On the Trail With Ted, Basketball 2017-18 (January)

On the Trail With Ted
Basketball 2017-18, January

Observations, notes, etc., on games I've seen during
the 2017-18 season . . . Plus some Tedbits.

If your name is misspelled on a TEAM PAGE, please speak up. Send an email to tedtee307@yahoo.com.

SPECIAL NOTE
To all scorekeepers: PLEASE try to make sure that correct info on scoring is called into the Score Service -- 215-854-4570. Generally, it's better when the winning team calls in the results. That way the papers receive info to explain HOW the game was won because representatives of the winning team will usually be in a better mood (just human nature) to provide extra details such as rebounds, assists, etc., or the identity of someone who maybe hit a winning shot. Thank you.

December and earlier

JAN. 31
TEDBIT
Is Conwell-Egan sr. G Patrick Robinson, now at 23.8 with four games remaining, on the verge of pulling off an all-time Catholic League feat? Can't say for sure. Sorry for the wishy-washiness, but it's possible he is. Maybe even definitely. Anyway, Robinson is a lefty and the highest southpaw average in CL play (that I know of) belongs to Bonner's Brian Daly in 1988 (22.5). Brian played college ball at St. Joe's. His sons, Ryan and Colin, recently played at Carroll and Ryan last year was the CAA Rookie of the Year for his play at Delaware. Dougherty's Cuttino "Cat" Mobley had a strong career in the NBA -- 12,297 points, counting playoffs, in 11 seasons. Craig Conlin is now the coach at Episcopal Academy. Billy Oakes was a long-time NBA ref. John Rankin (RIP) is the father of NFL receiver Jaelen Strong, also a West Catholic product and known as Strong-Rankin during his days with the Burrs. If you know that a way-back-in-the-day top scorer (or even somebody recent) was also a lefty, please let me know at tedtee307@yahoo.com. Thanks!
***UPDATE***: Online, I found a yearbook for the ol' St. James from 1951. There's a posed pic of star player Bill Lynch shooting the ball lefthanded. Assuming he wasn't goofing around, HE holds the top spot at 25.1. That was his average in his 1952 senior season. In that yearbook, he's shown reaching out the ball, across his body, with his left hand. Still two more way-back guys to cross-check, Southeast Catholic's Jim Grazione in '55 and St. Thomas More's Billy Hoy in '59 . . . Found pics of Grazione and Hoy in yearbooks. Righthanders!

Top Averages in Catholic League Play for Lefties
Name	School	Year	G	Pts	PPG
Bill Lynch	St. James	1952	14	352	25.1
Patrick Robinson	Conwell-Egan	2018	9	214	23.8
Brian Daly	Bonner	1988	14	315	22.5
Cuttino "Cat" Mobley	Dougherty	1992	16	358	22.4
Craig Conlin	La Salle	1985	16	347	21.7
Billy Oakes	Neumann	1962	14	294	21.0
John Rankin	West Catholic	1985	14	294	21.0
John Rankin	West Catholic	1984	14	281	20.0

JAN. 30
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Episcopal 63, Penn Charter 51
You could make the argument that Episcopal's No. 1 star today was jr. G John McElwee. Never heard of him? Understandable. Jr. F Matt Dade and soph G Alex Capitano are the Churchdudes' top two players, by far, and the others form mix-and-match units. So, what did McElwee do today? Unexpectedly erupt for 20 points? Um, no. Not even close. Actually, he went scoreless . . . and didn't mind at all! McElwee's gigantic contribution came at the other end of the court and involved his defense on PC's top scorer, sr. WG Mason Williams. McElwee, showing a sturdy stance and non-stop dedication, held Williams to zero points (just two shots) in the first quarter and Episcopal used that good vibration as the impetus to rack up a 19-9 lead. Great shooting, mostly on barely contested layups, helped big time. Coach Craig Conlin's squad shot 8-for-11 from the floor in the session and the last bucket was a total deflater. PC was holding for the final shot. Dade stole the ball and roared down the floor for a dunk. Oh, baby. EA then went on post a 27-15 lead while missing only five of its first 16 shots. McElwee was not alone on the Vastly Important Defense Trail. Soph G Colin Chambers and frosh G Malcolm Folk also spent time guarding Williams. Mason finished with just seven points, going 2-for-11 from the floor. His first field goal, on an in-the-lane jumper, did not come until 2:30 remained in the third quarter. Despite that roadblock, PC did have some chances to get FULLY back in the game. A seven-point run did get the Quakers within 41-32. EA posted six straight on Capitano's straight-on trey and a three-point play by Dade. One more chance. In the late going, EA had some press-breaking messups and the Quakers charged within 55-48. The visitors again regrouped and won in semi-going-away fashion. Dade shot 9-for-13 (two dunks) and 7-for-10 for 25 points. Capitano shot 6-for-10 (two treys) for 14. Jr. F Jack O'Reilly was perfect (5-for-5, 2-for-2) for 12. . . Sr. SF Will Samuel led PC with 16 points. Sr. PG Jake Nicastro (12) also reached double digits.
NUGGETS: Chris DeFelice and Kevin Regan were part of the zebra trio . . . Always great to see the Episcopal coaches. They know their names (ha ha) . . . Had a nice post-game chat with Waverly Lane, former star wrestler at Gratz. His son, Christian, played hoops for Bonner-Prendie and is now on the squad at Albright . . . No idea why, but 48 of the varsity/JV pics did not download. I'll try to fix that mess later. Sorry. All pics now downloaded.

JAN. 30
TEDBIT
Each team has four games remaining, so things could change. For the moment, however, current players own the top three spots on the list below -- highest "young buck" scorers (freshmen/sophomores) in Inter-Ac history. The top norm currently belongs to Penn Charter's Bill Soens, who averaged 19.8 as a soph in 1961. Malvern's Deuce Turner is in position to become the first double qualifier. Fire away, guys. Within reason (smile).

Inter-Ac League's Top Young Buck Scorers
Name	School	Year	Class	G	Pts	PPG
Deuce Turner	Malvern	2018	soph	6	129	21.5
Ke'Shawn Williams	SCH Academy	2018	soph	6	122	20.3
Jordan Longino	Gtn. Academy	2018	frosh	6	120	20.0
Bill Soens	Penn Charter	1961	soph	10	198	19.8
Charlie Floyd	Malvern	1972	soph	10	194	19.4
Nick Alikakos	Episcopal	2015	soph	10	190	19.0
Deuce Turner	Malvern	2017	frosh	10	189	18.9
Christian Ray	Haverford School	2017	soph	10	186	18.6

JAN. 29
TEDBIT
Carl Arrigale is now in his 20th season and his record against many opponents is quite impressive. Against Bonner-Prendergast (nee Bonner), the winning percentage yesterday dropped from .903 to .875. Host B-P defeated the Saints, 73-70, as Isaiah Wong (26) led four guys in double figures. Most of the help came Tariq Ingraham (16), Ajiri Johnson (13) and Donovan Rodriguez (10). That was the Friars' fourth win against Arrigale and first since a 2008 playoff. Details of the 32 meetings are below. Meanwhile, what's with the recent Saints' squads? No cool nicknames (ha ha).

Carl Arrigale vs. Monsignor Bonner / Bonner-Prendergast
Year	N/NG	MB/BP	Winner's Leading Scorer(s)	Pts
1999	67	63	Chas Bailey	21
	56	53	Brandon Brigman	18
2000	69	46	Cantrell "Man-Man" Fletcher	15
	73	71	Chas Bailey	24
2001	84	49	Cantrell "Man-Man" Fletcher	27
	53	46	Robert "Beattie" Taylor	16
2002	52	53	Frank Nunan	13
	39	42	Matt Kearney / Badir McCleary	14
2003	69	30	Adon El / Kenny Fulton	13
	71	43	Antwain Wynn	12
2004	66	42	David Burton	12
	80	45	Richard "Tabby" Cunningham	15
2005	75	52	Antonio "Scoop" Jardine	21
	69	56	Derrick "DJ" Rivera	24
2006	80	47	Earl Pettis	23
	62	47	Derrick "DJ" Rivera	25
2007	63	56	Antonio "Scoop" Jardine	21
	79	75	Rick Jackson / Jardine	26
	81	57	Jackson / Jardine	22
2008	76	53	Danny Stewart	16
	65	63	Jamal Wilson	23
	53	63	Lijah Thompson	18
2009	None
2010	None
2011	81	56	Lamin Fulton	20
	63	39	three players	12
2012	54	26	John Davis	12
2013	73	39	John Davis	21
2014	80	46	Tony Toplyn	18
2015	89	57	Quade Green	19
2016	97	65	Rasheed Browne	29
	104	65	Zane Martin	26
2017	80	51	Quade Green	33
2018	70	73	Isaiah Wong	26
	2273	1669
	71.0	52.2

