If your name is misspelled on a TEAM PAGE, please speak up. Send an email to silaryt@phillynews.com or leave word on my voicemail at 215-854-5814.

SPECIAL NOTE
  To all scorekeepers: PLEASE try to make sure that correct info on scoring is called into the Score Service (215-854-4570). Part of my daily routine, especially after full-scale Pub days, has turned into this: answering multiple emails from coaches/players reporting mistakes in boxscores. We are reaching the point of no return. For years I've asked the leagues to make a rule that would force scorekeepers to sit next to each other with the scoreboard operator to one side or the other. It would thus be much easier for the scorekeepers to coordinate fouls/timeouts, not to mention cross-check info on which players actually make the field goals/free throws. Supposedly, that IS now the rule in the Pub, but many refs aren't enforcing it. Please remember, we want the info to be correct and making that happen is only fair to those involved. When the game is over, the scorekeepers should confer and make sure that their point totals for all players match up. Sounds simple, right? (smile) One more thing: Generally, it's better for us when the winning team calls in the results. That way we get info to explain HOW the game was won because representatives of the winning team will usually be in a better mood (just human nature) to provide extra details such as rebounds, assists, etc., or the identity of someone who maybe hit a winning shot. Thank you.

DEC. 31
NON-LEAGUE
Malvern 49, SJ Prep 48
  Let's hope the games we'll all see during the remainder of the season can come close to this one. 2010 went out with a goodie, though it's doubtful Prep coach William "Speedy" Morris would agree. Why not? Well, his Hawks relinquished a 13-point lead over the final 12 minutes and I can't imagine that has happened too often to ANY of his high school/college teams over a career spanning four-plus decades. I could have used "blew" or "coughed up" to describe what happened, but that would have been patently unfair to the Friars. The Hawks contributed to their own demise, no doubt, but Malvern played well during that span and made some terrific plays at key moments to earn the road victory. Plus, most of the best ones were made by the so-called lesser lights. Sr. WG Sean Gordon, who moves to the point when sr. PG Steve Perpiglia is resting, played in-your-face defense down the stretch on Prep soph CG Steve Vasturia, an abundantly talented/fluid kid who's just back from an injury. Gordon hit a left-wing trey to draw Malvern within 42-41 with 3:50 left. After jr. WG Brendan Kilpatrick (very similar to Vasturia in terms of body control/athleticism) missed the second of two free throws at 2:47, Gordon snagged the offensive rebound and the end result of that sequence was a left-baseline jumper by soph sub F Alex Dentinger, making it 46-44. Gordon had also capped a brassy drive with a layup right before the third-quarter buzzer, drawing the Friars within 37-32 and increasing their momentum heading into the final session. And down the stretch, he twice was right with Vasturia on missed treys. Afterward, Malvern assistant Joe Redican reported that Gordon (listed at 6-1; doubtful -- smile) and Perpiglia (listed at 5-8, also might be doubtful -- bigger smile) tied for the team lead in rebounds with seven apiece. Jr. F Tom Pitt and Dentinger were next with six and five, respectively. Back to some play by play . . . After Vasturia was unable to hit a right-wing trey, Malvern milked some clock and Perpiglia converted a one-and-one at 1:02 to make it 48-44. Soph WG Miles Overton (held out for the first quarter for violating a team rule) posted a three-point play to immediately return hope to the Hawk faithful (lots of recent grads were on hand), then Perpiglia could hit just one of two free throws in a double-bonus situation at 29.6. With Gordon again contesting, Vasturia was short with a right-side trey. Sr. CG Mike Fee grabbed the rebound in a mad scramble along the right baseline and his attempt at a follow was rejected (by Kilpatrick, pretty sure). Fee then was fouled by grabbing THAT rebound and he went to the line for a one-and-one at 2.1. Drained the first. MP coach Jim Rullo called an ice-him timeout. As the Hawks came back out, Fee did a deep-knee bend as he neared the line, and then wiped each hand on the bottom of his sneakers. His shot was a shade