DEC. 31
NON-LEAGUE
Penn Charter 54, Judge 48
  One of the most uplifting developments of the fall was Tom Noonan's commitment to Princeton. Also one of the most curious, however. Even Tom himself acknowledged he was slightly amazed when Princeton came calling because all other schools pursuing him were D-IIIs. But while watching this game, I'd guess most people aware of his future destination were having some similar thoughts to mine: "I can very much see this." Why? Because he's a tall guy who sees and thinks the game like a guard, and one who has obviously worked hard to overcome his shortcomings. Oh, guess I should have told you this: Noonan plays for Penn Charter and is a 6-7 WG-SF. He is not especially fast or springy, but man, what a quick release! He gets it and it's gone -- either toward the rim or an open teammate. When teams are playing zone, he's smart enough to stand in shooting position while awaiting the ball. Thus, when he does get it, he doesn't have to shuffle his feet and waste time. Also, he shows a knack for being able to shoot slightly off-balance and still maintain the proper depth perception. Anyway, Noonan totaled 21 points, seven rebounds and three assists and sniped 5-for-7 on treys. I forget the exact order on these plays, but he definitely had three big ones in a row as PC built a 44-32 lead with 3:51 left -- a three on a pass from jr. G Mike "Michael L, Not Michael X" Brown, a nifty wraparound pass along the baseline for a layup by jr. F John Loughery, and another trey. Judge did keep fighting and forced a few beads of sweat to form on the Quakers' foreheads in the late going, but there was never close to a river. As for some other PC guys . . . soph PG John Moderski had 17 points (three treys) and two assists and took feisty care of the ball. He gives off an unassuming aura, but strikes me as the kind of guy who could keep his pickup team oncourt all day at the playground. Sr. F Mick Foley, a headliner in football and baseball (leaning toward the latter for college), posted five boards and three assists. Jr. VPF-C Jake "Bumper the Second" Richards (VPF stands for very powerful forward; he's a lineman) went 4-for-4 at the line down the stretch moments after air-balling one (and laughing it off). Brown dealt five assists and showed a good feel for getting the ball to guys the instant they were open. Loughery and Richards, meanwhile, combined to set a city record for most illegal screens set in one game: three. Smile! The most interesting aspect for Judge was the launching of jr. WG Joe Kehoe. He finished with 19 points while going 3-for-14 on treys. Yes, 14 attempts from behind the arc. A guy doesn't shoot that many unless he's supremely confident, or nuts, and since Kehoe seemed to be entirely normal . . . Plus, his teammates kept giving him the ball knowing it'd be going up. That means one thing: He must REALLY put on some shooting exhibitions sometimes. Here's hoping I get to see one. Jr. F Tony Smith, the QB (like Loughery), had 16 points, six rebounds and two assists while showing a big-play knack. Jr. G Reggie Charles, a transfer from McDevitt (after attending Judge as a frosh), managed 10 points and five assists and was particularly snappy in the second half. Seamus Radtke, a 6-7 jr. C, had a rough outing, perhaps because the physical PC guys were able to push him off his spots. He went 0-for-6 from the floor and grabbed just one board. He'll have many better days. This game was played at Judge and the most prominent legend in attendance was former Penn State/NFL receiver Mike McCloskey, a '79 Judge grad. Others, as their names pop into my head: Bill Gallagher, Gerry Sasse, Jack Crouse, Bobby Mizia, Joe Hearon, "Pez," Ed Gallagher . . . The visit began with a serious shock: Bill Koch is no longer coaching Judge's JV team. He had that job for 30 seasons and I did a double take, then triple take, when I saw him sitting in the stands while the JV game was going on. The winner of a shade over 600 JV games, "Cookie" (or is it "Kochie"?) is still part of the program and assists rookie coach Sean Tait during the varsity contests. Well, this is the last report for 2009. Happy New Year to everyone! Let's have a great 2010! (Or at least medium; journalists do tend to be cynical).

DEC. 30
TRIANGLE CLUB TOURNEY FINAL
Germantown Academy 57, La Salle 43
  So, are you a fan of chemistry? GA coach Jim Fenerty certainly is. Not the test tube variety. The hoops variety. Maybe I’m reading too much into something, but these guys were showing camaraderie even as we prepared to take the website team pic in the locker room. They were laughing and joking around – we were right near a shower area; some were pretending to soap up their armpits -- and trying to decide whether to smile or use the hard-guy look and it was impossible not to think that these guys were a pretty cohesive group. That aura continued once the game began. Only two Patriots, sr. CG-SF Cameron Ayers (Bucknell) and sr. PG Austin Curry (DN ink), saw much playing time last season. They’re the go-to guys and wind up taking many of the shots. But the others work hard off the ball and appear to have no problem doing the necessary little things. It was nice to see. The difference in this one was the Patriots’ ability to increase the tempo after a 34-point first half; GA led, 19-15. They took the available fast-break opportunities and La Salle was not as able to keep up as it might have been had sr. G Troy Hockaday (illness) not been unavailable. Curry scored 15 of his 20 points in the second half and wound up being involved in most of the key moments. He also had three total steals, an assist on a basket that made it 31-20 and, as the third quarter ended, he nailed an off-balance jumper after La Salle had been forced to yield possession due to an improper screen. Though the Explorers lingered into the fourth, there was no late-game drama. Ayers totaled 16 points (1,050 career), eight rebounds and two assists. He attempted just six shots from the floor while enjoying perfection (10-for-10) at the line. Sr. F Jake Beil had eight points, four rebounds and two assists while jr. F Beau Jones made his only two shots and came up with five boards, three assists and two steals. Jr. WG Jim Hammer scored six points and was involved in the most entertaining portion of the evening. The PA man boo-booed and announced that Hammer would be sharing the MVP award with Ayers. The reaction was surprise, as you might imagine, and Fenerty was in the process of trying to get Hammer to head onto the court to pose for a pic with Ayers when . . . the apologetic PA man did a re-announcement and replaced Hammer’s name with Curry’s. This was the 36th tourney and the first time co-MVPs had been selected. The prize is a painted ball. I guess tourney officials will come up with another one? By the way, leading the post-game presentation ceremony was club VP Barbara Harrington-Hladik, who’s the daughter of deceased former Dougherty coach Bob Harrington. It was great to meet her (Bob had five daughters) and also speak with other tourney officials. La Salle’s leader was speedy jr. WG Eddie Mitchell (formerly Joyner-Mitchell). He had 12 points and Curry did a good job of chasing him around all night. Mitchell’s most impressive moment came on a hard drive along the right baseline. As he stopped in preparation for a layup, he was behind the backboard and the thought was, no way this’ll work out. But then, zoom, there he was, up by rim level, easily kissing the ball off the glass. VERY impressive. Jr. PF-C Brennan Woods (how have the football coaches never demanded that this kid get out there? – smile) had eight points and six boards and showed good footwork on one low post move. Jr. PG Michael Poncia had eight points (two treys), three steals and two assists while 6-9 jr. C Steve Collins managed eight boards. He’s not even close to a finished product, but I liked the occasional flashes of potential he showed and that he kept the ball high. Meanwhile, was I seeing things? I could have sworn jr. C-F Joe Brown was shooting jumpers lefthanded and layups/close shots righthanded. And when he launched free throws, it actually looked like he was shooting two-handed. Legendary! Meanwhile, the MVP of the evening was a maintenance man named Frank (I think that’s what I heard a co-worker calling him.) I had some computer issues and the story came thisclose to not being sent to the Daily News in time to make the print edition. Though he was finished his duties, he was patient enough to take me to another area of the building and wait while I tried to connect directly to the internet. Finally, we wound up in the office of athletic director Chuck Knowles, the former FB coach and AD at Conwell-Egan. I took the ethernet cable out of Chuck’s computer and plugged it into the back of my laptop and, bingo! I was then able to email the story. Phew! Thank you, sir! It would have been my first missed deadline in 32 DN years.