JAN. 28
TEDBIT
The magic moment occurred 50 years ago. As in exactly, right down to the day and date. On Jan. 28, 1968, a Sunday, McDevitt junior WG Bob Haas (a k a Bobby) sank 19 field goals and 13 free throws against visiting Archbishop Ryan to rack up 51 points and break the record for points in a Catholic League game. McDevitt won the game, 98-55, and bombarded the Raiders with 31 points apiece in the third and fourth quarters. Bob posted 25 of those 31 in the fourth. Whoa. Ryan was in its first season of CL competition and had no seniors. That's always how things were. New CL schools could participate, even without seniors, at the varsity level in all sports except football. O'Hara, Wood, Ryan and Carroll were among those that followed that path. McDevitt, Egan and Kenrick jumped right in when they came aboard in the 1963-64 school because they'd been around for a while and had competed in the ol' Suburban Catholic League. The previous CL record belonged to Joe Heyer, who scored 49 points for La Salle vs. St. Thomas More on Feb. 17, 1956. Knowing how Joe's surname was pronounced, the ol' Philadelphia Bulletin used this headline to announce Bob's feat: Haas Nets Record 51 -- Two Higher Than Heyer. Believe it or not, Bob's 51 points are not McDevitt's school record. In late November of the 2001-02 season, Chris Hanes dropped a 52-point bomb on nearby Wyncote Academy. And the record for points by a CL player in any kind of game is 58 by Dougherty's Shawn Newman. He posted that total in a non-league game vs. West Catholic in December of the 1990-91 season. WC was then coached by Joe Donahue, who loved to have his players fly up and down the court, much like Loyola Marymount at the college level. West won the game, 118-108. Dougherty won the fourth quarter, 41-33, as Shawn scored 26 points. In all, he shot 21-for-45 from the floor (four threes) and 12-for-18 at the line. Dougherty's statisticians credited Shawn with anywhere from 60 to 63 points. Guess what? Joe brought the game tape to the Daily News that night -- it was played on a Sunday afternoon -- and we went over it together. Fifty-eight it was. Joe was very excited, almost as if his own player had accomplished the feat. "That's two more! . . . That one's a three! . . . He's up to 45! . . . Still more to come!" Ha, ha, ha. To this day I very much appreciate Joe's desire to make sure the details were correct. OK, back to Bob. He was a first team All-Catholic honoree in '68 and '69 and finished his McDevitt career with 1,080 points. He played his college ball at St. Joseph's and is one of the nicest guys you could ever hope to meet. I saw many McDevitt games during that era, especially on Sundays, and had friends on the team and Bob, though we weren't from the same neighborhood, was one of them. He was completely unassuming and everybody loved his demeanor. I got to see Bob a few times in the late '90s because his son, Chris, played for SJ Prep. In a '99 pre-playoff vs. O'Hara, Chris, a lefty, created waves by nailing six three-pointers in ONE quarter (seven total). I can only imagine how many points Bob would have scored if the three-point rule had existed back then. He was a deadly corner shooter and took many of his shots from afar. All the best, Bob. Congrats on still owning this mark 50 years later.

JAN. 27
TEDBIT
So far in Catholic League play, 18 of the 53 games (34 percent) have been decided by no more than four points. Two-pointers lead the way with eight. Bonner-Prendie owns a 4-0 record in nail-biters.

CL Nail-Biters in 2017-18 (1 to 4 Points)
Winner	Loser	Margin
O'Hara	Conwell-Egan	1
McDevitt	Lansdale	1
Bonner-Prendie	West	1
Ryan	Lansdale	1
Bonner-Prendie	McDevitt	2
La Salle	Conwell-Egan	2
West	Judge	2
Neumann-Goretti	Roman	2
Bonner-Prendie	SJ Prep	2
Ryan	West	2
Bonner-Prendie	Roman	2
O'Hara	McDevitt	2
Carroll	La Salle	3
La Salle	O'Hara	3
La Salle	McDevitt	3
Ryan	Wood	4
Neumann-Goretti	Wood	4
Roman	Carroll	4

JAN. 26
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Malvern 76, Penn Charter 69
Sometimes you lose because the other team just flat-out wins. This one had that look for PC. While racking up a 21-8 advantage over the last 5:39, Malvern made many of its shots, even those from difficult angles, and forced PC into uncomfortable spots while allowing almost no shots to come out of hands uncontested. There's never a good time to go dry and the Quakers were reminded the hard way down the stretch. Before we go into more detail, let's give Malvern the props it deserves for claiming this road victory. No. 1, starting G Rahdir Hicks, a freshman, was not available due to illness. No. 2, starting sr. G Brady Devereux, an important blend of grit and rock-steadiness, departed early in the second quarter after suffering what could be a broken ankle or shin. On the play, PC jr. F Ryan "Zingy" Maloney took a charge in the basket area. Devereux was running along the baseline and happened to step right on Ryan's head. Ouch for both. Brady immediately collapsed to the floor not far from where I was sitting for pic purposes and I'm pretty sure he semi-yelled at one juncture, "I think it's broken!" Jess Rawlings and other PC trainers joined forces to handle the situation and Brady must have thought he was OK at one point because he was allowed to jump off both feet and land for let's-see-where-things-stand purposes. Even then, from semi-afar, it appeared that he might somehow be returning to action. Didn't happen. He spent the rest of the night sitting on the bench or hobbling around on crutches. Best of luck, Brady. If you remember, PC played wickedly unacceptable defense in these teams' first meeting as Malvern scored at will from near (layups) and far (three-pointers). Tonight, PC offered a bit of that game's medicine thanks to aggressive drives and picks/dishes that helped to lead to three-pointers. In Tuesday's game vs. Haverford School, sr. PG Jake Nicastro posted nary a stat. Tonight he was immediately frisky and scored five early points. Soph WG Ryan "Pooch" Holmes, meanwhile, was VERY much in take-over mode. In the first quarter alone, he shot 5-for-5 (one trey) and 1-for-1 for 12 points, then added two more treys in the second stanza. It was great to see him play with the mindset, "I'm capable of doing this, so here we go." (In the second half, the defensive attention paid to him was more pronounced and some of his shots were almosts instead of the earlier definites. He finished with 23 points.) Sr. WG Mason Williams added 16 and sr. SF Will Samuel, who was battling some eye issues over the last couple days, had 12. Malvern took the lead with 3:16 left as sub. jr. G Connor Leyden converted a follow to make it 66-65. PC then was guilty of a turnover and star soph G Deuce Turner (love his demeanor and obvious confidence) drove down the middle for a too-easy layup. After PC missed a bunny, Leyden canned a layup and the score stood at 70-65 with 1:39 left. Uh, oh. Wait. Not so fast. Samuel made a drive at 1:21 and got fouled in the process. Though "Sammy" missed the free throw, Williams wound up with the rebound and his two free throws drew the Quakers within one at 70-69. Malvern had an answer; frosh F Fran Oschell scored a layup on a pass from Leyden. PC committed a turnover, then the Friars claimed two offensive rebounds before Turner, basically, sealed the deal at 17.4 with two free throws. He REALLY sealed it at 9.5 with two more after PC could not hit a trey. Turner hit three treys and went 10-for-10 at the line en route to 27 points. EVERY foul shot, if memory serves, was a perfect swish. Soph G Isaac White scored 22 points by shooting 9-for-15 (three treys) and 1-for-1. Soph G Spencer Cochran saved his seven points for the second half.
NUGGETS: Busy day on the pic trail. The most fun was had watching PC's girls swimming team defeat Notre Dame to win its first outright Inter-Ac championship, as in ever. Congrats to coach Brian Hecker and his crew! . . . PC's student rooters were garbed in red, white and blue. But some were wearing Sixers jerseys, not partial flags, etc., and senior class president Jake Cutler, for instance, was wearing a red Phillies T-shirt (with Burrell, as in Pat, on the back in white letters). I asked Jake, who was in maybe the fourth or fifth row, whether tonight's theme had a specific name. He said, in pleasant, but should-be-obvious fashion, "USA." A female student, senior Lindsey Reina, was in the first row and heard our exchange. She chimed in, "Actually, it's the United States of America." They grow 'em smart at PC (smile) . . . At around 5:30, I was able to wolf down two plain slices of pizza in the athletic office area. Not bad. Don't report me to the McDonald's folks . . . One of the refs was former SJ Prep player Jared Black, who looks a WHOLE lot like Malvern's former football coach, Kevin Pellegrini. They even posed for a Separated at Birth pic a few years ago . . . Joe Redican and John Ostick headed the legends list. All the best, guys!

JAN. 26
TEDBIT
The streak is over and there was all kinds of fun/domination while it lasted. Speedy Morris never lost to O'Hara in his first 16 seasons as St. Joseph's Prep coach and the average score in the 25 games was 55.6 to 36.6. The Hawks-Lions played twice apiece from 2002 through 2010 in the Southern/Red Division days and have met just once each season since the Catholic League went to the all-one-"division" look in 2011. The streak ended Wednesday night when coach Jason Harrigan's squad rolled to a 54-42 victory thanks mostly to Antwuan Butler (19 points) and Jordan Hall (14). Oddly, the Prep's 2018 rotation includes two guys -- starter Gabe Arizin, early sub Chris Arizin -- whose dads -- Michael ('72) and Chris ('85) -- starred for O'Hara. Their late dad, Paul Arizin, was an NBA all-timer. In the 2001 season, meanwhile, O'Hara twice bested the Prep. More to come . . . In the '72 season, Michael starred as O'Hara won AT Roman, which was then coached by Speedy, by a 60-52 score. He had 21 points. In Speedy's 14 seasons as Roman's coach (1968-81), his teams almost always won home games.