short. Overton tried to push the ball toward the hoop while simultaneously rebounding, but a last-instant miracle was not to be and Pitt whipped the ball high into the rafters in celebration. Four minutes into the third quarter, the Prep seemed to be on the verge of removing any suspense. Out of halftime it posted treys by Overton, sr. WG Gene Williams (from Overton) and Vasturia to make it 31-22. Then, Fee missed a pair of treys, but even that possession worked out as Williams canned a follow. But Malvern kept pecking away and the Hawks lost their three-point touch as the game proceeded. Kilpatrick scored 14 points, despite going an uncommon 0-for-6 on treys. Perpiglia (strong contender for anyone's all-time All-Feisty Team) had nine along with five assists. He also made a great attempt at drawing a charge on the play that resulted in Overton's late three-point play. (He could have sworn he did so, too.) Vasturia, who missed just three games, totaled 16 points. Overton, son of former NBAer Doug Overton (and sophomore starter for the 1985 Dobbins powerhouse that featured Eric "Hank" Gathers and Greg "Bo" Kimble -- all these years later, I can't help typing their real names/nicknames), had nine points and four assists. They combined to shoot 8-for-29, however. Williams, a sniper in the Joe Nardi mode, had just five attempts en route to nine points. Sr. C Mike Levy (by default; there is no TRUE center on the roster) toughed his way to eight boards . . . The save of the day was made by Joe Donahue, the freshman coach and PA announcer. Early in the game a Prep kid scored and Joe bellowed, "Mike Fee!!" Trouble was, the two points had actually been posted by Levy. Someone at the table must have told Joe because he added after just a slight delay, "TO Mike Levy!!" (Yes, Fee had made the pass to Levy. Legendary stuff, Joe. Smile). Kevin Silary was in da house!! The brother of one of his buddies goes to the Prep and the three watched the game together. The Kevster said he might hit a few more games before returning to college in a few weeks. Hmm, we'll see. The Puckster was also here. Not sure what he was babbling. Some things never change. Also in attendance was Mark Zoller, star forward for Prep's '03 championship squad. At one point Mark was standing with John Oberlies, one of his ex-Prep teammates, and I just HAD to go over and ask John, good-naturedly, "How many Oberlies brothers ARE there??!!" I added that it seems as if there's a rule at the Prep -- every hoops squad must have an Oberlies. The latest (and last of six brothers) is Kevin, a junior. Amazing. Happy New Year, everyone!

DEC. 30
SHOWCASE EVENT AT WIDENER
Constitution 75, Dobbins 56
  No doubt you've had one of these moments while watching someone play basketball -- Damn, who does he remind me of? Those moments can be very frustrating if you KNOW there's an answer, but it's just not popping into your head. So I watched and watched and watched some more as ConHigh jr. CG Daiquan Walker went through his paces and, finally, the light went on . . . he's Jeff Jones! Jones, a 2007 Bonner grad, is the No. 1 career scorer in Catholic League history, and he's sitting out this season at Rider after transferring from Virginia. Walker has Jones' body and many of his hoops mannerisms/tendencies and even bears a facial resemblance. As Amauro reported earlier this season, Walker is earning national acclaim and he showed why today. Well, at least to some degree. (This tilt had a noon start and ConHigh hadn't gotten back to Philly until 1 a.m. after winning a tourney in Reading. Plus, the atmosphere wasn't exactly crackling and, overall, Dobbins went rather meekly.) Walker, a transfer from Roman, appears to be a superior ballhandler. As in smooth and the type who never has to look down at the ball. He uses his handle to force back defenders and create space for jumpers. Also, range is no problem. Looking forward to several more looks. DN ink could have gone to Walker, of course, but from here it made much more sense to go with 6-5 sr. PF Xavier Harris, especially since he's a star student with a great chance to wind up at Penn or Dartmouth (or maybe somewhere else in the Ivy League). "X" was a mainstay as early as his freshman year at now-gone North Catholic and this is his second season at Con (typing Constitution is a pain -- ha ha). His best attribute: He actually LIKES/LOVES playing on the low blocks and near baseline, banging bodies