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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.

December reports

JAN. 28
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Gtn. Academy 65, Malvern 61
  The trail works in mysterious ways. So does the 2010-11 edition of the Germantown Academy Patriots. If not for the snow, tonight would have been spent in Levittown watching the only two non-Pub teams I’ve yet to see, Conwell-Egan and Lansdale Catholic. This game and La Salle-Carroll were the only two not postponed and at halftime I was thinking, “Could I BE any more of a nitwit?” Reason: GA was getting tripled up. As in it owned 11 measly points and Malvern boasted a whopping 33. Incredible, right? Now, go back up top to the score line. Do the arithmetic. Yes, the Patriots captured the last 16 minutes to the brassy tune of 54-28, which means they scored 3.375 points per minute. Looking at this nutty outcome another way, the basket at the west end of GA’s gym outscored the east end’s, 87-39. Phew! As the JV game was winding down, GA varsity boss Jim Fenerty mentioned that he’d been finding it impossible to get a read on his current squad. By this time of year, he added, he always knows what to expect, whether good or bad, but the current Patriots had him puzzled. I can onnnnnnly imagine what he was thinking deep down at intermission, and then how happy he was after the amazing turnaround. There were two telling moments apiece, for my money, to explain each half. In the first, GA star sr. WG Jimmy Hammer TWICE had jumpers blocked by sr. G Sean Gordon. Jumpers, not layups. How often do you see that? Especially those launched by a shooter with a draw as quick as Hammer’s. Early in the second half, meanwhile, Malvern twice was guilty of turnovers that resulted from stepping on the baseline during drives. Sloppy, and an omen. It’s not unusual, of course, for a team way down at halftime to mount a respectable comeback, even one that causes the opposition great consternation. But often, so much energy is expended during the storm-back, once a tie, or something close to it, is achieved, the trailer has nothing left to keep on surging and win the game. Not the case tonight, obviously. The first half had ended with an amazing trey by Malvern jr. PG Steve Perpiglia. Third quarter? Yet another crowd-pleasing triple. But this one was by GA soph PG Nick Lindner, off a rebound/kickout by jr. sub Connor Crump, and it gave the Patriots, now down by just 45-43, a tremendous boost heading into the final eight minutes. I don’t write down every bit of play by play, but it’s for sure that Malvern scored at least the final 13 points of the second quarter and that GA responded with the first 12 (that’s definite) of the third quarter. Lindner, carrying a goose egg at halftime, exploded for 16 markers in that stanza (en route to 18). Hammer had 11 of his 31. Just as important were the little things being done by sr. F Beau Jones, whose primary sport is lacrosse (headed for Delaware). In the first half, Beau had drawn guffaws by air-balling one free throw and then banking home the next. In the second, he  contributed six of his nine points, grabbed six of his nine rebounds, dished all five of his assists and set untold numbers of effective picks for Hammer. That’s one of my early pics from the second half: Jones setting a pick so Hammer could launch a (somewhat) open jumper. It’s the little things, guys. Remember that. After its do-no-wrong first half, Malvern struggled somewhat from the field and allowed the Patriots too many fastbreak opportunities. The Friars did own a 53-52 lead with 3:10 showing, but GA kept its poise and was able to not only go ahead, but add clinching points in the form of perfect free throws. Jones received DN ink and we had major fun with the fact that he marched (as a grinch for a comic club) in the Mummers Parade. Then, while the interview was taking place, Fenerty came rushing in to say he had another angle for the story, that way back I’d written about Beau’s mom, Jeanie McAfee Jones, in her days as McDevitt’s Homecoming queen. Versatile reporter, eh? (ha ha). That meant, of course, that her brothers, Joe and Mike, are Beau’s uncles. (Might be other brothers; those are the two I remember.) Both were subs for McDevitt and Joe (’70) had some decent moments in the Oreland Summer League. I told Beau I used to call Joe “The Best Middle-Distance Jumpshooter in the Game Today.” Beau laughed and said, “Don’t tell him that now. He has a big head. He’ll love that.” Beau’s grandpop, Joe “Reds” McAfee, was a first-magnitude athlete at the ol’ St. John’s High, in Manayunk, later starred in football at Holy Cross (career highlight: an upset win over Sugar Bowl-bound Boston College) and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers. I remember seeing Mr. McAfee at McDevitt and summer league games. He always seemed like the coolest dude possible . . . Oh, almost forgot the extra things. Sorry. GA's other scorer aside from Hammer, Linder and Jones was soph PF-C Julian Moore (seven), who also grabbed seven boards. Jr. WG Brendan Kilpatrick (19), Perpiglia (18) and Gordon (10) scored in double figures for Malvern. Gordon added five assists.

JAN. 25
PUBLIC A
Frankford 72, Bartram 53
  Only in the Bus Portion of the Pub. Bartram didn’t arrive until 3:29 and the game didn’t start until 3:57, 42 minutes late. The time was filled with Motown songs, blared around the gym, so the delay wasn’t all that bad. I even saw some youngsters mouthing the words, so maybe there’s still hope for this generation (ha ha). Oh, the time was also filled with conversation – one with star football linemen Brandon Russell, who’s navigating the recruiting world and retiring grid coach Mike Capriotti, the Jerry Blavat of teacher-coaches because he has always remained young at heart. Anyway, when the action finally began, this much was obvious: Bartram had no luck on any shot launched from within three feet of the basket. The Braves/Maroon Wave missed bunny after bunny and at times it almost seemed as if the hoop was covered with a lid. Incredible. Bartram’s scoring guards were similar to Frankford’s, but the inside stuff just wasn’t working. That was almost a game-long problem and by the time the Braves’ luck started to change even a little bit, it was way too late. DN ink went to sr. PG Keith Washington, one of Frankford’s numerous lefties (and overall school gem). Kinda. Why kinda? Well, he does shoot jumpers and free throws lefthanded, but he takes some layups righthanded and does everything else in his life righthanded. Check out the DN story to see the explanation. Pretty amazing. While accumulating 19 points, 10 assists and six rebounds, the 6-1 Washington showed a great feel and the ability to see the game two plays away, not just one. Even better: he ranks second in the senior class with a 3.8 GPA! Preliminary interest is coming from 1s to 3s, and we’ll see what happens. But there’s no denying this kid’s savvy and his ambidextrous ways make him very appealing. Lefty jr. WG Imere Taylor, who’s known to run hot and cold, found an early groove on wing jumpers and kept it throughout – five treys en route to 19 points. Sr. C Taylor Bessick goes about 6-8, maybe even 6-9. He’s thin and not yet polished, but he’s quick off his feet and shows excellent timing on shot-blocking missions. Someone said he is rather new to hoops, so he definitely bears watching. D-3 coaches, at least, should be stalking him. I liked that he didn’t sulk in an offense that was so guard-oriented. In fact, he was upbeat throughout. He had eight apiece of points, boards and blocks. Sr. WG Kevin Lawson, yet another lefty, did his best work along the baseline en route to 12 points. Jr. F Chris Lewis did little things on the weak side (six points, nine boards). Like almost always, Bartram’s main men are scoring machine guards, srs. Darrell Robinson (21) and Barry Brockington (14). Robinson will launch the occasional stand-still trey, but he’s mostly on the move with an old-school, get-it-and-go style. Brockington is more of a pure wing. Back from an injury, sr. PG Jarmal Brown had eight assists. Jr. F-C Bo Murray, one of the guys with no shooting luck, did snag 16 rebounds. Amauro checked out Franklin-FLC and his day was much goofier than mine. We were under the impression the game would be played at FLC’s home site at 3:15. Instead, it was the third game of a tripleheader (girls’ varsity, then boys’ JV, then boys’ varsity) AT Franklin. Oh, baby. Thanks for hanging in there, Amar.