SJ Prep's 25 Consecutive Wins Over O'Hara
Year	SJP	O'Hara	Prep's Scoring Leader(s)	Points
2002	54	38	John Griffin / Mark Zoller	15
	52	40	John Griffin	14
2003	55	29	Mark Zoller	26
	50	18	Mark Zoller	23
2004	63	39	Jared Black	15
	48	29	Reggie Redding	17
2005	52	47	Reggie Redding	18
	61	43	Reggie Redding	23
2006	59	36	Larry Loughery	18
	51	42	Reggie Redding	21
2007	55	41	Rob Coney / Matt Griffin	14
	73	39	Larry Loughery	25
2008	*58	57	Jim Mower	24
	51	48	Jim Mower	19
2009	72	32	Dan Fitzpatrick	17
	43	25	Joe Nardi	18
2010	50	25	Gene Williams	14
	50	26	Joe Nardi	19
2011	55	38	Stephen Vasturia	25
2012	46	36	Gene Williams	19
2013	65	49	Stephen Vasturia	28
2014	58	40	Chris Clover	20
2015	58	39	Chris Clover	20
2016	39	16	Kyle Thompson	13
2017	72	43	Kyle Thompson	27
Points	1390	915
Avg	55.6	36.6
*-OT

JAN. 25
TEDBIT
The 2017-18 Inter-Ac season is halfway complete, so nets will be under attack 15 more times. So far, just one game has earned a spot on the list below -- Top 10 Highest Scoring Games in This Century -- but here's making a guess that at least one more will qualify. Six of the 10 have occurred in the last three seasons, including the Top 5. Five of the six have involved Malvern. All in setbacks, somehow. The top game lasted five overtimes, but we did not mind (smile).

The Inter-Ac's Highest Scoring Games in This Century
Date	Year	Winner	Pts	Loser	Pts	Total	Winner's Leader	Pts
Jan. 24	2017	Gtn. Academy	100	Haver. School	98	198	Kyle McCloskey	43
Feb. 5	2016	Haver. School	93	Malvern	86	179	#see below	24
Jan. 22	2016	Gtn. Academy	88	Malvern	84	172	Kyle McCloskey	28
Feb. 7	2017	Gtn. Academy	87	Malvern	80	167	Kyle McCloskey	44
Jan. 13	2017	Episcopal	82	Malvern	81	163	Matt Dade	26
Jan. 18	2002	Penn Charter	92	Haver. School	68	160	Zack Zeglinski	35
Jan. 9	2018	Haver. School	84	Gtn. Academy	70	154	Kharon Randolph	22
Feb. 8	2002	Gtn. Academy	90	Haver. School	63	153	Matt Walsh	30
Jan. 6	2015	Episcopal	78	Malvern	75	153	*see below	28
Jan. 24	2003	Penn Charter	89	Malvern	63	152	Rob Kurz	26
#-Jack Marshall and Gavin Burke scored 24 points apiece
*-Nick Alikakos and Mike Jolaoso scored 28 points apiece

JAN. 24
TEDBIT
On Monday night, thanks largely to Shane Dooley (17 points), Tom Quarry (16) and Conor McHugh (13), Father Judge topped Lansdale Catholic, 62-55, to gain its first win of the 2017-18 Catholic League campaign. The Crusaders entered that tilt with an 0-5 league record for the first time in this century, but they'd hardly been the typical winless squad. They'd lost by double digits just once, twice had extended quality opponents to overtime (Neumann-Goretti and SJ Prep) and their average margin of defeat over the five games had been only 6.2 points. The chart below shows when Judge has gained its first league win in the 2000s. More than half the time, the feat has been accomplished by game No. 2. Judge went 1-12 in its first CL season and 3-10 in its second. Maybe one of those teams lost at least its first five.
UPDATE: The '56 squad started off 0-7. Its first win came against another newcomer, Archbishop Prendergast, which briefly used that name before becoming Monsignor Bonner. Prendie was also 0-7. The final score was 60-47. Bill Penny had 21 points and the Crusaders shot 22-for-32 at the line. In '57, the Crusaders started 0-5 and extended their league losing streak to 11 before besting St. Thomas More, 63-61. Penny had 24 in that one and the 'Saders went 23-for-32 at the line. Weird.

Judge's First CL Wins in the 2000s
1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th
2001	2002	2000	2007	none	2018
2004	2005	2003	2010
2006	2009	2013	2015
2008		2014	2016
2011
2012
2017

JAN. 23
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Haverford School 60, Penn Charter 48
Your opponent scores 18 consecutive points early in the game and winds up shooting 24-for-39 from the floor (61.5 percent) overall. Do you lose by 30? By 20? Not if you're Penn Charter. With 4:30 remaining in the fourth quarter, you're within seven points at 52-45 and the chance for a miracle is still alive. OK, so things did not work out for the Quakers, but they did show decent pluck and had the Fords, at least to some degree, on their heels before the stretch run did not go their way. HS' 18-point run occurred after PC scored the game's first five points. Coach Bernie Rogers' club rode that momentum to a 34-18 halftime lead and wound up hitting 12 of its 15 shots from the floor. The Fords went 5-for-7 on treys and many of the other buckets were layups/follows. PC won the third quarter, 16-14, as all points were scored by sr. WG Mason Williams (4-for-4, two treys, 10) and soph WG Ryan "Pooch" Holmes (3-for-4, six). Soon, the Fords were enjoying another nice stretch. Sr. G Kharon Randolph, bothered early by foul trouble, notched two straight field goals and then got fouled on a subsequent possession. He hit the first shot, missed the second shot. Sub sr. PF Bobby Stratts snatched the rebound, however, and passed to star jr. SF Christian Ray for a layup that made it 46-32. The teams then traded FGs and the Fords' was scored by Stratts, primarily a star soccer goalie, on a pass from Randolph. We move ahead some more. The second of two free throws by Holmes provided that 52-45 score. HS responded with two FGs, an inside bully job by bulky jr. football lineman Asim Richards on a feed from jr. G Gavin Burke and a terrific drive by Burke. PC did create the hint of a stir when jr. F Ryan "Zingy" Maloney drained a left-corner trey on a pass from sub frosh G Aaron Maione, but those would be the Quakers' final points. Williams scored 22 points and Holmes had 11. The latter did a great defensive job on the agile Ray, who usually has his way against most opponents. In this one he was able to attempt just 10 field goals en route to 14 points. Burke sniped 3-for-4 on treys en route to 14 points and likely dished six-seven assists. He also had a nice defensive performance. Frosh WG-SF Christian Clover, a lefty and the brother of former SJ Prep star Chris Clover, scored eight of his nine points in the first quarter. Richards shot 5-for-6 for 10 points and was never sent to the line, except for two missed front ends of one-and-ones. His life was too easy.
NUGGETS: Good to see '57 HS star Ted Rauch, a major website supporter and the author of a recent TedRauchBit . . . Right as halftime arrived, former La Salle High guard Terry Burke, Gavin's dad, walked past and said hello. When I told him Gavin played well in the first half, he cracked, "That's because I wasn't here." . . . Way before warmups began, I had a nice talk with Bobby Stratts. For college, he's looking at one local school and others in many locales. I didn't press him for names (smile). His grandfather, George Stratts, was a long-time Catholic League football coach (McDevitt, Dougherty, O'Hara). After the game, Bobby said his grandpop had been in the house. Alas, he was at the far end. Didn't see him. Hope you're well, George! . . . Best wishes to HS jr. G Jameer Nelson, son of That Same-Name Guy, who is out for the season due to a serious/freaky hip injury . . . Always nice to see HS assistant Joe Rogers. His regular job is with New Era Cap Co. Here's hoping Eagles lids are flying off shelves everywhere . . . Other legends: Dave Mulholland, Michael Murphy, John Nostrant, Steve Cloran. Apologies to those I forgot to mention.

JAN. 23
TEDBIT
Not all 1,000-point high school scorers go on to match the feat, or come close, in college ball. Penn Charter sr. WG Mason Williams last Friday reached 1,000 and his future college home has not yet been determined. To someday alter this list -- Top 10 college points for PC's "Grand Guys" -- he'll have to score at least 768 points. Sean O'Brien is a senior at Colgate, so his total still has some growing to do. And, yes, Aaron Carter is THE Aaron Carter, of sports writing/filming fame.