and accepting assorted challenges. Penn assistant Dan Leibovitz was on hand and I know he must have appreciated Harris' willingness to actually PLAY his position rather than stray away onto the wings, like so many PFs like to do these days. "X" often had to go against sr. C Jerrell Wright (La Salle) and did very well, witness his 17 points and 12 rebounds. I found it interesting that Dobbins coach William Johnson opted to put Wright on Harris instead of 6-8 sr. C Erik Raleigh (limited production; battling a hand/wrist issue). A sign of respect? Two more ex-Roman players, sr. swingman Abdul King and sr. WG Marvin Champ (both in their second year at Con), posted seven and 11 points, respectively. King also claimed seven rebounds while sr. PF Mamadou Diakite notched eight. Jr. Tamir Bolger also spent a decent chunk of time at the point and his efficiency helped see to it that Dobbins managed just four steals. For the moment, Dobbins is a tough nut to crack. Lots of guys are back, but the results aren't showing that. Maybe things will improve once jr. G Walter Lawrence gets re-acclimated. He has just returned to action after resolving a health issue. Wright finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds. His main sidekick, sr. WG-SF Basir Fulmore, used a late burst to reach 11 points, but overall his early afternoon was very frustrating; he picked up his fourth foul shortly before halftime. Jr. G Daquan "Day-Day" Brown, one of the Pub's VERY few productive, three-sport athletes, totaled 13 points and three assists. He had some special moments in football and is also Dobbins' top baseball player. Well, he might be tied with fellow hoopster Fred Jones (smile). Nice! Walker and Wright won the Player of the Game trophies. All kinds of talent scouts/evaluators were in attendance. At halftime, one of the teams in the next game went onto the court to run through some offensive sets. No defense. The guys just passed and passed and ran through to different spots, etc., making sure they knew assignments. They were wearing sweatsuits and one guy was also sporting . . . a backpack. Yup, a backpack was strapped to his back. Now I've seen everything . . . Until the next game.

DEC. 29
AUDENRIED WINTER CLASSIC FINAL
Audenried 63, Parkway West 58
  It had the look of one of THOSE days, folks. With all kinds of Only in the Pub material. How so? Well, Audenried was wearing white jerseys with NO numbers on the front and two of the jerseys were illegal because they sported Nos. 6 and 8, respectively. Those guys wound up playing, too, but the refs chose to ignore the violations or didn't notice them. Audenried coach Tina Wiggins, formerly the boss at Furness, said the uniforms were donated to the Rockets by a man who's not that familiar with sports. No sweat. But isn't the knucklehead at whatever sporting goods company cranked out these babies familiar with sports? High school jerseys with no numbers on the front? And with Nos. 6 and 8 included? Ugh. Anyway, though each team had MANY kids playing out of position because of a serious lack of height, and despite the fact that there was major sloppiness, the game came down to the end and, as I often say, that's all you can truly ask, right? Now for some history: Audenried, a former junior high, is back in the Pub after a five-year absence. Its old mess of a building was torn down and a new school -- with a very nice gym -- stands on the property, hard by the Expressway between Tasker and Morris streets, in South Philly. This is year No. 3 of re-operation, so there are no seniors. PW, meanwhile, is in the old Sulzberger Junior High, in West Philly, and is one of two Parkways now in the Pub. The other is Northwest, housed on the campus of the ol' Spring Garden College in Upper Mt. Airy (right before Chestnut Hill begins). There'll be a test in the morning (smile). DN ink went to Audenried's unimposing (5-11, 155 pounds) junior center, Juawann Mason. He showed spring and timing and, of course, brass while hustling and bustling for 17 rebounds. He also collected 11 points. VERY nice job. Soph WG Qaadir Nock (14 points) shows good potential. He goes forward well and quickly, but at times is a shade too trigger-happy. Also, he's like a lot of guys in that he often lands 10-12 inches to one side of the spot from where he jumped (on his shot). That throws things off. With fine-tuning, including a shade more side-to-side swivel, he could be a gem. Mr. Clutch