Gratz coach Bill Ellerbee
 

  This story, about their place in city history, was written one day after the Bulldogs completed the season. The story about the victory IN the Public League championship game can be found here.

By Ted Silary
  Bill Ellerbee is not by nature a greedy man.
  But now, as he basks in the warm glow provided by a 31-0 season and a third Public League championship in four years for his Simon Gratz basketball team, there is something more that Ellerbee wants.
  Access to a computer.
  Like many others, Ellerbee wants answers to burning questions.
  "It would be nice," he said, "to put the info into a computer and see what it spits out."
  The man in the street, mindful that Gratz won by an average score of 69-39 and had a superstar giant in 6-11 Rasheed Wallace, wonders how lofty a perch in city scholastic history should be awarded to these Bulldogs.
  First things first, says the man on the bench, mindful that Gratz also was exceedingly strong in 1990 and '91.
  Two years ago, when the Daily News ranked the Top 10 teams in city history, the '91 Bulldogs (27-1) placed No. 6. The starters were Wallace, Andre Griffin, Calvin Wingfield, Levan Alston and Contrell Scott, although 6-9 Wilfred Kirkaldy (who went to West Virginia and then suffered life-threatening injuries in an automobile accident) played extensively off the bench.
  Because they finished 26-4 overall, the '90 Bulldogs were not ranked. But check out this starting lineup of all-Division I players: Wallace (undecided), Alston (New Orleans) and Griffin (Delaware State), along with Aaron McKie (Temple) and Harry Moore (St. Bonaventure), two of the top performers in the Atlantic 10.
  All four losses occurred in December while Moore, who had been shot in the thigh that November, was either sidelined or seeing limited duty.
  "If I was going to compare the '90 and '91 teams, I might go with '90," Ellerbee said. "They got off to a slow start with Harry being out. But by the end, they were playing so well it was frightening."
  When asked to compare his '91 and '93 teams, Ellerbee said, "This team was bigger and stronger, but that team might have been smarter. A lot of those guys were true students of the game, including Rasheed, even at that age. Anything I wanted those guys to do, it was done right, right away."
  Ellerbee's thoughts notwithstanding, it's likely that the '93 Bulldogs would have the best shot at dumping the all-time biggies.
  They possessed the attributes most common to blockbuster teams: good overall height and the presence of a tall superstar, a swagger mixed with dedication to hard work, and depth.
  In actuality, this team had seven starters. Joining Wallace in the first five were senior forwards Jamahal Redmond and Alem Watson and two underclassmen guards, junior Shawn "Reds" Smith and sophomore Terrell Stokes. The primary subs were 6-8 senior Rondell Turner, who finished fifth in the coaches' All-Public voting, and 6-7 junior Lynard Stewart, who scored 14 points in Sunday's 63-45 title-game squashing of Franklin Learning Center.
  In '91, the Daily News ranked the '55 Overbrook team, featuring Wilt Chamberlain and Vince Miller (now Frankford High's coach), No. 1 in city history.
  No. 2 went to the '58 Overbrook team, which had three future pros (Wayne Hightower, Walt Hazzard and Wally Jones) in its lineup and a player, Ralph Heyward, who was a high school All-America the following season. 
  continued right below . . . 

RK. SEASON TEAM W-L
1 . 1954-55 Overbrook 18-1
2.  1957-58 Overbrook 22-0
3.  1992-93 Simon Gratz 31-0
4.  1976-77 West Philadelphia 30-0
5.  1978-79 Overbrook 34-1
6.  1984-85 Murrell Dobbins 28-2
7.  1990-91 Simon Gratz 27-1
8.  1990-91 Roman Catholic 28-3
9.  1949-50 La Salle 24-1
10. 1964-65 Bishop Neumann 22-1
Formerly No. 10 was Thomas Edison, 1968-69.