DEC. 29
BOARDWALK BASKETBALL CLASSIC
Jersey Shore Bracket Final
Cherokee (NJ) 56, Bonner 53
  Long before this one started, and even before Comm Tech played, I talked for a while with Cherokee assistant Dave Distel, who formerly worked at Dougherty. Then, one of his players, sr. PG Willis Nicholson, walked by and Dave called him over to join us. Soon, Dave was heading off to wolf down lunch and since I had nowhere to go, and neither did Willis, we wound up talking for a good 15-20 minutes about all kinds of basketball developments. Why? Well, this energetic little guy formerly played at Dougherty and Prep Charter and grew up in Germantown, so he’s very familiar with everything Philly and still keeps tabs on his old schools/leagues. OK, flash ahead to the final moments of this one. Want to take a guess on which player stuck a trey to stab Bonner right in the heart? You got it – Willis Nicholson. Cherokee, ranked No. 1 in South Jersey by some (many?), held the ball for the final 53.8 seconds after a turnover. The Friars had two fouls to give and did commit one, but failed to do so again though coach Tom Meakim said he’d given that instruction. Here’s a pic of Nicholson’s shot. No. 3, flying toward him, is jr. CG Joe McGinn, who had some good moments. Partially visible (someone stood up on the bench) is sr. PF-C Dan Vanderslice, flying toward Nicholson from the other side. The shot originally “ended” the game, but the refs put eight-tenths back on the clock. With Cherokee’s 6-9 Ryan McKeaney in his face, “Slice” managed to get off a three-quarter-court heave bound for jr. F Scott Slade. The ball was knocked away and that was that. (Wouldn’t have been able to catch/turn/shoot anyway.) DN ink went to sr. PG Jamal Melvin, who had 10 points and three dimes in 21 minutes and missed the entire second quarter after committing his second foul on a reach 40 feet from the basket with 0:27 left in the first. His steal appeared to be clean, but as Jamal acknowledged later, it still was an unwise move so far from the basket as Cherokee was merely killing time while hoping to get a last shot. Actually, the misstep might have produced some long-term benefits because the Friars actually won the second quarter, 15-10. They played hard and smart and got the ball to good inside spots, resulting in five two-shot fouls. The good vibrations continued into the second half and Bonner even owned a 49-44 lead before things took a twist. Melvin showed the impact he can have on a game right as the third quarter  started. Drove the length of the court for a layup. Passed to sr. WG-SF Keefer Francis (15 points, 10 in those 8 minutes) for a basket. Nailed a right-wing jumper to provide a 31-30 lead. As the fourth quarter opened, McGinn (10 points) swished a trey for a 44-40 lead and, soon thereafter, did a repeat performance to make it 49-44. Those buckets came on passes from soph G Karonn Davis. Melvin gave Bonner its last points on a foul line jumper. Nicholson (14 points) collected his ninth assist with 1:24 left as a layup by Maurice Jackson (his father, Clarence, was a starter for Southern's 1986 Public League champions) created a 53-53 tie. Bonner is like almost all of the teams in Catholic Red this season; its current squad is not as formidable as others in the recent past. But the chemistry appears to be pretty good and the subs didn’t shrink away from trying to do things; always a good sign. Sr. F Chris Morrison made his only shot, a flip shot in the lane. I wrote the DN story on Comm Tech while Wood was playing its consolation against Woodbury. Finished at halftime and then took some pics. The Vikings won over Woodbury, 58-42, as sr. WG-SF Doug Macrone totaled 23 points and 12 boards and jr. PG Joe Getz, playing with a tender shoulder, hustled for 20 points, nine rebounds, four assists, three steals and MANY fly-through-the-air pics in the photo set (smile). Star sr. C Fran Dougherty is still out with a foot stress fracture and sr. WG-SF Brian O’Grady was unavailable because he’d gone home for family reasons. Also, some other Vikings were sick, so coach Jack Walsh had only eight players in uniform. The DN story on this game was written in the girls’ gym (the table on that side was empty) and, lo and behold, one of the refs was Bok’s defensive coordinator, Vince Trombetta, one of the coolest guys you could ever hope to meet. Vince is in mid-70s – yes, mid 70s – but is still a tremendous ref and does boys’ games in the Pub. He happened to be leaving when I was and we talked football while heading to our respective cars. Oh my goodness, was it ever cold! I was shivering within 20 seconds due to the temps and strong winds. Plus, the energy level was low. I’d had only a barely cooked hot dog since about 11:30. Next stop, Wawa! While there the cell phone rang. It was Pat McLoone, one of our DN bigwigs and a friend for three-plus decades. He was curious how things had gone because he follows Bonner; his son, Dan, is a sophomore member of the JV team and was down in Wildwood to keep the scorebook because the manager hadn’t been able to make the trip. (His older son, Brendan, played football). Pat said Dan texted him at one point to report, “Ted took my picture. I had a goofy look on my face. Ha, ha." That was the second attempt. In the first one, his eyes were closed! Thus, the newly created nickname . . . Dan “Sleepy” McLoone (smile).

