points. Neumann-Goretti twice accomplished the feat. Details on all three games are below. First some specifics on DP. The Fab Four combined to play 146 of the 160 minutes, according to stats compiled by Ed "Huck" Palmer, while shooting 25-for-43 from the floor (10-for-22 on treys) and 8-for-8 at the line. The Tide's other five points were scored by fifth starter Ty Mishock. Three subs saw action.

March 21
  Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan (Penn Charter) has been traded to the Indianapolis Colts. Click here and/or here.
  Best wishes going forward to Ashley Howard, who is no longer the basketball coach at La Salle University. Click here for Mike Jensen's story.
  Two Eastern Regional players earned All-Olympic Conference honors. Click here.
  Click here for a story on Collin Gillespie's contributions to Villanova's win.
Tedbit
  It's impressive when one district places many teams in many state championship games. How about one league? Since joining the PIAA in the 2008-09 season, CL teams have appeared in 20 state finals. That total will rise to 23 later this week thanks to Roman AND Wood in Class 6A, Neumann-Goretti in 4A and Devon Prep in 3A. One other state final featured CL teams against each other: N-G over Carroll in 2015. Not only has N-G appeared in eight state finals. It has won every time.  Roman is 3-0. This is hard to believe, but the CL owns a four-game losing streak in finals. Before that it reeled off nine consecutive triumphs. The overall record is 14-7, counting the loss by Carroll to N-G in 2015.

March 20
  Click here for a story on Devon Prep's win. And here for one on Roman's. And here for one on Wood's. And here for another on Wood's.
Tedbit
  Well, the not-so-lengthy drought is over. Actually, it will SOON be over. The Catholic League is going to produce a PIAA state basketball champion for the first time since 2018! How do we know? Becase the Class 6A final will feature Roman vs. Wood. CL squads could also claim crowns in Class 4A (Neumann-Goretti) and Class 3A (Devon Prep) and wouldn't a trifecta be nice? The CL went 4-1 in semis and four wins is a league first. All together the CL owns an amazing 25-6 record in semis for an .806 winning percentage. N-G owns a 9-0 record in semis. Roman and Wood are 4-0. Enjoy the games, folks.

March 19
  CL teams in state playoffs today: Roman won - Wood won - Devon won. 3-0 sweep. Scores are here.
  Click here for a story on N-G's win. And here for one on Carroll's loss.
Tedbit
  Quickly falling into a 10-0 hole is not recommended, especially when you're playing pretty far from home and the opposition has MANY more fans in attendance. That was the situation faced last night by Neumann-Goretti in a Class 4A semifinal vs. Dallas at Freedom High, in Bethlehem. No sweat. The Saints roared back and led by 31 points with roughly five minutes left when the mercy rule took effect. Aside from having seized eight state champioships (all in 3A), coach Carl Arrigale's squads have claimed 52 wins in 55 state playoffs for a winning percentage of .945. The Saints won this tilt, 77-50, and now own 23 wins by at least 27 points (33.1 average). The details on those 23 blowouts (three in semis, two in finals) are below. 

March 18
  CL teams in today's state semifinals: N-G won - Carroll lost.  1-1 split.
  St. Joe's soph Jordan Hall (N-G) is hiring an agent with the hope of playing in the NBA. Click here.
  Click here for a story on Delaware coach Martin Ingelsby (Carroll).
Tedbit
  His first name is Jalil and his nickname should be "Real Deal." If you watched Bob Long's livestream of Wednesday night's Class 6A state quarterfinal between Archbishop Wood and North Hills, you no doubt completely agree. What a performance! Soph wing guard Jalil Bethea (pic here) scored 37 points, the No. 4 total ever achieved by a Catholic League guy in CL playoffs, City Titles and state playoffs. And he did so by claiming the overall CL record for three-pointers by raining down 11. Ed "Huck" Palmer broke down the video and confirmed what I'd suspected while the game was unfolding. Jalil, as the sixth man over 23 minutes, missed just one attempt from beyond the arc. Yes, he was 11-for-12. He went 1-for-3 on regulars and 2-for-2 at the line. Almost all of the treys were perfect swishes, that kind where the sweet rotation  causes the bottom of the net to pop up slightly higher than the rim. Wonderful! The record for treys was broken in the 2019 regular season when Bonner-Prendie's Mike Perretta sniped 10-for-10 for 30 points vs. SJ Prep. He took no other shots. Mike's father, Harry, was the forever women's coach at Villanova. Unless someone broke it in recent years and no one spoke up, the city record is still held by Edison's George Baker, who sank 13 in 2008. Is it hittin' ya? Yup, a baker's dozen. Only in the Pub. Congrats to Jalil and keep nailing those shots from distance. Fourteen in one game would be nice.