Top 10 College Scorers Among Penn Charter's "Grand Guys"
Name	Class	Points	College(s)	Points	1st/2nd
*Sean Singletary	2004	1,137	Virginia	2,079
Aaron Carter	1998	1,063	Bloomsburg	1,272
*Steve Goodrich	1994	1,134	Princeton	1,207
Bill Soens	1963	1,176	Villanova/Miami	1,113	253/860
*Rob Kurz	2004	1,258	Notre Dame	1,013
Sammy Zeglinski	2007	1,642	Virginia	947
Brett Storm	2000	1,398	Drexel/Phila. Univ.	931	24/907
Tim Krug	1992	1,143	Penn	918
Sean O'Brien	2014	1,116	Colgate	899
Sean Knitter	2000	1,170	Delaware/Lafayette	767	212/555
*-played in NBA

JAN. 22
TEDBIT
There might be others, but these are the ones that come to mind right now: South Jersey residents who've scored 1,000 points for Catholic/Inter-Ac schools. Penn Charter's Mason Williams (Voorhees) is the first I-A guy. He reached 1,009 Friday night vs. SCH Academy, then added 22 more points Saturday afternoon vs. Central. Names/schools/hometowns for the three CL guys: Roman's Charron Fisher (Pennsauken), Roman's Tamal Forchion (Willingboro) and St. Joseph's Prep's Stephen Vasturia (Medford). The Prep's Darius Kinnel recently topped 1,000, but he scored some of those points at South Jersey's Highland High as a freshman.

CL/I-A 1,000-Point Career Scorers From South Jersey
Name	School	Year	Points
Charron Fisher	Roman	2004	1,804
Stephen Vasturia	SJ Prep	2013	1,764
Tamal Forchion	Roman	2001	1,283
Mason Williams	Penn Charter	2018	1,031

JAN. 21
TEDBIT
While watching Haviland Harper coach Central vs. Penn Charter yesterday, and knowing his history, a thought came to mind. "There has to be a Tedbit in here somewhere." Indeed. And "Harp" tops it. In city leagues basketball/football history, seven guys have coached for at least 10 years at TWO schools. Haviland's total for his long stints is 37 years and that's the highest number on the list below by a six-year margin. He spent 17 seasons with the original Parkway and this is his 20th with Central. Three guys shown below also coached high school ball at a third school -- Speedy Morris, Bill Bernardo and George Stratts. The 6-6 "Harp" is a Central alum. In the '71 season, he averaged 18.6 points in league play and earned second team coaches' All-Public honors. He played college ball at George Washington, totaling 1,025 points and 529 rebounds. And get this: He shot 50.3 percent from the floor and 72.3 percent at the line. Niiiiiiice.

City Foot/Bask Coaches With Stints at Different Schools of at Least 10 Seasons
Name	Sport	1st School	Years	Total	2nd School	Years
Haviland Harper	Bask	Parkway	1982-98	37	Central	1999-18
			17			20
Speedy Morris	Bask	Roman	1968-81	31	SJ Prep	2002-18
			14			17
Bob Logan	Bask	Franklin	1953-67	29	Lincoln	1968-81
			15			14
Mex Siani	Foot	Bok	1948-57	27	Southern	1958-74
			10			17
Bill Bernardo	Foot	Germantown	1955-67	27	Northeast	1968-81
			13			14
Pete Lorenc	Bask	Gratz	1953-62	25	Washington	1964-78
			10			15
George Stratts	Foot	Dougherty	1974-84	21	O'Hara	1994-03
			11			10

JAN. 20
NON-LEAGUE
Penn Charter 64, Central 48
In the latest episode of Goofy Stuff Keeps Happening, we give you this: Roughly 18 hours after he needed 21 minutes and 22 seconds to score 10 points and reach 1,000 for his career, sr. WG Mason Williams today notched 10 in the first 6:20. He hit a three, a regular and another three, then added a layup off a steal for points Nos. 9 and 10. Now for Part Two of GSKH. Central sr. WG Malik View made every shot he took to register 19 points. He went 8-for-8 from the floor and 3-for-3 at the line. View is a lovable old-school guy. He shuffles around the court from spot to spot like he hasn't a care in the world. Then he gets the ball, side-saddle dribbles once or twice to throw the defender just a shade off balance and, zip, his jumper is in the air and soon it's going through the net. He must be a big Steph Curry fan because his release is lightning quick. View, who also scored twice on layups, looks like one of those guys who goes to the playground and stays on the court ALL day because his team just keeps on winning. (That's not the case with this understaffed Central team; not his fault). Now for Part Three of GSKH. In last night's game, PC needed three quarters to notch five treys. Today it had six just moments into the second quarter. No. 6 was posted by sub frosh WG Matt Slowinski on a feed from sub jr. WG Dylan Topaz. Williams (two), sr. SF Will Samuel, Topaz and jr. sub G Brendan Thomas combined for the first five. This tilt offered a slight hint of drama. It came semi-late in the third quarter as Central, paced by View and G Jalen Bracy (13 total points), rallied within 41-32. PC ended the session with a 6-0 run thanks to drives by Slobinski and Topaz and Thomas' bucket on a feed from Williams. Last night, the atmosphere in the gym was electric and PC's student section had, what, maybe 125-150 members? Today the total was ONE. And that kid was frosh Matthew Marshall, a guard for the JV team who decided to stick around after his squad also won. Williams (22) and Samuel (15) were the only PC guys in double figures. Topaz managed seven while Slobinski/Thomas had five apiece. Samuel added six boards, two assists and three apiece of steals/blocks. Soph G Anthony Ciarrocchi, frosh G Aaron Maione and jr. G Jayce Dyer, yet another varsity-debut guy, recorded two points apiece. The latter also grabbed a rebound. Fifteen guys have now made varsity appearances. Hey, to reward him for his loyalty, Marshall should be afforded the chance to dress varsity next time out.
NUGGETS: Nice to see Central coach Haviland Harper, who is in his 37th season as a Public League boss. This is No. 20 at Central and he guided Parkway for 17 before that. C.M. Brown, who stepped away to become an assistant at Arcadia, was the coach at Engineering and Science for 36 seasons (1982-2017). In city leagues history, Harper is tied for the fifth longest stint with Jim Fenerty (eight at Bishop Egan, 29 at Germantown Academy). The top three spots belong to Ralph "Bones" Schneider (45), Ike Woolley (40) and Bud Gardler (39) . . . Promiment among the visiting dignitaries: Bob Mizia, Kevin Regan and Shane Thomas. Shane, Brendan's older brother, played football and basketball at Neumann-Goretti. He was also quite entertaining . . . John Burkhart, the PA announcer last night, was on hand to take yearbook pics. The man does it all! . . . At halftime of the JV game, John and I had a fun talk with Tom Ferrick, a long-time newspaperman (Inky reporter/columnist). His son, T.J., is PC's junior varsity coach. His dad, also Tom, pitched for nine years in the majors and later had a long stint as a coach/scout. While occasionally covering the Phillies back in the day, I had some great interaction with Mr. Ferrick in the press box at Veterans Stadium. A very friendly, down-to-earth man. Oh, one more thing. Tom's wife, Sharon Sexton, is PC's director of marketing/communications. She posts my recaps on PC's website in something called SportsZone . . . Line of the Day was uttered by The Wife. As I was leaving the house, she asked, "What time are the games again?" I responded, "JV at 1, varsity at 2:30." She shot back, "2:30?" Slight pause. "Come back fed." (Cooking is not her strength.) I nixed McDonald's in favor of Taco Bell. Two soft tacos. Yummy.

JAN. 20
TEDBIT
Foul trouble happens. Minor injuries happen. A hint of under-the-weatherness happens. Crappy shooting nights happen . . . And then there's Bonner-Prendergast senior PG Isaiah Wong. While helping the Friars roll to a 12-2 overall record, the transfer from Notre Dame (Lawrenceville, NJ) has been, well, consistently consistent. He has scored at least 15 points in every game and has scored in consecutive order from 18 to 23 ten total times (18 twice, 20 thrice, 22 twice). Yesterday, he tallied 23 points as B-P bested Roman, 68-66, in overtime, in a Catholic League classic at Philadelphia Community. In five CL games, his number-succession scoring is almost perfect -- 20, 21, 22, 23 and . . . 15. Oh, well. Can't have everything (smile). Here's hoping Isaiah scores 17, 24, 25 and 26 in future games. Hey, maybe even 14 and 17 just to make things really cool.

