December Reports/Tedbits
January Reports/Tedbits
February Reports/Tedbits

AUGUST 4
TEDBITS
  In the last few days, rising seniors Lamarr "Fresh" Kimble (Neumann-Goretti) and Chris Clover (St. Joseph's Prep) have made oral commitments to play their college basketball at Saint Joseph's University. The hope, of course, is that these Catholic League guys will become prominent players on Hawk Hill, thus breaking a CL/Hawk Hill drought. Not since the 2001-02 season has a CL product led the Hawks in scoring average, rebounding average or assists. In 2006-07, D.J. Rivera (Neumann) paced the Hawks in steals, but then moved on to another college. Below are the CL products who've paced the Hawks in the three main categories going back to the 1960 season. Below that list are others who topped other statistical categories. Hard to believe: Clover will be bidding to become the Hawks' first prominent SJ Prep grad since NBAer Matt Guokas ('62/'66) . . . Well, except for coach Phil Martelli (smile), a '71 Prep grad and starter for the Hawks' CL champs that season.

CL products, not listed above, who've led the Hawks in other categories . . .
(Many of the players above also led in other categories)
Bernard Jones, Roman, 1993, FG pct.
John Smith, Neumann, 1981-1980, FG pct.
Gene Prybella, Neumann, 1974, FG pct.
Jim Lynam, West Catholic, 1963, FG pct.
Lonnie McFarlan, Roman, 1983, FT pct.
Jim McCollum, Dougherty, 1972-71, FT pct.
D.J. Rivera, Neumann, 2007, steals
Alex Sazonov, O'Hara, 2002-01, blocked shots
Zane Major, Roman, 1977, blocked shots

JULY 13
TEDBITS
  The list below includes Public League, Catholic League and Inter-Ac League players drafted by NBA teams since the spring of 1947.
I am unsure on the high schools for some players from the early years, so please speak up if you know of someone I missed. tedtee307@yahoo.com. Also, there is conflicting info on rounds/selection numbers for some of the early years. The notation "Terr." means the player was a territorial draftee. Those players with asterisks next to their name transferred out of the listed school before exhausting their eligibility. (Also out of the three city leagues.)    

JULY 10
TEDBITS
  In the recent NBA draft, no City Six players were selected. Ditto for products of Public/Catholic/Inter-Ac schools. Ugh. Meanwhile, a thought hit me recently, I had some time tonight to slap together some research and here's the result . . .Your 76ers have not drafted a Pub/Cath/Int guy since 1985! Hard to believe, right? In the 1946-47 season, the NBA's first champs (though the league was officially named the Basketball Association of America), the Philadelphia Warriors, featured five Philly guys -- Matt Guokas Sr. (Roman), John Murphy (Gratz), Angelo Musi (Overbrook), Petey Rosenberg (Southern) and Jerry Rullo (Bartram, the father of former Malvern star/coach Jim Rullo). The Warriors' '56 champs featured five more  -- Paul Arizin (La Salle, though he never played high school ball), Ernie Beck (West Catholic, later the long-time coach at Bok), Tom Gola (La Salle), Jackie Moore (Overbrook) and Bob Schafer (Roman). The Sixers' '67 kingpins had three -- Wilt Chamberlain (Overbrook), Matt Guokas Jr. (SJ Prep) and Wali Jones (Overbrook). The '83 champs? None. I guess we should have known what was coming . . . Anyway, below are the Pub/Cath/Int guys drafted by the Sixers since 1964, right after their first season in town after moving here from Syracuse. Over time, the NBA draft has featured several formats and, as you'll see, for a while it was possible for a guy to get drafted more than once. If I missed anyone, please speak up. Thanks. tedtee307@yahoo.com.

APRIL 16
TEDBITS
  Here are the top scoring performances by Pub/Cath/Int guys in Donofrio Classic championship games over the last 15 years. Four of the players -- Episcopal's Wayne Ellington and Gerald Henderson; Penn Charter's Rob Kurz; Northeast's Steve Smith -- advanced to the NBA. Let's hope a couple more join that club.

APRIL 13
TEDBITS
  Earlier today, former Boys' Latin star Maurice "Doo-Wop" Watson finalized plans to transfer to Creighton University after two years at Boston University. Going back to 1978, Watson is just the fifth Daily News City Player of the Year to leave his original school. Here's the list . . .

