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December reports

JAN. 27
PUBLIC LEAGUE
Central 54, Gratz 52
   Try to guess how many people came up to me afterward and said something along the lines of, "Ted, like you always say, Only in The Pub." I lost count at 47. Just kidding. I'm not kidding that people kept saying that, though. This time the OITP moment came in the aftermath of a held ball, and the confusion/controversy caused a 10-minute delay. PCN was on hand to televise the game (it'll run Friday at 6 p.m.). Wonder if the entire, drawn-out, part-funny, part-rediculous sequence will be shown? It occurred with 0:17 left after Gratz missed a shot and Gratz sr. C Ameer Ali was tied up by sr. PG Lamar Williams. The arrow -- not that there was one -- favored Gratz, according to its scorekeeper. Central's scorekeeper had the ball going to Central, as did the refs' memory (and most courtside observers). During the ensuing argument, Pub brass placed a call to PIAA headquarters to see if a look at PCN's tape could settle things. The answer? Looking at tape is taboo. Finally, with no other choice, the refs had to go with what was in Gratz' book. Central led at this point, 53-52, thanks to two free throws with 0:32 left by jr. WG Kenny St. George. A Gratz shot missed and the ball went out of bounds at 0:07. This time, Williams pressured inbounder Charles White, a freshman PG, into a 5-second call. As he had during the first controversy, Gratz coach Leonard Poole snapped out, saying that White had asked for a timeout. The call stood. Sr. WG Scott Rodgers (Drexel signee) completed a vintage performance (27 points, three assists, five steals) by making the first of two free throws at 0:06. Gratz' final shot was an unsuccessful, flying, duck-under, at-about-the-foul-line runner by double-covered sr. PG Jamar Bruce. OK, now for some eyebrow-raisers: Central overcame a 10-point deficit in the final 6:18 and the homecourt loss was only the second in Pub regular season play for Gratz in the last 16 seasons! The Bulldogs, in fact, have lost just seven of these kind of games in that span. How'd it happen? Gratz, which almost always takes care of the ball, became skittish down the stretch in the face of aggressive defense from Central. The Bulldogs flat-out coughed up this one. No other way to say it. They outrebounded the Lancers by 39-26, but were guilty of six more turnovers and were victimized for five steals in the fourth quarter alone. That just doesn't happen to Gratz, folks! Well, today it did. Two free throws by jr. WG Malik Alvin, a follow by sr. F Syheem Perkins and Alvin's right-corner trey provided a 48-38 lead with 6:12 left. Central scrambled back within 50-44, but then made only one of four free throws. The game again became interesting when Rodgers and Williams hit big baskets. Rodgers was a man. He was a shade off from the floor (7-for-18), but went 11-for-13 at the line. Poole had at least three guys take turns trying to stop him. Admittedly, some of the foul calls were terrible (WAY too little contact in a game of this magnitude; both teams were perfect in Pub play) and they really put a damper on things. Actually, they hissed me off! I hadn't seen these guys all season, if memory serves, and all of a sudden they're doing THIS game? Why? How? At one point, Central shooters appeared to get hammered three straight times on one possession and there was no call! Central coach Haviland Harper was livid. He ripped off his tie and slammed it down on the court. Luckily, it didn't make noise (smile). That wasn't the only time inside murder and mayhem went unpunished, only to be followed by tweets for ticky-tacks 30 feet from the basket. Brutal! Bear with me. I'm trying to cool off. Not easy. Anyway, Ali had a big-boy game. He claimed/swept/consumed 21 rebounds and shot 6-for-12 for 12 points. The reports were that he'd been stringing together medium performances, but he definitely rose to this occasion. Some kudos to Gratz personnel. The gym was set up perfectly with five sets of stands (too small, but that's the District's fault), room in the middle for the TV guys, concession stand in one corner and a row of tables at one end for "dignitaries." Temple assistant Bill Ellerbee, the all-time coaching legend at Gratz, was in attendance, as were some of his former players. The older I get, the harder it is to match up names with faces of all the back-in-the-day guys (smile). I try, though, because I know they all love being remembered.

JAN. 25
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Neumann-Goretti 47, SJ Prep 40
   Sr. G Conor Kennedy lived the high school basketball player's version of the American Dream in this one. With sr. F David Burton sidelined due to a one-week school suspension, the 5-7, 140-pound Kennedy got a start and wound up being a/the hero. He's the co-president of this new school's student council and is said to be popular with all. He didn't hurt his great-kid profile. Kennedy soared (smile) for five rebounds, one under N-G's team high for the game, and made two big plays down the stretch to help swing a tight game in the Saints' favor. First, with just over 3 minutes remaining, he scrambled for an offensive rebound to keep alive a possession. Jr. WG Derrick "D.J." Rivera (13 points, two assists, two steals), on a pass from soph C Richard Jackson (six points, four boards, three blocks), followed with a basket that broke a 37-37 tie. With 1:25 remaining and N-G holding a 39-38 lead, soph PG Antonio "Scoop" Jardine missed a right-to-left drive. Jardine's momentum carried him to where the ball was bouncing over the baseline, to the left side, and he made a leaping save. Kennedy had put himself into position to catch it. He then drove down the lane and canned a flip shot. He said later, "I noticed that the defense was laying back, and that no one was guarding me. I wanted to keep them honest. Actually, I was just going to drive and dump it to (Jackson). But no one really stepped up to cover me. I just flipped it up there." The Saints mostly made free throws from there and Jackson had a huge steal when he wrested the ball from frosh F-C Larry Loughery. This game had some interesting extras: Prep jr. F Reggie Redding (20 points, 12 rebounds, two assists) claimed N-G defenders were smacking him in that tender area below the belt after he released shots; members of both staffs flared at each other (with some curses thrown in) from 10-15 feet apart during a stoppage because of allegedly dirty play; and N-G coach Carl Arrigale halted a five-game losing streak against the man who coached him two decades ago at Penn Charter, Speedy Morris. This game also featured two impressive bursts of dominance. The Prep's came in the second quarter and sent them into halftime with a 23-15 lead. N-G's came in the third and featured a hot streak of 17 of 21 points. This Prep squad is slightly vulnerable because its shooting is much less reliable than in recent years and there is no true inside force. (Redding gets in there and often thrives, but he's mostly a wing player and that's where he operates best.) The Prep went 5-for-18 on treys. Two came rather early and it was impossible not to think the Hawks might be in for a hot night. Didn't happen. Sr. WG-SF Corey O'Rourke scored just four points, but had eight rebounds and six assists. Speedy recently told me Corey is the BEST defender he has ever coached. Phew! N-G received balanced scoring from its Big Three of Rivera (13), Jardine (12) and jr. F Earl Pettis (14). Many ex-CL and Pub players in attendance: Donnie Carr, Rashid Bey, Doug Overton, James Fowler . . . Also in the house: DN sports columnist Rich Hofmann. His son is a promising frosh for Prep. Prep soph Kevin Gallagher, who goes about 6-8/6-9, had some impressive blocks in the JV game. For N-G's JV, frosh Jamel Wilson, who made a brief appearance in the varsity game, made some moves that darn near took your breath away.