Isaiah Wong's Scoring
Opponent	Points
Malvern	27
Math/Civics/Sciences	27
Roman	23
Pope John Paul XXIII	22
SJ Prep	22
Conwell-Egan	21
Westminster (FL)	20
Patrick School (NJ)	20
Wood	20
Overbrook	19
Miami Christian (FL)	18
Plymouth-Whitemarsh	18
Penn Charter	16
McDevitt	15
	288

JAN. 19
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Penn Charter 81, SCH Academy 56
Not sure a definitive answer to this question can be found, but it needs to be asked . . . Does Penn Charter sr. WG Mason Williams stand ALONE in world basketball history? Sure, all kiiiiiiinds of guys have scored 1,000 career points. But have any others reached that exact number in Mason Williams fashion? Can't imagine. Here's what happened: He owned 996 and the ball was in SCH's half of the court. A scramble for a loose ball took place and a Blue Devil was hit with a technical foul for what the refs deemed a dirty deed. The time remaining in the third quarter was 2:38. While things were (mostly) settling down, and with the clock still stopped, another Blue Devil, as many as 20-25 feet away from the original problem, was hit with a tech for mouthing off within earshot of a ref. There was no doubt who would shoot the four free throws. As I've said in a report and to him a few times, visits to the line for Mason Williams resemble free money. With everyone else no one near the line or lane, of course, he stepped up for four free throws. If he was nervous, it didn't show. Pffft, pffft, pffft, pffft. Four swishes. Four points. Major reason to celebrate! In a rather quick sequence, Mason was presented the ball by coach Jim "Flipper" Phillips a shade toward PC's bench. Next he posed for a group pic with his teammates, coaches and athletic director John Thiel. Then he walked across the court to receive congrats from his parents, Keith and Pauline, and present the ball to mom. Mom always gets it, right? (smile) . . . Again, how amazing was that? He reached 1,000 exactly by sniping 4-for-4 on the same foul line visit. And no regular shots were involved. They all were the result of two techs . . . Williams entered the night at 990. His floor shooting can be streaky and that definitely showed tonight. Before the legendary four pack, he was 2-for-10 from the floor. He scored his first six points like this: Two free throws after getting hacked on a mid-range jumper late in the first quarter; drive along the full (pretty much) left baseline early in the second quarter; foul-line jumper off the dribble 3:10 before halftime to draw PC within 24-19. He missed three floor shots -- two regulars and a trey -- in the rest of the second quarter and third quarter before the journey to Grandville was completed. OK, you're wondering, how was the night overall? Also nutty! Though Germantown Academy is PC's archrival, SCH is much closer and these schools like to get after it, as well. Both schools had extra large (PC) to decent large (SCH) student rooting sections and passion was displayed throughout. PC went with a semi-whiteout. You have to know SCH came into this one with a decent amount of confidence and swagger. Like PC, it also had recorded a recent win over GA. Early, the Blue Devils were gettin' after it NICE. They sometimes went hard to the hole and had no hesitation immediately launching open treys. There was an early problem, though, and it became a two-, even three-headed monster over time. Foul trouble. Major players had to sit and some wound up departing way early. The first quarter ended with SCH on top, 19-13. The halftime score was 29-26. Third quarter? PC is glad you asked. The Quakers stormed to a 28-5 advantage and the lead stood at 77-51 with 1:26 remaining in the fourth when the SCH students walked down from the stands and out of the building. PC's blitz was fueled primarily by sr. WG-SF Will Samuel (19 total points) and soph WG Ryan "Pooch" Holmes (13) in addition to Williams. Also, jr. sub F Ryan "Zingy" Maloney offered inside grit, sr. PG Jake Nicastro made smart decisions and jr. WG Dylan Topaz rained down two treys. In the late going, the supporters loved seeing deep subs such as jr. G Ryan Kessler (five points) and frosh G Matt Slowinski (four) have major fun along with sr. F Christopher "Floater" Thomas (three rebounds). Also, still in the third quarter, frosh G Aaron Maione, recently promoted to the varsity, scored his first points on a perfect, right-wing threeball. For SCH, impressive soph G Ke'Shawn Williams (20), jr. F Jack McDonald (13) and soph G Jared Sprague-Lott (11) scored in double figures. S-L and sr. G-F CJ Sweitzer picked up their fourth fouls shortly into the third quarter. Not easy. Before the second half, thanks to Athletes Helping Athletes, the Quaker community celebrated the presence of honorary special-needs captains Dan Rosania and Connor Pell. Great moment, just as in football season.

JAN. 19
The following was provided by Ted Rauch, a long-time website visitor and first team all-league star for Haverford School's 1957 Inter-Ac champs . . .
TEDRAUCHBIT
OK..here we go: 61 years ago (January 1957), HS and Malvern Prep met in their first of two meetings . . . both undefeated at 4-0 in league play and, at the time, none of the area high school sports writers gave Haverford much of a chance against "mighty Malvern" but . . . the host Fords somehow won handily, 48-33, and followed this up with a February win at Malvern 47-46 en route to an Inter-Ac championship. So, fast forward to January 2018. Both teams are 3-0 and game #1 is at Malvern tonight. The HS/MP rivalry doesn't get any better than this!
Thanks for this, Ted.
And here are some details of those games . . .
First game . . . Don Shaffer led the way with 20 points. Ted Rauch and Jerry Aldrich scored 10 apiece. The Fords used a 3-1-1 zone and led by as many as 20.
Second game . . . Olin West hit the winning shot with 28 seconds remaining, clinching the Fords' first championship since 1950. Aldrich (15) and Rauch (10) paced HS, which trailed by four points with 3:00 remaining. Malvern's leading scorer (15) was Paul Westhead, who went on to coach in college and the NBA.

JAN. 18
TEDBIT
Learn these names and perhaps you'll someday win money in a trivia contest (smile). Each guy was the leading scorer (for his team, anyway) in his school's first Catholic League game. We'll call this the "modern" entrants, beginning with the 1956 season. Bishop Egan waa coming off a championship football season and Dave Frederick was a first-magnitude star in that sport. Then, he earned first team All-Catholic honors in hoops and led the Eagles to the CL championship game vs. Dougherty. Click here for Bill Shefski's Daily News story from late in the 1963-64 basketball season. Later, Dave became a sports writer/editor for a newspaper in Delaware. Click here for a story about his induction into the Bucks County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.

Leading Scorers for "Modern" CL Entrants in First CL Games
Season	Player	School	Opponent	Points
1965	John McFadden	O'Hara	West	23
1964	Dave Frederick	Egan	Dougherty	22
1964	Frank McCall	McDevitt	La Salle	21
1958	Dan Wierzbowski	Dougherty	La Salle	19
1956	Bernie Anderson	*Bonner	Neumann	17
1956	Dan McKendry	Judge	St. James	15
1969	Mike Dwyer	Carroll	Roman	15
2009	Brendan Stanton	Lansdale	Wood	15
	and Matt Tomasz
1967	Ed Fitzpatrick	Wood	La Salle	13
1964	Dennis Maloney	Kenrick	Judge	11
1968	Tony Munafo	Ryan	La Salle	10
*was briefly known as Prendergast back then

JAN. 17
TEDBIT
This list includes the leading scorers for Catholic League teams in all varieties of late-season championship games -- Catholic League, City Title, PIAA and special tournaments (Alhambra, etc.). Dougherty grad Kyle Lowry, who's still going strong in the NBA, owns first place with a 42-point effort in 2004. The most amazing effort likely belongs to Bill Lindsay, who somehow summoned enough energy to score 32 points vs. Overbrook in the 1953 City Title. In that game he was responsible for, basically, covering FOUR players. West's other four guys spent their time surrounding Wilt Chamberlain. West won the game. In the "Kind" category, OT is Other Tournament and ST is State Tournament. CL and CT are Catholic League and City Title, respectively.
Links to the pages . . .

Individual Scoring in City Titles
Individual Scoring in CL Title Games
Individual Scoring in "Other" Title Games

Top Scoring Performances by CL Players in Late-Season Championship Games
Name	School	Opponent	Year	Points	Kind
*Kyle Lowry	Dougherty	O'Connell (VA)	2004	42	OT
Kyle Locke	Roman	Dougherty	1992	39	CL
Stephen Vasturia	SJ Prep	Bartram	2012	35	CT
Ja'Quan Newton	N-G	Susquehanna Twp.	2014	33	ST
Zane Martin	N-G	Mars	2016	33	ST
Bill Lindsay	West	Overbrook	1953	32	CT
Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree	N-G	Del-Val	2016	32	CT
Quade Green	N-G	Del-Val	2017	31	ST
Mark Zoller	SJ Prep	Dougherty	2003	31	CL
Brian Daly	Bonner	North Catholic	1988	30	CL
Bernard Jones	Roman	La Salle	1990	30	CL
Juan'ya Green	Carroll	Neumann-Goretti	2011	30	CL
*Derrick Jones	Carroll	Neumann-Goretti	2015	30	ST
*Bobby McNeill	North	West Phila.	1956	29	CT
*Maurice "Mo" Howard	SJ Prep	O'Hara	1971	29	CL
*Kyle Lowry	Dougherty	SJ Prep	2003	29	CL
*Cuttino "Cat" Mobley	Dougherty	Roman	1992	28	CL
John Griffin	SJ Prep	Dougherty	2004	27	CL
Ja'Quan Newton	N-G	SJ Prep	2013	27	CL
Lamar Stevens	Roman	Allderdice	2016	27	ST
Ja'Quan Newton	N-G	Phila. Electrical	2014	26	CT
Bill Mulvihill	Neumann	Judge	1958	26	CL
Lonnie McFarlan	Roman	Kenrick	1980	26	CL
Tyreek Duren	N-G	Roman	2009	26	CL
Ed Shepper	La Salle	Pitts. N. Catholic	1942	26	OT
Bernard Jones	Roman	Judge Memorial (UT)	1990	26	OT
Zane Martin	N-G	Carroll	2015	26	ST
Frank Gaidjunas	La Salle	West Phila.	1963	25	CT
Lamin Fulton	N-G	Dobbins	2010	25	CT
Quade Green	N-G	Imhotep	2015	25	CT
John Pindynski	Roman	North Catholic	1969	25	CL
Jim O'Rourke	Roman	La Salle	1989	25	CL
Chris Clark	SJ Prep	Dougherty	2004	25	CL
Quade Green	N-G	Mars	2016	25	ST
*-advanced to NBA