JAN. 24
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Carroll 50, Wood 42
  I thought Juan’ya was goin’ all green on us. Trying to save the environment from a flurry of too many points. After the first eight minutes, Niagara-bound sr. WG Juan’ya Green owned just one shot from the floor and that was so even the though the Patriots had begun the proceedings by falling into a 9-0 crevice. What was going on? Not sure. Wood was playing zone, so it wasn’t as if Green was being hounded by seven guys named Kyle Adkins (sometimes, one is enough – smile). But as the second quarter began, Carroll was able to call a 13-12 lead its own and the primary reason was sr. swingman Jay Donovan. “Jay da Trey” had just one threeball in the first quarter, but he started off with two regulars and the seven points helped to bring back the Patriots from the semi-dead. Later, he added two more treys while finishing 5-for-8 for 13 points and somehow he led all players (not just Patriots) in rebounds with a gaudy-for-him seven. Donovan, who’s feeling spiffy since getting a haircut last Friday, comes off as a classic good soldier and in the interview he mentioned almost everyone with even a hint of an association with Carroll’s program. Back to the early '70s (JK). Reporters always appreciate a kid with a personality, especially one who’s not hesitant to show it. Good job on the court, and in front of the tape recorder, Jay. Once Green got going, he showed his wide-ranging skill set. Stand-still jumpies. Slashes to the hoop. Righthanded flips. Lefthanded curls. Brisk passes to others. Green made six consecutive shots over a span that began late in the second quarter and carried through early in the fourth. He also bagged five total assists. Elsewhere, sr. PF-C Tracy Peal failed to score, but at least three times grabbed offensive rebounds, in traffic, that led to second-chance points. Soph PG Yosef Yacob had seven points and three assists and did yeoman D-work on Wood’s franchise CG, Joe Getz. Yes, Getz posted 17 points, but they were very hard earned as Yacob, again and again, got down in a classic stance and tackled the difficult assignment. He even blocked a face-up jumper down the stretch. Jr. WG Alec Stavetski had eight points. Getz added five rebounds, four steals and one impressive dunk – off a steal – to his 17 points and, like always, was flyin’/jumpin’ around like a stone-cold brothah (smile). This kid is very athletic (duh). Adkins scored an early field goal, and that was it for the night. Not his thing, folks. Not usually, anyway. He did buzz-saw his way to four assists and five steals and the dish total could have been much higher if some of his great feeds had been followed by knock-'em-downs. Sr. WG Jack Walsh went just 2-for-9 on treys. He’s a much better sniper than that, and don’t expect the misses to continue. Frosh C Joe LoStracco (nine points) and soph F Shane Neher each hit four field goals. After LoStracco’s bucket eased Wood within 44-42 with 1:23 left, Carroll went 6-for-8 at the line as Wood suffered a drought. Thanks to Fran Murphy, Carroll’s AD and baseball boss, for directing me into the teachers’ lounge so some pregame computer work could be done – photos and report on Randolph-Saul and a blurb on O’Hara QB Ryan Laughlin, who has committed to Holy Cross. I interviewed Laughlin over the cell phone, while pulled off to the side of a South Jersey highway. I'd spoken to my daughter maybe 15 minutes earlier and told her I was awaiting Ryan's call. So what happened? Maybe 10 minutes after the interview, she called back to say, "Daddy, I saw your car pulled off to the side, interviewing that kid. I went right past you!" She should have yelled out a question for Ryan (smile).

JAN. 24
PUBLIC D
Randolph 67, Saul 53
  Not sure whether Saul could have won the game anyway, but wickedly poor foul shooting through the first three quarters did not help. The Razorbacks netted just ONE of 13 possible points. Of the 12 left on the table, 10 were misses and two were didn't-matters -- as in, the shooters were guilty of lane violations. The best play of the day was made by Saul deep sub Dahmere Mayweather, a G, and it had nothing to do with shooting, passing, etc. Late in the game, after a collision, Mayweather wound up flat on his back in the lane. Then, just like THAT, he was standing! Somehow, he just flipped himself up into a standing position! Didn't use his arms at all! For good reason, there was quite a reaction. How did he do it??!! Randolph's headliners were jr. PG Eugene Lett and soph WG-SF Deontae Richardson. Lett, a classic waterbug and the son of former Parkway star Gene Lett, finished with 28 points. Admittedly, a decent number were collected after the outcome was no longer in doubt, but I liked Eugene's spunk and floor sense. He made a number of passes through tiny openings that the average point guard would not have seen. Plus, he's a pretty good long-range bomber. Gene was in attendance and he's pretty excited that his son, who receives summertime guidance from ex-Sixers star Aaron McKie, maintains a 3.0 GPA. Gene and Aaron are buddies from way back. Richardson totaled 16 points on an assortment of mid-range shots and solid moves. I LOVED that he was 8-for-8 at the line; Lett was pretty good, too (8-for-10). Sr. G Rashon Gaymon had 10 points. Saul's one to watch is jr. WG Josh Collins, a lefty. He drained two easy treys in the beginning, but then got into a stretch where decent sashays weren't finished. I'd like to see him be a shade more focused; his mind appeared to drift at times. Sr. WG-SF Shawn Brown is a thick, methodical kid who looks much more like a football player. When he stays within himself, he's effective. His body can absorb a lot of contact. Collins and Brown scored 15 and nine, respectively. Jr. G Abdoulay Gakou had 10 points. There was no real drama once a 17-4 second quarter enabled Randolph to claim a 35-21 halftime lead. Like always, it was great seeing Razorbacks boss Paul "King of Saul" Winters, a former football assistant at Germantown Academy, and to meet Randolph coach Michael Moore. I'm pounding out this report in the teachers' lounge at Archbishop Carroll, where the Patriots will be meeting Archbishop Wood in a half-hour. I doubt either team will, in effect, go 1-for-13 at the line through three quarters. Let's hope not, anyway.

JAN. 23
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Neumann-Goretti 70, Roman 62
  The inner workings of some games are harder to figure than others. On a day when its only true player of note, sr. PF-C Fortunat “Junior” Kangudi, scored just four points and attempted just two – count 'em, TWO – shots from the floor, Roman gave host N-G pretty much all it wanted. How? Well, you won’t need three guesses if you pay attention to “modern” hoops. Before you make the first guess, go stand behind the arc. The Cahillites hit four treys in the first quarter, and (a somewhat lowly) two in the second and five more in the third, so right there alone you’re talking 33 points. When people ask me why there are so few quality big guys these days, the answer is a number – three. Why would someone possibly want to work his arse off and never get the ball? (Unless off the glass.) The three-pointer, I believe, is the reason football is producing more athletic big guys. The kids try basketball when younger, get the early hint that they’re mostly there for show, and then devote all athletic time to football. Exceptions? Of course. And was Kangudi purposely ignored today? No way! N-G did a tremendous job of fronting/denying him and when some lobs went awry, hesitation set in. Keep in mind, N-G has two frontcourt forces in jr. Derrick Stewart and soph John Davis. Boardswise, Stewart-Kangudi was pretty much a standoff with the former prevailing, 10-8. And Stewart (with 10) did not have THAT many points. Ah, but Davis, a spring lefty, went borderline berserk with 20 points and 19 clutches of caroms (nine offensive). Kangudi can only box out one guy at a time, folks. Davis, of course, could have gotten the ink, but I didn’t feel like being sued for negligence/incompetence by sr. PG Lamin Fulton, who played well in two earlier N-G triumphs but wound up yielding to jr. WG Billy Shank (after La Salle) and soph CG Hanif Sutton (after Carroll). As detailed in that Carroll report, in a wonderful gesture, Fulton even sent Sutton out of the locker room to receive that DN ink because he appreciated how well ‘Nif had shut down star WG Juan’ya Green. Even in this one Sutton played a prominent role, thanks to his fourth-quarter cloaking of jr. G Montana Mayfield. Through three quarters, Mayfield, a lefty, owned five treys and 20 points, but he went 0-for-2 in the fourth as the Cahillites wound up posting just two measly field goals. As for Fulton (St. Peter’s), he wound up shooting 10-for-21 (4-for-9 on treys) and 6-for-6. After registering 11 points in the first quarter, and settling for two in the second, he roared back for nine and eight in the last two sessions. He showed a solid left hand on several occasions and his expression/demeanor throughout pretty much screamed at the Cahillites, “Don’t think for a second that you’re going to leave here with a victory. Yes, you’ve played OK and I respect your efforts today, but again, forget that W stuff.” Fulton also had four assists. With Fulton, Davis and Stewart accounting for 60 of the 70 points, the Saints were merely a three-man gang on the offensive end. The turning point was a 10-2 run to start the fourth quarter and Fulton had six of those on two threes. The start of the story dealt with Lamin’s shaky beginning, floor-generalwise. Somehow, he was guilty of four turnovers in the first four minutes. He settled down, of course, and was his usual calm/collected self later on. Soph SF Shafeek Taylor added 17 points for Roman and drained two big-boy treys in the third quarter, when N-G was making hints about taking command. Frosh G Shep Garner (11) hit one trey apiece in each of the first three quarters. The teams combined to shoot a rather amazing 16-for-31 from behind the arc over those first 24 minutes. Final totals: 18-for-39 (still very impressive). N-G now stands a good chance of breaking the CL record for consecutive wins counting regular season and playoff tilts. It owns 45 with O'Hara, West, Wood, Bonner and SJ Prep (Feb. 11 at N-G) coming up. Verrrry interesting. Many seem to forget this, but Prep boss Speedy Morris coached N-G X-and-Oer Carl Arrigale ('84) at Penn Charter. Roman won 49 regs/playoffs in a row from 1989 to ’92. The Saints have already surpassed the regular season CL mark of 40 (also by Roman from ’89 to ’92). In a weird coincidence, this win was also No. 45 in that category. Ex-Roman star Maalik Wayns (‘Nova) was in attendance. As were former N-G stalwarts Robert “Beattie” Taylor, Cantrell “Man-Man” Fletcher and Earl Pettis (now at La Salle). Maybe some others, too? Hey, I can’t remember everything (smile).