in the last portion of the game was jr. G-F Daquan Jones. He hit three of four free throws and turned a steal into the clinching field goal. With 12.9 left, Nock missed a one-and-one. PW jr. SF Kahlil Keel grabbed the rebound while tumbling to the floor. When he hit, maybe he was afraid of being called for a walk? Or maybe touching the baseline? Whatever the reason was, he made a quick, over-the-shoulder toward a teammate, but Jones wound up being there instead. He gathered in the ball and dropped it into the hoop for the five-point lead. Jr. CG Maurice Wiltbanks added 10 points for Audenried while two subs, Lamont Bligen and Eric Hovington, grabbed 10 boards apiece. PW's most interesting player was sr. WG Mike Stewart. He's the Pub's version of Joe Brown! Last season I made note several times of how Brown, now a senior at La Salle, used different hands for his jumpers and layups. Well, again and again, Stewart drove hard to the hole righthanded and then used his left for layups. Love it! He did finish a few times with his right, but not too often, folks. Also, like Brown, his regular shots were almost two-handed. (How do these guys' brains work?) He went 0-for-5 at the line and, honestly, most weren't close. His final numbers included 16 points and eight steals (many were easy; very quick hands and great anticipation) and there's much to like about his skills. Also intriguing was tiny jr. PG Larry Webster, who mixed 19 points with three apiece of assists/steals. He's maybe 5-4, 5-5, and one of his layups his right hand was right at rim level. Cool! Keel had nine points, nine boards and four blocks in a solid overall outing. Jr. G Terrell James had nine points. A decent crowd was on hand, and the folks showed good energy. Congrats to the Audenried people for caring enough to hold this tournament, and especially for making sure it still took place after the recent snowstorm. Hmm, wonder why Northeast's fell through? Ugh.

DEC. 28
McDEVITT’S AL ACHUFF TOURNAMENT
McDevitt 65, Gospel of Grace 32
Penn Charter 44, Pope John Paul II
  It’s 9:24 as I start this website report and if Al Gore were here right now I’d strangle him. He did invent the Internet, right? (smile). Whoever invented laptop computers would be next. My laptop completely surrendered to a virus two days ago and everything had to go. Lists of coaches’ phone numbers. File after file. All the picture folders. AOL instant message. Etc., etc., etc. The whole thing was wiped clean. I tried to back up much of the stuff on an external hard drive (or whatever it’s called), but Lord only knows if I did it correctly and whether it’ll transfer back onto this laptop. Cross your fingers, troops. I did try to download some pics about 15 minutes ago. Complete disaster. That problem will be solved one of these decades, hopefully. Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!! That’s me screaming. (Oh, and that’s The Wife, who’s trying to sleep two rooms down the hallway, telling me to shut the heck up – ha ha). My first plan today was to attend the Northeast Tourney, since it would have included four city squads (also Fels, Lincoln and Palumbo). But literally five seconds after I pulled out of the driveway, a disgusted Mark Heimerdinger (Fels' coach) rang the cell phone to report that the tourney had been canceled (not just postponed). Why? Who knows? It’s the Pub. The next time many of the School District's employees actually care about the kids will be the first. (Congrats/thanks to those who do. Shame on those who don’t, and those around you know who you are. And you do, too, deep down.) That shocker necessitated an audible and the choice was McDevitt, even though only two of the participants (McDevitt, PC) would be “ours.” We’ll start with Game Two, featuring Mickey D and GoG, which redefines tiny. Coach Mario Berrios said the school has just EIGHT seniors (five boys) and 32 kids, total, both genders, in its top four grades. Feel free to make some jokes. Many of us were. For the rest of his/her life, one of GoG’s seniors will be able to boast, “I finished eighth in my class academically,” without having to add, unless he/she wants to, “Trouble was, that was last.” One onlooker, when told how small GoG is, shot back, “Where is it? In a house or apartment?” When the Saints broke their timeout huddles, they put their hands together and chanted, “All for Christ!” No disrespect intended, but I felt like yelling, “Buy