JAN. 21
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Bonner 63, West Catholic 51
   One of the joys of this job is seeing kids improve from one year to the next and begin to realize their potential, and knowing that even better things will happen for them down the road when our college or even pro reporters are writing about them. The latest Exhibit A is Bonner sr. C Derrick Graff, who's a shade under 6-9 and weighs 215 pounds. One can only imagine how much effort he has put into weight-lifting and conditioning and plain, ol' basketball drills, etc., but it definitely shows. He now can catch and finish and shoot face-up jumpers and block shots and do pretty much everything a big guy needs to do. True, West had no one close to Graff's height and the one guy with bulk, sr. F-C Derrell Hand, was among the missing because of the fight he had the other night with Roman's Malik Perry. But catching is catching and being able to put the ball on the floor is being able to put the ball on the floor (it's harder against little guys) and . . . well, you get the point. Graff is hopeful of getting a high-II or low-I scholarship and the interest is starting to come. Even St. Joe's is taking a look. Considering how much improvement he has made from one year to the next, who knows what could happen for this kid? Derrick shot 11-for-14 for 22 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and posted eight blocks. Plus, he did not pick up his first personal foul until 3:56 remained in the third quarter, and he'd posted seven of his blocks by then. OK, with all of that being said, I still think the most important plays of the night came as the third quarter started and Bonner received a regular field goal from jr. F Brian Campuzano and then a trey from sr. PG Mike Heppler.
In the first half, which finished with Bonner ahead, 28-26, Graff (10) and soph WG Jeff Jones (13, of 18 total) had combined for all but five of the points. The players/coaches/fans were undoubtedly flashing back to the previous Friday, when Graff (34) and Jones (18) combined for all but three of the points in a double-OT loss to SJ Prep. These two baskets seemed to release a stress of some kind. It was like everyone thought, "OK, we're not a two-man team anymore." The Friars won the second half, 35-25. The "others" had 18 of the points! There's a message in there somewhere, though Graff and Jones will of course have to continue to produce heavily. Jones is a talented kid with some classic, big-timer qualtities, but man does he take a lot of shots (smile). He took 13 through three quarters, making three, and five other times drew two-shot fouls. The thing is, he's fluid enough that his shots rarely appear forced because he has some height and jumping ability and he can just lift over most defenders. Heppler had seven points and five assists and his backup, sr. Jack Glacken, had several sparkplug moments. Soph F Tim Vanderslice went 3-for-4 en route to seven points. For West, jr. WG Chris Mayo shot 9-for-15 and 2-for-5 for 20 points while adding five steals. Sr. F-C Maurice Denton had a few of his shots punched, but went hard all night en route to 14 points and seven boards. Sr. G-F Joe Askew started quickly with eight points in the first quarter. Included was a simple drive in a halfcourt offense that ended, whoa!!, with a dunk. He finished with 14 points. Among the spectators were two of the top players in Bonner history, Rod Blake ('84) and Brian Daly ('88). Both led their teams to titles. Bartram coach Lou Biester was also on hand. So was West FB star Marques Slocum, who recently committed to Michigan. 'Ques played basketball at Neumann before transferring to West and his father, Marc Anderson, was a star at West Philly. 'Ques rumbled out onto the court at halftime to take a few "jumpers" (maybe an inch off the floor) and they were bricks and/or airballs, my friends (smile).

JAN. 21
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
SJ Prep 34, Carroll 32
   The Hawks have yet to suffer a loss in Southern Division play, but their "almost" total now stands at two. They recently needed double overtime to vanquish Bonner, and in this one needed two free throws with 1.1 seconds left by sr. PG Joe Fox to avoid heading an extra session and, of course, anything could have happened there. Fox largely had a day he would like to forget, shooting 2-for-12 from the floor and 1-for-9 on treys. He also missed a one-and-one with 0:26 left that could have made it a two-possession game. He was clutch when he absolutely had to be, though, and who can't appreciate that? Speaking of clutch . . . With 9.7 seconds left, Carroll sr. F Eugene Adams drew a foul. As he walked to the line, a whole bunch of Prep students poured out of the stands and ran to the west end of the gym and gathered behind the baseline to yell and scream and jump up and down. Adams had none of it. He swished both shots to make it 32-32. Excellent performance under pressure and wacky conditions! On Prep's possession, Fox came up the right side, eased toward the middle and used an up-and-under move to draw contact from sr. G John Durante. From where I was sitting, next to the scorers' table, Mike Jackson's call was justified. Carroll fans let him have it, but good, especially when he headed off the court toward the locker room (profanity was prevalent), but most appeared to know deep down there'd been contact. One kept yelling, "Let the kids decide the game!" To me that meant, "Yeah, there was contact, but you should have swallowed your whistle and let the game go to overtime." No matter when you're reading this, if Jackson had NOT made the call, Prep coach Speedy Morris would still be yelling. Though the offenses were shaky in this one, I must say there was some tremendous defense. Everybody was motivated to just flat-out play his man and there were very few open looks. (Prep had some early, but the shots didn't fall. The Hawks missed their first nine treys.) Star jr. F Reggie Redding did not post a field goal until 4:57 remained in the game, and it wasn't pretty, at that. It came off a drive and the ball rolled and bounced around before going in. That gave The Prep a 30-23 lead. Carroll kept hangin' around and Durante, on a pass from Adams, drained a trey at 3:34, making it 30-28. Redding scored on a pass from jr. G Dave Stefanski (eight points) and Adams answered with a tough, short jumper along the right baseline at 1:14. Prep held until Fox was fouled at 0:26, setting up the sequence described earlier. Redding had 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Fox added two assists, two steals. Sr. G-F Corey O'Rourke had four rebounds (and took just four shots en route to three points). For Carroll, jr. big'un Dutch "Big Suburbs" Gaitley had nine points and 11 rebounds. He was aggressive and physical; I'd still like to see him find a way to get the ball just a little bit closer to the basket so trying to finish would not so often be an adventure. Adams had 10 points, four boards and two assists. Little things spelled Carroll's downfall. They had 20 turnovers to Prep's seven and were guilty of important personal fouls at quite inopportune moments. Just before halftime, Prep was holding for a last shot and Huck said, "I wouldn't have Adams on Redding right now. Not with two fouls." Redding made a move and, tweet, you've got it, drew Adams' third foul. He picked up his fourth just 1:26 into the third quarter. Sr. PG Anthony Watson picked up his third, on a reach-in 35 feet from the basket, less than a minute later. Puck was in the house babbling about the team he assists, North Catholic. We tried our best to ignore him (smile). Not an easy task.

JAN. 20
PUBLIC LEAGUE
Edison 74, Olney 56
   As the game chugged into halftime, sr. G Steve Martin (5-11, 170) had two points, a mere 26 under his average. Was he whining? No. Was he wearing a long face? No. Was he being a pain the ass? No. Before the game, football assistant Barry Salow told me Martin was a great kid and he added to that by insisting, "If the kid was a bum, I'd tell you." In the second half, Martin also showed he's a great player. He poured in 23 points, dunked three times -- once over TWO guys while drawing contact -- and finalized his other numbers at 11 rebounds, two assists and four steals. Olney opened in a box-and-one and jr. James Gaines did a nice job of stalking Martin (with a piece of help from jr. Rasheed Lockhart). Martin had trouble getting open and his teammates were unsure how to free him and he made just one of six shots before intermission. Steve made some nice passes, though, and would have had about six assists by then if his teammates had been hitting their shots. At halftime, coach Kevin Reilly must have reinforced the need for the Owls to penetrate into the box because they did so much better in the second half. Sr. PG Andrew Monroe kept kickin' it to freshman WG George Baker and he kept cookin'. Baker scored 17 of his 28 points in the second half and finished with six treys. I doubt 28 points is THE record for city freshmen, but off the top of my head it's gotta be close. Baker's bombing created a shade more room for Martin and he was incredible in transition, as well. Martin will need to go the JC or prep school route, but he deserves attention NOW. As witnessed by the dunks, he's obviously a quick, explosive leaper. He also has court sense and common sense. He's one of those guys who makes the ball "talk." Monroe had nine assists and he, too, played with enthusiasm. Soph F-C Kashief Edwards, who had to sit down briefly after dislocating a pinkie, had nine rebounds and four blocks. Tyriek Pinkney (not sure what grade he's in, sorry) mixed nine points, six boards and three steals. Martin (16) and Baker (11) combined for all but one of Edison's fourth-quarter points. Edison led, 46-43, after three quarters. Martin buried a trey to start the fourth and Baker hit another off an inbound pass from Edwards. Edison rolled from there, basically. To a degree, Olney sr. PF-C Kevin Riley was also impressive. Last year I thought he was way too passive. Not anymore. He played with 'tude while showing very quick feet and explosive leaping on authoritative moves to the basket. He had 16 points, 12 rebounds and two dunks. He also missed about six dunk attempts. Maybe the ball was slippery. Maybe he got distracted. Maybe he got fouled and no whistle was forthcoming. Whatever happened, the ball didn't go in. Kevin's brother, Brahin, was a quality big guy for Northeast and Drexel. Kevin's most impressive play came when he grabbed a teammate's missed free throw and, from floor level, with no running start, soared right back up and almost dunked the ball in traffic. Few can do that!!! Most of Olney's other guys are beefy and/or have FB builds. Sr. Ryan Hobdy, a star LB, made six of his eight shots (one trey) for 13 points. He also plucked 11 boards. Jr. F Anthony Edwards had eight points and four steals. Jeff McKenna is still serving as Olney's interim coach; John Rech is recovering from a health problem. If I'd been thinking, I would have taken a pic of the two Kevin Rileys/Reillys. Ex-La Salle University coach Billy Hahn was in attendance. He's hitting the trail all winter just to watch games and stay busy in preparation, he hopes, for getting a job for next season. Billy has been a great friend to Philly Boyz since the late 1970s, when he recruited Roland Houston out of King and Horace Owens out of Dobbins for Rhode Island. Roland is now an assistant at George Washington Univ. and worked under Billy at La Salle. Horace is now an assistant on La Salle's current staff. Billy has all KINDS of contacts. Here's hoping he tells some of his buddies in the coaching fraternity about Steve Martin. And Kevin Riley, as well.