March 17
  Click here for overall info/schedule/brackets for the upcoming Donofrio Classic, in Conshohocken.
  Click here for a story on Roman's win over Cheltenham. And here for another. And here for one on Devon's win over West. And here for another.
  Click here for Mike Jensen's story on Collin Gillespie.
  Click here for a Fran McCaffery/Chris Mooney story.
Tedbit
  As you likely know by now, this is season No. 14 for the Catholic League as a PIAA member. And now we'll let you know: These last two nights were monumental! For the first time, FIVE CL squads have advanced to semifinals. And all could make it to championship games because there won't be any CL vs. CL semis. One such quarterfinal took place last night as Devon Prep topped West Catholic. Last night's highlight, by far, was the 37-point, 11-treys outburst by Wood soph Jalil Bethea. Congrats! The CL is 31-18 in quarterfinals for a .633 winning percentage.

March 16
  RIP, Chuck Mascio. Chuck, PA announcer for the Donofrio Classic at the Fellowship House in Conshohocken, has passed away.
  Click here for Joe Juliano's story on Iowa coach Fran "White Magic" McCaffery.  And click here for a story by Fran's brother, Jack, about Tom Ingelsby, father of Delaware's coach, Martin.
  CL teams in state playoffs tonight: Roman won - Wood won - (West lost - Devon won.) 3-1 record. Wood soph Jalil Bethea nailed 11 treys en route to 37 points! (West and Devon played each other.)
  Click here for a story on Carroll's win. And here for one on N-G's.
Tedbit
  As the clock winds down toward 0:00, all neutral observers like to hear the play-by-play man say excitedly, "It's a onnnne-possession game!!" That means the point differential is no more than three. This is season No. 14 for the Catholic League in the PIAA and 29 "close games" have been played. The record is 18-13 and, yes, that adds up to 31. Huh? Two games matching CL teams against each other have been played. Carroll, Neumann-Goretti and Roman own four wins apiece and Carroll is the leader with losses (six). The Patriots won last night by 56-54 over Montour in a 4A quarterfinal. Dean Coleman-Newsome led the ay with 18 points while Moses Hipps and Blake Deeegan had 12 apiece. They're the No. 5 seed out of District 12 and are in the tourney only because an eligibility snafu doomed Bonner-Prendie.

March 15
  CL teams in state playoffs tonight - Carr won - N-G won. 2-0 sweep.
  N-G's Shawn Battle stars in football, contributes in hoops. Click here.
Tedbit
  Strong suspicion: Someone with thick ties to the Catholic League is a member of the selection committee for the NCAA basketball tournament. Hint No. 1: Two teams with former CL stars at the helm -- Iowa (Fran McCaffery,  La Salle '77) and Richmond (Chris Mooney, Ryan '90)  -- will clash in one first round game. Hint No. 2: The Delaware-Villanova tussle will feature Blue Hens boss Martin Ingelsby (Carroll '97) against the college where his dad, Tom, was a star before advancing to the NBA and later coaching Martin at Carroll. Tom was lucky enough to win a CL crown as a player at O'Hara (junior year in '68) and coach (Carroll in '95 with sophomore Martin as a starter). The Patriots won that tilt, 72-65, over Roman as Martin contributed 13 points and seven assists. Some of his feeds went to Paul Romanczuk, who shot 7-for-7 en route to 16 points and claimed 11 rebounds. Paul went on to enjoy a nice coaching run at Carroll and just produced a co-championship in his first season at Malvern, of the Inter-Ac League. His high school career was spent at Malvern, then Carroll. Back to Fran. In the '76 season, he starred at the point as La Salle beat West Philadelphia in an early non-league game to give superstar Gene Banks, the first Coach K Duke product to make the NBA, one of only two losses he suffered in three varsity seasons. The other, that same season, was to a team from New York. Back then, Philly ninth graders still attended junior highs. As a senior, Fran, a k a "White Magic" (Overbrook star Lewis Lloyd, a future NBAer, was "Black Magic") again directed the show as the Explorers set a school record (67.5, it still stands) for PPG in league play. Classmate/wing sniper Pat McLoone would go on to become the Daily News' sports editor. Pat and Fran remain fast friends to this day. Fran's brother, Jack, is a sports columnist for the Delco Times. Fran played his college ball at Wake Forest and Penn, but was long gone by the time Chris enjoyed a productive career at Princeton. Check this out: Over his last three seasons, Chris shot 42.7 percent on three-pointers.The current Richmond squad includes Marcus Randolph (Wood), Gabe Arizin (SJ Prep) and Haverford resident Jordan Gaitley. After racking up what was then a school record 1,425 points (now third) at Carroll, Martin did his college playing at Notre Dame and started from Day One. Below is a look at the trio's scoring production in -- but of course -- the good, ol' Catholic League.
  Bios -- Fran McCaffery -- Chris Mooney -- Martin Ingelsby.  
  College stats -- Fran McCaffery -- Chris Mooney -- Martin Ingelsby.  