some new uniforms!” They wore dark green jerseys with black numbers. Virtually impossible to read, even when the Saints were shooting at the stage-end basket right in front of me. At the other end? NO PRAYER. Actually, all of the school’s players, coaches and fans (about 25, including students, family members and cheerleaders – four girls sat in the top row with pom-poms; one appeared to be maybe 9 years old) oozed class and I wish them the best of luck. Despite the score, GoG was not horrendous. Many of its misses were in-and-out jobs and the frustration mounted as the slightly taller, more athletic Lancers did a good job of securing rebounds and getting out on the break for easy baskets. Coach Jack Rutter’s ballclub has picked up a number of Dougherty/North refuges. (Well, mostly from the former). DN ink went to sr. F-C Imowo Udo-Utun (Gesundheit!), who in the first quarter hustled for four of his six points, five of his nine boards and all three of his steals. The downcourt beneficiary then (and later) was jr. F Markeise Chandler, who shot 10-for-13 (mostly on hard transition drives) for 20 points; he came from Imhotep. Sr. F Basil Wright (Dougherty) did an excellent job with little things (three assists, five steals) and soph PG Kenyatta Long, who showed flashes even last season, was particularly slippery and/or electric. The lefty mixed eight points, four dimes, three pilfers. Jr. F Brahieme Jackson (North), showing good/quick hops, managed 12 points and six boards. In the late going, 6-3 soph Carl Garner grabbed six rebounds and soph F-C Dan Hanagan (I hope that spelling’s right; just looks weird) notched a pair of rejections. Chris Wims led Gospel of Grace with 11 points. Though McDevitt is now 7-1, its schedule has been softer than your favorite pillow. We’ll learn something from the Penn Charter game; just not COMPLETELY sure what. Reason? Talk about a Jekyll and Hyde team. After three quarters, just when I was thinking it might be able to slap together a respectable Inter-Ac campaign, PC began to self-destruct. The Quakers committed five turnovers in 1:59 and PJPII, coached by former Kennedy-Kenrick boss Jack Flanagan (and assisted by the Rafferty twins, Mike and Dan; good to see all three of those guys!), stormed back from a 39-22 hole to make it 39-30. Coach Jim “Flipper” Phillips called time and from the other end I heard him loudly tell his squad, “You have to care about the ball!” Good advice, of course. Wasn’t followed. PC was guilty of many more foul-ups and the Golden Panthers kept coming. (Optical illusion, probably, but from the stage it appeared that almost every kid was the exact same height – smile). The GPs stormed within three on a left-wing trey with 1:27 left, but that shot would be their last to connect. One of the last ones, a follow, was blocked by 6-8, tree-trunkish soph Mike “Everybody’s Cousin” McGlinchey. One of his cousins is fellow PC starter John Loughery, a sr. F (and the QB; McGlinchey is a lineman). Another is Wood WR/LB Sam McCain. But the most famous is Atlanta Falcons’ QB Matt Ryan, a PC product. Anyway, The Glinch Who Stole the Panthers’ Post-Christmas finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Also, despite his youth, he showed a lot of leadership and was noticed speaking up more than once. Loughery had eight points and seven boards, and twice he used his left hand to earn three-point plays in traffic. Sr. WG Michael Brown (Michael L, thank you; Michael X has graduated) hit three treys (off his right shoulder) en route to 11 points and baseball headliner Demetrius “Meat” Jennings, a jr. G, dished a pair of assists. It was good to hang out, to some degree, with Pat Manzi, McDevitt’s long-time football coach and AD, and to see many familiar faces. One guy who checked in was the father of PC frosh guard Sean O’Brien, who saw some time as the sixth man and hit a trey. I didn’t immediately catch his first name, but after we finished talking, click, it all hit me . . . Damn, that was Neil O’Brien! In ’78, he was a star shortstop for La Salle. Even made second team All-City. Another star SS in that same season was . . . John Loughery Sr., who was about to depart for Boston College to play QB (yes, just like Matt Ryan would do a generation later). OK, time to post this. And to try to figure out the rest of this caused-by-a-virus mess. I promise not to yell anymore. For at least three minutes. Maybe two. (This is so frustrating!)