JAN. 18
PUBLIC LEAGUE
Straw. Mansion 65, Mastbaum 35
   This one will be short and not so sweet, oh, loyal readers. Mansion played rather well and Mastbaum did not, not even close, and the game was largely forgettable. Mastbaum shot 14-for-59 from the floor (23.7 percent) and 1-for-16 on three-pointers (6.3 percent). The 15 failures followed the only success, a game-opener by star sr. F Tariek Belcher. Oh, well. It happens. For Mansion, sr. SF Leon Deron "Squeek" Rollins tabulated 15 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals. He has quick feet and darting moves and never holds onto the ball too long. He's only 6-1, 160, but also shows no fear. Jr. WG Matthew "Moo" Johnson had 15 points, eight assists and five steals. Jr. inside players John Brooks (nine points, six boards) and Chaz Philpot (two, 10) helped out. As did jr. PG Stanley Williams (six, two assists). Jr. G Eugene Moss, a star last season and just back from a spell in Delaware, had five points in a late, ease-back-in appearance, and he could really make a difference down the line. He fired up five shots in the garbage-time flow. His first was blocked. His second hit the side of the backboard. His third was an air ball. Hey, I could have done that! (smile). Soph sub Derek Starling beat the buzzer with a layup to score for the second consecutive game. Belcher finished 6-for-21 and 4-for-6 for 17 points. He realized rather early he would get no help on this day -- the score at one point was 46-16 -- and his concentration drifted a little later on. Nevertheless, he bounced his way to 14 rebounds, four steals and six blocks. Sr. G Zelmay Hernandez, who's usually reliable, went 0-for-9 from the floor and 0-for-2 at the line. Ouch! Jack "In the Box" Crouse was on hand for stat purposes. He thinks all this number-crunching is messing up his performances in CYO games. "I'm always thinking about stats," he said. "If I make one of my first two shots, before I shoot the third time I'll be thinking, 'If I miss this, I'll go down to 33 percent.' " What can we say, life is stressful.
   Update: Jack sent me this e-mail after his game tonight . . .
   "The number crunching didn't affect me tonight as I went for 19 points (6/14 floor, 7/9 line), 5 rebounds, 4 asssists, and 4 steals in a 57-55 victory. Yeah, baby!! Have you ever heard of a player who keeps his own stats while he plays!? Ha ha! (The rebounds, assists and steals are rough figures, but the shooting is exact!)" 

JAN. 17
CATHOLIC SOUTH
Roman 57, West Catholic 50
   Kind of a strange game. It was reasonably enjoyable and a decent crowd was on hand, but it didn't quite have full "teeth," if you know what I mean. And then, the waning moments left everyone disappointed, even disturbed, because Roman sr. F-C Malik Perry and West sr. F-C Derrell Hand had a brief, yet explosive fight along the sideline across the court from West's bench. Perry got the story and coach Dennis Seddon stood right nearby as I interviewed him, and he'd told Malik not to make any comments about the fight. I wasn't going to ask anyway, but it would have been nice if he'd had the chance to express some regret. He's not considered a knucklehead and neither is Hand. They'll both get one-game suspensions and I guess there's a possibility of further punishment, though I'm not sure anyone has the fight on tape because it started slightly after a turnover and cameras might have been turned off. It was not cool to see a bunch of people rush to that area because things definitely could have escalated to All-Time Ugly. I liked how West coach Bill Ludlow gained control by taking the microphone and asking the kids scattered around the gym to sit back down so the game could be finished. (The refs briefly mulled halting it.) When a few kids were slow to respond, Ludlow barked at them in an angry tone and got what he wanted. As adults applauded, he added, "There's enough violence in this neighborhood! We don't need this tonight!" The game finished without further incident. The 6-4, 215-pound Perry, a supreme leaper, is being eyed by St. Francis (Pa.) and Central Connecticut, shot 6-for-8 and 7-for-9 for 19 points, while adding six rebounds and three steals. His foul shooting was formerly treacherous, as was his jumper, really, but he has worked on both and it shows. Jr. F Mike Ringgold a few times used his tricky-dick footwork around the basket en route to 12 points. He added six boards. Soph WG-SF Brad Wanamaker, who's quite comfortable at a spot (the baseline) where that's not always easy -- that was one thing that made all of us love La Salle's Steve Smith so much during his senior year at Northeast -- mixed six points, three assists and two steals. Sr. G Bobby Jordan overall was not too much of a factor. He made a series of important contributions right near the end, though, and that was what was needed. His right baseline jumper provided a 54-48 lead with 1:10 left. At the other end, West frosh WG Eric Brennan (the FB QB) missed a trey. Jordan grabbed the board and converted a double bonus. He later hit one more free throw. Jr. Raymond "Doodles" Sims, the other PG, had three assists and four steals. West's coaches had be dumbfounded and/or hissed over the whistle pattern. Roman shot 27 free throws, sprinkled throughout the game, and West shot seven. It didn't shoot No. 3 until 7:33 remained. Sr. G-F Joe Askew is an interesting player. He looks very young in the face and has very little overall polish, but he can jump like crazy and his instincts are tremendous. He appeared to know exactly where, and when, balls would be coming off the glass/rim and took advantage for follows. He's a down-the-road player. Jr. WG Chris Mayo went 4-for-6 on treys en route to 13 points. Sr. F Maurice Denton mixed seven points and as many boards. Hand, who spent the weekend on a FB recruiting trip to Notre Dame, did not have his legs. He went 0-for-8 from the floor and some were way short. He sank his two foul shots, and added six boards, two assists and three steals. La Salle assistant Horace "Pappy" Owens was in attendance, as was back-in-the-day Roman star Tarone Thornton. Amauro, Huck and I sat together along one baseline (we used seats in Huck's season ticket area -- ha ha) and Roman student reporter Steve "Hoopin' With" Hosack was not far away. He came over afterward to introduce himself and I took his picture. Even though his nickname is Bubba, he's a thin kid (smile). It must be one of those reverse-psychology nicknames. (I've since been told that Steve has lost a whole bunch of weight with the hope of winning a golf scholarship. Very cool!). Meanwhile . . . While walking through West's cafeteria, I saw a sign heralding Jan. 20 as Krispy Kreme donut day. Hmmmmm.