March 14
  Schedule details for quarterfinals are set: Class 6A - Class 4A - Class 3A.
  Click here for Joe Mason's story on Ryan soph star Thomas Sorber.
  Click here for a story on Wood's win. And here for one on Devon Prep's.
  Eastern Regional product Matthue Cotton lifted Yale into the NCAA Tourney. Click here.
Tedbit
  Another strong performance by the Catholic League. Six teams will be making appearances in the quarterfinal round of the state playoffs and, hard to believe, that's not a CL record. Seven did so in 2019 and six banged heads in quarterfinals. Just two will do so this year -- West Catholic and Devon Prep in Class 3A. CL teams are now 51-14 in second rounds for a winning percentage of .785.

March 13
  CL teams in state playoffs today/tonight: Roman won - Wood won - West won - Devon won. 4-0 sweep. Final scores are here.
  Congrats to La Salle High grad Fran McCaffery, who today coached Iowa to the Big 10 championship and a spot in the NCAA Tourney!
  Congrats to Ryan grad Chris Mooney, who today coached Richmond to the Atlantic 10 championship and a spot in the NCAA Tourney! ***Their teams will meet in the first round. As noted Friday, Carroll grad Martin Ingelsby coached Delaware into the tourney. Three CL guys!!!***
  Collin Gillespie (Wood) steered 'Nova to the Big East crown. Click here.
Tedbit
  A while back, a list of Top 20 scorers in Catholic League regular season play was posted. Now for the next version. Top 20 with playoffs included. The number of 1,000-point guys has jumped from one (Bonner's Jeff Jones) to six and players from Neumann-Goretti/Roman significantly increased their numbers because their schools played in so many playoffs.

March 12
  **The Howard Ratinoff/Lamar Poole Memorial Basketball Game, featuring star alumni players from Edison and Southern, will be played April 30, noon start, at Edison, Front and Luzerne streets.**
  Postponements: Roman-Central Dauphin will be played Sunday, 3 p.m., at Bethlehem Liberty. Wood-Reading will be played Sunday, 1 p.m., at Easton Area Middle School. West Catholic-Loyalsock Twp. will be played Sunday, 3 p.m., at Cumberland Valley High School, in Mechanicsburg. Devon Prep-Columbia will be played Sunday, 6 p.m. at Spring-Ford High School, in Royersford.
  Click here for a story on Chester-Ryan.
  Frosh Matt Gardler, Bud's grandson, enjoyed a big night for Marple-Newtown. Click here.
Tedbit
  We're back to a full season and so are schools with 20 wins. Neumann-Goretti, Roman and West have hit that number and Wood needs two wins to do so. Ryan missed by one. The CL joined the CL for the 2008-09 season. Three schools -- Dougherty, Kennedy-Kenrick and North Catholic -- closed in 2010. McDevitt did so last June. St. James has not been around since 1993.

March 11
  Ed "Huck" Palmer did color commentary on Bob Long's live stream of the Ryan game. Cooooool!!
  CL teams in state playoffs tonight: Ryan lost - N-G won - O'Hara lost - Carroll won. 2-2 split. Final scores are here.
  West Catholic's second round game has been moved to 3 p.m. Sunday. Same site.
  Iowa, coached by La Salle High product Fran McCaffery, was dang near perfect yesterday. Click here.
  That's a wrap for West Catholic product Herb Magee. Click here.
  Delaware, coached by Carroll poduct Martin Ingelsby, is headed to the NCAA Tourney. Click here.
  Sites and times are now posted for games in the second round of the state playoffs. Click here.
Tedbit
  Let’s say you’re approaching Oldheadville and you think of yourself as being quite observant. Back in early December, when rosters were posted on this site, one name likely jumped out at you, big time: Matt Guokas. Whoa! He’s gotta be a part of the famous Guokas family, correct? Indeed, as confirmed by his coach at Neumann-Goretti, Carl Arrigale. Matt IV is a 6-2 sophomore guard and for now he’s a deep sub. But Carl describes him as a “pretty good shooter” with a chance to become a factor over these next two seasons. Matt Sr., Matt Jr. and Matt III did their high school playing at Roman Catholic (first team All-Catholic in 1933-34), St. Joseph’s Prep (1st A-C in ‘62) and Penn Charter (1st All-Inter-Ac in ’88). They won two, one and half a league championship. IV won one this year. All three played college ball at St. Joseph’s. Sr. played for the Philadelphia Warriors team in 1946-47 that won the first NBA championship (though the league was called the Basketball Association of America at that time). Jr. also won an NBA crown with some guy named Wilt and the 76ers in 1966-67 (classic pic here) and would go on to coach NBA squads for seven seasons. III, big and strong, also had some decent football moments at PC. Interesting Wikipedia bios about Sr. and Jr. can be reached with clicks and stats are available on basketball reference sites for all three. Plus, Sr.'s much younger brother, Al, also played in the NBA. Best of luck going forward to IV. Cherish every moment, young man.