DEC. 29
BOARDWALK BASKETBALL CLASSIC
Jersey Shore Bracket Final
Comm. Tech 80, Pleasantville (NJ) 55
  No surprise here. CT boasted decided edges in talent and depth over this team from a small community outside Atlantic City and once the Phoenix got rolling, there was no doubt about what was going to happen. Coach Lou Biester’s squad is like many these days – lots of guards. The headliner is sr. WG Shaquille Shannon, the recipient of DN ink. He ranks No. 2 in his class and has received interest, so far, from Stony Brook and East Stroudsburg. His shot has that classically desirable sound – pfffffft – as it passes through the net, the one that proves that the rotation is perfect. Shaq also played some point and did well there, as well. Keep the proverbial grain of salt nearby, though, because Pleasantville wasn’t able to muster much opposition, despite its best efforts. Shannon shot 10-for-15 from the floor (3-for-5) on treys en route to 25 points. He also had 8 assists and 5 steals and was prominent in the Phoenix’ trap/steal/swoosh scheme. Sr. SF-WG Sherman Blanford had 17 points and six boards. He also displayed the soft touch and proper form;  Biester is a stickler for that. I wish more coaches had that approach. Since the team with more POINTS wins, shaky shooting forms should not be tolerated. Make the kids do it the right way or tell them to find another sport (smile). The resident wing sniper is sr. Raheem Roher. He went 4-for-7 on threes en route to 21 points while adding four steals. The PG was small jr. Gameel “Pepsi” Strange, who had some excellent quick-feet, big-heart moments in a football game I attended this past season. He suffered a foot injury and disappeared thereafter, but brings the same qualities to the court. He had nine points and seven assists. The offside frontcourt guy is Chris Burney (five points and three boards in 12 minutes). The unselfishness continued as Biester mixed in the bench guys. CT’s 27 field goals included 24 assists. One of the refs was Gary Hegh, a first-magnitude running back star for Frankford in the early 1970s and a long-time baseball coach at deep South Jersey’s Mainland High. We've talked a few times through the years at games/events and it's easy to see why everyone thinks so highly of this guy. Great to see him again. This game was played in the Wildwood Convention Center, right on the boardwalk. I love this place. Big and bright and it’s cool to see a game played on a portable floor because everyone seems to run and jump better. Has to be easier on the legs, too. The tournament people are friendly and helpful and most are volunteers, so I hope the players appreciate that so many folks are willing to spend the holiday season giving them a nice experience.

DEC. 28
SHOWCASE EVENT
Fels 86, West Catholic 85 (2 OTs)
  The Legend of All Legends, a k a Puck, called this morning and asked what game I'd be going to. When I told him Fels-West, he shot back, "You cwazy. Why you goin' dere?" Tomorrow morning, I GUARANTEE you he'll call and say, "I tole you Fels-West be good." (smile). Good? How about great?! A total of 171 points. How can you not love it? One of the best parts of this afternoon -- the game, a showcase event, was played at Northeast -- was watching the coming-out party of Fels sr. PG Devon Perrin, the recipient of DN ink. He was mildly impressive early due to a reasonably strong build (6-3, 190) and the ability to both run his team and make sure he got enough of his own shots. As time went on, he looked better and better and West coach Bill Ludlow even tried to negate his effect by using a box-and-one. Perrin hit a few jumpers, but mostly succeeded on the move. He's one of those rare guys who can blend common sense/body control with just enough flair/daring. First-year Fels coach Mark Heimerdinger, the former, long-time Dougherty boss, agrees with my assessment that Perrin is at least a Division II state school kind of guy and, who knows, as the season progresses and Perrin's confidence undoubtedly grows, he's liable to find D-1s on his doorstep. He has a 2.9 GPA and will take the SAT next month. He expressed himself very well in our interview and showed personality, too. Perrin poured in 34 points and 14 came in the extra sessions, with 10 in the second OT. He also totaled 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 6 steals while serving as his squad's emotional leader as well. Except for tiny sr. WG Greg Davis, who's barely 5-foot tall but shows major brass (he nailed three treys from damn near the parking lot), many of the other Panthers are similar -- 6-1 to 6-3 and bouncy. Sr. F Robert Jones had 13 points, 11 boards and four apiece of assists and steals. His brother, Richard, a soph F, claimed eight rebounds. Kevin Steed, a jr. F, had nine points and seven rebounds. Soph F Cristian Rojas somehow missed four straight free throws one second apart in the waning moments of the second OT, but at least that misadventure didn't wind up killing his squad. Walter Thompson, a jr. WG, helped out by beating the third quarter buzzer with a banked heave from close to halfcourt. West's leaders were jr. PG Aquil Younger and sr. F Kiwan Murray, who's only 6-1 but has to do tough-guy dirty work. The cat-quick Younger generated 29 points, 4 assists, 3 steals and even 5 rebounds. After hitting nine of his first 10 free throws, he missed three of his last four before fouling out and we'll chalk that up to fatigue. Murray was the picture of determined, yet understated efficiency. His 27-point outing included an 8-for-8 showing from the floor. At the line, he went 11-for-15 despite the fact, though he's righthanded, he launches the ball from the left side of his head. He also contributed 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals. Jr. G Brandon Hollomon, seeing time at both spots, managed 14 points and 3 assists. Football star Jim Lynch, a jr. F, clutched 7 caroms and kicking whiz Tim Carroll, a sr., made a strong move along the baseline for a 3-point play in the second OT. Huck and I, sitting behind the south basket with his best buddy, Cauls, had Fels winning this game by one in regulation. But somehow the scoreboard showed 65 instead of 66. One of two free throws by Murray got the game to OT. As the first one wound down, Younger missed a pair of free throws at 0:08 and Perrin rebounded. He leaned over and covered up, figuring he'd draw a foul. But Hollomon forced a jump ball and the arrow favored West. Murray converted a layup off a pass from Younger. In the second OT, Perrin's drive at 0:31 made it 86-84. Fouled on a follow, Murray hit the first of two free throws at 0:11. Rojas grabbed the rebound and somehow six seconds slid off the clock before he was almost immediately fouled. He missed the double-bonus, then rebounded out of a scramble and was hacked again. This sequence somehow took one second. Huh? Though Rojas again missed both, the Burrs couldn't make Fels pay as Hollomon's running one-hand trey from the right wing didn't really come close. This was a fill-in game for West; the Burrs lost out on one, due to snow, a few weeks back in the tournament at La Salle High. Fels heads back to Northeast tomorrow to play the Vikings. Maybe some college coaches will be in attendance, eyes peeled on Perrin. Let's hope so, anyway.