JAN. 16
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Penn Charter 72, Germantown Academy 65 (OT)
If you're old, you've seen it many times. If not, at least a little. Team A keeps Team B at arm's length for a decent portion of the game. Then arm's length becomes elbow's length, wrist's length, fingernail's length . . . Then, Team B nails the final shot, sometimes of the hairy variety, and the players joyously bounce around the floor with all kinds of glee. That alllllmost happened today as these squads banged heads. As things turned out, Team A, as in PC, had the final shot of regulation, but soph WG Ryan "Pooch" Holmes was unable to hit a mid-range, fade-to-the-side jumper from the right side. On to OT we went. And away went GA's cohesiveness. After creating a positive impression thanks to brass and clutch plays down the stretch of regulation, the youthful Patriots became a shade disjointed in the extra session and PC was able to take/maintain control while ending their 13-game losing streak against The Archest of Rivals. The OT score was 10-3. In those four minutes, the Quakers got off seven shots from the floor (made just one) and 10 at the line (made eight) while GA's numbers in those categories were five (one) and two (zero). The Patriots' lone bucket was a three-pointer by jr. SF Brian Basile (25 points). That advanced his team within 68-65, but sr. WG Mason Williams (also 25 points, needs just 10 for 1,000) went 4-for-4 at the line to close things out. At least in one way, this win was strange. I mean, how often does a team win when its three most reliable scorers combine to shoot 14-for-45 (31 percent) from the floor? Strong guess: Not often. However, Holmes and Williams -- sr. F Will Samuel made no visits -- did join forces to go 20-for-26 at the line and that performance provided a major boost to the cause. PC imposed its will early and Williams' left-corner trey made it 15-6 with 2:07 left in the first quarter. The Quakers still owned a nine-point lead roughly eight minutes later after Holmes turned a drive into a three-point play. GA kept hanging around and making headway and wound up winning the third and fourth stanzas by identical scores of 13-9. The major playahs were Basile, frosh F Jordan Longino (17 points), soph G Zach Anderson (11 points) and soph F Lucas Traina (10 points, 5-for-7 from floor). All four have decent athleticism/savvy and in time they'll likely again make coach Jim Fenerty's squad a handful. (Also, the Patriots showed great enthusiasm throughout and came close to creating a home game atmosphere. Lots of juice from the bench guys.) As in recent outings, PC missed too many bunnies. The guys kept getting nudged out of the comfort zone (around the blocks) and were unable to finish plays. As mentioned earlier, the foul calls were a big-time help. Holmes finished with 19 points and seven rebounds. Jr. F Ryan "Zingy" Maloney snagged eight boards and, like always, sacrificed his body for multiple charges. Samuel added five boards and three apiece of assists/steals to his seven points. Sr. C-PF Ryan Dickson snatched seven caroms. Frosh Aaron Maione, who has been a buzzsaw PG for the JV squad (he can go end to end around/through the multitudes), made his varsity debut and notched one rebound.
NUGGETS: The visiting dignitaries list was topped by sports writer/budding video whiz Aaron "Ace" Carter and former website rock Amauro "Amar" Austin. Always great to catch up! . . . Some others: ref Pat Tobler, Rick Mellor, Bill Gallagher, Gerry Sasse, Bill Wright, Allen Rubin, David Bass, Marty Weiss . . . Jess Rawlings, PC's head athletic trainer, now has 27 Temple interns (slight exaggeration - smile) under her wing. Good luck to all! . . . Well beforehand, Fenerty introduced me to Longino and the three of us had a quick, fun discussion about what's going on with his brother, Evan-Eric, who is already making West Chester waves as a freshman. For whatever reason, WC's website lists him as Eric-Evan. Weird. C'mon, dudes. Respect the surrounding-the-hyphen name order! Ha, ha. Jordan promised to resolve the issue.

JAN. 16
TEDBIT
At Malvern last Friday night, Dan Kelly was in the house to be honored with the Friars' 10-0 Inter-Ac champs in 1973 and 1974. He coached those squads and I knew the McDevitt product had enjoyed a very successful career at St. Joseph's. In fact, he'd scored 1,524 career points. Hmmm. Couldn't help but wonder, Where does that number stand among Catholic/Inter-Ac coaches who'd played for Big 5 schools? The answer is below. Dan is locked into third place. Villanova's Tom Ingelsby (played for O'Hara, spent some time in the NBA, coached at Carroll) is the kingpin. (Ernie Beck, formerly the long-time coach at now-closed Bok Tech of the Public League, starred at West Catholic at Penn. He scored 1,827 points for the Quakers and that's still a school record.)

Catholic/Inter-Ac Coaches Who Scored 1,000 Points for Big 5 Schools
Name	High School	College	Points	Coached	Years
Tom Ingelsby	O'Hara '69	Villanova	1,616	Carroll	1992-97
Ron Haigler	*Madison '71	Penn	1,552	Penn Charter	1976-77
Dan Kelly	McDevitt '66	St. Joseph's	1,524	Malvern	1972-74
Jack Devine	W. Catholic '51	Villanova	1,263	West Catholic	1959-61
Jim "Mo" Connolly	Judge '76	La Salle	1,232	Wood	1988-89
@-Jim Huggard	W. Catholic '51	Villanova	1,184	Bonner	1978-79
Paul Romanczuk	Carroll '95	Penn	1,179	Carroll	#2003-18
Craig Conlin	La Salle '85	La Salle	1,159	Episcopal	2011-18
George Paull	Dougherty	La Salle	1,016	Ryan	1968-76
*-in Brooklyn, NYC
@-did not play in high school; entered 'Villanova after starring in independent leagues
#-missed '05 season (medical leave)

JAN. 15
TEDBIT
Thanks to Ajiri Johnson's thunderous, put-back, buzzer-beating dunk, Bonner-Prendie is off to a 4-0 start in Catholic League play for the first time in 16 seasons. That squad went 5-0 before suffering a setback. finished 10-4 and fell to St. Joseph's Prep, yesterday's victim, in a quarterfinal. Back then, B-P was Monsignor Bonner and the coach was Jim "Goose" Welde. Look at the names below for 2018's scoring . . . Yes, he's Goose's son. James Welde is a freshman. He starts for the JV and dresses varsity. Jack Concannon, the current coach, was a starting forward for Bonner's 1983 champs. The starting point guard was . . . Goose. Hmmmm. Something might be in the wind here, folks (smile).

A Look at Bonner/B-P's Most Recent 4-0 CL Starts
2002		2018
Results		Results
Kennedy-Kenrick	57-49	Conwell-Egan	80-54
West Catholic	69-45	McDevitt	49-37
Neumann	53-52	Wood	68-55
O'Hara	54-51	SJ Prep	63-61
Players	Points	Players	Points
Anthony Bennett	51	Isaiah Wong	78
Frank Nunan	47	Ajiri Johnson	50
Matt Kearney	38	Tariq Ingraham	47
Vince Taraborrelli	37	Michael Perretta	29
Badir McCleary	34	Donovan Rodriguez	24
Mike Shalon	9	Tyrese Watson	18
Kevin LeSage	8	Jack Armstrong	5
Randy Reid	4	Yohance Garner	3
Ray Bailey	2	Cobe Ruley	2
Joe James	2	Mahir Sharif	2
Mike Thornton	1	James Welde	2
	233		260

JAN. 14
TEDBIT
John Harmatuk, a Texas native, is in season No. 5 as Malvern's basketball coach and the run-run-run approach continues. "Tuk" strongly believes in getting the ball and GOING and if you're open, you darn well better shoot the jumper . . . or take it to the hole with passion. The current Friars are 2-0 in Inter-Ac play and have totaled a whopping 173 points. Overall, their I-A mark is 19-23 in I-A games. But when they score at least 60 points, they're 18-10. Their luckiest total? In the 70s. They're 6-1 in those tilts.