APRIL 8
TEDBITS
  Unless something changes between now and then, the 2014-15 school year will bring quite the unusual circumstance. For just the second time in 40 years, an Inter-Ac school will have guys from outside the area as the coaches of the two main sports. Aaron Brady, a product of South Western High in Hanover, Pa. (about 15 miles east of Gettysburg), yesterday was named to succeed Kevin Pellegrini as Malvern's football boss. Headed for his second year as the Friars' basketball honcho is John Harmatuk, who attended Klein High, in Texas (Houston's northern suburbs). In the 2008-09 school year, Penn Charter's football coach was Jeff Humble (Coughlin High, in upstate Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) while the hoops coach was Bill Michuda (Marquette High, in Milwaukee). Michuda had coached at PC in the mid-'80s and at La Salle in the early '80s, and he'd first come to Philly to play for then-La Salle College. In the Catholic League over the last four decades, in football/basketball, at least one of the coaches at each school in every school year has been a local guy. Overwhelmingly, most have been CL products, with a few Inter-Ac guys mixed in. In basketball, Barry Kirsch (of St. Francis in Clearfield, Pa.; about 30 miles northwest of Penn State) was Carroll's coach for 12 seasons beginning in '70. That whole time, the football program was headed by guys with local roots (Joe McNichol, then Jim Bowes). This research yielded one pretty cool discovery. Bonner's basketball coach in the '76 and '77 seasons was Fran Docherty, and I needed to cross-check his roots. Turns out he's a Bonner grad and he's also . . . well, just click here to see how he spent his off-teaching hours. Legendary!

APRIL 6
TEDBITS
  The 27th annual All-Star Labor Classic was played today at Northeast High and three City players scored as many as 18 points. McDevitt's Tyrell Long led the way with 24 points while Roman's Rashann London and Constitution's Floyd Preito added 19 and 18, respectively. (Thanks to "Ace" for those numbers.) Below is a list of all City players who've scored at least 18 points. There have been several formats through the years and one, especially, was not conducive to point outbursts: a running clock (except on free throws) through most of the '90s. The first game, in '88, was played on a Saturday night before 4,675 at the Palestra. The kids were pumped and City bested Suburbs, 143-139. There were 255 field goal attempts in the 48-minute game -- one every 11.3 seconds. Franklin's Randy Woods, who advanced to the NBA out of La Salle, shot 13-for-22 (6-for-7 on treys) and 3-for-4 for 35 points. That's still the record.

APRIL 2
DETAILS/ROSTERS FOR UPCOMING PUB COACHES' ALL-STAR EVENT
  It will take place Friday, April 4, at Ben Franklin HS. Games at 5, 6:30 and 8.
  Three-point and dunk contests will also be mixed in.
  Admission will be $5 for students with a valid student ID. $10 for all others.
  UPDATE: The MVPs were Deion Evans (Game 1), Lincoln Kpokuyou (2) and
Jahmir Taylor (3).

MARCH 30
TEDBITS
  Below you'll see my choices for (to borrow -- smile -- from baseball specialist Randy Seidman) the Hometown Philly College Basketball Team. The top player nod goes to La Salle sr. PG Tyreek Duren. To be considered, a player needed to earn honors in his conference. Also, he must have remained in the Pub/Cath/Int through his four years of high school. 

MARCH 28
TEDBITS
  Like myself and others going back to the early '70s, Aaron "Ace" Carter decided to list his All-City selections in what he saw as the proper order. With that in mind, I decided to go back four decades and figure out which guys had accumulated the most All-City "power points." In most years, the three teams have included 16 players. So, I gave the Player of the Year 16 points, the runnerup 15 and so on. Co-Players of the Year split 31 points (or 29, in years when only 15 players were honored). The top spot, and oldheads won't be surprised, was claimed by '77 West Philly grad Gene Banks with 46 points. N-G's Ja'Quan Newton checks in at No. 6 with 38 points.

MARCH 27
TEDBITS
  Below is a chart that shows the overall records, year by year in this century, for all Catholic League schools. The four lines at the bottom show wins, losses, winning percentage and ranking based on that winning percentage. N-G is No. 1 at .806, followed by Roman at .737 and St. Joseph's Prep at .728. N-G has averaged just short of 24 wins per season. Records highlighted in yellow are each school's best during this time frame (by percentage). 