DEC. 27
ACHUFF TOURNEY FINAL
O’Hara 61, McDevitt 43
  This O’Hara squad is twice as good as last year’s! At a minimum. The numbers prove it (smile). After collecting just two wins in 2008-09, the Lions now have four and these guys have every right to puff out their chests, at least a little. Listen, McDevitt was pummeled by graduation and the loss of top player Reggie Charles to Judge (by transfer; he’d attended there originally), so this one figured to be tough. O’Hara coasted to a rather easy win and if the Lions are going to make any noise in a Red Division that’s decidedly down, this was what had to happen. Things weren’t looking too hot early. O’Hara struggled to find its way and almost all whistles favored McDevitt. Thus, the Lancers were into the bonus with 2:17 still left in the first quarter. Alas, they promptly began brickin’ at the supposed charity stripe (en route to finishing the game 11-for-28 in that department – ouch). O’Hara won the second quarter, 24-6, and ran off at least 18 points in a row; might have even been more. DN ink went to sr. PG Anthony Bertolino, who in that second session bunched seven of his 12 points, three of his six assists and all four of his steals. “Bert” is not the fastest/springiest guy, but I liked his feel for the game. A few times he made solid penetration and then stopped short to whip passes back beyond the arc for treys. It’s called peripheral vision, folks, plus having faith in your teammates. Eastern, Albright or Williamson Trade will likely be his college destination. Also crucial to the second quarter outburst was the sixth man, sr. F Tim Gillespie, a lanky lefty. He packed eight of his 13 markers into that period and drained two treys. (While writing this report, something hit me . . . Was Gillespie the kid who had some good moments last year when I covered a tourney game at O’Hara? Sure enough, here’s the info from that report – (Gillespie) “hit a trey late in the third quarter and then nailed four more shots in a row in the fourth quarter, thus finishing with 11 points.” About time I’m a good luck charm for somebody (ha ha). Sr. WG Dan Kearney hit two treys while scoring 10 points. After some early foul trouble, jr. F Sean Mayo grabbed five boards in the third quarter. Sr. WG Matt Sharkey had four assists. It’ll be interesting to see how 6-5 soph Eddie Allen develops. He’s quite thin, but he showed some bounce and timing while totaling six boards and three blocks in bits-and-pieces service. Yet another sr. G, Phil Lindsay, had two steals in the second quarter. The big news out of McDevitt is that football star Drew Siegfried, a first team All-City DB, is now playing basketball. Coach Jack Rutter threw him right into the starting lineup and he responded with 19 points with the help of 5-for-8 sniping on treys. (Wonder if that's some kind of city record? Most treys by senior walk-on in his first game?? Actually, I'm not sure if Drew played in the tourney's first round. If so, he didn't score and I can't imagine that would have happened.) He also had five boards and three blocks. The starting PG was frosh Kenyatta Long, a true waterbug. He’s already fun to watch, but work must be done now, as in immediately, on his shot. On his free throws, he just pushed the ball up in the general direction of the rim with a long delivery and, truthfully, those shots had NO chance of going in. PGs, by design, are supposed to draw fouls, especially late in games, so improvement in this area is critical. He had four assists and can truly make the ball talk. Sr. F Quinn Browning, the only Lancer (at 5-11) who remotely resembles an inside player, grabbed six rebounds. Jr. G Matt Conroy, who figures to be next year’s football headliner, hustled for nine boards. Sr. wing shooter Steven Dominello had 10 points and soph G Gerald Scott dealt two assists. Forever and ever, access to McDevitt’s gym has been gained by entering the cafeteria and then walking upstairs. But at least tonight, folks had to walk around to the front of the building and come in that way. No sweat. Just wasn’t ready for it. Now on McDevitt’s staff is Isaiah “Zeke” Pinckney, who had a great career at Delaware Valley after starring for the Lancers (’02). Good luck with the coaching thing, Zeke. Oh, and good luck with trying to get coach Rutter to finally spell your name right on the roster (smile!). It says “Isiah Pinkney” and, hmmmm, haven’t we been down THAT road before? (Um, yes.)