JAN. 13
PUBLIC A
Lincoln 58, Edison 38
  So, it’s 2:30 and I’m standing in Northeast’s gym, watching a bunch of kids running around playing basketball and some version of soccer, and there’s no hint that a basketball game soon will be taking place. Know why? Because Northeast-Southern was AT Southern. Ugh. A schedule provided earlier this season by Score Service had the site reversed and I didn’t open a confirmation text received earlier in the day from Ben Dubin, the new Pub hoops honcho. We have an arrangement. I text him where I plan to go with the time and he responds whether everything’s A-OK. I only saw one reading “good.” He’d also sent one saying the game would be played at Southern. Oh, baby. Ben and I spoke on cell phones and he listed a couple of other semi-nearby games. Edison-Lincoln was the choice. I called Big Steve Reid. He was just arriving at the end of the El, in Frankford. He jump-switched to another bus and made it into Lincoln’s 2-year-old gym maybe halfway through the first quarter. Not bad. The game? It WAS bad. Except for jr. C Mike Fuller, I doubt Edison has anyone over 5-11. Lincoln starts two big-‘uns in sr. C Ronald “Boy-Boy” Rollins and jr. PF Michael Bowlers and another tall kid, sr. Javon Fluellen, is back in action after resolving a school issue. For a reason I found to be mysterious, Lincoln played zone in the first half and that allowed Edison to hang around by doing what it always does – mad bomb. The Railsplitters switched to man beyond intermission and added better pressure and there wasn’t a hint of drama over the last, say, 12 minutes. DN ink went to the 6-7, 220-pound Rollins, and we largely focused on how his mom, sister and nephew were grouped together wearing Team Boy-Boy T-shirts with his No. 4 on the back. Unfortunately, too many Pub kids are on their own, or close to it, so it was great to see this show of family support. I mentioned to DN lensman Yong Kim that Rollins would likely be the focus in the third quarter and Yong positioned himself around the gym in an attempt to get Boy-Boy playing with his rooters in the background. Then, he stayed around afterward to take a cool group photo of the quartet and that’s the one that will appear in the paper. Thanks, Yong! Rollins had 10 points and 15 rebounds and he might be one to watch as he works on developing his overall athletic profile. He said he hopes to attend a prep school next year. Bowlers, a lefty, has pretty good bounce. His shooting form is highly strange, however (serious backspin), and he’ll need to work on that. Fluellen is thinner than those two and he didn’t see a whole of time, but he might be the most athletic of the trio. He made one out-of-nowhere block. Sr. G Rickey Savage strikes me as more of a point than a wing. Perhaps he’s where he is so his scoring skills can be better utilized? Sr. Nahjir Robinson runs the point. While it’s hard to make much of a judgment off this game, Lincoln could have some fun as we roll through the rest of January and then into February. Very few teams can match the Railsplitters’ height. The jury is out on the presence of long-term common sense. What do you say, guys? In my earlier look at Edison, vs. Overbrook, Fuller was basically a non-factor due to foul trouble. Today he had some impressive no-muss, no-fuss moments, meaning the ball was quickly in and out of his hands in the process of making good things happen. Fuller had 11 points and seven rebounds. Sr. WG Alan Johnson hit two treys en route to 14 points. One of the top Owls, sr. G Curtis Greer, was missing due to an ankle injury and only eight guys were in uniform. Soph Anthony Montgomery led in boards with nine. The most famous man in the building was website reporter Tyreek Wanamaker. By far!! (smile). Also on hand was former long-time DN stat man Keith Hines, who assists with Frankford’s varsity but works as a non-teaching assistant at Lincoln. He decided to scout the Railsplitters rather than catch Frankford’s tilt with Kensington. I gave both guys a ride while heading back to the office and, yes, the McDonald’s radar was in full effect. We hit the drive-thru across from the ol’ North Catholic. Keith passed. He’s on a diet. Big Steve wolfed down a double cheeseburger. I ordered the usual, No. 2 plain with no cheese. (Long story. Abridged version: Cheese now gives me farts that can be smelled two time zones away.) The order-taking lady said twice, “You want plain? No ketchup? No cheese? No nothin’? Just the meat and bread?” Her voice was making it sound like I was the weirdest customer ever (smile). Indeed. So we pull away from the window, I open the box and . . . but of course. TWO slices of cheese. Top and bottom of the sandwich. Luckily, there were easily peeled off. Big Steve and Keith were ever grateful. Unknowingly, so was everyone at work in the DN sports department.

JAN. 11
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Judge 44, SJ Prep 41
  Be still my heart. I'm kind of excited after seeing Father Judge for the first time this season. Reason? The transformation of sr. C Seamus Radtke. One of the joys of this job is watching kids blossom, and in Radtke's case that happened because he dedicated himself to shedding excess weight. The 6-8 Radtke now goes 240 after soaring as high as 285 (maybe even 286, he said -- ha ha) last summer. The Not-the-Same Seamus now moves better, has more stamina and boasts the extra spring in his step that comes with added confidence. After the game, assistant Mike O'Connell asked me which guy to fetch for interview purposes. I mentioned Seamus' name and added, "Your fourth point guard." Radtke can see the floor and capitalize on that vision with crisp passes. Plus, he now can dribble and even go to his left. And not just for one or two bounces. Niiiiice! On one possession, he began on the left wing and took 10 to 12 dribbles while evading assorted defenders and getting to the top of the key. With today's Frankford-Washington game postponed by the threat of snow (I didn't see the first flake until hitting the McDonald's drive-thru at Broad and Girard a shade after 5 o'clock), Amauro Austin checked out this tilt and was darn near gushing about Radtke. For good reason. He feels Radtke could at least earn a low-I scholarship, and that would be truly wonderful to see. Sometimes big kids are introverted and hard to interview. Not Seamus. He was expansive and funny and that says he's comfortable in his new-found skin and ready to conquer all challenges. He shot 5-for-8 for 10 points, snatched eight rebounds and dealt three assists. Judge has an interesting mix. Srs. Reggie Charles and Nick Sullivan and soph Steve Griffin all can handle and direct the show, so it's tough to press the Crusaders. At a listed 6-3, Charles is now considered a forward, but he's still a guard at heart and he did the handling down the stretch. Griffin scored 15 points and was second among the 'Saders in rebounds with five. He hit two treys along the way and was absolutely perfect with both ends of a one-and-one with 33.7 to go, making it 44-39. If the Prep kept a shot chart, it would be very interesting. Sr. C Mike Levy never did shoot the ball and almost no shots were taken anywhere close to the basket. Yes, there were some drives, but most ended in the 6- to 8-foot range with flips or short jumpers. The Hawks shot 5-for-18 on treys. Jr. WG Gene Williams and soph CG Steve Vasturia scored 11 points apiece while soph WG Miles Overton managed 10. According to stat man Big Steve Reid, the Hawks' rebounders lined up in nice order. Seven for Overton, six for Williams, five for Vasturia, four for Levy and three for sr. PG Mike Fee. Vasturia and Fee bagged four and three assists, respectively. The teams combined for just five steals. Here's the play by play for the moments after Griffin's free throws: Vasturia banked home a short flip shot at 0:18 and Sullivan was sent to the line at 14.4 for a one and one. His miss was rebounded by Overton. The Crusaders owned just three team fouls. They hacked at 9.8 and again at 7.9. Overton then missed a contested trey, over Charles, from a spot to the right of the top of the key. Judge sr. F Brett Zanneo rebounded and missed a one-and-one at 2.0. There was no last-second miracle. Williams' heave was way short. There was a strange atmosphere for this one. The Prep is having morning exams this week, so the students were long gone by the time 3:30 rolled around. End result: very little noise and juice. Roughly an hour before gametime, I spoke for a while with Prep sub Kevin Oberlies, the youngest of six boys in his family. He has no sisters. When I asked him whether his mom and dad also come from families filled with boys, he said (pretty sure; didn't write it down) that his mom has four brothers while his dad has four sisters. Legendary. We also talked about journalism and how our sports department works. He was stunned, as most people are when they hear it, that reporters do NOT write the headlines that go on their stories. Editors do that. Among the spectators close to us: N-G coach Carl Arrigale, assistant John Mosco and two players, Lamin Fulton and Johnny Davis; former North Catholic baseball-basketball star Tom Bonk (played in the minors); and Ryan scout Anthony Magallanes. The Puckster taped for Roman from the top of the stands down the way. He also helps out at Holy Family and is dying to get them interested in Radtke. Amauro said Puck was babbling about Radtke and how he HAD to get the HF coaches out to see him. Amauro told him, "Why don't you just show them the tape? After they see it, they'll definitely come out." Puck responded, "Oh, yeah. Good idea. But I gotta give dis tape to Whoaman coach." Amauro shot back, "Make a copy first." . . . Puck's not as smart as he looks (smile).