MARCH 26
TEDBITS
  Below is a chart that compares the matching title streaks of Neumann-Goretti (2009-14) and Roman Catholic (1989-94). In all six categories, N-G posted the best winning percentage. Something to consider: five of the six Roman teams ended the season in Cumberland, Maryland, competing in the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament. That event brought together eight, high-quality teams from Phillly, Baltimore and Washington (usually six total) along with the host school, Bishop Walsh, and maybe a team from Canada or somewhere out West. The competition was better than what N-G has faced in the AAA level of the PIAA tourney. Roman won the ACIT in '90 and '93 and placed second in '91. In five appearances during that stretch (none in '89), it went 12-3 for a winning percentage of .800. In six state playoff tournaments since '09, N-G has gone 24-2 for .923.

MARCH 25
TEDBITS
  Below are lists that show the Top 10 Pub/Cath champs, by overall winning percentage, over the last 40 seasons. Interesting to note: An overall Top 10 list would feature only one Cath team (N-G's 30-1 squad in '10).

MARCH 24
TEDBITS
  Just want to make sure everyone realizes how special the accomplishments of Neumann-Goretti and Imhotep in recent PIAA state tournaments have been. The PIAA began holding hoops tourneys in the 1919-20 school year. In all that time, just six teams have won as many as three consecutive state crowns. And not counting Kennedy Christian and Carlisle, which stormed to four in a row, just two, N-G and 'Tep, have seized four in a five-year period. The PIAA went from all-one-class to two in '45, to three in '51 and to four in '84. In all, 260 state champs have been crowned -- 124 in the four era, 99 in the three era, 12 in the two era, and 25 in the one era. Note: Allentown won three in a row from '45 to '47, but had to vacate the last two for cheating. 

MARCH 22
PIAA CLASS AAAA PLAYOFF, FINAL
New Castle 52, La Salle 39
(At Hershey's Giant Center)
  Monday won't be easy at 8605 Cheltenham Avenue. Still basking in the glow of having recently claimed a state title in swimming, the La Salle folks were hoping to claim two more today in ice hockey (dropped a 2-1 decision, at Penn State, to Peters Township in a game that started at 5 o'clock) and basketball (this one started a shade after 8). Hopefully, the hoops pain won't last too long because this group deserves nothing but praise for what it accomplished. Think about it. Though they returned NO starters and added NOBODY via the transfer winds, which blew hard elsewhere around the Cath/Pub and kept some schools rollin' along, the Explorers advanced all the way to a state final. Plus, they did so with a group that included just one senior starter (F-C Jalen Herdsman) and only one other senior rotation member (G Sean Greenberg). In its previous two games, La Salle pulled off a beyond-rare feat, knocking off Lower Merion in a quarterfinal and Chester in a semifinal. Those teams had met in the last two AAAA state finals, and both have experienced great success through the years. Down the line, perhaps the Explorers will elbow their way into that upper-crust club and this squad will be revered for how it set a marvelous tone. So, what was the problem tonight? Bunnies. They missed three of those tight-in shots quite early and another was blocked. The Explorers were getting to good spots, but mostly could not convert. Early, it was impossible not to notice that every NC player looked to be stronger than every La Salle player. In some cases it was strength of the full-blown variety. In others it was the wiry version. Several stories were circulating along press row and maybe 10 minutes after game's end I approached a New Castle assistant, who was nice enough to take a quick break from handing out championship T-shirts, to provide the correct info: four of NC's starters are headed for I-A or I-AA colleges on football scholarships. That's incredible, especially in this era of specialization. Dual-sport athletes are more prominent at lower-enrollment schools (though La Salle prides itself on making sure that kids who want to play two-three are permitted to do so), but it's truly amazing that a school with so many basketball-second players was able to win a state championship at the highest level and, get this, finish 31-0! La Salle never could find a comfort zone. Though it hung around, it never slapped together a herrrrre-we-go run. From a 16-16 halftime score, NC won the third quarter, 14-8, and the fourth, 22-15. La Salle shot 15-for-40 overall and 1-for-10 from beyond the arc. Even at the line, the Explorers were subpar (8-for-14). They were also crunched on the boards, 36-23, as no one claimed more than four. Jr. PG Najee Walls (15) and jr. WG Shawn Witherspoon (10) scored in double figures. Walls added two apiece of steals and blocks and was charged with no turnovers. Jr. F David Krmpotich had eight points and two assists. Ninety-one points are the fewest scored in a Class AAAA final since 1996, when Lower Merion claimed the crown with a 48-43 win over Erie Cathedral Prep. The attendance for the night twinbill (Wood lost to Blackhawk in the AAA girls' final) was 6,641 and I'm guessing 60 percent of those people were New Castle fans. They dominated both corners at the far end, along with the space in between, along with decent chunks of seats in the rafters. Plus, some wound up at the near end, close to La Salle's rooters, and two adults even planted themselves IN the Explorers' student section. But they didn't remain there for long! Ha, ha. Security guards were summoned and they forced the intruders (one dude was a serious big-'un) to move to the adjacent section as the La Salle kids cheered wildly. A short time earlier, the La Salle kids had offered major applause to the disappointed Wood girls (among them was Sean Greenberg's sister, Bailey) as they headed for the tunnel that leads to the locker rooms. Classy move, guys. Much later, after the boys' loss, La Salle's players and coaches, with head man Joe Dempsey leading the way, walked over toward the students (and adults) to offer sincere thanks for their support. Yet another classy move. Best of luck going forward to La Salle's seniors (the group also included subs Mickey Barrett, Langston Ellison and Dominic Cuoci . . . And let's not forget the incomparable, Penn-bound Dan Spinelli, keeper of the scorebook and writer for this website. Thank you, Dan!). In 2013, Cuoci was the City Pitcher of the Year. I'm guessing you'll find him throwing somewhere/anywhere on Sunday (smile) . . . Except for all-star stuff, this wraps up my 43rd season of covering high school basketball. Thanks for paying attention.