DEC. 26
JAMEER NELSON CLASSIC
Carroll 60, Bartram 57
  Some of the worst games you could ever not hope to see have taken place on Dec. 26. Call it post-Christmas lethargy, or whatever. Just don't lump this one into that group. OK, it wasn't tremendous, but it was pretty darn good and it came down to the final possession and that is always acceptable. There was a decent crowd on hand at Widener. Very little noise, however, because most of the spectators had no allegiance to either school and were there merely to watch good ball. The subplot involved Carroll sr. PG DJ Irving (Boston U.) and Bartram sr. CG Tyrone "Braidheart" Garland (Va. Tech). Irving often covered Garland, but the opposite did not happen as Garland wound up on lesser lights. I would have liked more full-scale, head-to-head dueling, but what can you do? Irving finished with 21 points and two apiece of assists and steals and was quite clutch at the line in the late going, sniping 4-for-4 (en route to 8-for-9). Garland went for 26 points in VERY strange fashion. I'll venture to say as many as 11 of his 12 field goals came off drives or follows. He went 0-for-6 on treys and hit few, if any, medium range jumpers, either. He went borderline nuts in the fourth quarter, though, notching 12 of his points and four of his five steals. Most came out of a halfcourt trap and allowed him to show his quick hands and outrageously fast bursts into passing lanes. Oddly, the Braves mostly abandoned that trap over the last 3:06 after it had gotten them back into the game and, frankly, had Carroll on its heels. Carroll owned a 41-28 lead with 3:40 left in the third quarter and seemed on the verge of turning this one into a yawner. Garland and sr. WG-SF Zaahir Allen helped bring the Braves back. Wait, Zaahir Allen? Does  that name sound familiar? Yup, the same guy who played well at Dougherty in the 2007-08 season and the spent last year at some place in South Jersey. Allen is an energetic guy who's always on the balls of his feet and it was good to watch him play again. He posted nine of his 11 points after intermission and worked well with Garland. The other main Brave is sr. PG Quasim Jones. He got into some good spots, but couldn't quite finish as often as he would have liked. He went 4-for-14 en route to 10 points, but did hustle for eight rebounds. Sr. football players Devin Moore and Darrell Lane claimed 12 and 10 rebounds, respectively. Big problem, though: They combined to go just 3-for-11 at the line (as Bartram went 8-for-19 total -- ouch). Meanwhile, Carroll's second banana, or even co-banana, jr. WG Juan'ya Green, mixed 24 points, seven boards and two assists. He shot 7-for-15 (two treys) and matched Irving's 8-for-9 showing at the line. After Irving's two free throws made it 60-57, Bartram's final possession featured an attempt at a right-wing trey by Garland. Green wound up being the defender and he played it perfectly, meeting Garland at the summit and preventing him from even getting off the jumper. Garland returned to the floor with the ball in his hand and traveling was called. Ballgame. Sr. F Ben Mingledough had nine points, six boards and two assists for Carroll while jr. PF-C Matt Donaldson, a FB player, claimed seven rebounds (some down the stretch came in traffic; good job). With under a minute left, jr. F Anthony Butler made a nifty inbound pass to Green and an easy layup resulted. Meanwhile, what's with the latex shirts (or whatever material they are) being worn by Garland and Jones under their game jerseys? I'm guessing somebody in the NBA wears the stupid things and swears by them, and these guys are just copying them. Trust me on this: You don't need them (smile). MANY legends in attendance. Prominent among them: Talent scouts Tom Konchalski (NYC, recently wonderfully featured in Sports Illustrated; click here to see that piece) and localites Allen Rubin and Norm Eavenson. Also, after the game, I ran into Tom "Doc" Dougherty outside the Wawa near Widener. He's now coaching at Strath Haven, but in the mid-'90s he fueled the resurrection of Neumann's program and led the Pirates to the 1997 CL championship. Doc's a character. Always great to see him. Famous Amos Leak was also in the house and ex-Edison star Jermaine Tabb came over to provide an update on that school's recent alumni game, which Jermaine organized. Nice! More Pub schools should have them.

DEC. 23
PUBLIC C
Strawberry Mansion 91, Prep Charter 79
  Well, this was almost an all-time day. Because last year's PC-SM playoff was followed by a major disturbance, the PC folks decided to ban spectators. For a while, that included me. Athletic director Chuck Pearsall asked me to leave right inside the school's main entrance and I reminded him I was not a spectator, I was there to work. A phone call to Charles Sumter, the Pub hoops chairman and Mansion's former AD, followed and I even handed the phone to Pearsall so the two could talk. Pearsall wasn't budging. Neither was I. Next call: To Robert Coleman, the Pub sports czar. No answer. Next call: Sumter again. HIS next call: To Coleman. Soon, Pearsall's cell phone was ringing and he was leaving that front area to talk to somebody or other. Then he walked back inside, pulled out his keys and went over to unlock the door that's down a long hallway from the gym. While passing through, I asked him whether Coleman or Sumter had been the one to call him and resolve the issue. Without making eye contact -- his eyes were staring at the floor the whole time -- he said evenly, "Just go inside, Ted." Gladly. Inside the gym? Guess what, there WERE spectators. At least some. PC's female players, who practiced afterward, were permitted to watch the game (along with a few college coaches and scouts, etc., from other schools). As evidenced by the final score, everyone saw a swooshfest. PC's talent level is down and coach Dan Brinkley figures he has to take advantage of the one element his team does have -- decent team speed. Mansion almost always thrives in transition, though, and did so today in part because it played VERY unselfish ball. I literally did not think even one time, "That shot was forced." DN ink went to 6-4 sr. WG Devonte' "DJ" Newbill, who possesses a quality jumper along with polished slashing skills and make-the-ball-talk passing instincts. La Salle and Drexel are among his offers and he recently achieved a qualifying SAT score, and that's GREAT news. He went for 36 points on 10-for-18 from the floor (3-for-5 on treys) and 13-for-15 at the line. He also contributed 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 steals and 2 blocks. The first half ended at 33-33 and then Newbill scored 10 of Mansion's points in an 11-1 burst. His shoulders were squared and when that happens, forget it. The other headliners were soph WG Khyree Wooten, a trickster lefty with a relentless will (25 points) and jr. F Eric Jefferson, who jumps well and has made great strides from last season (15 points, 12 boards, 3 blocks). The rotating guards were srs. Khalil Meadows, Marque Griffin and Cedrick Powell. Meadows and Griffin halved eight assists while Powell made five steals. PC's eye-catcher was Mark Wilmer, a 6-5 junior PF-C with good strength and an always-go-forward mindset. He had 24 points and seven rebounds. I liked that he actually appeared to enjoy being near the basket; so many big guys these days want to wander around and face up. Soph WG Akhir Frazier, thin and listed at 6-5, displayed a sniper's mentality while scoring 15 points and, with seven assists, he was responsible for much of Wilmer's success. In something that was quite uncommon for a Pub team, five PC guys hit treys. Gerald Hendricks, who retired last year from teaching, is still around Mansion's program and even continues to be listed, officially, as the head coach. Assistant Stan Laws is calling the in-game shots and running the program on a day-to-day basis, though. It'll be interesting to see them pull off the good-cop, bad-cop act now with the roles reversed (smile). Thanks to Sumter and Coleman for helping me gain access to the gym. If their efforts had failed, well, I still would have written about the game. Just would have gone for a drive and come back to PC at about 5 to interview guys as they left the building. This is my last pre-holiday report. Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it. Happy Holidays in General to those who don't.