JAN. 10
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
McDevitt 52, O'Hara 51
  This must have been I Could Kick Myself Weekend (if you'll allow me to include Monday in the weekend). McDevitt is still kicking itself for not shocking Roman Friday night, when it definitely coulda/shoulda, and now O'Hara is doing likewise after blowing a 10-point lead over the final four minutes. After doing lots of good things beforehand, sr. WG Lamotte Williams missed one-and-ones with 16.2 and 9.6 seconds remaining. In between, he won a spirited battle for the loose-ball rebound, and that battle extended all the way out to within a whisker of halfcourt. After Williams' second miss, he tried to secure this rebound, too. But as Williams powered toward the right baseline, McDevitt jr. WG Gerald Scott was trying to gather in the ball and Williams bumped into him semi-hard, drawing a foul. At the other end, Scott, 2-for-5 so far at the line, calmly drained both ends of a double-bonus. O'Hara's last chance featured a hard drive by jr. WG Pat Hagenbach. Jr. F Markeise Chandler did not actively contest the shot, but he was standing on the right block with arms upraised and his presence likely caused Hagenbach to go just a wee bit deeper than he would have preferred, thus changing the angle of the layup. It barely missed and Scott collared the last rebound. This game was a classic example of O'Hara's in control, O'Hara's in control, O'Hara's in control, oops, things are slipping and McDevitt has a prayer, and then, this might not finish too well. I can't say the Lions were horrendous down the stretch, but there were some errors as they were forced out of their comfort zone. Losing sr. PG Joel Davidson to five personals did not help, either. Early, sr. PF-C Sean Mayo appeared headed to an all-time outing. He scored eight quick points and finished the first quarter with 13! He took two shots from the floor thereafter, however (making both), and went 1-for-2 at the line. He also claimed 12 total rebounds. Mayo is not overly athletic, but shows great attention to fundamentals. It was a pleasure to watch him play. The DN story focused, in part, on how Scott recently had to miss some games and practices because of a school suspension. He was starting beforehand and wants to again, of course. Jr. F Brahieme Jackson (14 points) and Chandler (10) were especially active beyond intermission and Chandler even broke through for steals/assists. Soph PG Kenyatta Long, a lefty, once again showed why teams really have to prepare for him. He's VERY quick and appears to love being a defensive pest. As the second half started, a man sitting not far from halfcourt yelled to Long, "No turnovers! No turnovers! Take care of the ball!" (He mostly obeyed -- smile.) In the late going, sr. F Basil Wright made two steals and sr. F Ryan Leaks hit two buckets. Otherwise for O'Hara, jr. F Ed Allen had a nice, two-block sequence on the same Mickey D possession and soph G Chris Duffin showed brass by driving hard for a layup just when his team was beginning to teeter. Those would be the Lions' last two points; McDevitt scored the final nine. Father Bill Chiriaco, who formerly worked at McDevitt, handled PA duties in ever-entertaining fashion. He was calling Williams will-yum-zzzzzzzuhhhhh. Luke Sawick, former McDevitt QB and website writer (for hoops), was in da house. Might he also go the Matt Davis route and get back into the write-a-report mode? MAJOR props to the O'Hara folks for finally making the gym leave its cave days behind. It's so bright, no flash is needed for pics. Plus, with the end stands down, I was able to perch right behind the basket. As the players concluded their journeys through the handshake line, there was a brief dustup. Maaaaaaybe a hint of pushing. Mostly scowls and muttered comments. Cooler heads quickly prevailed.

JAN. 10
NON-LEAGUE
Fels 50, Germantown 41
  Great day on the goofy-things trail! No. 1, far and way, was the show put on by Fels soph PG Danil Mateo after he nailed a trey in the second quarter. I even featured it on the homepage. The kid wasn't finished. With 5:20 left in the fourth quarter, he banged his head in a loose-ball scramble and wound up lying on the court, agonizing, near the baseline. Then, while holding his head, he rolled his still-flat body over one, two, three, four, five, maybe even six times until he was right against the wall. This character is my new favorite player! (smile) Also today, Germantown jr. G Will Parks tried four free throws on one visit to the foul line and no tech was involved. Hmmmm, how'd that happen? Well, he was fouled while launching a trey. He made the first, then missed the second, third and fourth. Huh? He got the extra attempts because Fels was guilty of a lane violation during No. 2. The last nutty sight: The four side baskets in Fels' new building face the same direction as the baskets on the main court! They're not too far from the stands, so forget about having normal games during gym classes. If the baskets were aligned in cross-court fashion, the way they're supposed to be, you could have two games at once. As it is, the two side courts are brutally narrow. What nitwit designed this place?! Only in the Pub!!! The baskets themselves (on the real court, of course) are incredibly rigid. The ball hits the rim and the latter does not budge. If you're not a good shooter, forget it. You're not getting a roll. At least today, Fels had no true jump-shooter and almost every possession was capped with a hard move to the basket. Coach Mark Heimerdinger, former Dougherty X-and-Oing legend, recently dismissed two important players due to their inability to follow rules, so the team is in scramble mode. The best Panther is said to be jr. F Nijay Kelly, who's also a standout wideout. He didn't shoot too much, but that's OK because I'd rather see common sense than a bunch of forced shots. He managed 10 points, seven rebounds and four steals. Mateo went 4-for-4 at the line en route to 11 points and on occasion worked well in tandem with jr. G Cristian Rojas. Hey, isn't that the name of a law firm somewhere around 5th and Lehigh? Mateo and Rojas? (smile) Somehow, soph G TJ Scott quietly totaled 12 points and seven boards. One of those kill-ya-softly guys, eh? For G-town, following the repair of some school issues, today marked the 2010-11 debut of sr. WG Robert Manning. The lefty hit three treys after halftime and played with all kinds of energy. Could help the Bears a lot over the latter half of the season. Sr. combo G Wonye McFarland also looked competent, but his jumper was off. In the opening moments, sr. C Chris Bailey showed quick hops and good body control on a follow, but was barely heard from again. Sr. F Tahron Fitzhugh had eight points. Fitzhugh's basket on a pass from Manning gave the Bears a 36-31 lead shortly into the fourth quarter, but Fels regrouped and got lots of help down the stretch from a noisy (though small) group of spectators. Right after game's end, Heimerdinger quipped, "Just like Dougherty-Judge, right?" Um, no. "Ding" said he highly appreciates the help he's getting from former Lamberton boss Mitchell Kurtz. "He's great with the kids and really knows the game." Ben Dubin, the former Frankford coach and now the Pub hoops commissioner, was in attendance. He said he could picture Fels serving as a playoff site. And I'm nominating Danil Mateo for pregame, even halftime/postgame, entertainment!!