JAN. 16
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Dougherty 72, McDevitt 47
   Playoff football game? What playoff football game? Two others punked out and switched their games to Monday night in deference to the Eagles-Vikings tilt, but not the good, ol' Lancers. And it didn't bother me in the least. I cover high school sports and that's more important than pro sports any day in the week! (smile). Look for my DN story about 70 pages deep in the sports section (ha ha). Anyway, this was my first look at Dougherty and the Cards were quite impressive. They played hard and unselfishly and, best of all, there were no long faces on guys who were removed for subs. Coach Mark Heimerdinger used a nine-man rotation. The last two-three seasons were trying for "Ding" and his assistants because some of his players had abundant egos and tended to be hard-headed. Not these guys. The leader is sr. G Dwight Lyons, a lesser-light sub last season. He's a feisty lefty who plays both spots and in this one he hit all of his shots for 14 points (5-for-5 from floor, 3-for-3 on treys, 1-for-1 at line). He also dished three assists and all came in a 28-5 first quarter; as did eight of his points. Yes, you read that correctly. The score after one quarter was 28-5! CD went 6-for-8 on treys and 5-for-7 on regulars. Phew! Soph WG Kahlil Mumford hit his first three shots from Arcdom. Overall, the most impressive Redbird was soph G Josh Martin. He had 15 points, 11 rebounds and four assists and more than once was allowed to go up top and break down his defender with quick, under-control bursts. Sr. C Chris McNicholas starts, but overall does not see lengthy playing time. He sure adds toughness, though, and he grabbed eight rebounds (five in the third quarter). Soph G Justin Minter had 10 points. McDevitt never recovered from the first quarter disaster. Sr. combo G Gregory Stitt is out with a collarbone/shoulder injury and sr. C Leroi Taylor, the victim of severe foul trouble, somehow finished with no points and no rebounds. Sr. WG Richard Womack scored 26 points, but this was not a good day. He shot 8-for-27 overall, missing his first five shots of the first half and first six of the second. He did go 5-for-12 on treys and made five steals. (I wrote about Richard last week and mentioned that his father, Ricky, was a pretty good FB player for Dobbins in 1978. I then received an e-mail from Ricky's sister, who mentioned that their father, Dick Womack, had been a strong track performer at Overbrook. Indeed! In 1950, he set the PL record in the high hurdles. Three generations of productive athletes. Very nice!). Sr. SF Andrew Crawford hustled and bustled for nine rebounds. Sr. G Steven Merlini had nine points, five boards and two assists. Jr. G Tom Maha also had five boards. Father Bill Chiriaco, McDevitt's PA announcer, turned in another strong performance with entertaining comments and varied music. He also provided some Eagles updates. Kudos to ref George Geiss, one of the all-time good guys. When a McDevitt player scrambled back downcourt to prevent a Dougherty basket after a steal, George told him, "That was nice hustle. Good play. Good defense." Nothing wrong with showing a human side. CD soph Robert Townsend made the play of the game as the first half ended, intercepting a pass and making an all-in-one-motion toss while still airborne to jr. Vincent Simpson for a buzzer-beating layup.

JAN. 14
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Episcopal 52, Gtn. Academy 51
   What a wonderful night! Kids ($3) and adults ($5; proceeds to tsunami relief) kept streaming into St. Joe's Fieldhouse and filled it, eventually, almost to capacity. And the strong suspicion is, the talk about this game will go on for a mighty long time, especially as the eventual hero, jr. WG-SF Wayne Ellington, continues onward in what promises to be a noteworthy career. Maybe even a star-studded career that leads to big paychecks. With his team trailing, 52-51 (more later on how it came to trail), Ellington raced hard down the right side and, while drawing contact from sr. F Ryan Ayers, and just after stumbling (he said his leg kind of gave way; it wasn't an injury), flipped a layup off the glass with 3.2 seconds remaining. It was a special play by a special player and it ranked as poetic justice, considering how Ellington had scored almost half of EA's points. And how he had entertained/impressed the crowd all night. Ellington, whose game features many Kobe Bryant elements, shot 10-for-20 (one trey) and 4-for-5 for 25 points. He added four rebounds and two steals. Ellington missed his add-one free throw, but that was probably a good thing. The Patriots had to create on the fly after 6-10 jr. Andrew Ott grabbed his 10th rebound and did not get off a good shot. Now, as for the late-game setup . . . In the entire history of basketball, at any level, at least in games with a normal pace, how many teams do you think have gone an entire game without a turnover? Well, EA came close. Their first boo-boo came with 1:08 left! Amazing! And the Churchmen finished with only TWO! Two turnovers in a high school game. Can you believe that!? Anyway, a quick, six-point burst -- Ellington's reverse layup off a pass from sr. F Joe Rosati; dunk by the other jr. headliner, F Gerald Henderson (eight points, 11 boards, four assists), off a fastbreak pass by sr. PG Dylan Brown; Ellington's trey off Rosati's pass -- gave Episcopal a 48-36 lead with 5:12 left. But then the Churchmen made a few shaky decisions on shot selection while spreading the floor and GA kept hanging and charging hard thanks to consecutive treys from soph PG Kyle Griffin (12 points, all on treys), sr. WG Kirk Jones and Ayers (13, Notre Dame signee). Ayers' three brought the Patriots within 48-45 with 2:34 left. Until Ellington's basket, all scoring thereafter was done at the line. The teams will next tee it up Feb. 1, 6:30 start, at Arcadia University, in Glenside. That place holds at least 1,000 fewer people, so you might want to get in line now (smile). Honestly, I'd like to see GA agree to come back to St. Joe's so both games could be played in this terrific venue. (But since it's basically across the street from Episcopal, methinks that won't happen -- smile. The Eagles' Brian Westbrook was among the spectators. He played in one of the country's most tradition steeped basketball programs, at DeMatha in Hyattsville, Md. After the game, St. Joe's coach Phil Martelli and Drexel coach Bruiser Flint (an All-City PG for EA in 1983) were hanging out with coach Dan Dougherty. With a laugh, Phil told Dan the quality of play in this one was the best he'd seen this season in the Fieldhouse.

JAN. 13
PUBLIC LEAGUE
Central 60, Univ. City 45
   As often happens, unfortunately, when dealing with so many games over four years, there was a little bit of a gray area over how many points sr. WG-SF Scott Rodgers (Drexel signee) needed to hit 1,000 for his career. We had him for 979 going in, but I'd gotten word that he'd been shortchanged a couple of points in recent outings. Plus, I got distracted a little bit late in the game and gave an OK sign to AD Frank Greco when he suggested Scott needed just one point with 37.4 seconds left after he drew a foul just while starting a tough move toward the lane. He made the first free throw, the students went nuts, there was a brief stoppage so Greco could lay out the details, then Rodgers whipped the ball into the stands while trying to get it to his girlfriend. (My DN story goes into more detail -- smile.) He then made the second free throw to finish with 20 points. How'd he shoot? Um, not good. Rodgers went 6-for-18 from the floor and said afterward he was a little nervous because coach Haviland Harper had told him he was close to 1,000, but not HOW close. Early? Well, he began with three treys and the third bounced in off the glass. Though he wasn't in foul trouble, he sat for the first 90 seconds of the second quarter and was no longer in the flow upon his return. He barely missed some mostly tight shots, but did get off a vicious dunk in transition. He also had eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. Jr. G Kenny St. George turned in an excellent performance, shooting 9-for-13 and 3-for-5 on treys for 21 points. He showed a smooth demeanor and let the game come to him. He also claimed six boards and three assists. Sr. SF Andre Woodlin -- there are no true inside players on this squad -- mixed 10 points, five boards two assists and three steals. Jr. combo G Rashiid Coleman had five steals. UC dug itself a 25-12 hole after one quarter and could not recover. The Jaguars had some ballhandling woes early and Central took full advantage. Sr. Anthony Morrison, a somewhat bulky lefty and UC's best player, had 15 points, six boards and four steals. I like how "Tank" approaches the game and he has a decent long-range shot (3-for-7 on treys), but his lack of quickness means he'll have to be careful in picking a school. Might have to be D-III. Nothing wrong with that, as I feel he'll have an excellent career somewhere. Sr. SF Ervin Jordan totaled 14 points and six boards. He has been mostly posting double figures on the glass, coach Lou Williams said. I remember liking jr. PG Aaron Stephens a lot last year. He was so-so today and he began the game on the wing (he was not the cause of early problems). The game itself had trouble sustaining quality play, so we won't hold it against him. He did have three apiece of assists and steals. The Jaguars had some horrible, not-even-close misses at the foul line (11-for-23 total).

