Carroll cruises to state hoops title
He says he'll do his schoolwork, chill out with family members, play some video games . . .
And here's guessing he'll glance, oh, about a million times at the gold medal that will no doubt wind up in a place of living-room prominence.
Somebody had to be first. And it was Archbishop Carroll High.
In Year 1 of the Catholic League's full-fledged PIAA membership, the Patriots are the initial state champions. They earned that distinction last night before 4,270 at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center, frolicking past Greensburg Salem, of suburban Pittsburgh, 75-54, in the Class AAA final.
Green, a 6-3, 185-pound sophomore combination guard, did his part by totaling 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Imagine if he were 100 percent physically. For a good while now, Green has been battling tendinitis in his left knee. If you'd looked closely, you would have seen the occasional limp. Frequent glances would have confirmed few soarings to rim level, and those are part of his charm.
"I've been icing it every day after practice and doing exercises, like lifts and lunges, trying to make it stronger," Green said. "It's not too painful. It's more that it's frustrating because it prevents me from playing at full strength.
"The doctor said I could keep playing, but to shut it down right after the season. And to make sure when I do start playing again, I stay off concrete. So that's what I'll do. He said I could need an operation if it gets worse. I don't want that, so I am going to shut it down for 2 weeks until my AAU season starts [with Team Philly]."
Though Carroll indeed trekked first to Title Town, it had some help.
The first game of last night's doubleheader involved Cardinal O'Hara in the AAAA girls' final. A right ankle injury to Steph Holzer, the franchise center, helped to turn a three-point lead, held with 5 minutes, 48 seconds left in the third quarter, into a 67-58 defeat to Mt. Lebanon.
"When we went into the locker room at halftime, I figured they'd win," Green said. "It was a shock to hear they lost. And then to find out later about [Holzer's] injury . . .
"We knew we had our chance to be first. We didn't want to mess it up."
Green, who is being pursued hard by Villanova, said he kept thinking again and again about three words uttered during Thursday's practice by coach Paul Romanczuk, and then a few times again during yesterday's light workout.
Hearing them even gave him a partial case of goosebumps:
Champions are forever.
"That was really hitting me," Green said, smiling.
Honestly, Greensburg Salem was thoroughly outmanned. The Golden Lions were significantly smaller and thinner and not nearly as deep, and their feisty ways enabled them to hang tough only through a 16-14 first quarter.
Carroll seized the second stanza, 21-11, and there were two significant omens. One, Kasheef Festus (18 points, six rebounds) converted a follow on the fifth shot of the same possession. And then, after falling and winding up flat on his back, Green grabbed a defensive rebound that fell right into his arms.
DJ Irving's three-pointer on a pass from sub Romance Turner made it 25-16. Green, on a pass from Irving (17 points, seven steals), added a fast-break layup and Andre Wilburn (12 points) followed with a steal and drive for three-quarters court and a layup. Ben Mingledough also was a factor, thanks to eight points and six boards.
The only drama in the second half centered on when Romanczuk would satisfy Carroll's rabid student rooters and wave Mike Lauer to the scorer's table. It happened with 4:09 left. A kid immediately yelled, "Lauer, don't pass the ball!" Mike didn't listen, at first. He tried for assists. But down the stretch, he did go 0-for-2 on treys.
While accepting their medals and championship trophy, Romanczuk and the Patriots were standing roughly along the foul line, and foul line extended. Perched nearby on the baseline, beaming and dreaming of a similar moment, were the members of Carroll's girls' team. They'll play tonight at 6 o'clock in their own AAA final, vs. Lampeter-Strasburg.
The floor joy was followed by a stint on the PCN cable network for interviews with Romanczuk and several starters. Little by little, a program assistant convinced more and more of the subs to enjoy the moment by filling in behind.
Then, with the arena's lights mostly dim, everyone returned to the court to pose for pictures with the trophy and family members. That session finally ended at 10:37.
Earlier, Romanczuk had been hit with what he acknowledged was a very tough question. In light of the fact, as a star forward, he'd helped pace Carroll to the 1995 CL title . . . How do the playing/coaching feelings compare?
"I still think that nothing beats playing basketball," he said. "But, man, coaching and winning this championship is a very, very close second."