JAN. 9
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Roman 52, Bonner 45
  In its long and often glorious hoops history, Roman has experienced many, many, many, (one more) many 2-0 weekends. Over the last four-plus decades, going back to when Speedy Morris started keying the program's resurrection in 1967-68 season, there haven't been too many like this one. The Cahillites are extremely young and you know what means: inconsistency. After almost falling to McDevitt, a long-time lesser light, on Friday, Roman was taken to the limit, on its home floor, by a Bonner squad that's hardly a powerhouse and was missing three contributors -- jr. G Billy Cassidy (dehydration; even caused a two-night stay in the hospital), sr. G Joe McGinn (knee) and sr. F Joe "Website Legend" Phelan (concussion) -- for assorted reasons. Before we go any further, Bonner played its collective butt off! Roman's legendary gym wasn't crowded and since very few of the spectators were students, noise was lacking. But it's always an intimidating place, especially because it's so narrow, and it was impressive to see the Friars (mostly) maintain their poise and focus; more on them later. Roman's situation is interesting and likely unprecedented. Eight of the 13 varsity guys are freshmen and sophomores (four apiece) and five are in the nine-man rotation. The only extended-time senior is 6-8 PF-C Fortunat "Junior" Kangudi, who is very athletic and now shows some muscle, as well. Schools such as Seton Hall, Rutgers, Virginia Commonwealth, Missouri and Arizona State are keeping tabs on Kangudi, as are numerous lower-level D-1's, and now the race is on to get a qualifying SAT score. It's not that Kangudi is deficient. The "problem" is, he grew up in Canada and his native language is French, so there are still some glitches when it comes to understanding. An attempt is being made to allow Kangudi to take the SAT on an untimed basis, and that could help him greatly. We wish him the best. While finishing with 15 points, nine rebounds and two blocks, he wolfed down two dunks and traded all kinds of body shots with Bonner's Slade brothers, sr. Scott and jr. Craig. Man, it was physical out there! If the refs had called things tightly, all three guys would have incurred, oh, maybe 57 personal fouls (smile). While Kangudi is a known quantity, thereafter it's who knows? Yes, there's talent, but coach Chris McNesby is still trying to mix and match because it's not yet evident which guys are truly ready to make consistent contributions AND blend seamlessly with others. You know how it goes: every good player who opts to attend Roman thinks he'll be a star, if not the franchise. Not possible. Some will work out. Some will learn to live with roles they didn't picture. Others will get hissed off and transfer (or their parents will make them do that). It's not easy, folks. Today, jr. PG Montana Mayfield had 13 points and four assists while soph WG-SF Shafeek Taylor mixed seven points, five rebounds and two assists. Soph G Britton Lee experienced early foul trouble and never did get rollin'. Frosh G Shep Garner, a highly heralded Chester import, hit no FGs but did go 4-for-4 at the line and dished three assists. His mom sang the National Anthem. Bonner received 14 points from jr. SF-WG Josh Hoho, who showed lots of positive qualities and common sense. I liked how he created space for himself and was able to use his off hand. Craig Slade, who's apparently called "Pop" and/or "Poppy," totaled 12 apiece of points and rebounds, along with three assists, and usually had in-front-of-him duties with Kangudi (with Scott behind). Scott had some off-kilter moments in tight while setting for four points. All things considered, the best Friar was jr. PG Shawn McCafferty. It's not easy playing at Roman even for 27 seconds at the end of a blowout. Imagine getting your first extended time there in a shorthanded situation. Well, McCafferty did great. He was guilty of just one turnover, dished five assists and bombed home a fourth quarter trey. Also, he uncorked a vintage move against pressure that broke a defender's ankle. The bench guys LOVED that one. Also important, primarily for his take-no-cwap approach (to use Puckese) was sr. WG Anthony Jackson. He hit two threes en route to eight points. On two different occasions, he was accused of stepping on a prone Roman player. I didn't see the first one at all; had looked down to write stats. The second time he definitely walked through a couple guys and someone else was underneath. The Roman guy was fending him off with his hands up and they did get tangled. Thankfully, the end result was not a brawl. Roman won the game with a six-point run, breaking away from a 43-43 tie. Baskets by Kangudi sandwiched two free throws by Mayfield and during that same span Kangudi got a bit (just enough) of a blocked shot to add to the momentum. Mr. Thomas "Hockey Puck" McKenna, now helping (or hurting? -- ha ha) at Roman since North no longer exists, was his ever-wacky self. While the JV game was going on, toward the back of the stage, Chris McNesby and I had new assistant (and former Roman all-timer) Donnie Carr almost dying with legendary Puck stories from throughout the years. After the varsity tilt, I went over to the scorer's table to exchange stats with the Puckster and noticed a big red mark on the right side of his forehead. Had he fallen? Bumped his head against something? Nope, he'd only been following an age-old, nervous-tic routine of tapping his writing instrument against his head every so often. One problem: Usually, he uses a regular ballpoint pen. Today he was using a magic marker. Yes, a red one. Gotta love it!

JAN. 8
DAN DOUGHERTY INTER-AC TRIPLEHEADER
Gtn. Academy 54, Episcopal 35
Chestnut Hill 48, Penn Charter 24
Malvern 54, Haverford School 47
  Have you ever seen a team or individual set/tie a WORLD record? If you witnessed today's first game, you have. How so? Episcopal attempted NO free throws. As in none. As in the Churchmen made no visits to the foul line. Not a one. If right now you're saying, "That's incredible," well, check this out: In Game 2, PC attempted just two free throws. So, there were almost two consecutive games where one team launched no foul shots!! PC's only free throws were shot by soph PF-C Mike McGlinchey with 15 seconds left in the first half and he made both. CH had committed a turnover shortly beforehand while ostensibly holding for the last shot and I had that sinking feeling: Ah, man. This could mess up three straight halves with no free throws by one of the teams. Sure enough, McGlinchey got the ball down low and was hammered. Oh, well. Even in game No. 3 we almost had the wacky circumstance. HS tried just one free throw (sr. F-C Andrew Acker completed a three-point play in the first quarter) and MP got only two chances (jr. WG Brendan Kilpatrick went 1-for-2, also in the first quarter). Final tally: In the three games, just SEVEN free throws were launched in the combined first halves. Even if you live to be 100, I doubt you'll ever see that again in consecutive games. Game One featured Craig Conlin's Current School (EA) vs. The One Where He Formerly Assisted Jim Fenerty (GA). By all accounts, the Churchmen's roster is filled with great kids and quality athletes in other sports. Basketball is not a primary endeavor, though, and that fact showed against a team featuring hoops mainstays. Overall, EA shot 17-for-49 and hit just one trey in 11 attempts. Imagine if the Churchmen had gone without a successful trey AND the no free-throws-at-all thing. To their credit, they did create a hint of discomfort for GA in the third quarter. As part of an 8-2 run, they hit their first four shots (sr. G-F Dan Mengel had two of them) to move within 30-20. As one would have expected, GA regrouped. There'd be one more mini-rush. After EA's first six shots of the fourth quarter resulted in misses, sr. G-F Taylor Wright (son of some guy who happens to coach Villanova's basketball team -- smile) hit a right-wing trey and GA's led was down to nine points, at 42-33. There was no further drama. Srs. Greg Guers (G) and Beau Jones (F) scored 14 points apiece for GA, which went 13-for-14 at the line over the final eight minutes. CHA looked very crisp while gutting PC. There were possessions with four-five passes in a row without a dribble. Coach Bill Dooley has no true point guard (no seniors, either), but his son, Billy, a 6-4 jr., often winds up as the handler/distributor and is helped by his height and basic instincts. Jr. WG Luke Mulvaney was particularly impressive. I wouldn't say he was chunky last year, but he is definitely better toned now and some of his sequences featured nice athleticism. Malik Garner, a 6-5 jr. F, was effective both near and not-near the bucket and did a good defensive job on PC soph manchild Mike McGlinchey. At two different junctures, PC was being tripled (24-8 and 36-12). Not good. The finale offered a familiar plot, at least for me. Just as they did New Year's Eve Day at SJ Prep, the Friars found themselves in a double-digit hole shortly into the third quarter. That time it was 35-22 (if memory serves). Today HS was up by 29-14 at halftime and then by 31-17 with six minutes left in the third quarter. What happened? Not sure, exactly. I'm thinking maybe a lack of confidence set in after a few unforced errors occurred in rather rapid fashion. It was like, "Man, everything is going so great . . . Uh, oh. Now it isn't." The Friars became extra frisky after sr. G Sean Gordon made two nice plays in quick succession. First he scored and then hit jr. WG Brendan Kilpatrick for a bucket and 31-20 became 31-24 with 3:22 left in the third stanza. We had a game. MP claimed the lead, at 36-35, just 0:19 into the fourth period as Gordon knocked down a left-wing trey. The same guy also put the Friars ahead for good, at 43-42, by hitting a free throw at 4:02. The good vibrations continued with multiple contributors. Jr. F Tom Pitt scored on a pass from Gordon and Kilpatrick scored a transition bucket on a feed from sr. PG Steve Perpiglia. Thereafter, high on the very-important list were four free throws by backup sr. C Carl Nassib, who was sent to the line after snatching high-traffic boards. Gordon mixed 13 points, four rebounds and three apiece of assists/steals. Kilpatrick had 15 points. Pitt and Perpiglia halved 10 boards. The best Ford was sr. F-C Andrew Acker, who displayed good footwork/bounce and a soft shooting touch while scoring 23 points. He had 14 of HS' 18 points beyond intermission. Jr. WG Zach Thomas (14) was terrific early, but managed just two points over most of the last three quarters. Ben Bentil, a 6-8 frosh, will bear watching . . . Congrats to the I-A folks for naming the tripleheader after ex-Episcopal (and Malvern) coaching all-timer Dan Dougherty, who retired after the 2009-10 season. GREAT MOVE! Dan did a ceremonial toss before the GA-EA game. Among the spectators: Malvern product Mike Francisco, who received DN ink after this same event four years ago (following a 55-50 win over CHA). The lefty reliever went to 'Nova on a baseball scholarship and was drafted last spring drafted by the Phillies. He opted to stick around for his final season and here's hoping a great 2011 leads to even more scouting attention, and then big bucks.