JAN. 11
PUBLIC LEAGUE
Franklin 55, Strawberry Mansion 48
   The word this season was that Franklin's gym was resembling a ghost town. That the games were mostly lifeless and fans were staying away. But, hey, the Franklin people all know the Mansion people, from players to fans, and you KNEW this one would produce some excitement. There were occasional plays to stir the emotions all game long, but the absolute highlight was a 3-minute, 20-second stretch to start the third quarter. Franklin reeled off 16 points, to NONE for Mansion. Wild! Crazy! The outburst began when sr. PG Deondray King drained a trey. Then, sr. G Jason Blake made a steal and passed ahead to sr. WG Andre "Aynee" Glover, who threw down a dunk. Then, Glover hit a free throw; sr. PF-C John Warren (10 rebounds) canned a follow; Glover hit another free throw; Blake made a steal and basket; King hit another trey on a pass from Glover; and Glover made two more free throws after getting fouled on the FIFTH shot of a Franklin possession. Phew! The Electrons maintained from there. My DN story focused on Glover, a 6-2, 190-pound lefty who's virtually uncoverable in the open floor (and also in the closed floor -- smile). He gets where he wants to go again and again and again, and usually finishes. He was a shade off in this one, going 10-for-24 from the floor and 7-for-12 at the line. He also bagged nine rebounds and two apiece of assists, steals and blocked shots. He'll need prep school or JC, but, man, can he go. A coach at a school with an up-tempo approach needs to begin developing a relationship now. Aside from giving you points, he'll also improve your attendance. I was again impressed with Mansion's Matthew "Moo" Johnson, a jr. WG. He shows that classic good-lift, nice-form jumper and doesn't have to be wide open to hit it, either. He went 5-for-10 on treys en route to 22 points. Sr. SF Leon "Squeek" Rollins had to settle for 15 points while shooting just 5-for-18. But he added 12 boards and five assists. Jr. G Eugene Moss is back at Mansion after starting the season with a school in Delaware. He needs to square away his medical-exam issues, and is hoping to play Saturday in a non-league game at Overbrook. Once he gets re-acclimated, Mansion could be in for some fun times. As always when I see Mansion, I had a nice pre-game chat with coach Gerald Hendricks. He's a gentleman and a great role model for his players, and he always maintains the proper perspective.

JAN. 10
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Carroll 72, Kennedy-Kenrick 49
   The Patriots established early, convincing command and removed most of the starch from the game. Interim coach Lou Becht subbed early and often and so did his K-K counterpart, Mike Fink. Lou's guys played better (smile). Sr. PG Anthony Watson got the Patriots rolling to a 14-4 lead after one quarter with two of his seven steals and two of his four steals in addition to one trey. As the second quarter started, he made a steal and flip-ahead to sr. F Eugene Adams, who wolfed down a dunk. Ballgame, pretty much. Adams shot 8-for-9 for 16 points. He looked pretty quick around the hoop. Jr. C Dutch Gaitley is a serious big'un. He stands 6-9 and weighs much more than most people (smile). He's not really fat, though. Just thick. I told him since he's not a hick, we can't call him "Big Country." So "Big Suburbs" it'll be. He seemed to get a kick out of that. K-K's top guy in this one was soph F Scott Marston, even though he didn't score. He missed all four of his shots, but man was he active. A slinky type, he hustled for 14 boards, three assists, three steals and two blocks. Also, I heard him several times imitating the voice of one referee after calls were made. Pretty funny. Sr. F Tom Amenta got it going some in the third and fourth quarters. He made tough inside moves to draw fouls and then went 7-for-9 at the line. His best play came when he made a one-handed stab of a carom and finished for a three-point play. Soph WG Tim Bowman scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter. Carroll's student rooters were the game's MVPs. They maintained game-long emotion, along with high entertainent value. When K-K's guys were attempting free throws, they yelled "Dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble and . . . shoot!" to mirror exactly what was happening. A few times early, they yelled, "He's a freshman!" when G Ellis Rogers made plays. Late in the game, Rogers drained a trey and they yelled, "He's STILL a freshman." They saved their biggest outpouring of emotion for deep sub Tomas Arechabala, a sr. F. When Tomas took a pass from Rogers deep along the baseline and then somehow curled in a reverse layup, they went bonkers. Oh, one more thing: During halftime, the kids scrambled out of the stands and hustled across to the entrance where the players would be returning to the court. They formed lines on both sides of the door and high-fived the Patriots as they walked/trotted past. Very cool! Late in the game, Becht was walking up and down in front of his bench, trying to decide who to put in. I was sitting in the first row nearby and leaned forward, making like I was ready for action. He saw me and smiled, but other guys got the call. Oh, well. If nothing else, I could have added a couple of turnovers to the stat sheet.

JAN. 10
PUBLIC LEAGUE
Franklin LC 45, Imhotep 41
   This one did not start off as a memory-maker. There was hardly anyone on hand at Lonnie Young Rec Center, in East Germantown, and the teams were mostly sleepwalking. Later, some Imhotep students strolled in and among them was the drill team (with LOUD drums) and the game wound up being a positive experience. FLC had to go without sr. PF William Logan (illness), and that meant coach Cedric Powell needed 6-7, 210-pound sr. Denis Delli to take up the slack. Not so much in the scoring column, because that's really not Delli's thing. He just had to be a force in the middle against the Panthers, who mostly like to slash, and that he was. Delli missed his only two shots from the floor and went 5-for-8 at the line. He also grabbed four rebounds and notched seven blocked shots and more than once, merely by presenting himself at exactly the right instant, he caused penetrating Panthers to alter their shots or make impromptu passes that sailed out of bounds. On two occasions, he recorded back-to-back blocks against the very same shooter. Delli's final act of intimidation came with FLC holding a 42-41 lead. Soph PG Jermaine Washington came down the lane. Delli stepped over and Washington threw up a ill-conceived shot that had no chance. The Bobcats got out on the break. Jr. WG Sharif Bolton passed ahead for an easy basket to soph F Jeffrey Ellison (eight points, six boards). Soph PG Malcolm Eleby then made a steal and hit one of two free throws at 0:05.4 to clinch it. Eleby, still recovering from illness, had 13 points, four assists and four steals. He's a lefty and already crafty. In time, he'll be mentioned in the same breath with some other recent-vintage, high-quality Bobcat guards. The WG, jr. Brandon Williams, had eight points, two assists and four steals. Dante Wooten, a soph who goes about 6-6, played some in the first half. Also a lefty, he bears watching, though for now he's still quite raw. Imhotep's Curtis Jackson, a jr. WG who has to often line up as a SF, turned in a strong performance. He recorded 19 points and 11 boards and twice made nifty passes for assists when FLC defenders began running toward him. Sr. handyman Keith "Simms" Mitchell had nine points, seven boards and two assists. Sr. Dominic Washington, the only Panther with a hint of height (he's maybe 6-3/6-4), claimed six rebounds. At one point, Powell yelled to a player that, if he didn't start doing things right, "I'm gonna bust you in the head!!" He then turned to me and said with a smile, "Not really, but that's how I have to talk to these guys."

JAN. 9
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
McDevitt 58, La Salle 45
   This game wasn't over after one quarter because La Salle hustled and showed game-long life and even caused the Lancers just a hint of consternation. But in actuality, the first quarter decided it because McDevitt posted a 12-4 edge, and eased into halftime with a 25-14 edge. Sr. WG Richard Womack, like last Sunday, was again impressive. Both with on-the-move pullups and stand-still shots, he scored 13 of McDevitt's first 15 points. He passed to jr. F Tom Clarke for a basket that made it 17-8, then scored again on a break for 19-8 arithmetic. Soon thereafter he upped his total to 17 (of 22) on a pass from sr. PG Gregory Stitt (five assists, seven steals, even seven rebounds). Womack did not ring up, say, 35 or 40 points. He calmed down (smile), but finished with 22 points while shooting 9-for-17 (2-for-6 on treys) and -- somehow, because he has a nice stroke -- 2-for-7 at the line. He also snagged seven rebounds while adding three steals and two assists. (During our interview, I discovered Richard is the son of Ricky Womack, star receiver for Dobbins in 1978. Part of getting older, troops. Everywhere I go are sons of guys I used to cover -- smile). I mentioned some of Stitt's stats above. He scored just three points while going 1-for-9 from the floor. He also had too many sloppy turnovers. If he would downshift his game just a little, he'd be unmatched among CL point guards. Sr. WG-SF Ryan Gibbons did an excellent job chasing Stitt all over the floor. Sr. F Leroi Taylor mixed 11 points, seven boards and three blocks. He hardly saw the ball at all in the first half. Sr. SF Andrew Crawford was also much more of a factor in the second half, finishing with 11 points and nine boards. La Salle's leader was sr. PF Joe Sobocinski, who shot 9-for-19 and 2-for-2 for 20 points. A rugged DE in football, "Sobo" is a tough nut in traffic and has the ability to plant his feet, lift with authority and get off well-conceived shots even with two-three hands in his face. He also grabbed 11 boards. He's the only Explorer with a chance to score with any kind of regularity. First-year coach Joe Dempsey is trying his darndest to help his inexperienced, undertalented squad survive. Two freshman are now in the rotation. F Joe Migliarese (four points, six boards) has been in there for a while. PG Mike Topley, a short/slight kid but definitely one with brass (and ballhandling skills), was making his varsity debut. He didn't come close to cracking, nailing a left-corner trey while getting hammered and going 4-for-5 at the line. In an oddity, the guy who shoots technical fouls is 6-7 sr. Brian Carlin. He went 3-for-4 on T's. Strangely, there were very few students at this game. At least students that were making noise. At most LaS/McD games, the chants and cube-busting are as good as, or better, than the on-court action. Not even Jack "In the Box" Crouse was in the house. What's with that? Among those who was: Joe Winning, former manager for the basketball squad and FB quarterback. He played in the 2002 season and we called him "Joe F. Winning" because his cousin, "Joe W. Winning", was also on the squad. Gotta keep this stuff straight, right? (smile). Also on hand was Charley Greenberg, long-ago coach at Judge and the new Markward Club president. His nephew, Chip Greenberg, was a La Salle all-timer and our City Player of the Year in 1982. Meanwhile, I know Carlin is the son of ex-Kenrick RB star Jawood Carlin and I strongly suspect Migliarese is the son/nephew of Mike Migliarese, a first team All-City outfielder for Kenrick.