Malvern's Outings of at Least 60 Points in the John Harmatuk Era
*( - Victory)**
2014	Opp.	2015	Opp.	2016	Opp.	2017	Opp.	2018	Opp.
*75	PC	75	EA	*70	PC	*77	SCH	*88	SCH
*65	SCH	65	HS	69	EA	*60	PC	*85	PC
*67	SCH	63	GA	*75	HS	81	EA
		*74	SCH	84	GA	65	GA
		*67	PC	*90	SCH	*78	SCH
		*84	SCH	*65	PC	*62	PC
		64	HS	*93	HS	61	EA
						*80	HS
						80	GA
3-0		3-4		5-2		5-4		2-0

JAN. 12
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Malvern 85, Penn Charter 52
Perhaps I run the risk of being accused of putting out Fake News by The Trumpster, but rest assured I'm gonna give it to you straight despite my status as a part-time PC employee. This likely (definitely?) was the worst defensive performance in the Quakers' forever, mostly-good, sometimes-great basketball history. Don't believe me? Here we go . . . Not only did Malvern shoot 34-for-48 (70. 8 percent!) from the floor, it drained 12 of 19 three-pointers and that figures to 63.2 percent!! Please read those numbers again and let them sink in. Though the Quakers got sliced a diced when the clock was running, somehow the Friars went just 5-for-15 at the line for 33.3 percent. Crazy! Know why that sucky charity-stripe performance occurred? Because foul shots are attempted from a mid-range distance. During actual action, almost NO shots were mid-rangers. Pretty much every field goal attempt was a layup or three-pointer. It was absolutely nuts. If someone watches the tape and sends me an email that reads, "Actually, NO shots except layups were attempted inside the arc," eyebrows will not be raised. It was this all night: Bombs away or tricky sashay. **UPDATE ON JAN. 14: Every basket was a layup or trey. Malvern went 0-for-2 on mid-range shots. Thanks to coach John Harmatuk for this info.** Malvern shot 10-for-15 in the first quarter, a pathetic 66.7 percent (smile), then went 18-for-22 (81.8) over the next two. Even with loads of deep and way-deep subs seeing action in the fourth, the Friars still managed a 6-for-11 showing. The lead reached 30 points, at 65-35, with 1:27 left in the third quarter as sr. G Brady Devereux nailed a trey. The main guys disappeared with 5:44 left in the fourth stanza, and with the spread still at 30 (73-43). The early spark guys were soph Gs Deuce Turner and Isaac White. They notched nine and eight points, respectively. Devereux had 11 points over the second/third quarters while White packed 10 into the third. Frosh G Lonnie White, recently given a varsity berth, scored eight points in the fourth. Sr. F Billy Corcoran sprinkled his 11 points over all four quarters. Not much else to talk about, folks. Except this: Devereux did an outstanding job on PC sr. WG Mason Williams. Mason had to settle for seven points and was able to attempt just two shots over the final three quarters. The sturdy/feisty Devereux was within one foot of him, roughly, for almost every second and deserves major props for putting so much effort into that assignment. Sr. WG-SF Will Samuel, who DID take some mid-range shots, led PC with 11 points. Sub jr. WG Dylan Topaz hit three treys for nine. In the late going, jr. deep sub Ethan Check was able to score his first varsity points off a drive along the right baseline. Jr. F Ryan "Zingy" Maloney, in his first start, had four steals.
NUGGETS: The Malvern folks did a nice job honoring the coaches/players from the 10-0 I-A champs of '73 and '74. Those squads were guided by McDevitt product Dan Kelly ('66). Great to see him! Ditto for assistant Jim Stewart and player Bob Carey, a long-time website supporter . . . Some other notables on hand: Bernie Driscoll, John DeAngelis, Chuck Chinici, Joe Rogers, Joe "To Paraphrase" Redican (ha ha; inside joke), Joe Hoban, Ron Algeo, Kurt Ruch, Matt McManus, Matt Guokas Jr. . . The hoops day began at St. Joseph's Prep to watch Speedy Morris gain career win No. 1,000. What a wonderful experience. No. 1, to see HIM do that. No. 2, to see how happy it made SO many people. What a terrific life that man continues to live.

JAN. 12
TEDBIT
On the day when the incomparable William "Speedy" Morris tries to claim win No. 1,000 in his high school/college/HS again coaching career (3:30 vs. visiting Lansdale Catholic), an interesting basketball tournament will also begin. St. Helena, in Blue Bell, Montgomery County (1499 Dekalb Pike) , is in year No. 14 of hosting a CYO tournament that includes loads of top boys/girls teams in the area. Many of the players wind up in the Catholic or Inter-Ac leagues. As pointed out by former Penn Charter star Brett Storm, who refs in the tourney, this charity event has it all -- complete stats (with play-by-play), live streaming, video, etc. For the championship game, color commentary will be handled by ex-NBA player and coach Fred "Mad Dog" Carter. His son, Aaron, also a former PC star (he and Brett were teammates), now covers high school sports for the Daily News/Inquirer. The tournament is guided by Gary Kane. His son, Kyle, is a starter for Lansdale and, of course, played in the tourney. As did SJ Prep starter Gabe Arizin, the grandson of NBA all-timer Paul Arizin. The championship games will be held Monday night, starting at 6. Boys first, then the girls. . . . Meanwhile, here's a nugget via Gary Kane: Mike McCloskey, top receiver at Father Judge/Penn State and a former NFLer, is now a CYO coach at St. Alphonsus, in Maple Glen. His team has been invited to the tournament for 10 consecutive years (unprecedented� quite an accomplishment, next highest number is seven) but has yet to win. Gary noted, "We had our coaches kickoff meeting on Tuesday night and I have been ribbing him about it for the past couple years. I think he has had enough of me. Great guy. Hoping this is his year (smile)." **Click here for Mad Dog's recent interview with Mike.** Thanks to Brett and Gary for providing this info. Best of luck to all players/coaches. Below are assorted links.

LIVESTREAM GAMES via Facebook
http://facebook.com/shsbball

REPLAYS, STATS and BRACKET UPDATES
http://kanepartners.net/shs

LINK TO STAT BREAKDOWN/PLAY BY PLAY
https://twitter.com/bballsthel ena

TOURNAMENT UPDATES/BRACKETS
http://www.sainthelenaschool.o rg/students/cyo-sports/st-hele na-basketball-tournament/

Coaches have your players, parents and fans like our Facebook page�https://www.facebook.com/ SHSBBall/

JAN. 11
TEDBIT
Some more details on Malvern's 10-0 Inter-Ac champs in 1973 and '74. The second squad was more dominant, winning its games by an average of 23.6 points.

Malvern's I-A Results in '73 and '74
Year	Foe	MP	Opp.	Margin
1973	PC	70	35	35
	HS	69	40	29
	EA	76	50	26
	GA	63	42	21
	CH	69	53	16
	PC	57	42	15
	CH	43	29	14
	GA	67	54	13
	EA	43	36	7
	HS	79	74	5
		636	455	181
1974	EA	63	22	41
	EA	85	51	34
	PC	90	58	32
	GA	76	46	30
	HS	66	39	27
	CH	64	41	23
	HS	66	49	17
	GA	59	43	16
	CH	54	42	12
	PC	44	40	4
		667	431	236

1972-73
Charlie Floyd	10	192	19.2
Emmet Fitzgerald	10	130	13.0
John Willcox	10	99	9.9
Wally Shields	8	45	5.6
Jay Calhoun	9	43	4.8
Paul McShane	6	36	6.0
John Maguire	5	20	4.0
Steve Donnelly	6	19	3.2
Ed Schloth	4	19	4.8
Joe Carney	4	16	4.0
Bob Carey	7	15	2.1
Herb Beck	1	2	2.0
	10	636	63.6
1973-74
Charlie Floyd	10	204	20.4
John Willcox	10	160	16.0
John Maguire	9	58	6.4
Steve Donnelly	8	52	6.5
Wally Shields	5	50	10.0
Joe Carney	8	37	4.6
Pat Ryan	7	32	4.6
Sam Dolente	7	21	3.0
B. McHugh	7	18	2.6
Dave Lamb	4	17	4.3
Dan Dixon	3	14	4.7
B. Maguire	2	4	2.0
	10	667	66.7

JAN. 10
TEDBIT
In what we'll call The Modern Era (1969-present; with the same six schools throughout), Inter-Ac teams have posted 10-0 records in two straight seasons seven times. Malvern's 1973 and '74 squads were the first to accomplishment the feat and they'll be honored Friday night right before the Friars host Penn Charter. Only two groups managed to go 10-0 in back-to-back seasons with just two double starters. Malvern's were Charlie Floyd and John Willcox. Episcopal did likewise in '82 and '83. Since then, the other five teams have had triple starters. Germantown Academy's 2000-02 teams all went 10-0. We'll have more on the Malvern crew tomorrow.

Double/Triple Starters for Perfect, Back-to-Back Inter-Ac Champs, 1969-Present
1st	2nd	Team	2-Year Starters	1st	2nd
1973	1974	Malvern	Charlie Floyd	19.2	20.4
			John Willcox	9.9	16.0
1982	1983	Episcopal	Anthony Dade	9.1	17.4
			James "Bruiser" Flint	11.6	22.1
1990	1991	Episcopal	Jerome Allen	11.6	18.3
			Eric Moore	13.7	13.7
			Chris Wyszynski	9.1	7.8
2000	2001	Germantown Academy	Lee Melchionni	7.9	13.8
			Ted Skuchas	4.1	7.7
			Mike Slattery	8.8	10.6
2001	2002	Germantown Academy	Lee Melchionni	13.8	16.1
			Ted Skuchas	7.7	9.4
			Matt Walsh	19.1	24.7
2003	2004	Penn Charter	Rob Kurz	18.3	18.1
			Sean Singletary	16.1	21.3
			Zack Zeglinski	13.5	11.0
2005	2006	Episcopal	Wayne Ellington	18.9	20.9
			Gerald Henderson	15.4	20.6
			Mike Yocum	9.8	10.1