DEC. 21
CATHOLIC BLUE
Carroll 80, Conwell-Egan 77 (OT)
  Hey, maybe we need many more gigantic snowstorms. If the basketball games that follow are anything like this one . . . A true goodie! I didn't even know this game would be taking place until McDevitt coach Jack Rutter sent an email in late afternoon. Then, just to be sure, I called Carroll coach Paul Romanczuk on his cell phone at about 5:15 and he noted, "I'm sitting in Egan's parking lot and our team bus is stuck in traffic someone on the Boulevard." The JV game started late and only one ref, Dan Price, who assumedly filled in for others because he's an accomplished varsity ref, worked most of it. Meanwhile, Carroll's bus driver helped ME. As I emerged from the car in the parking lot, somehow the key went flying out of my hand and I heard it hit the car right next to mine. One problem: it was pretty dark and the key was nowhere to be spotted. The bus was nearby and the driver was sitting inside, killing time. Hmm, wonder if he as a flashlight. No dice, but he offered to come over and help. He even drove the bus nearby with the hope that the headlights would help in the search. Niiiiiiiice. Not there. Not there. Not there. Grrrrrrrrrrr. We were looking all OVER. Finally, he spotted it right next to the front tire of the other car. It was VERY dark right there, and we'd been looking under the respective cars. Anyway, thank you, sir. If that key had truly been lost, what a nightmare THAT would have been. As for the game . . . I could have watched it for another couple hours! First, let's start with a C-E highlight. Sr. WG-SF Ike Robinson broke the school record for points in a game with 42. Andrew Holland had scored 39 in 2000 and Robinson owned that exact amount as the Eagles' final possession commenced. Robinson launched a left-wing trey and swish, there it was. Robinson finished 14-for-20 from the floor with an incredible 5-for-6 showing on threes. He also went 9-for-11 at the line. Robinson is what you call a tough cover. He has the slinky ways of a classic small forward -- complete with a wide wing span -- and the soft touch of a true wing guard. He reminds me, to some degree, of La Salle University star Rodney Green, who played his high school ball at Prep Charter. Often, Ike even wound up with the ball way up top and created from there. Carroll tried at least four guys on him and none had success. Robinson had just one rebound at halftime and, of course, that wasn't acceptable -- not for someone so athletic. He finished with eight and some were tough, in-traffic jobs down the regulation stretch, so that was nice to see. Carroll returns three starters from its state title squad in sr. PG DJ Irving (Boston U.), sr. F Ben Mingledough (since we're right by Christmas, "Mistletoe" is his current nickname -- smile) and jr. WG Juan'ya Green. With Saint Joseph's coach Phil Martelli on hand to watch him, Green . . . um . . . well, he didn't appear until the second quarter due to a minor violation of team rules. Then, check this out, he scored nine points in his first 2:46 of action! Crunch the numbers and that comes to 104 points in a 32-minute game. Phew! Green played last year with a tender knee, but he moved freely in this one and finished with 28 points. He also nailed five treys. Irving tallied seven of his 15 points in OT and several times he made hard bolts to the hoop. He'd rarely done so earlier but, hey, at crunch time he had to. He also had eight assists. Mingledough scored 14 points. Oddly, he had four field goals in the first quarter and none thereafter. Sr. WG Vince Mostardi was quite important with 14 points, nine of which came on treys. He gives the Patriots a good extra long-range option because defenses will concentrate hard on the other guys. Sr. F Anthony Butler had six boards while jr. PF-C Matt Donaldson had a key field goal in OT. New to C-E's program (though he was in the school last year) is sr. PG Devon Thomas, who goes by "Day-Day" (I guess he spells it that way? Forgot to ask him.) He has very fast hands and feet and is a true PG capable of snappy passes through traffic. Very enjoyable to watch. He had 12 points and five assists. Sr. F-C Mike Payne, who's 6-4 with a decent build (and from suburban Trenton, as are Robinson and Thomas), had 12 points, including a dunk, and his foul trouble greatly hurt the Eagles. He departed with 5:16 left in the fourth quarter; C-E was up by 58-55. Sr. CG Andrew Schaefer had seven points, four boards, four assists and three steals in a nice true-grit performance. Sr. F Kevin DeLorenzo didn't score, but also was a little things stalwart; pretty sure he took two charges. Jr. F Sean McCarthy and jr. G Kyle Bonner also saw time, combining for eight rebounds. Considering the snow variable, a decent crowd was on hand. The C-E students were involved and supportive and I also liked how the subs showed pizzazz, greeting the players out on the floor as they headed to the bench for timeouts. Irving forced OT by converting a hard drive down the right side of the lane at 0:06. In OT, two more of his drives made it 74-71 and 76-72. He had one field goal before those three. He knew what needed to be done, and did it. He has been around the block a few times, folks (smile).

DEC. 18
SOUTH PHILLY SHOWCASE
Imhotep 51, Frankford 49
  Well, here we are on Dec. 18 and Imhotep has almost matched its loss total for all of the 2008-09 season. In game No. 3. As in one. Nothing’s worse than graduation and it hit the Panthers hard last June three months after they captured the Class AA state title. Thank goodness for the transfer winds and the fact that some former subs have blossomed into respectable players. It would be unrealistic to predict that 'Hotep/Imho is headed for 32-1 territory again, but this was an important win and could go a long way to building the Panthers’ confidence even though the performances turned in by both teams were rather uneven; to be expected so early in the season. DN ink went to jr. good guy WG Tyhiem “Redz” Perrin, who totaled 12 points and four rebounds and, after three misses (he insisted he wasn’t nervous – smile), finally hit a free throw to provide the two-point margin of victory with 5.4 showing. The Panthers had been up by 50-43 with 1:48 left, on Perrin’s three-point play, so a loss would have stung. Frankford had a golden opportunity to force OT as jr. F Steffon Poole wound up with the ball on the left baseline and made a crisp pass underneath to soph G Imere Taylor. The lefty flipped up a hurried shot from extra-close range and, well, it just didn’t connect. He might have been bumped, but the contact, if there was any, likely occurred after he released. Imhotep played without star jr. WG Ameen Tanksley, who’s nursing a minor wrist injury. Coach Andre Noble said he hopes Tanksley will be back in action by January. Meanwhile, 6-4 jr. combo G David Appolon is also now a star. He had some good, even great, moments last season and one can now tell, just by looking at him, that he’s carrying himself like a franchise player. He owns an explosive jumper and is one of those rare guys who can launch it in step-back or lean-back fashion and still make good judgments on the location of the rim. The fact that he now shows point guard skills only adds to his value. He had 22 points, six rebounds and three assists. The big men, a pair of D-1 bound players, did not impose their will very much due to foul trouble/other issues. Imhotep’s Erik Copes, a 6-8 junior with a strong build, had four blocks and took just two shots from the floor. Frankford’s Shaquille Duncan, a thin 6-8 senior bound for Niagara (coach Joe Mihalich was in attendance), had four boards and three blocks. Back to ‘Hotep: jr. G Terrell Johnson mixed eight points, six boards and three apiece of assists and steals while jr. F Earl Brown (late of Freire Charter) managed seven boards and four blocks. The ever-active Poole, whose dad, Lamar, starred at Edison, was the only Pioneer to score in double figures (12). He also claimed a half-dozen rebounds. Point guard Dehaven Brown totaled four assists and two steals and used sheer hustle to somehow emerge as the game's leading board man (eight). Frankford coach Ben Dubin used 10 players and here’s hoping everyone behaves as the season continues. This squad is capable of big accomplishments, but only if each guy realizes 32 minutes of playing time are just not available. The Pioneers have a lot of similar players with similar skills. By the time late February rolls around, their legs will be fresher and the chance to cause damage will be legit. My stint at Southern included half of FLC-Constitution, all of this one, and half of Southern-Life Center. LC features superstar guard Dion Waiters, a South Philly legend who looks about 25 years old (smile). Then it was back to the office to write the story . . . and, ugh, get blindsided with the news that the starting time for tomorrow’s La Salle-State College football game had been moved from 7 p.m. to 2 p.m. The weather knuck-knucks are predicting 87 feet of snow (seems like it, anyway). Tomorrow could bring a REAL adventure trying to travel to/from Hershey. And even if I make it, will I be able to see anything that's happening on the field? Hmmmmmmmm . . .