JAN. 8
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Malvern 70, Penn Charter 66 (2 OTs)
   What a way to open the league campaign! The Friars blew a 10-point lead in the final 3:08 of regulation, then regrouped and went on to claim the win. Excuse the absence of the usual pattern -- winning team's info first, losing team's info second -- but we must begin with PC soph guard Sam/Sammy Zeglinski (we're still waiting for him to reveal his preference -- smile.) He put on a wildly entertaining show until fouling on a ticky-tack reach (ref Ron Arthur surely could have ignored it) with 2:37 left in the second OT. How wildly entertaining? Well, he generated 29 points and seven assists and eight of his field goals were treys! He went 8-for-19 from The Land of Three-Balls and hit his final four attempts in the fourth quarter, stirring the crowd to a large degree. At least a couple successes were from the 23-, 24-foot range, too, which made things even better. What a week for the Ziggy family. Joe, of Ryan, scored his 1,000th career point Monday night and Sam/Sammy posted a monster performance today. OK, back to basics (smile) . . . Malvern received noteworthy contributions from multiple players. Sr. PF-C Matt Borgerson shot 10-for-14 en route to 21 points; he also bagged 10 rebounds. I like how, in the tradition of Penn's Mark Zoller (SJ Prep), he doesn't mess around with the ball. It's in and out of his hands and good things often happen. Jr. PG Mike Creighton had 16 points, six assists and four steals. He missed too many free throws to suit me (and his coaches, I'm sure; he was 5-for-11), but he was an effective force throughout ad he'll have many more good days over the next season and a half. Jr. WG Jimmie Cotton missed a large chunk of time due to foul trouble. He nevertheless scored 15 points and played some tough, lock-down defense on Zeglinski late in regulation and into OT. Jr. F Tom Grandieri, aside from kidding around before and afterward with website reporter Andrew "Drew, For Two!" Flanagan (smile), plucked nine boards, most of the in-traffic variety, and distributed four assists. Jr. F Kevin Dougherty added seven points, eight boards, three assists and three steals. See what I mean from these stats? The Friars were well-balanced in all areas. Off the bench, sr. G Zac "Wawa" Fordham stuck a trey and so. F Paul Ostick scrambled for four points. PC will be kicking itself for a while for droppin this one. Yes, the furious rally from a 10-point deficit was tremendous. Missing four consecutive free throws within 1.2 seconds in the second OT was not. With Zeglinski well-covered by Cotton, jr. G Kevin McGarvey (14 points) had a chance to end it in the last moments of regulation. His 15-footer from the left side did not connect. Zeglinski missed a fading-back, 23-foot push shot as the first OT ended. Jr. F Brian Teuber mixed 12 points, seven boards and three blocks. Jr. F R.J. Lyons, a sub, had 10 boards. In the second OT, jr. G Milo Trauss, who usually plays very little, grabbed a tough rebound and then went to the line and calmly converted a double-bonus. Nice job! The Quakers were hurt when jr. F Joe Rauchut fouled out with 6:48 left in the fourth quarter. It's not that he's a great player. It's that he's a non-stop hustler and does every little thing imaginable. Creighton's steal and layup put Malvern ahead for good, at 67-66, with 1:07 left. Dougherty added a pair of free throws at 17.3 and PC used its last timeout at 13.0. Teuber missed a trey from near the top of the key and Cotton, after grabbing the rebound, added the second of two free throws at 0:00.7 to end it. Don't be surprised if PC's Zack Zeglinski (knee miseries) makes it back before the end of the season. He's making quick progress. "Special Ed" Morrone, who lit up the website last year while writing about PC, was in attendance. He's a freshman at Hofstra and earned a 3.9 GPA first semester. He's also working for the athletic department and writing for the school paper, and he could be in line for an editor's post when he goes back to school later this month. Wonderful!       

JAN. 7
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Neumann-Goretti 66, Roman 58
   The gym in this "consolidation" of Neumann and Goretti, in Goretti's old building at 10th and Moore, seats about 350 fewer people than Neumann's former building 16 blocks away. So, with a big matchup in the offing, people knew they had to get there early, or else. People were being turned away at about the same time the JV game was starting. Legendary. N-G was ranked 17th in the country last Tuesday in USA Today and has yet to lose. It was pushed HARD by Roman in this one. The outcome was still in doubt until the last 15-20 seconds. The game was taped by CN8 for showing Saturday at 3 p.m. and the refs got plenty of face time early (smile) with a series of ticky-tack fouls. The non-stop whistles were annoying, especially since none of the foulers was getting his money's worth. Anyway, things settled down and the game became thoroughly enjoyable. My DN story highlighted 6-5 jr. F Earl Pettis, who'd been sick Tuesday through Thursday. He was scoreless at halftime, but finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and three steals. Also starring were the Gs, jr. Derrick "D.J." Rivera and soph Antonio "Scoop" Jardine. Rivera buried three treys en route to 20 points while Jardine had 15 points, five assists and four steals. Both are springy and long-limbed and they caused significant problems for the smaller guys they were covering and/or shading -- srs. Bobby Jordan and Billy Lally and jr. Raymond "Doodles" Sims. Those three combined to shoot 2-for-17 so all but five of Roman's points were literally scored in the paint or pretty darn close to it. Or at the line, of course, where Roman went a stinky 11-for-20. Sr. F David Burton had a mostly quiet night, with five points and seven boards. Soph C Richard Jackson, a lefty like Rivera, is perhaps the city's most improved player. He did a couple of impressive things -- his footwork is so much better -- and he finished with eight points, seven boards and three blocks. For Roman, jr. F Mike Ringgold had a few positioning issues early and was a shade disoriented. He then got it going, though, and looked quite comfortable en route to 22 points and 12 boards. He clearly outhustled the Saints on more than a few occasions and N-G coach Carl Arrigale wasn't happy about it. Sr. F-C Malik "Mad Hops" Perry had 16 points and 10 boards. Among the starters was soph SF Bradley Wanamaker. He had to be nervous, but it didn't show. He went for 15 points and seven carom-clutches (it's 2:10 a.m.; I'm getting giddy -- smile) and showed good instincts on the near wings and along the baseline. As he gets more and more comfortable, he'll undoubtedly step beyond the arc every so often. With 2:21 left, Lally hit a deep trey to slice N-G's lead to 59-58. The Saints worked the clock and Pettis hit a pair of free throws at 59.8. He clinched the win with a one-and-one at 11.9, then added a FG just before the buzzer. In the first half, one of N-G's players dropped an F-bomb during a timeout. Quickly realizing he'd messed up, and that adults were sitting in the second row, he said to them in the way of apology, "My fault, y'all." In the first three minutes, Roman fell behind, 6-0, while going 0-for-7 with three turnovers. Phew. N-G's student rooters hung out in a section of stands called the InSaints Asylum. Their leader was Anthony Miller. At least that's what he'd have us believe (smile). Among the spectators: Phil Martelli, Sonny Hill, Donnie Carr, Dallas Comegys, Billy Hahn . . .