March 10
  Click here for a story on Wood's win. And here for one on Devon Prep's.
Tedbit
  Imagine how often these words, or something similar, have tumbled out of mouths shortly after the brackets/matchups for the PIAA state tournament have been posted: “Crap! We play a Philadelphia Catholic League team in the first round. Our season’s over.” The numbers don’t lie, or even fib. Thirteen years with first-round games have flown by (none in 2021) and the CL’s record is 65-12 for a winning percentage of .844. Just getting started, folks. From 2014 through now, the record is 48-4 for .923! There were two setbacks apiece in 2017 and 2020 with nothing but sweeps in the other years.

March 9
  CL teams in state playoffs tonight: Roman won - Wood won - West won - Devon won. Another 4-0 sweep. Final scores are here. . . West has 20 wins. First time since 1981 (23-7).
  Congrats to Villanova guard Collin Gillespie (Wood) on his TWO Big East awards -- Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year! Click here for Mike Jensen's story.
  Click here for a story on Ryan's win. And here for one on Carroll's. And here for one on O'Hara's.
  Click here for a feature story on Roman's Khalil Farmer, who's bound for Hofstra.
Tedbit
  Below are the top scoring outbursts by Catholic League players in state playoffs. Ryan's Aaron Lemon-Warren holds the No. 1 spot, thanks to his 36-point avalanche last year vs. Chester AT Chester. Only one player scored enough points in a loss to make the list. Carroll's Derrick Jones, now with the Chicago Bulls, managed 30 seven years ago in a setback to CL partner Neumann-Goretti.
  Additions: Carroll's Moses Hipps twice made the list in back-to-back, 31-point outbursts. Wood's Jalil Bethea scored 37 points, a CL record for state playoffs, and did so thanks mostly to incredible sniping (11-for-12) beyond the arc. Eleven treys set a new CL record. N=G's Robert Wright scored 30 points vs Dallas. Roman's Daniel Skillings scored 31 vs. Wood in the 6A final.

March 8
  CL teams in state playoffs tonight: Ryan won - N-G won - O'Hara won - Carroll won. 4-0 sweep. Final scores are here.
  Best wishes going forward to Kevin Fnnston, who has stepped down as Bonner-Prendie's basketball coach.
Tedbit
  Well, it's time to return to a normal PIAA state tournament. The 2020 contest was cut short by the corona crap and the 2021 version eliminated the first two rounds for the same reason. This is -- hard to believe -- season No. 14 for the Catholic League as a PIAA member and things have turned out very well. The CL is 163-53 overall and that counts seven games in which its teams have banged heads against each other. Fourteen state crowns have been captured and five other teams have advanced to finals. The complete breakdown is below in three parts. *=state champ.

2009-16 (Over 3 of 4 Classifications)
2A -- 12-7
3A -- 54-9
4A -- 26-13
  Total -- 92-29 (.760)
2017-21 (Over 4 of 6 Classifications)
3A -- 19-5
4A -- 11-6
5A -- 23-6
6A -- 18-7
  Total -- 71-24 (.747)

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March 7
  Click here for Terry Toohey's Delco Times story on the difficult Bonner-Prendie/O'Hara situations.
  From long-time football official Jim Tucker . . . Fran Burbidge, who coached Westtown's girls to the PAISAA basketball championship, was O'Hara's quarterback in 1970. In 2002, his son, also Fran, started in CF the day Mike Antonini pitched a perfect game with 16 strikeouts vs. West Catholic.
  Click here for Kevin Cooney's story on the problems caused by transfers at Bonner-Prendie (boys) and O'Hara (girls). B-P is out of the state tourney. O'Hara's seeding has dropped. 
  Click here for a story about Malvern soph Ryan Williams by student reporter Quinn Riley.
Tedbit
  Not easy to score 1,000 career points, right? How about 1,000 only in league play? Rare for sure, but not impossible. The list below shows the Top 20 career scorers in Catholic League regular season play. The number of games has varied. The leader, at 1,058, is 2007 Bonner grad Jeff Jones. He scored 154 as a freshman, then 269/306/329 over the next three seasons. He played three years of college ball at Virginia, then a final season at Rider. He made 56 starts in 120 games and scored 957 points, according to College Basketball Reference.