JAN. 7
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Wood 45, Ryan 40
  Kyle Adkins is the modern-day Toebe Hinckle. Who? Toebe Hinckle. City legend. You don't remember him? (smile). In January of 1991, Hinckle, a senior guard, received DN ink after contributing seven assists, but NO points, to Episcopal Academy's 57-35 win over Penn Charter. Twenty years later, like clockwork, DN ink again went to someone who put no X's (or 2's or 3's) or filled-in circles into the scorebook. This is my 40th season of writing about high school basketball for newspapers. Pretty sure Hinckle and Kyle Adkins, a jr. WG, are in a club of two. Adkins, also a football star (as was his brother, Scott, now a frosh at Penn State Altoona), dished five assists, mostly for treys after frisky penetration followed by kickouts. He also played tre-MEN-dous defense on Ryan's big scorer, sr. G-F Eric Fleming, and that was impossible not to reward. Fleming finished with nine points, but two came on treys where Wood was briefly playing zone (one was off an inbound play). Fleming is a born scorer with a quick release and has a knack for hitting jumpers even when he's off-balance. But tonight he visited Suffocation City, thanks to Adkins. When speaking with Kyle for the interview, I mentioned he could have been the "second or third" no-points guy to get a story. I remembered Hinckle right off and the mind was also thinking of SJ Prep C Pete Buzby, who played just two years ago. Guess where he also got ink? At Ryan. In fact, he was interviewed in the same room as Adkins, a short distance down the hallway from the visiting locker room. However, a website check revealed that Buzby scored one point in that game on a free throw with 3:40 left. He attempted NO shots from the floor. Hinckle had tried one, a layup. Adkins missed a pair of three-point launchings and never got to the line. For those who might find this interesting . . . In 1983, Carroll beat SJ Prep, 46-41, and just two Patriots did all of the scoring. I covered that one, too, on a Friday afternoon in a long-gone Prep gym that is now a cafeteria, or at least a snack area. Rich Conboy, a senior guard, shot 10-for-20 from the field and 4-for-5 for 24. Manny Carlis, a junior forward-center (he wound up transferring to Bartram and was a first team All-City linebacker), shot 9-for-15 and 4-for-6 for 22. Three-point baskets were not yet possible in high school ball. Four other players (including Mark Tassoni, who missed a one-and-one with 17 seconds left to clinch the freak occurrence) combined to shoot 0-for-12 from the floor and 0-for-2 from the line. I remember hoping Tassoni would miss, just so the two-scorers thing would hold. Ha, ha. OK, enough semi-ancient history. It was strange that tonight's contest came down to the wire because Wood jumped all over Ryan to start the first and third quarters. Wood led, 11-3 (and even 17-8), but the halftime score wound up being 23-23. Beyond intermission the Vikings owned a 41-32 pad, but again Ryan charged back. With 1:17 left a one-and-one by undersized jr. F Christian Rivera (props to this kid; he always goes hard) advanced the Raiders within 43-40. They missed three treys the rest of the way, however and sr. PG Joe Getz converted a one-and-one at 35.4. This was my first look at both teams. Getz played OK, but certainly not in his usual very impressive fashion, as he'd no doubt admit. He failed to finish a few of his patented, athletic sashays and his overall game was slightly off-kilter. Still, this kid is a SERIOUS PLAYER and it's hard to fathom why more D-1's aren't on him. That will/must change! Sr. WG Jack Walsh, son of the same-name coach, hit four treys but had a rough night on the refs'-calls trail. I liked frosh Joe LoStracco, a big-thick center who bears a striking overall resemblance to ex-stud Wood lineman Adam Citko. LoStracco's body needs some reshaping, but I LOVED how he almost totally kept the ball high and avoided those meaningless dribbles so many big guys are prone to using. He had 10 points, nine boards and three blocks. (When he did dribble two times, he was called for walking, so maybe that's why he has learned, mostly, not to put the ball on the floor.) Soph F Shane Neher "In Your Hair" (I have a strong suspicion he's the son of Mike Neher "In Your Hair"; made famous during his Dougherty playing days by student PA announcer Joe Conklin. Yes, that Joe Conklin. Every time Mike scored, Joe purred, "Neher! . . . In your hair!" . . . Update: Yes, Shane is Mike's son, as several folks confirmed via email. Thanks!) With two field goals and four free throws, Rivera managed eight points. Srs. Mike Rymal and Tyler Donnelly hit two treys apiece while combining for 12 total points. Joining Fleming with nine points was sixth man Nick Aughenbaugh, a jr. F (and lefty). He passed up some good shots early, but later picked up some confidence. He also managed seven boards and two apiece of assists/steals. Two former website writers were in attendance, Jack "In the Box" Crouse (La Salle) and Anthony Magallanes (Ryan). Jack, who now teaches at Holy Ghost Prep, was scouting for La Salle. Anthony is a college frosh and his dad handles PA duties for Ryan. Ken Linneman, the Pub's leading scorer for Lincoln in '69 (and a former Ryan assistant), was also in the house. And I'll leave you with this legendary moment. After taking the pic of Ryan's cheerleaders, I turned and began walking back down the hallway toward the gym. Behind me I overheard one of the girls telling a teammate, "He looks like my grandpop who died." At least she didn't compare me to a great-grandpop (smile). Somebody'll do that next year. Or perhaps before the weekend's out.

JAN. 7
NON-LEAGUE
Olney 86, Bodine 42
  There was little doubt Bodine, very young and vastly undersized, was going to lose this game. After the first nine minutes, the question became . . . Would the Ambassadors fall to Olney or merely Ray Jaggon? Olney's talented sr. WG-SF rang up 20 points in that first quarter-plus and the mind began to race. Would he score 40 or 50 or even more? Nah. He settled for 28, though he could have tallied many more. Jaggon made some nice passes, even in transition when he could have taken the ball to the hole by himself, and he also showed good-kid qualities in the second half when a water spill near Olney's bench momentarily halted play. Joe Stanley, Bodine's AD, had only paper towels available to fight the good fight, and at first he didn't have many. Joe was bent over, starting the chore by himself, when Jaggon leaned in, grabbed some of the paper and began rubbing away. Soon, several Trojans were helping. Jaggon reached the 28-point total with the help of three treys. He's one of those guys who can hurt you with killer instinct, but also go the slinky, do-it-quietly route. Malik Starkes, a soph G, added 18 points and nine rebounds while sr. PF-C Jaree Cooper, the only guy in the game with true body strength, claimed eight boards in the first quarter alone. Olney's late-game highlights were two treys by lefty mad-bomber Kyree Westbrooks, a sr. I forget the exact time frame, and I didn't write it down, but at one point I heard Olney coach Jermaine Snell roaring in the huddle, "If he goes to the bathroom, you go with him!!" He was talking to sr. G Chris Wormley and he wanted special defense on Bodine's only two true scoring threat,jr. WG Nadir Matthews. Wormley did a great job on Matthews in the second half (and the statement might have been made coming right out of intermission), holding him to two points. Matthews had 14 total. Soph G Glen Hampton managed 12 points for Bodine and scrambled for six boards. Like Matthews, he showed respectable instincts and body control. In the late going, the 30-odd Bodine kids in attendance exploded in joy when deep subs Johqul Byrd and Korey Kinard, hit three-pointers. Bodine's final five players were incredibly small. I doubt they averaged more than 110 pounds. It was great seeing Bodine's coach, Lynn Greer Sr., father of one our former Players of the Year (Lynn Jr., at Engineering and Science). I featured the pair in the Daily News as part of a Father's Day spread last spring and families come no better than this one. I'm finishing this report in a corner of the gym at Archbishop Ryan, and it's halftime of the JV game. Everything is going smoothly. Let's hope for a continuation!