JAN. 7
PUBLIC LEAGUE
Bartram 74, Overbrook 57
   The Bartram Braves are the 2005 Pub hoops champion! Well, they will be later on if they play as well as they did deep into third quarter of this makeup game. They were aggressive, unselfish, smart and in a serious flow. They played sticky defense against the tentative Panthers, then flew downcourt like stacks of money were at the other end. By halftime, Bartram had 10 assists and eight steals and the score was 41-23. The Braves, in fact, scored 20 points in the first 5 minutes, 10 seconds. Outstanding start and first 16 minutes! I can't emphasize that enough. The overall stars were sr. G Marquise Carrington, who is beginning to stir the curiosity of D-I coaches. Amauro said he has received several calls and has been trying to spread the word about this talented whirlwind with a 900 SAT score. Carrington finished with 11 points, seven assists, six steals and five rebounds. He's about 5-10/5-11, but dunked one time with NO problem. See below for my report from the Bartram-Bok game earlier this week to read more about him. Sr. SF Daziah Miller also had a huge performance. He always showed bursts, but now looks much more self-assured and comfortable and he appears to relish making the right plays most of the time instead of the spectacular plays every so often. He had 18 points, 11 boards and four assists and twice wolfed down dunks. Carrington's backcourt partner, jr. lefty Jernardo Lucas, shot 6-for-8 for 12 points and worked in perfect harmony at both ends with his teammates. The early tone-establisher was sr. PF-C Sherman "Shermanator" Hopkins, who goes about 6-4, 210 and was a rather impressive FB receiver. He was a man possessed in the beginning, packing nine points and five boards into the first quarter! Soph John "Fudgie" Pratt, who last fall rushed for 1,000-plus yards, went 4-for-6 at the line in the late going after the headliners were removed. The first time I saw 'Brook, a few of the small guards had decent performances. Not today. They were no match for Bartram's guys and the inside players, in turn, had trouble matching their usual contributions. Sr. SF Tyrick "Pookie" Moy did have 12 points and five boards. John Snyder, someone I wasn't familiar with, had six points, six boards and two blocks off the bench. Like Moy, he wears his hair in braids and resembles him somewhat. Moy is No. 15. Snyder is No. 12. Stat-keepers had to pay strict attention (smile). Had a great pre-game talk with 'Brook assistant Ron Ford, formerly the head coach, about back-in-the-day Pub hoops and the beginnings of the Baker League.

JAN. 6
PUBLIC LEAGUE
Saul 63, Nueva Esperanza 59
   Through the years, I've often had great times in all sports covering games between serious have-nots. Today's menu featured winless teams at the bottom of The Pub's small-enrollment Division C. I enjoyed myself thoroughly. Neither team had head cases. Neither team had selfish players. There were no AAU coaches convincing the players to do something other than their school coaches were telling them. No players who'd been stolen from other programs. This was fun, and refreshing, and the game was still in doubt until the final 4 seconds. How could anyone ask for more? Saul, pounded two days earlier by Prep Charter to the tune of 106-23 (major ouch!!!), has a varsity for the first time, and the Razorbacks had dropped their first eight. NE is now 0-8. Saul's primary hero was sr. WG-SF Kashif Green, who shot 11-for-15 (one trey) for 23 points, grabbed nine rebounds and made two steals. He mostly scored off penetration, as did playalike sr. Jamar Jiles (14 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks). The one Saul player with bulk, sr. PF Tamboura Adens, was hindered by foul trouble. He had to settle for six points, 12 boards and six assists. He made some excellent passes from the lane area. Jr. PG Travis Conner had five assists and three steals. His backup, jr. Royce Weldon, had three dishes. NE's most impressive player was soph Randy Brinkley. He's about 6-2 and built like a fullback, but he had no hesitation playing out on the wing and went 4-for-6 on treys en route to 19 points. Niiiice! Freshman Charles Campbell posted 14 points, 10 rebounds and six steals, but somehow went 0-for-7 at the line. Jr. PG Eric Drew is quick and reasonably crafty. He shot just 2-for-13 from the floor, though. He did add five assists. Sr. hustler Alex Maldonado mixed six points and as many assists. Here's what happened in the waning moments: Saul jr. G Tyrice James broke a 59-59 tie by hitting two free throws with 34 seconds left. Drew flew downcourt and had his layup blocked by Jiles, with the ball squirting over to James. Though James missed a one-and-one, Green rebounded. Green also failed to convert a one-and-one, but forced a jump ball with Brinkley and the arrow was favoring Saul. Jiles added clinching free throws at 0:04. The 20-odd Saul kids in attendance raced across the court to celebrate and you would have thought The Pub title had just been won. My man Jack "In the Box" Crouse, the La Salle football player, was on hand to help with stats and I gave him my scorebook to write down the names/numbers on his stat sheet. Later, I noticed very small light brown stains on the Saul page in my book. Jack had been drinking a soda. Hmmmmm! Had he messed up my scorebook, one of the all-time cardinal sins? "My soda was Sprite," he said. He even removed the top to show there was no brown liquid inside. Hmmmmm again! Here's my theory: the bottom of the cup had a little liquid on it and the stains came from the liquid coming in contact with Jack's brown clipboard. The clipboard must be cheaply made. The liquid must have messed with the surface (smile). Quite coyly, Jack said, "We'll have to send the evidence to forensics." Should I just assume he was guilty and deduct a few bucks from his pay? (smile)

JAN. 4
CATHOLIC SOUTH
SJ Prep 57, Roman 50
   Speedy Morris continued his mastery against the school where he first made his coaching bones. He's 6-1 in CL games in four seasons against Roman and, like some of the others, this one was played before a full house at Philly Univ. (Overall, Speedy is 7-1 vs. Roman. The extra win came last year in the Alhambra Tournament. Sorry for neglecting to mention that when this report first was posted.) Student reporters Colin Curtin and Steve Hosack have already weighed in. My DN story focused on sr. G-F Corey O'Rourke, who was at his best when the Hawks needed him to be -- the fourth quarter. He had nine of his 14 points and made a series of bold-relief plays, most in a 12-4 burst that created a 48-44 lead. In order, he hustled for a follow, swished a pair of free throws and then made a nice pass off an inbound play to get jr. SF Reggie Redding (20 points, six boards) an easy bucket. After O'Rourke missed the back end of a one-and-one, frosh F-C Larry Loughery (seven boards), Redding and then O'Rourke himself scrapped for follows and Corey's shot went in to make it 48-44. Sr. PG Joe Fox had 13 points and two assists. This was my first look at Roman this season. The Cahillites were hurt by early foul trouble to sr. F Malik Perry, who had to settle for 10 points and seven boards. Sr. G Bobby Jordan, now mostly playing on the wing, had a night to forget. He went 1-for-11 from the floor and many of his shots were ill-advised forces. A few drew groans from Roman's fans. Bobby is a veteran and he was probably groaning to himself. He knows better. He just couldn't help himself in this one. Sr. WG Billy Lally, on the other hand, played within himself and went 5-for-9 for 10 points. He also had to sit for a while and his absence hurt the Cahillites. Mike Ringgold, a jr. F, made a good first impression with 14 points and seven boards. As did soph Bradley Wanamaker, one of the twins. He had eight points and five boards off the bench, but did foul out mostly due to ticky-tacks. His brother, Brian, went scoreless in a brief appearance. Hockey Puck sat behind Amauro and me and, of course, drove us nuts with crazy comments throughout. The Speedster wore his lucky light blue sweater. I hope he washes that thing every once in a while (smile).