MARCH 22
PIAA CLASS A PLAYOFF, FINAL
Constitution 61, Seton La Salle 59
(At Hershey's Giant Center)
  One minute, an unexpected three-point shot, from WAY deep, splashed down through the net and everyone exclaimed some variation of, "Oh, my goodness!" The trey was launched by inside player Levi Masua from almost in front of Seton's bench and it created a 59-59 tie with 1:03 remaining. Almost exactly a minute later, there was another surprise. Seton's most dangerous player, a frisky lefthanded guard named Dale Clancy, had the ball out front with his team down by one. Almost everybody knew he'd shoot, right? Wrong. Clancy whipped a pass to the right wing and into the hands of -- you got it -- Levi Masua. He was much closer to the arc this time -- a step behind it, with jr. G Akeem King leaping right along with him -- and as the ball soared toward the basket, it did have a might-find-cotton look. The Generals, however, were not about to be introduced to lifelong heartache. The ball dinged against the rim (I won't say "clanged" because it did come close), Constitution's subs, coaches and cheerleaders exploded onto the floor and the celebration lasted a mighty long time. Generals hysteria! Before we get back to, ahem, general stuff, major props to Constitution's student fans. The school brought them here in four buses (I passed two on the turnpike; they were going slowly, I wasn't speeding -- wink) and they provided energized, game-long support. Also, Tom Davidson, the principal, was especially proud that a security guard mentioned how well the team behaved. Very nice! In the first half, the Generals were not completely in sync. They missed some should-gave-gone-in shots while also not offering in-tight passes that should have been made. I'm not saying guys were flat-out selfish, but occasionally there were times when players seemed to be thinking, "Hey, I need two points right now." There were a few strong defensive moments and jr. G Kimar Williams had the best. He forced a 5-second call in the hardest way possible, stalking the guy as he dribbled and dribbled in one direction in an attempt to get away. Vintage! At the end of three, the score was 43-43. The Generals came out onto the court a shade early and sr. PF-C Raheem Liggins had an animated conversation with jr. G-F Ahmad Gilbert. Gilbert followed his own miss for a bucket to make it 45-43 and that apparently little moment turned out to be big. Owning the lead enabled coach Rob Moore to dictate how he wanted to handle things and his decision was to spread the floor and make sure the Rebels had to guard a large area. That led to penetration and the Generals became visibly more juiced, and their fans even turned up the dial. As the quarter proceeded, they did miss five free throws, including two front ends, but field goals were also mixed in and one was a right-wing trey by Gilbert that provided a looks-mighty-good lead at 54-45 with 5:06 left. The efforts of Clancy, Masua and Ryan Norkus helped the Rebels creep back into that aforementioned 59-59 tie. Nowhere in the constitution is it written that coaches are not allowed to take an occasional gamble, and Moore opted for a huge one with 17.3 seconds left. Onto the floor he sent Gilbert and four little guys, with the hope of keeping Clancy bottled up. Clancy found himself being blanketed, but he was able to tough out a left-side drive and get an opportunity for a decent layup. It missed and the ball bounced over the baseline with possession going to ConHigh. Phew! Immediately the buzzer sounded and height returned to the floor. Williams then hit the first part of a double-bonus to make it 61-59, but leave the door slightly ajar. Luckily, Seton was unable to storm through and the Generals, who did so at the Class A level in 2012, boasted another championship. Gilbert totaled 19 points and 14 rebounds. Williams had 14 points and five assists. Early sub Chad Andrews, a jr. F-C, was effective (especially in the first half) with eight points and nine boards. The other early sub, jr. G Haneef Vaughn, scrapped for two steals. Congrats to the Generals on securing a win that did NOT come easily. Those ARE the most satisfying, right?