By Ted Silary

  MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- James "Noot" Smith is known primarily for his football exploits at Simon Gratz High.
But last night, the substitute guard earned a loftier distinction: The man who saved the basketball season.
  With 36 seconds remaining, in a gymnasium stuffed with 3,200 fans who by that time were battling elevated blood pressure and severe perspiration problems, Smith made a spectacular, open-floor steal to help the Bulldogs down Shawnee, of Medford, N.J., 50-47, for the championship of the 12th annual Beach Ball Classic.
  Gratz (12-0), which scored the final eight points of the game after falling behind, 47-42, with 2:11 remaining, preserved its No. 1 ranking in USA Today. Shawnee probably will rise from No. 14, given its gutty effort.
  As his delirious players frolicked around the gym, and before a huge bucket of ice water was dumped on his head, coach Bill Ellerbee credited Smith with making the play of the game.
  "If 'Noot' doesn't do that, we go home a loser, buddy," Ellerbee said. ''It's that simple.
  "When we need somebody to flat-out take the ball away, that's who we put in there. His hands are so quick. He worries the offensive man. He puts him out of sync. "
  In football, Smith, a 5-9, 175-pound senior, was the city's premier running back and the Daily News' choice for the Public League Player of the Year. But in basketball, he is used only when Ellerbee needs someone to count the cavities in the mouth of the opposition's best guard.
  "I always tell him, 'I'm here when you need me,"' Smith said. "I don't worry about how much time I get. At least when I get in there, I know it's for a good reason. "
  With 0:44 left, Rondell Turner converted a two-shot foul to give Gratz a 48-47 lead. The Bulldogs then applied pressure and Smith confronted guard Brian Earl in the backcourt, near Gratz's bench.
  "I wasn't thinking steal at first," Smith said. "I just wanted to make it hard for them to get it over halfcourt. But I saw there was a chance. I know how quick my hands are. I saw it and slapped. "
  Smith passed to sophomore guard Terrell Stokes, who was fouled at 0:20 and polished off a one-and-one for a 50-47 lead. Shawnee had no trouble getting upcourt, but 6-9 Kirk Luchman, a Florida State signee, missed a 15-footer and the rebound went to Gratz's Jamahal Redmond.
  Redmond missed his one-and-one and Shawnee had two more shots at a tie. Dan Earl, Brian's brother and a Penn State signee, missed a left-wing "three. " The rebound kicked out long to Brian Earl, who also missed a three-pointer, this one from close to the left corner, as Gratz's Shawn "Reds" Smith deflected the ball.
  As Dan Earl prepared to shoot, Rasheed Wallace arrived on the scene with his 6-11 frame. But he peeled off as Dan loaded up.
  "Afraid to foul," he said. "With the way refs call things here . . .
  "From my angle, it looked like (Dan Earl's) shot was going to hit nothing but the bottom of the net. Sure glad it didn't."
  Wallace, who finished with seven points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots, was on the floor for the final three minutes. But he watched the previous five after getting involved in a shoving match with Shawnee's Rob Nadler at the end of the third quarter.
  As he walked to the bench, Wallace muttered, "This is a horrible tournament. I don't want to play anymore."
  Said Ellerbee: "If you're not in it mentally, you've got to come out of the game. Not just Rasheed. Anybody. I tell these guys all the time that basketball is not an emotional game. "
  Ellerbee took a huge risk by keeping Wallace, who had just two personals, on the bench for so long. With just two points, Luchman had been a non-factor offensively. But while Wallace regrouped, Luchman scored twice on easy follows.
  After the second basket, Wallace switched his perch from the far end of the bench to one right beside Ellerbee.
  "I told him I was ready," Wallace said.
  Said Ellerbee: "That's what you want to see. You want your best player to come over and say he's ready to go back in there and do the job."
  Gratz trailed, 44-40, when Wallace returned. After Brian Earl answered Shawn Smith's two-pointer with his fifth "three," Shawnee was up by five.
  Lynard Stewart's follow drew the Bulldogs closer, then came the first of two monstrous defensive plays.
As Dan Earl (22 points, six assists) dribbled near midcourt, Shawn Smith, who was the tournament MVP with eight points, six assists and no turnovers in 32 minutes, forced a five-second call that was hotly disputed by Shawnee coach Joe Kessler.
  Turner, who had 14 points and seven rebounds, scored the next four points - two on a follow and two on free throws - to sandwich a missed one-and-one by Dan Earl.
  Said Kessler: "To play the nation's No. 1 team to a three-point game that goes down to the last second - that speaks well for us."