DEC. 20
NON-LEAGUE
Esperanza 68, Mastbaum 46
  "Aaaaaaaay! . . . Aaaaaaaaay!" That chant, uttered by the players, kept reverberating around the VERY noisy gym at McVeigh RC, D & Ontario, any time an Esperanza Toro hit a jump shot during the pregame warmups -- well, after the layup line became the jump shot line. Then, you could hear that word every so often during the game. I don't get to see Esperanza too often (with 68 schools, except for the upper-level schools that make playoff runs, who can see anyone often?), but the energy around the team is always good and the players are usually pleasant/energetic. Guess what? Now there's hope of making some noise. Don't get the wrong idea here. The Toros ain't challenging Imhotep any time soon. But they should make a strong run in Division D. One problem: Three of the four main guys are seniors, so this upswing might be short-lived. Sr. C Shaquille Bowman, who goes 6-6 and has some girth, totaled 20 points and 17 rebounds. He showed respectable footwork and I liked that he was always going forward with chest puffed out. That enabled him to follow several of his own misses for buckets. Be advised, Mastbaum has no one close to Bowman's height, though sr. Sean McCall is strong and battles hard. Sr. PG Maurice McNeal totaled 15 points, four assists and three steals, and drained his only two treys. Sr. F Hashim Fleming grabbed nine boards and appeared to be more than willing to fill the little-things role. Frosh WG Joshua Miles was impressive right away, going hard to the hole around/through guys for three early baskets. Could be a VERY nice player as his career proceeds. Sr. WG Angel Peguero hit a pair of treys. For Mastbaum, soph PG Stanley Whittaker collected eight points, five assists and even six rebounds. It's a shame the Panthers don't have the kind of frontcourt players -- then again, who does these days in the watered-down Pub? -- who could really help him show his stuff. One thing I'd like to see Whittaker do is trust his ballhandling skills a little more and make deeper penetration before kicking out passes for treys or regular jumpers. Sr. WG Eric Jarvis and jr. WG George Carter might as well be twins. They're built alike (thin) and each shoots left-handed. Jarvis (11 points) is a little wild. When he sets his feet and jumps straight up, he has a pretty good chance. Yet another WG, jr. Trequan Glenn, shows potential as a jump-shooter. McCall recorded four rejections. As the first half wound down, sr. C Timothy Odom, a big-'un who could have been the heaviest guy in city history to kick a PAT (never happened; not sure why), came off the bench and bullied for a three-point play. One of today's spectators was Anthony "Chop" Harris, a starting forward for U. City's 1995 Pub champs (he had 12 points and 13 rebounds in the final) and then a big scorer (20 ppg.) as a senior in '96. His son, frosh G Anthony "Chop Jr." Harris, made a late-game appearance for 'Baum and missed several treys. But then, hey, he did the right thing by taking a trip down the lane. And he kissed one off the glass. Nice.