MARCH 21
PIAA CLASS AAA PLAYOFF, FINAL
Neumann-Goretti 64, Susquehanna Twp. 57 (OT)
(At Hershey's Giant Center)
  Here's hoping Ja'Quan Newton becomes so famous, whether through basketball or other great accomplishments, that someone, someday, wants to make a movie about his life. The story of these last two days would be mighty prominent, and touching. Ja'Quan's mother, Lisa Brown, passed Thursday morning after a courageous battle against cancer. And then tonight, with emotions no doubt swirling non-stop (he pointed above while being introduced), the sr. guard, who's bound for the University of Miami, turned in one of his best-ever performances to lead the Saints to yet another state championship (fourth in five years; also 2010-12). Moments after the game ended, Ja'Quan did have some tears in his eyes. But as the Saints gathered 'round him and began to celebrate, he brightened little by little, then quickly, and he was totally in the we-DID-this moment. Newton finished with 33 points, shooting 11-for-19 and 6-for-8. He also made two steals and -- get this -- led N-G in rebounds with eight. The 33 points were the most he scored in his entire career in a regular game -- as in, Catholic League regular season, playoffs, City Title, state playoffs. (This is also an overall career high!) His previous best this season was a 30-point effort late in league play vs. Ryan. (He also had 31 in two showcase games.) Check this out: as a freshman, in a win over Montour that also yielded a state championship, Newton's 17-pointer was his highest output of THAT season in the aforementioned categories. In the opening moments tonight, of course, everyone was wondering how well Newton would play, considering the circumstances. His first shot was a trey and -- oh, my -- it didn't come close. The ball smacked off the backboard a few inches from the rim, not having even HIT the rim. A memory instantly popped into my head. A few weeks ago, I headed to N-G to take some practice pics and beforehand Ja'Quan played a spirited game of one-on-one against good buddy/teammate Jamal Custis, a sr. F. They were constantly busting each other's chops, and Custis, in particular, was focusing on Newton's inability to hit from behind the arc. He was saying, "You can't shoot threes, 'Quan . . . Why even bother? . . . I don't even need to cover you out there . . . Go ahead, shoot it. I'll stand here." He was relentless -- again, in playful fashion -- and 'Quan kept brickin'. So, what happened tonight? Pretty much pinpointedness! (smile). After that first clunker, Newton went 5-for-8 on threes and some were even fall-backs. Newton is often at his best on the move -- he has trademarked hard drives ending with floaters in the lane -- but ST was playing zone and its little guys were spunky defenders, so penetration was more difficult. Bombs away? No problem. Later, the Indians switched to man-to-man and Newton became his usual self. Honestly, this game was mostly average until it reached the riveting stage. There were few plays to really get the spectators going and fluidity was difficult to achieve. What was likely N-G's first vintage sequence occurred with roughly six minutes left in the third quarter. Newton drained a left-corner trey, ST committed a turnover, and sr. C Tony Toplyn posted a three-point play off the inbound pass from jr. G Lamarr "Fresh" Kimble (10 points). Those six quick points gave the Saints a 34-30 lead. Before the end of the period, Newton added three more biggies -- he followed his own free throw miss for a bucket, hit another trey, then nailed a step-back two along the wing. Alas, ST would not go away. At the 4-minute mark of the last quarter, sr. G Troy Harper (like Toplyn, he's bound for Campbell), had a layup off a hard drive blocked and after he crumpled to the floor he came up limping pretty severely. He'd hurt his left ankle. Harper was removed, but soon was asking (begging?) coach Carl Arrigale to put him back into the game. Wasn't happenin'. Soon, he asked (begged?) again and the buzzer sounded. At 1:19, after Harper (12 points) missed a trey, Newton snagged the rebound, drew a foul and hit one of two shots to create a tie at 53-53. ST held until calling time at 37.9, then held some more until trying a jumper in the foul line area. Toplyn was at the top of his block-it game, though, rising high to get a piece of the shot. Huge! Newton wound up with the ball and steamed downcourt, but his twisting layup was unsuccessful and he was called for walking after grabbing the O-board. Only six-tenths of a second remained, so ST had no chance to cash in. OT started with a floater by you-know-who. Soon, on the fourth chance of a possession, he was stepping to the line for a double-bonus. Good. Good again. Those successes made the score 57-54. The Injuns airballed a trey and Kimble hit two free throws at 1:33 to make it 59-54. Toplyn then pogo-sticked for another block and the it's-all-over feeling began to take over the arena. With 21.2 seconds left, Harper nailed two free throws for 62-54 math and it WAS all over. Fittingly, N-G's final two points were scored by Newton. With 15.3 remaining, he nailed two free throws for Nos. 1,971 and 1,972. Waiting at the scorers' table was sr. Shaun Grubb. The buzzer sounded, Grubb headed onto the court and Ja'Quan walked toward N-G's bench as the Saints' supporters, and others, offered a warm ovation. First to greet 'Quan was Arrigale, who gave him a lengthy, emotional hug. It was quite the scene. What a legacy. In four years as a starter, Ja'Quan Newton captured 11 of a possible 12 championships. All four in the Cath. All four City Titles. Three state chips (missing out in '13). Beyond that, he was always a class act, and came to be revered by everyone connected with the program. That he played so well one day after experiencing such a tragic loss, well, that defines Ja'Quan Newton. I'm so glad I was able to spend four years watching Ja'Quan, the player, and Ja'Quan, the person.