JAN. 9
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Penn Charter 58, Episcopal 52
Not quite a classic, but sufficiently entertaining. Especially when you consider the fact both teams were coming off decent periods of inactivity -- even for practice -- because of the recent snow/ice. As perhaps you know, the I-A's opening tripleheader, scheduled for last Friday at Jefferson University (nee Phila. Textile, nee Phila. University), had to be canceled due to the messy weather. So instead of opening I-A play right down School House Lane, the Quakers had to head to Newtown Square. No one was quite sure what to expect. Was there rust? Not even a hint, somehow. PC shot 18-for-38 from the floor (a shade under 50 percent) and an ungodly 16-for-17 at the line (94.1) and EA was not far behind (18-for-41, 11-for-13). Except for some rare occasions, both teams played man-to-man and the defense was pretty good despite the numbers. Plus, there were very few fastbreaks and the teams had to work for their opportunities. THE sequence of the game occurred with roughly 80 seconds remaining. First there was a mini-scramble for possession toward midcourt. The ball then bounced toward the scorers' table and, whoa, PC sub jr. F Ryan "Zingy" Maloney and EA soph WG Alex Capitano went sliding over the sideline, tummies down and legs first, at something approaching warp speed. Great hustle. The refs ruled that Capitano touched the ball last. PC's subsequent possession produced a layup for sub jr. G Dylan Topaz on a pass from sr. WG Mason Williams and PC's lead stood at 54-48. Visit to Comfortville? Nah. Jr. WG-SF Matt Dade powered down the left side of the lane for a layup at 32.1 -- he did that a few times, though he's righthanded -- and PC's lead was back to four. Dade followed with a steal and another left-side layup and the spread was down to two. The Churchdudes were giving off, at least a little, that ready-to-pull-off-a-miracle vibe. Off a pass from Williams, Maloney (he IS a lefty) moseyed along the left baseline for another layup and, after EA came up empty, soph WG Ryan "Pooch" Holmes nailed two late free throws. Overall, this might have been Williams' best game. He's free money at the line and was able to get there a few times, enabling him to go 6-for-6. Plus, he didn't look rushed/nervous on any of his jumpers and everything came in the flow. He had 21 points along with two important assists down the stretch. Holmes added 17 points and, like Williams, made a strong effort on defense. Sr. SF Will Samuel had nine points and three steals. Coach Craig Conlin's co-franchises are Capitano, a transfer from Great Valley, and Dade. Though "Cap" is mostly a WG, he's sturdy/savvy enough to fill a SF role and on occasion he also heads out front to handle PG duties. Talk about an early eye-opener: On EA's first possession, he roared to the hoop along the left baseline and pounded home a dunk. He also hit two treys en route to 19 points. Dade had 15. Nine of EA's other 18 points came on treys by soph Gs -- two by Colin Chambers and one by Jack Fitzpatrick. Colin's dad, Paul, was a feisty guard starter for EA's '87 and '88 champs (outright/shared). Oh, and Dade's dad, Anthony, was a starting forward for the Churchdudes' outright kingpins in '82 and '83.
NUGGETS: Major props, as always, to EA's coaches (Conlin, Jon Kelsey, Tom Kossuth, Woody Burke, Tim Ivory) trainer John Smith and clock operator Mike Herron. They define friendly and classy. . . Among the spectators: the original Will Samuel (smile). I'm referring to my PC classmate, Tom Lee. Like Will, he was the starting QB as a senior as well as a basketball starter . . . Ref No. 3 did not walk into the gym until 1:23 before halftime. He worked the second half. He first went to PC by mistake, rumor had it . . . This was PC's first game in the new blue road uniforms.

JAN. 8
TEDBIT
On Jan. 19, Lansdale Catholic will visit Neumann-Goretti for a regular season Catholic League game. And LC should be favored! (smile) . . . Here's the goofy route to that determination: LC beat West Catholic . . . WC beat Penn Charter . . . PC beat Shipley . . . Shipley beat N-G.

JAN. 5
TEDBIT
Oh, well. Crap happens. The Inter-Ac's opening tripleheader will NOT take place this season, interrupting a run that began in 1995 (after being unable to begin in 1994). Here's the posting from last year.

The Inter-Ac's Opening Tripleheader, named in recent years for former Malvern/Episcopal coach Dan Dougherty, is in the books and the all-time details are below. Germantown Academy still owns it, but a loss to Haverford School dropped its winning percentage to .826. Look below for each school's record and a list of the assorted sites. The first tripleheader to open league play would have taken place in January 1994, but a wicked snowstorm intervened. In the first game of the initial tripleheader, played on Jan. 6, 1995, at St. Joseph's University, Chestnut Hill Academy beat GA, 48-32, as Nelson Henry (14) and Chris Davis (13) led the way.

Records in I-A's Opening Tripleheader
Germantown Academy	19-4
Malvern Prep	15-8
Episcopal Academy	11-12
Haverford School	10-13
CHA/SCH Academy	7-16
Penn Charter	7-16
Sites of I-A's Opening Tripleheader
1995	St. Joseph's Univ.
1996	Palestra
1997	Drexel
1998	Haverford College
1999-2003	La Salle Univ.
2004-09	Arcadia
2010-12	Cabrini
2013	Neumann Univ.
2014-17	Phila. Univ.

JAN. 4
TEDBIT
After reading yesterday that Neumann-Goretti product Troy Harper, a redshirt jr. G, had claimed Drexel's school record for consecutive free throws made with 36 -- yes, 36! -- I decided to do some checking. Was there a history here? Has he been super-sniping at the stripe for a while? At N-G, Troy was a four-year varsity player and had to wait his turn. He was the sixth man as a junior and a starter as a senior and in eight playoff games with available boxscores he shot 24-for-32 for a .750 percentage. He was on fire in quarterfinals, hitting 15 of 16 (.938). Troy played at Campbell University (NC) in his first two college seasons, again as the sixth man and then as a starter. He visited Slumpville in '15, hitting just 61 percent. He was back on the good track in '16 (.768) and so far this season, after sitting out '17 because of the transfer rules, he's 39-for-43 for .907. Congrats to Troy for this accomplishment and it's great to see he knows: You can always get better. He did the work and made it happen.

Playoffs at Neumann-Goretti
Year	Round	F-FT	Pct.
2013	Quarter	8-8	1.000
	Semi	1-1	1.000
	Final	1-2	.500
	City Title	1-2	.500
		11-13	.846
2014	Quarter	7-8	.875
	Semi	0-1	.000
	Final	1-3	.333
	City Title	5-7	.714
		13-19	.684
	Totals	24-32	.750

College at Campbell/Drexel
Year	School	F-FT	Pct.
2015	Campbell	51-84	.607
2016	Campbell	129-168	.768
2017	Sat out
2018	Drexel	39-43	.907
	Totals	219-295	.742
	OVERALL	243-327	.743

JAN. 3
TEDBIT
Sr. WG Sean Simon is the seventh La Salle High player to reach 1,000 career points . . . and the first to require an asterisk (smile). The Explorers last night opened Catholic League play with a 78-49 win over visiting Lansdale Catholic and Simon upped his total to 1,010 with a 22-point outburst. He hit the century mark by nailing a three-pointer early in the second quarter, according to '82 grad Chris Carabello, the school's director of marketing, communications and public relations. Here's the deal: Sean is the latest combo guy, as in someone who has split has career between two high schools. This is his second year in 'Splorerville after two not far away at SCH Academy. He scored 613 at SCH and his La Salle total stands at 397. The year-by-year breakdown: 216, 397, 251 and 146. Sean is the fifth CL guy to reach 1,000 in the CL after starting his career in the Inter-Ac. The La Salle -- I-A/CL lists are below. Congrats to Sean!

LA SALLE
Tom Gola	1,392	1951
Craig Conlin	1,202	1985
Chip Greenberg	1,135	1982
Joe Meade	1,098	1997
Matt Mihalich	1,080	1976
Amar Stukes	1,036	2013
*-Sean Simon	1,010	2018
*-397 at La Salle

INTER-AC/CATHOLIC
Lamar Stevens	Hav. School, Roman	1,345	2016
#Joe Zeglinski	Penn Charter, Ryan	1,300	2006
Danny Stewart	Hav. School, Neum.-Goretti	1,293	2010
Tyreek Duren	Hav. School, Neum.-Goretti	1,045	2010
Sean Simon	SCH Academy, La Salle	1,010	2018
#-scored 1,152 at Ryan after playing for PC as eighth grader

JAN. 2
TEDBIT
The 2017 portion of this current season is history and the Catholic League is feeling rather proud. CL teams won 76 of 108 outings for a .704 percentage and six teams seized at least two-thirds of their games. McDevitt was the cake-taker at a perfect 8-0. Also, the CL went a lofty 15-3 (.833) vs. the Inter-Ac.

Non-League Records for Catholic Teams -- Overall & vs. Inter-Ac
Team	W	L	Pct.	W	L
McDevitt	8	0	1.000	1	0
Judge	8	1	.889	1	0
SJ Prep	7	1	.875	3	1
La Salle	7	2	.778	1	1
Bonner-Prendie	7	2	.778	2	0
Carroll	6	3	.667	1	0
Lansdale Catholic	5	3	.625	1	0
Neumann-Goretti	5	3	.625	1	0
West Catholic	5	3	.625	2	0
Conwell-Egan	3	2	.600	0	0
O'Hara	3	2	.600	1	0
Roman	4	3	.571	0	0
Ryan	5	4	.556	1	1
Wood	3	3	.500	0	0
	76	32	.704	15	3