DEC. 15
PUBLIC D
Constitution 46, World Comm. 30
(Halted by brawl in third quarter; double forfeit)
  Only in the Pub . . . A phrase that fits like a glove never gets old. For the second year in a row, a school making its Pub debut will be forced to remember the sting/shame of being involved in a double forfeit. Last year, there was confusion over the PIAA's official starting date and Randolph met Science Leadership too early. Both schools were brand new to the Pub and both wound up getting charged with forfeits. Today's newbie was Constitution and this double forfeit resulted from far worse circumstances -- a bench clearing brawl with 2:34 left in the third quarter. The decision to go in the DF direction was made by Robert Coleman, the Pub athletic director and District 12 chairman, and he said he'd cleared it with PIAA honchos at the state level. Each school will also forfeit its next Pub game and then have limited access to varsity players in the game after that. WC will fare better than Constitution because it can promote players from the JV. ConHigh, as it's being called, has no such squad, so coach Rob Moore will be scouring the hallways for players. I'm not going to get into everything here. I will instead link to the Daily News story. Suffice to say the whole scenario was very upsetting and it does make you wonder . . . If one of the Pub's special-admit schools can get involved in this kind of mess, how can we expect the overall league to be remotely normal? Supposedly, ConHigh, located at 7th and Chestnut and about to graduate its first seniors, draws a higher class of student. Two of its guys, Marquis White and Daivon Jackson, played football for Franklin as part of a cooperative sponsorship and both came off as nothing but class acts during their grid stints with the Electrons. Oh, well. I hope this brush with knuckleheadism was of the one-and-done variety. Let's forget the brawl. There was something controversial -- or at least strange -- even beforehand. ConHigh plays its games at Shot Tower Rec Center, on Carpenter Street between Front and 2nd in South Philly. The court has an illegal three-point arc. How? Well, it's not even fully an arc. On the sides, the arc is mostly a straight line that runs parallel to the sideline and three-pointers from close to the corner are little more than free throws in terms of distance. After Jr. WG Shaun Levine hit three easy treys in the first half, I told him we might have to use an asterisk if he ever breaks the city record in this gym. He laughed and said, "It IS close, but I can hit 'em on a real court, too." Probably so because he does have good form, but his four "illegal" threes (14 points total) definitely helped. If not for the short-circuiting, full DN ink likely would have gone to jr. WG Abdul King, one of the program's multiple transfers (Roman). One, jr. F Mamadou Diakite, has not received clearance to play as his old school, Parkway, is said to be fighting his eligibility tooth and nail. Another, jr. F Xavier Harris, came from North Catholic. In the Generals' previous game, he was ejected for hanging on the rim too forcefully/long after a dunk and could not play in this one. King scored Con's (I'm tired of typing Constitution or ConHigh - smile) first ever Pub points on a pair of free throws. But they didn't come until 3:34 remained in the quarter, and Con was down by 8-0. He then exploded for 10 more points in the session and finished with 21 total. The smooth lefty with a get-to-the-basket knack also had four apiece of rebounds, assists and steals. The center is 6-8 Erik Raleigh, who last year played for Bodine (cooperative sponsorship; Moore was an assistant there) and is listed as a junior. He was listed as junior last year, too, so who knows what THAT deal is? He's also a lefty and shows wonderful potential. However, he definitely needs to improve his foul shooting form, especially with regard to placement of feet and balance. It's a mess. He had eight points, 10 boards and four blocks. Soph F Faijon Jones added seven rebounds. WC's headliner is jr. WG Markeith Mont, and there's much to like about this kid. He's strong and savvy and his body control allows him to draw numerous fouls. I'd like to see him do a better job of finishing, though. More than once I thought he just flipped balls up there while drawing contact; or just before. He's good enough that he could have polished off some of those moves, despite the body bumps, and three-point plays could have served to demoralize the Generals. Sr. G Jean-Pierre Forte, a transfer from Lamberton, had 10 points and two steals. Anthony Guess, a 6-8 jr. C, managed five rebounds. Almost everybody got into foul trouble as the refs -- website legend Mark "Froggy" Carfagno was one of them -- whistled 34 fouls in 21 1/2 minutes. There were 23 missed free throws, so this one was a little rough on the eyes. Putting together the DN story was an all-night affair as checking and rechecking needed to be done. The last piece fell into place a shade after 11:30 when Charles Sumter, the Pub hoops chairman, called to clarify part of the punishment that Con will face. I took that cell phone call while waiting in the drive thru line at McDonald's. Up to that point "dinner" had been a Tastykake chocolate junior from an office vending machine. Now it was going to be a quarter pounder with cheese, plain. Couldn't start chomping away, however, until placing a call to the office to copy editor Jim DeStefano. I gave Jim the new info and he altered the story for the main edition. It's called teamwork, folks.