MARCH 21
PIAA CLASS A PLAYOFF, FINAL
Lincoln Park 70, Math/Civics/Sciences 66
(At Hershey's Giant Center)
  The worst thing a basketball team can do, sometimes, is uncork a tremendous run. Unless your opposition is severely horrendous, the good fortune can't last forever. And it's possible that one of the lasting effects, once things settle down, is overconfidence. The Elephants indeed were Mighty in roughly the first half of the second quarter, rolling to 13 consecutive points while improving upon an 18-15 lead after one. There were steals, and end-to-ends, and wonderful swats and the hot streak ended with a dunk by sr.-eligible C Mike Watkins (Penn State) off a pass from soph G-F Nazeer Bostick. Perhaps a few Mighty Elephants were thinking of standing along the foul line after the game and having gold medals placed around their necks. One problem: By halftime, the lead was only 38-33. The second half commenced and again MC&S got rolling. With an easy flush-job by Watkins (feed from jr. PG Tyrese Hester) part of the package, the lead soared back to 12, at 54-42. Again the MEs removed their foot from the pedal, at least a little, and the score after 24 minutes was 57-51. It should have been 57-49, but LP posted a buzzer-beating layup on an inbound play that began with 1.1 showing. The assist went to star soph WG Maverick Rowan (he's 6-7 and has already committed to Pitt) and the ball was whipped from this baseline to the other right block and was caught behind the off-balance Watkins before being deposited. Before the play was about to begin, the DN's Aaron "Ace" Carter said, "Why's this guy inbounding the ball?" Afterward, he chuckled and said, "Now I know why." The pass was Tom Brady quality and the whole sequence was worthy of SportsCenter. The journey to Disappointmentville continued almost immediately. Just 10 seconds into the fourth quarter, on a block roughly 50 feet from the basket, star jr. WG Samir Doughty picked up his fourth foul. And then the offense kept failing, either due to bad shots or passes that weren't made to guys who probably would have converted them. The MEs, looking quite disjointed, missed 12 of their first 13 shots in the quarter and, along the way, they fell behind by four points. After a while it was impossible not to think, at least a little, "A win is just not gonna happen." But with 1:36 left, Doughty hit a spinning drive off the window and the deficit was reduced to 63-61. There'd be no late miracles. MC&S did score five points down the stretch, but also committed three turnovers and allowed four points off offensive rebounds (a follow, then two free throws). The last of the killer TOs came at 0:16. Rowan then hit two free throws at 0:14 for his 36th and 37th points (yes, he scored that many; he had 27 by the midway point of the third quarter) to clinch the crown for the Leopards. LP is located in Midland, which long ago had a powerhouse public-school program. Rowan sports the look of someone who should be playing the trumpet in the school band. Talk about unassuming. But he played with worlds of confidence and made all kinds of great decisions. He shot 13-for-24 (two treys) and 9-for-9 while adding three assists and four steals. Doughty shot 12-for-19 en route to 26 points. Watkins totaled 17 points, 19 rebounds and five blocks (though I sense the official statistician missed a few more). Bostick had seven points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals. The MEs, who finished the season 15-15 against an outrageous schedule, shot 28-for-67 and were guilty of 18 turnovers. LP limited itself to 11. This is the first time District 12 has qualified four teams for state finals, so the best record now possible is 3-1. The day has been downer so far. In the 12 o'clock game, Neumann-Goretti's girls fell to Seton La Salle in the AA final.

