Before They Drew X's and O's, Basketball 2011-12

Before They Drew X's and O's . . .

As you can imagine, many of the head coaches and assistants currently associated with city
leagues' basketball teams are former players. Since I'm ancient (smile), I wrote stories about
many of them during their high school careers.
We hope you enjoy this feature.
Would you like to see a story about someone who played in the Public, Catholic or Inter-Ac
leagues and is now a coach (assuming I did one on him)? Send me a note at silaryt@phillynews.com.
Thanks,
Ted

This story concerns McDevitt assistant Isaiah "Zeke" Pinckney, who
also did his playing for the Lancers (Class of 2002). He then starred at
Delaware Valley College.

McDevitt lightweight contributes heavily

Jan 19, 2002

By TED SILARY silaryt@phillynews.com

It ain't heavy. It's his basketball team. And Isaiah Pinckney does his best to carry it.

But guess what? For a guy who weighs 140 pounds, maybe, there are easier tasks in life.

Pinckney , a 5-10 senior point guard, wears No. 10 for Bishop McDevitt High. Look closely. He's in that floppy jersey somewhere.

"I've tried everything to gain weight," he said. "I drink all the protein shakes. Take some weight-gaining things. I even eat Thanksgiving food when it's not even Thanksgiving. Nothing seems to work.

"Just because I'm small, though, it doesn't mean I can't have a big heart. "

Amen, little guy.

Pinckney, a true whirlwind, last night sliced and diced his way to 17 points as the visiting Lancers edged North Catholic, 45-44, in overtime, in an entertaining, yet untidy, Catholic League Northern Division game.

Pinckney's outing to a large degree mirrored the game.

After starting his night with five straight misses, mostly on unfinished drives, he finished the half with seven consecutive points, staking the Lancers to a 20-18 lead. He then added the first basket after the break.

Overall, he went 7-for-18 from the floor (2-for-5 on treys) and 1-for-3 at the line.

"I've been playing since I was 7 years old, when I started out with the West Oak Lane Wildcats," Pinckney said. "I've always pretty much been the little guy. Sometimes much smaller than everybody else. No matter your size, you still have to battle. I just try to play hard and get my team the win. That's the best you can do. "

The best his body could do would be to catch up to those exhibited by the other males in his family. His father, Terry, played football and basketball at Olney (class of 1980). His uncle, Steve, played hoops at Northeast ('82). Both were strong and thick and well over 6-foot.

So, who's the culprit?

"Must be my mom," Isaiah said, smiling, adding that Janean is 5-1.

With a little less than 5 minutes left in regulation, with the score at 39-33, McDevitt 's outlook was approaching bleak.

Wait. It wasn't. At least not to Pinckney .

"I was still confident," he said. "I knew we were going to come back and win it. How come? Because I know I have good teammates and coaches. I have faith in them. Plus, we put in a hard week of practice to get ready for this. "

A nine-point run, capped by a left-corner trey from Chris Hanes (15 points), gave McDevitt a 42-39 edge with 1:38 left in regulation. On a pass from Donnie Welte, who was impressive (14 points, six assists) in defeat, North's Craig Lonergan hit a trey at 0:50 to make it 42-42. He then missed a 13-footer from the right part of the lane as regulation ended.

North scored almost immediately in OT as Welte passed for a layup to Pat Dougherty, but its number did not change again.

Junior center Mike Ross, the OT hero with three of his 12 points and five of his 14 rebounds, made two free throws at 44.8. North opted to hold. Welte made a great feed underneath, but Charlie Hook's layup was slightly deflected by Ross, who grabbed the rebound and was fouled. He made the back end of a double bonus at 5.2 and Lonergan, after going end to end, was unable to can an in-traffic layup at the buzzer.

McDevitt coach Jack Rutter, for one, adores Pinckney .

"Kids like him are the reason guys get into coaching," he said. "He's a great kid. You can just see it in his face. I can't say enough good things about him. "

Pinckney , who lives in West Oak Lane, maintains a 3.3 grade-point average and an 890 SAT score. West Chester, Shippensburg and Widener are among the schools showing interest.

"I want to major in sports management with the goal of becoming an agent," he said. "If I can't make it in sports, I still want to be around them."*