DEC. 14
CATHOLIC BLUE
Neumann-Goretti 82, Lansdale Catholic 43
  Since when have the rules of basketball changed? Since when has one team been allowed to use six players while the other has to stick with five? Oh, it's not that way? Could have fooled everyone. The way N-G kept swarming and swarming, you could have sworn coach Carl Arrigale had convinced the refs to let him use an extra player. Lansdale had some good moments, and even stood tall, with chest out, on a few occasions. But N-G has four Division I signees and LC's guys will play their college ball in Division III and that disparity, naturally, showed over time. If someone had been overwhelmingly sensational, there would have been an individual story. But the overall thought going in was to write about N-G's upcoming trip to Hawaii. I suggested to the coaches that they offer two guys to talk about that and the choices were sr. F-C Danny Stewart (Rider) and sr. WG Mustafaa Jones (Hartford). Among the tidbits that were uncovered: Stewart is not a fan of water. Who knew? Stewart uncorked three ferocious dunks en route to 11 points and his soph brother, Derrick, had one as well. Jones had nine points and three assists. Sr. WG Tony Chennault (Wake Forest) totaled 19 points and three apiece of assists and steals. The other biggie is sr. PG Tyreek Duren, who's bound for La Salle. With his future coach, John Giannini, looking on and no doubt thinking, "What a player THIS kid is going to be for me," Duren mixed 18 points (two treys) and three assists. What makes Duren's game so appealing is this: He's one of those rare guys who can buzzsaw around yet also show a certain level of calm. It's zip, zip, zip and then, when he begins to get set for his jumper, it's like he's the only guy in the gym and there's never a hint that he's forcing things or overly amped. Meanwhile, the other starter, junior WG Lamin Fulton, fueled the get-it-and-go approach with eight steals. Many came in transition or before LC had fully gotten into its sets. In the fourth quarter, frosh F John Davis, a lefty who's said to be VERY promising, bunched six boards and three blocks. Lansdale's leaders were sr. WG Mike Barr in points (17), sr. F Pat O'Hara in rebounds (nine) and sr. PG Alex Kirk in assists (three). Sr. C Dan Plummer enjoyed strong early moments while helping the Crusaders hang around. Somehow, jr. F Kyle Pagan fouled out 2:52 BEFORE halftime. He incurred his fourth at 4:04 and remained on the floor, and departed shortly thereafter. There was a PA announcer and I could hear him all the way behind the north basket and LC's coaches were right next to him, so no way they didn't know what was going on. Guess they figured they'd just let things play out, especially since the second half figured to be mix-and-matchish. Kyle never even took a shot, but did have one board and one assist. Though severely under the gun, Barr and Kirk kept competing. With more room and less fatigue, both will be dangerous trey threats as the season progresses. While waiting to take LC's team pic, I spent some time on the fringe of the locker room and listened as coach Bernie Fitzgerald gave a passionate speech about how he'd envisioned a last-second LC win.

DEC. 14
NON-LEAGUE
Lincoln 85, Mastbaum 61
  Only in the Pub . . . Ah, that felt good. My first basketball game of the season and the first use of my four favorite words. Why were they used this time? Well, this was the first game in the history of Lincoln's beautiful new gym (in the new building, too) and it started 22 minutes late with only one referee. It nevvvvver ends, folks. (The second guy never did show up.) OK, now for a name you MUST remember, in part because it could win you money someday. Maybe even as early as today. Here's the question. Who was the first kid to score in Lincoln's new gym? Answer: Rickey Savage. He's a junior guard for the Railsplitters and he tallied the first points on a layup at 7:40 after making a steal and driving maybe 60 feet. It wasn't the last time, folks. This kid is very slight, but he can fly and get to the basket like crazy, especially in transition. He zips and zaps to such an extent, he hardly ever draws contact. He finished with 25 points and missed just three shots while adding three assists and five steals. Also impressive for Lincoln was Ronald Rollins, a 6-5 jr. C with a bit of bulk. He's not the most athletic guy, but he showed good hands and a feel for the game. At times, he moved beyond the foul line to face the basket and did a nice job of distributing to wing guys for jumpers or to back-door cutters for layup attempts. He had nine points and 12 rebounds along with three assists. Jr. F Tyrone Martin scored in double figures (10). The starting point guard was sr. David "White Boy" Burkhart. He made some nice early passes as Lincoln stormed to maybe a 14-5 lead? (Didn't keep play by play. It was somewhere in that neighborhood.) He also hit three late shots to finish with nine points. Lincoln got sloppy (and overconfident?) after that early burst and allowed Mastbaum to not only catch up, but briefly go ahead. The most impressive Panther was jr. G Juwan Morrison, who's also a football player. Hey, is Mastbaum's best player EVER anything BUT a guard? Not in my lifetime, seemingly. Ha, ha, ha. Anyway, Morrison showed perfect lift and delivery on his jumpers and shot 5-for-7 on treys en route to 27 points. Alas, he went just 6-for-13 at the line. How does that happen? He also had seven steals. Another little guy football player, jr. G Marc Price, also had good moments. His energy helped to fuel the comeback and he notched eight assists along with six pure-hustle rebounds. Yet another you-know-what -- yes, a guard -- named Barry Chapman, a jr., had 11 points and six boards. Unfortunately, da 'Baum had no inside presence from anyone with size and that helped to turn the end result into a rout. As nice as Lincoln's gym is, I could see some problems developing later. The sun comes right through the high windows on the south side and before the teams came out, I stood in assorted spots and looked toward the rim at the east end. It was a rumor, folks. Could barely see it due to the glare. Luckily, it became overcast shortly after the game began. After the game I finally met Lincoln student Tyreek Wanamaker, who did some website football reports and will be checking in during hoops season as well. Also among those in attendance: Lincoln football franchise Omar Black and Brandon Bowes, a fill-it-up guard for the '07 squad. Before this game I made a pit stop at a Dick's Sporting Goods store in Mt. Laurel, N.J., to pick up scorebooks. They were horrible! Hard to use and just a small area to write down field goals, free throws, etc. So after this one I headed right nearby to Lloyd Sixsmith Sporting Goods and picked up the same number of books (three) for less than half the price! It was nice to see owner Ed Lloyd for the first time in a good while. The store was ever-packed with everything sports related and it was great to see his business is still doing so well.