JAN. 6
CATHOLIC LEAGUE
Neumann-Goretti 75, La Salle 54
  This one had a strange feel early. Though N-G appeared to be playing excellent, count-your-fillings, man-to-man defense – and I mean VERY aggressive -- La Salle boasted 10 points not too long into the game. The good vibrations didn’t last. After shooting 6-for-7 in the first quarter, La Salle finished 20-for-40. Yes, that’s 50 percent, but when very few of your misses are being followed with offensive rebounds and your opponent is doing a great job in transition, plus is sharing the ball in tremendous fashion . . . well, let’s just say there was little second-half drama. We’ll say this right up front and it’s not to meant to serve as an excuse, only as a fact: This was a very rough week for La Salle’s basketball and overall communities. Frontcourt star Matt Crozier, an ’08 grad, died as the result of injuries suffered in a fall. The program’s eight current seniors were freshmen when Matt was finishing his Explorer career and no doubt some, if not all, looked up to him. In a tremendous gesture, Matt’s father, Dave, attended tonight’s game, no doubt to thank coach Joe Dempsey and his program for their overall support. As the funeral approaches, we hope everyone finds the necessary strength. One night is only one night, of course, but N-G appears to have a very interesting/dangerous mix of players, despite vast youth. The stalwart is the lone returning starter, former WG/now PG Lamin Fulton, a sr. bound for St. Peter’s. Fulton hustled for 19 points and three of his buckets came on treys. He also had some great duels with sr. PG Eddie Mitchell (Rider) as these two, especially early, truly went at it. Later, Fulton incurred some trouble, so soph Hanif Sutton wound up sticking Mitchell. DN ink went to jr. WG Billy Shank, who sniped 3-for-3 on treys en route to 12 points. He’d had the misfortune of missing a late shot that could have sent N-G/Christ the King (NYC) into a second OT Sunday at the Palestra, so he felt great about bouncing back with a strong performance. Jr. PF-C Derrick Stewart (brother of former star Danny) had 19 points and eight rebounds and, yes, he can still jump like crazy. Soph F Johnny Davis, a lefty, had 11 boards. His shot features a crazy wrist-twist and I’d like to see him correct that NOW, while he’s still young. Frosh CG Ja’Quan Newton, son of former West Philly star Joe Newton, had some EXCELLENT moments while doling out six assists and scoring seven points. He’s a darter, capable of getting from one spot to another in a hurry. Jr. G La’Quan Coaxum, late of Cardinal Dougherty, shot 4-for-6 for eight points and soph SF Matt Rodden knocked down his two shots for five points. For my money there was a big moment shortly into the third quarter. Fulton incurred his third personal and was still on the floor. I would have made Mitchell/anyone drive right AT him with the hope of quickly adding a fourth. Didn’t happen. (And this isn’t a second guess. I said it to stat sidekick Big Steve Reid the instant Fulton picked up the foul.) N-G was already on a run and that momentum was sustained. Mitchell was the only Explorer in double figures with 12 points, though one guy (sr. sub C Steve Collins) had nine and three more managed eight (sr. F Joe Brown, sr. WG Mike Poncia and soph WG Amar Stukes). Though La Salle has sufficient height and bulk, no one claimed more than three rebounds and only guy (sr. PF-C Brennan Woods) even reached that total. Not sure I’ve ever seen a game, especially involving good teams, where one squad’s rebounds leader had three. Ouch. A late bright light for La Salle was jr. G Darnell Artis, who’s listed at 5-6 but might be more like 5-4. He hit a couple of big threes late in the JV game -- by the way, one of the varsity refs from the Furness game, which began nearby at 3:15,  also did this JV tilt, which started at roughly 5:30 -- and forced a 5-second call when almost no one was still playing hard late in the varsity contest. Nice! A telltale tidbit to illustrate how dedicated N-G was to defense: Twice in the second half, La Salle inbounders just could NOT find anyone open and had to slam the ball off ball-guarders. Saw lots of old friends/great people tonight. Best wishes to all. Enjoy the season! One, Rich Acierno, pulled his seriously nice ride into the spot right next to my dumpy/piece-of-cwap car (ha ha; had to use a little Puckese) in the parking lot. I’d seen the name P.J. Acierno on La Salle’s roster, plus the notation that he’s a product of Springfield Middle School. Figured there had to be a relation. Bingo!             

JAN. 6
PUBLIC B
West Phila. 76, Furness 60
  In its halftime meeting, which was going on very close (at high volume, too) to where Big Steve and I were sitting, Furness’ coaches emphasized, among other things, doing a better job of boxing out and getting on the defensive glass. So what happened? Right out of the third-quarter gate, West sr. WG (though today a PF) Lemeir Mitchell scored on a follow. Oh, brother. It was THAT kind of afternoon, folks. The Speedboys crunched the Falcons on the boards, 45-29, and one can imagine how much worse the difference could have been if sr. C Montrell Smith and sr. PF Larry Richardson (the football QB) had been available; both are hurt. West led by 35-24 at halftime, so things weren’t TOO bad. But after Mitchell canned his follow, sr. WG Nigell Hester, back in action after resolving a school issue, hustled for eight quick points, with two threes in that mix, and, well, there went the need to write down game details for the rest of the way. DN ink went to Mitchell, who totaled 21 points, five rebounds and three assists. He’s an interesting kid and with him “ink” really applies – he’s already an accomplished tattoo artist. He has even given himself one, on his left arm, that runs from elbow to wrist. He also said he did one on a lady that required close to three hours, extending from her upper leg to ankle. Whew! Also very impressive was sr. G-F Terrell “Sleepy” Daye, a quick-yet-strong, savvy, always-going-forward force. The lefty also had to stay somewhat close to the basket, but showed good wing, open-floor skills in several instances. He finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds, five steals and four blocks. Hester added 14 points, six boards, four assists and three steals and jr. Amir Ferebee (somehow his first name originally was listed as Nashawn; no IDEA how that happened) hustled for nine rebounds. Major props to jr. PG Desmond Sams (also a football player). His handle isn’t the slickest ever, but he’s strong with the ball and makes intelligent decisions. He had nine assists. Sixth man Donte Watkins mixed 10 points and seven boards. After missing his first five shots, Furness jr. G-F Malakiah Hunter bounced back to finish with 21 points. Also a FB player, he added seven rebounds and five apiece of assists/steals. Sr. WG Christopher Dixon, in semi-quiet fashion, hustled for 17 points. Jr. F Montriel Stokes went scoreless, but seized seven boards. There was a late, scary moment involving . . . yours truly! Big Steve and I were camped out, in folding chairs, right off one of the corners and two guys came right at us going after a loose ball. Well, at me, anyway. At first I thought all would go OK, but then one stumbled and took the other with him and, boom!, backward and down to the floor I went! I felt like Joe Frazier against Muhammad Ali. Ha, ha. Players right nearby were quick to help and make sure I was OK, and they were handing me, let’s see, the clipboard and camera and whatever else fell out of my pants pockets/coat. It was pretty scary. The only souvenir was a small gash on my left hand and thanks to Dave Connolly, Furness’ AD, for supplying a band-aid. From Guerin RC (16th and Jackson), which must be a cave in its spare time (darker than dark), we hustled over to N-G. I wrote the DN story and cropped the pictures in a classroom while BS watched the JV game (and no doubt checked out assorted honeys – smile). A hot dog served as dinner. As I finish this report at 12:26 a.m., it’s still “talking” to me. Still “tastes” kinda good, too.

JAN. 4
PUBLIC B
University City 63, Roxborough 42
  Oh, my. Oh, my. Oh, my. That was the prevailing thought throughout a wickedly one-sided first quarter. UC did well most of the time and 'Boro did well none of the time and the score after eight minutes was 20-2. Ouch. So much for writing down bits and pieces of play by play. UC’s gym was like a sauna. Big Steve and I were sweating just from sitting/standing around. Not sure if it’s like that all the time these days, but if so UC must be accustomed to it and Roxborough definitely could not have been. Was that a factor? Who knows? But the heat was so high, it was making me sleepy. DN ink went to sr. WG-SF-PF-C Martez Lyles, who also made plays like a point guard. If the name is at least vaguely familiar, you must be a football fan. Late in the ’09 season, in what was basically his first stint at wideout, Lyles caught TD passes in the second, third and FOURTH OTs to lead the Jaguars past Overbrook. It was quite a memorable performance, especially since all three scores occurred on fades and involved body control/leaping. Today Lyles contributed nine points (a three-point play and two treys), 10 rebounds, seven assists and six steals in a terrific, all-around performance. Sr. Parrish Grantham (13 points, same number of boards) is thicker and properly aggressive, but Lyles is the tallest Jaguar and faces large responsibility. Luckily for coach Ken Gritter, Lyles is able to mix the inside-outside skills. At one juncture he drained a right-wing trey. On the next trip he tried another, but this one missed. No sweat. He hustled inside, grabbed the loose rebound and passed to sr. WG Rafeeq Bush for another trey. Bush is one of those long-distance mad bombers who basically launches set shots (like recent Edison star George Baker, who holds the city record with 13 treys in one game). Every time Bush got the ball, there was anticipation along UC’s bench. The subs just KNEW he’d hit it. He did go 6-for-13 beyond the arc en route to 20 points. Jr. PG Diante Lunsford mixed 12 points, six assists and two steals. Jr. F Gary Gordon was the perfect, stay-out-of-the-way guy. He didn’t demand the ball. Didn’t act like a knucklehead. Just grabbed rebounds (11) and blended in. The late-game highlight was provided by deep sub, soph G Khayri Washington. First he made the second of two free throws after a tech and drew a big response. Later, he broke a defender’s ankles and drained a right-wing trey. The whole gym loved that one. In our interview, Martez Lyles said some of the Jaguars were yelling “Teeeeedddddddd” late to celebrate the fact that some guys were going to get their names on the website (ha ha). Martez was a fun kid to interview. He wound up asking me a handful of questions about the website and how it got started, etc., and he said the Jaguars are on it all day. Hey, let’s hope they’re mixing in some schoolwork! Actually, Gritter said the academic environment around UC, now a Promise Academy (as it Vaux), is much improved, and that’s great to hear. It was tough to make any determinations about Roxborough’s guys. The Indians had early trouble with UC’s zone and later experienced transition difficulties. Only sr. G-F Lijah Lewis (nine) had more than four rebounds while only sr. WG Aswad Hinton (10) scored in double figures. One of Lewis’ boards was a doozey. At the offensive end he came in hard after a missed shot, pawed the ball above rim level and hammered it home while almost pulling the basket out of the glass. Phew! Sr. G Rashawn Anderson got into some good spots, but shot just 3-for-15 en route to eight points. Jr. football player Adrian Johnson-Pope made two very athletic sashays in late duty. There are two big-bodied sophs in Antwan Scriven and Shareef Ahmed. We’ll see what happens with them. Only one referee showed up for this one. It was good to see Kenya Moody, formerly the athletic director at Esperanza. She’s now working at UC and handled the clock/scoreboard. Let’s hope she finds a way to turn down the heat! (smile)