JAN. 4
PUBLIC LEAGUE
Bartram 80, Bok 71
   Just another wild day in the good, ol' Pub. There was all kinds of runnin' and flyin' and pumpin' and for part of it, there was also slippin' and slidin' and fallin'. Bok's gym was very cold when the game began. As time went on, the body heat from players, spectators, etc., caused moisture to coat part of the floor at the west end of the gym. With 6:11 left in the third quarter, Bok sr. SF Lamont Butler drove hard to the hoop and, whoops!, his legs went out from under him and he hit his head kind of hard on the floor. The refs stopped play and used a mop/towel to make the floor dry. They also propped open three windows to make the gym colder again. I was sitting near one of them. On went my coat (smile). The headliner in this one was 5-11 sr. G Marquise Carrington, who went for 36 points while displaying an impressive amount of get-to-the-basket savvy along with a strong stop-and-pop intermediate game. Again and again he got near the rim, jumped, stayed in the air, stayed in the air some more and found a way to finish or draw fouls. Excellent body control! He shot 12-for-18 from the floor, yet only 12-for-21 at the line. He also had five rebounds, two assists and three steals. Marquise is a solid student with a 900 SAT score and is drawing interest from Univ. of the Sciences and Widener. He's hoping Drexel will come calling. The kid can go! That's not a far-fetched hope. Sr. F-C Daziah Miller had some foul miseries, but still finished with 16 points. He appears to be in excellent shape. Sr. Bryen Spriggs is mostly a SF, but he even played some PG. He did a little of everything with six points, five boards, four assists, two steals and three blocks. He's a lean, limby kid with nice potential. Jr. G Jernardo Lucas, a lefty, is muscular and tenacious. He concentrated exclusively on defense in the first half while doing a great job on Bok whirlwind Marquise Salley. He finished with 13 points. Coach Lou Biester is still mixing and matching overall as his roster includes a whole bunch of guys with similar skills. Though Salley finished with 17 points, he did not have a good day. Ten came in what amounted to garbage time and he did not score a field goal, on a layup, until late in the third quarter. I still like him, though. Butler, one of those slinky guys, had 18 points, four boards, four assists and five steals. Sr. G Cory Moultrie, a star FB player, shot 8-for-13 en route to 19 points. He added four dishes in a satisfying overall effort. Sr. PF-C Keith Mitchell claimed 11 rebounds. At halftime there was a mini-ceremony to honor Bok product Rodney McCarter, a starting d-back for James Madison's Division I-AA national champs!! Basketball coach Lloyd Jenkins, also a FB assistant, said, "This is so great. Every time I think about it, that I coached a kid who went on to win a national championship, I get chills. Despite everything that goes on, and all the things that wind up disappointing you, it just gives you hope that some of these kids CAN go on and do great things, too."

JAN. 3
CATHOLIC NORTH
Wood 50, Ryan 38
   A funny thing happened on the way to an anticipated great finish. Well, not a funny thing. A hard-to-fathom thing. After using a couple of strong plays from jr. G Joe Zeglinski to seize a 31-29 lead early in the fourth quarter, Ryan went bone dry for the next four-odd minutes and Wood reeled off 14 consecutive points. Game, set, match (not that I care about tennis -- smile). Wood has a nice mix of talent, work ethic and personality. I'm sure the Vikings received a confidence boost in December when they hung around deep into a game AT Neumann-Goretti. Coach Joe Sette is using a seven-man rotation The headiner is sr. combo G Matt Spadafora, a 4-year varsity factor who has mostly been accustomed to scoring. He is not shooting as much this season and doesn't appear to mind in the least. The season is going well and he's doing lots of little things. My DN story highlighted sr. G Corey Filer, a brassy sort who was out for the first three weeks due to academic miseries. He's the son of ex-major league pitcher Tom Filer, now a Phillies pitching coach at AA Reading. He's built well and is absolutely fearless and his presence means a lot. Ditto for sr. F Mike Piselli, who has ditched the afro (smile) but not the gumption. Unlike Corey, Mike is kind of thin, but he too is a tireless worker and is not hesitant to throw around his body. He battled for six rebounds in the first quarter alone and finished with 11. Sr. C Rob Pearson, who's strong and goes about 6-7, had nine points and four boards. He attempted several flip/partial-hook shots that did not have a good look. Since he tried them, though, he must be accustomed to making them. If it all comes together at some point for Rob, I pity the guys who'll have to play him. Sr. backup PG Mike Murnane had a big second quarter with seven points, two assists and a steal. Zeglinski had a mixed-bag night. With 1:53 left in the first quarter, on his second shot, he drained a left-wing trey to raise his career total to exactly 1,000. But overall, he went 5-for-22 and his 11 other trey attempts were misses. In the fourth quarter, he even air-balled a three and when he went back to play defense, I spotted him talking to himself and shaking his head in disgust. On Ryan's next possession, he showed perfect form -- and a slightly higher arc -- on a foul-line jumper and I thought, "He's gettin' it back." On the next possession, he stormed to the hoop and then flipped up a pass to 6-8 jr. Kevin Hudgeons (six points, nine boards), who caught the ball right near the rim and deposited it for an easy two. That play gave Ryan its 31-29 lead. Then? Nothing. At least not from the Raiders. Pearson started Wood's barrage with a follow. Filer then hit a trey and made a steal and pass ahead to Spads for a three-point play. The eight points came in quick fashion! The next three baskets: follow by sr. F Allen Borovich, Pearson from Spadafora, Filer from Spadafora. Zeglinski is the second member of his family to reach 1,000. His brother, Zack, a senior at Penn Charter, owns 1,142 career points. He has not played at all this season after blowing out his knee right before the Quakers' first football game. The last brother, Sammy, is a PC soph. He has 405 points. By the way, Filer's father and Zeglinski's father, John, were star athletes together at Ryan in the mid-1970s. Here's the recap from our baseball research section for the '74 CL title game:
At Veterans Stadium
Ryan 3, Bonner 2
With 1,500 looking on, Tom Filer fired a four-hitter and John Zeglinski went 4-for-4 with a tying RBI double in the visiting fifth and a tie-breaking, two-out, two-strike RBI single to score Tom Rice (HBP, steal) in the seventh. The game ended a shade before 4 p.m. Zeglinski and the other seniors rushed home to prepare for a 6 o'clock graduation ceremony in Ryan's auditorium. Larry Greenwich had Bonner's two RBI.

JAN. 2
CATHOLIC NORTH
McDevitt 63, Conwell-Egan 53
   The visit to McDevitt began with a wonderful ceremony to dedicate the refurbished gym in memory of Ryan McGinty (click here for photo page) and then, three hours later, the varsity game began with something not so wonderful -- the benching of three starters, by interim coach Sean Ryan, for missing practice. Not a great way to open a league season on a day when a win is almost mandatory, considering the circumstances and all the emotion. But guess what? The patchwork lineup did its job, building a 12-9 lead after one quarter, and then the Bad Boyz came in and stormed to a 31-11 halftime lead. The two usual starters were 6-6 sr. C Leroi Taylor (subject of my DN game story; there's something separate on the dedication) and sr. G Steven Merlini. The emergency starters were jr. G Tom Maha (two treys), sr. PF John Gorman (two boards) and jr. F Tom Clarke (two steals) and they accumulated those stats in the first eight minutes. They should be very proud over how they performed and I know the coaching staff was thrilled with their effort. Taylor is a classic late-bloomer, long-limbed with good running and jumping ability and just a hint of lack of coordination/timing. It will all come together at some point and a college coach -- Division III, maybe higher if someone has patience -- will be happy. He had 14 points, 13 rebounds and three steals. Merlini added 12 points, two assists and two steals. Sr. WG Richard Womack is another solid low-level prospect. He has a sweet stroke, and confidence, and like most of his teammates he did not mess around with the ball. He's about 6-2/6-3 with long arms and legs. Sr. PG Gregory Stitt, like Merlini a lefty, is quick (hands AND feet) beyond belief. He did not force shots and finished with six assists. He still dribbles a little too much and slips into lapses of sloppiness, but he DOES have skill and he could be an absolute monster with refinement, especially in an up-tempo situation. Sr. SF Andrew Crawford has impressive hops. He posted 10 points and as many rebounds. It wasn't C-E's day. The Eagles went 1-for-11 in the second quarter and the only make was a left-baseline jumper by sr. G Matt Burns (16 points) 2:05 before halftime. The veteran inside guy, sr. PF-C Mark Kostic, did little. He finished with three points and two boards and watched about the last 12 minutes after coach Rich Schafer decided to go with mostly with small guys in an attempt to rally. Late in the third quarter, C-E trailed by 25 (ouch!). The Van Zelst twins, jr. Gs Adam and Ryan, fueled a rally that saw the lead sliced all the way to 10. They combined for 14 points, five assists and four steals in the fourth quarter alone. In scant playing time, comparatively, jr. G Wilson Acevedo had five boards and three assists. He had several other in-the-middle-of-things moments. Sr. F John Little totaled 12 points and five boards. As much as I believe in the credo "Play Hard to the Final Whistle," Schafer went off the deep end. The Eagles kept fouling and fouling with NO chance to still win and the capper came when a timeout was called after Burns hit a trey with 4.1 seconds left. C-E was down 10! Not good.