DEC. 16
PUBLIC B
Boys’ Latin 58, Franklin LC
(Halted With 2:30 Remaining)
  Never have I been happier to see two quick steals. Reason: they happened at the north end of FLC’s home court, at the Cunningham Community Center (Wallace between 10th and 11th), and kept the ball up there. They also might have saved Derrick Mitchell’s life. An exaggeration? Probably so, but let’s thank the Big Fella we didn’t have to find out what MIGHT have happened. First, let us report that Mitchell, a sr. G, suffered “only” a concussion when he was upended while going for a steal and landed mostly on his head. That happened in the northwest corner of the gym with 3:09 left and even from our spots in the southeast corner, stat man Big Steve Reid and I could tell that Mitchell was struggling (we were told later he’d been twitching) and were stunned when an ambulance was not called right away, especially considering all the recent attention to concussions. However, after a slight delay, trainer Ryan Tierney and another adult walked Mitchell down to the small area right outside the gym proper (in the southeast corner; mere feet from where we were). As the game resumed, Derrick was sitting in a corner on some piled-up gym mats with his back against the two walls. Tierney was talking to him and all seemed normal. But as Derrick tried to stand up, he toppled over and sagged to the floor. This was his final position: his body was facing north-south and his head was no more than FOUR feet from the baseline. I said immediately, “They have to stop this! Stop the game!” Not real loud. Cunningham is a VERY noisy place. No one would have heard me at the other end anyway. Luckily, BL soph G Yahmir Greenlee got a steal and layup and then another steal and layup and, if I remember, FLC coach Leonard Poole called time because his team had just been hit with a 7-point avalanche in 39 seconds. Or maybe one of the refs noticed Mitchell and stopped play on his own? Not sure. Anyway, a group of PFD medics arrived shortly thereafter – they entered through the back door -- and began caring for Derrick. However, those folks said pretty early that they’d have to wait for another group of care-givers to arrive in the proper vehicle and transport Derrick to the hospital (Hahnemann, as it turned out). At least a half hour after he fell out right near us, Derrick was placed on a gurney and wheeled out of the gym at the NORTH end. His mother, Felietta Mitchell, accompanied him in the ambulance. As you can imagine, she’d been crying in the gym, though overall she held up quite well considering the fact her son was slipping in and out of consciousness, heaving, etc. The whole thing was VERY scary and Poole told the refs and Ben Dubin, the new PL hoops chairman, who happened to be in attendance, that he would accept the loss and not ask to play out the final 2:30. Incredibly, FLC was outscored by 21-2 in that final quarter. The Bobcats had major composure issues and star BL jr. G Maurice Watson (his dad, also Maurice, is the coach) finally got rolling. Oh, Watson also spent at least the early portion of the evening at Hahnemann. Reason: Shortly into the third quarter, he collided with a Bobcat while going for a loose ball and suffered a broken nose! Plus, he gushed blood all over the court. The middle section of Watson’s nose was pushed over to his left and there was lots of swelling. Watson returned to action rather quickly, but through three quarters he’d scored an unheard-of (for him) THREE points! Those had come on a very early drive for a three-point play, then he’d missed eight consecutive shots. This kid entered the season – again, he’s a junior – with more than 1,000 career markers! As he acknowledged afterward, he got a little carried away trying to match skills with FLC sr. G Turhan Griffin, a very good friend. The nose problem helped. Watson pretty much scorned drives thereafter and took some sensible jumpers. He notched 10 points in the fourth quarter to finish with 13. Greenlee, a lefty, had six of his 11. By the way, throughout the game Watson made a whole bunch of very slick passes. He could have finished with 12, 15, even more assists, but his teammates were in as much of a shooting downturn as he was. After making it back to the office (the gridlock was terrible due to the ice/snow), I wrote the story with the assumption that Derrick Mitchell would be OK. If that had NOT been the case, there would have been adjustments. I spoke with Poole at 8:50 and he said Derrick had suffered a concussion, for sure, but that there’d been no serious damage beyond that. Great news! All the best, Derrick! Watson also went to Hahnemann and had his nose reset. Watson totaled six apiece of rebounds/assists along with three steals. Greenlee had four thefts. Jr. SF Carlos Taylor had 16 points and 11 boards. Griffin was mostly terrific with 22 points, 11 rebounds and six steals. He showed that always desirable combo of brass and a calm demeanor. As in, I’m cutting your heart out, but you won’t notice it too much. Jr. F George “Tony” Ellis grabbed 11 boards and soph F Joe Robinson (they’re both thin) made four of his five shots. One of FLC’s young’uns is frosh G Sean Lloyd, who’s still just 14. His dad, Sean, starred at Roxborough and his uncle, Lewis “Black Magic” Lloyd, was an all-timer at Overbrook (’77) en route to the NBA. As the first half wound down, this Sean drove hard to the hole, unfurled a great, stop-and-go move and dumped the ball low for a layup by Robinson. Niiiice! Sean’s dad was at the game. It was great to see him! Sean Sr. told me that Savon Lloyd-Goodman, a junior star at the Academy of the New Church (and already committed to Villanova), is a somewhat distant cousin. Should have guessed that.