JAN. 3
NON-LEAGUE
Gtn. Academy 51, FitzSimons 40
  So, what's more important, the details of this game or goofy stuff? You got it! Goofy stuff!! This one hit me early. Fitz sr. F Richard Williams was shooting the ball in warmups and I kept wondering again and again, is my mind playing tricks on me? Has lunacy finally set in? The reason: He was shooting jumpers lefthanded and all football season, during which he starred at QB and wound up earning second team All-City honors at the multi-purpose spot, he threw passes righthanded. Oh, baby! Ah, maybe he was just messing around. Let's wait until the game begins. Right-wing jumper. Lefthanded. Free throws. Lefthanded. Gotta love it! After the game, as the Rams sat in the stands awaiting their departure, I just had to go over and ask Rich about this incredible oddity. "I don't know why," he said twice, laughing. As I've mentioned in other reports through the years, mixed dominance is a common trait among star athletes. Sitting nearby, scouting the game, was Malvern coach Jim Rullo. We talked every so often and a few times I saw Jim writing down info righthanded. Hmmmm. The mind began racing again. Back to the late 1980s, when Jim was starring for Malvern (he then played at Drexel. His dad, Jerry, played for the first NBA champs, the 1946-47 Philadelphia Warriors.) I turned and said to Jim, "Didn't you play lefthanded?" Yes, indeed. So, he's also a member of the club. As an aside, I've seen Ryan Howard signing autographs righthanded. And in today's Daily News, on page 80, there was a picture of him snapping pics -- it's his hobby -- at yesterday's Eagles-Cowboys game. He was looking through the camera with his right eye. So his dominant eye is closest to the pitcher when he bats. Geez, maybe he shouldn't strike out so much -- smile. I don't know why I find this stuff so fascinating, but it can't be helped so bear with me, OK? Thanks . . . As for the game, this wasn't exactly Hall of Fame material. I doubt more than 35 people were on hand at Holy Family University and since very few were kids, there was almost no emotion. The game was played here because HF's new coach, John O'Connor, formerly worked under GA coach Jim Fenerty, as did Fitz boss Chris Monahan. The game's bright light was sr. WG Jimmy Hammer, an impressive jump-shooter with a very quick release and a knack for easing into open spots. I love that he's ready to shoot it as he catches it. With 25, he accounted for just under half of GA's points and many were scored just when Fitz was thinking it could overtake the Patriots. He shot 7-for-13 from the floor (3-for-7 on treys) and 8-for-8 at the line, and he now boasts 249 points in 12 games for an average of 20.8. Soph PG Nick Lindner shows some Hammer tendencies, though he's five inches shorter at 5-9. Baseball star Greg Guers made smart/body-control plays on the wing/baseline. Sr. F Beau Jones grabbed seven rebounds and provided major foul-line entertainment, air-balling one and banking in another. He marched in the Mummers Parade, so maybe that crazy endeavor affected him (smile). Julian Moore, a 6-8 soph, didn't spend much time on the blocks. He definitely prefers a face-up game. He did hit a nice shot along the baseline, but was way short with another while falling away. Fitz has no height. Lord only knows why he felt he had to fall away (and I'm guessing coach Fenerty pressed him for an answer.) Moore is still gangly, but there is definitely potential and it will be interesting to watch him develop. The play of the game was made by sub 6-5 soph F Greg Dotson, who made a steal and then drove about three-quarters court to wolf down a slam. Today's best Ram was frisky sr. PG Jack Burris. He had nine points, three assists and two steals and showed not a hint of hesitation. Williams and classmate Mike Majett grabbed five boards apiece and sub sr. G Dionte Blackman had 10 points thanks mostly to well-crafted midrange jumpers. Sr. Nature "Nate" Boyer, also a quality football player, had eight points. Lots of legends on GA's staff! It was great seeing Jonathan Haynes, who scored 2,000-odd points at Germantown Friends, and Barry Whelan, who starred at La Salle, and Rory Perner, who starred at Haverford School and is the son of Mark Perner, one of our DN night-time sports copy editors. And of course Marty Weiss, Fenerty's right-hand man when it comes to stats, paperwork, goodwill "ambassasdoring," etc. One last thought: What's with the lighting in HF's gym? C'mon, this is a college facility. Especially at the end where I chose not to sit, it rivaled some of the Pub caves (and St. Joseph's Prep -- zing).

JAN. 2
NON-LEAGUE
Phila. Elec. 74, West Catholic 46
  There's no doubt PET has more total talent and a better mix of players, especially in relation to how they line up on the court. But as intermission arrived, we had a game at 30-24, favor of PET, and the hope for a competitive second half seemed legit. Oh, well. Didn't happen. The Chargers embarked on a serious mission in the third quarter, fueled mostly by sr. Gs Carrington Ward and Devante Chance, and the only question down the stretch wound up being, Will the spread reach 30? Almost. Jr. F Emmanuel Brown made it 28 with a breakaway dunk in the waning moments. DN ink could have gone to Ward or Chance. Since I'd written about the latter last season, the decision to go with the former was a no-brainer. There's much to like about Ward, who goes 6-2, 165. Though he plays on the wing, he shows a good handle and improves his chances to get around defenders with a big first step and lots of swivel to his hips. With refinement, he could play the point down the road and still be an effective scorer with his range. Coach James "Flame" Lewis said Ward is already qualified and that Fairleigh-Dickinson is among his pursuers. Chance is more of a cut-your-heart-out, perpetual-motion guy. He can motor yet still maintain control. Chance also plays on the wing, but today he was almost exclusively running the show due to a very early back injury suffered by soph PG Hakeem Baxter. Ward (24 points) wound up shooting 9-for-15 en route to 24 points while Baxter (7-for-11, hit his last six) had 20 points. Ward added three assists. Chance had four apiece of assists/steals. The two big guys, jr. PF David George and soph C Jai Williams, scored nine and six points, respectively, by merely catching dish-offs or converting follows. Jr. Marcus Smith, who replaced Baxter early, had three apiece of assists/steals. The sequence of note occurred shortly into the third quarter. On a fast break, Chance pulled up behind the arc on the right wing and smoothly, confidently drained a trey. West missed at the other end, and the Chargers roared downcourt again. Chance whipped a pass to Ward on the left wing and, bang, another threeball was buried. Two more buckets were added in rather quick order -- a layup by George on a feed from Chance and a layup by Ward that came off a steal. West, which lost franchise wing guard Aquil Younger (Drexel) to Gratz (no idea why he left; it made NO sense; he would have finished as the school's No. 2 all-time scorer, at least), is truly a mish-mash for the moment. Coach Guy Moore used lots of combos and the Burrs' cause wasn't helped when jr. WG Mark Perez, formerly of North Catholic, picked up his second foul late in the first quarter after impressively ringing up nine points. He uses strong legs to get good elevation/balance on his jumper and he plays with a hint of an attitude. Sr. PF-C Sahmir Thomas (Dougherty) bullied around inside for 12 points. As time goes on, I could picture sr. PG Christen Gibbs (also Dougherty) and jr. WG Jaleel Reed, who saw time at QB this past football season, making quality contributions. Speaking of football . . . the grid Burrs were the guests of the Eagles today. During the JV game, coach Brian Fluck, working the snack/admission table with sidekickette Mary DeMasi, showed me an envelope with 70 tickets. They'd been offered on Thursday. Nice! Huck and Cauls were in attendance and so was McDevitt coach Jack Rutter, along with some of his players. The Chargers lockered in a room beyond the far end of the gym, and way down the hallway. In the years I've been coming to this West (as opposed to the original one, at 49th and Chestnut), this is at least the third different room to house the visiting team. Maybe even the fourth. Weird. Oh, Happy New Year. Make it at least a medium one, OK?