MARCH 20
TEDBITS
  Saturday at 8 o'clock, in Hershey's Giant Center, sr. G Sean Greenberg will try to help La Salle win a Class AAAA state championship. He'll have MANY family supporters. (As will Sean's sister, Bailey, who will play for Wood at 6 o'clock in the girls' AAA final.) I've known the Greenbergs, one of the most entertaining families you could ever hope to meet, for what seems like forever, and today I embarked on a project -- trying to find out how many Catholic League points (regular season and playoffs) the guys have scored. Sean's dad, Chip, was our City Player of the Year in '82. Four of his six brothers also scored points in the Catholic League regular season and/or playoff games. Their dad, Joe "Hank" Greenberg, played for La Salle High and College and was the college's captain in '49 (Chip was a co-captain in '86). Their uncle, Charley Greenberg, also played for both schools (with Tom Gola) and later was Judge's coach. His sons, Chuck and Dan, played varsity at McDevitt. Below are CL totals for the seven Greenbergs from the previous generation and the totals for Sean, the only CL player from this generation. Hank's other two sons are Joe and Jim. Joe played football while Jim (after transferring from McDevitt) was a substitute for Abington's 1974 large-school state champs. Charley's other son is Paul. His one daughter is Patti. Neither played. Hank's daughters are Mary Kay, Carol, Sue, Kelly and Kathy. Carol and Sue starred at McDevitt. Kelly and Kathy did so at Wood. Chip likes to kid Mary Kay by saying she's the all-time leading scorer at Our Lady Help of Christians, in Abington, because she was a frontcourt player in the era of six-girls hoops and got to take numerous shots. Complete scoring totals for most of the Greenbergs are not available because not all boxscores were reported back in the day. However, Chip did score 1,135 at the high before starring at the college and Sean's career total stands at 109. Thanks to Tom Taylor, who long has helped with city scoring (he has all the numbers from 1950-68), we can tell you Charley Greenberg scored three points in CL play as a junior in '50, then 84 as a senior with six more in playoffs. Similar numbers for Hank are unavailable. One last nugget: Chip's wife is the former Jane Cooper. Her brother, Jim, was a star lineman at Dougherty (also a hoopster; averaged 9.1 points in 16 CL games as a senior in '73 and doled out many bruises -- ha ha) and Temple and then became a prominent player for the Dallas Cowboys (1977-86).

MARCH 20
TEDBITS
  Play great defense and win the rebounding war. No guarantees, but doing so in the upcoming state finals might be a darn good recipe for success for La Salle (AAAA), Neumann-Goretti (AAA), Constitution (AA) and MC&S (A). In championship games, 12 of District 12's 13 winners have captured the rebounding contest (admittedly not by much sometimes, but, hey, a win's a win) and 11 of the 13 have forced the opponent to shoot less than 40 percent from the floor (often much less, in fact). The breakdown is below.

MARCH 19 (Evening)
TEDBITS
  The PIAA expanded its basketball classifications from three to four for the 1983-84 season. In the 31 seasons, this will be the fifth time that teams from one district have managed to advance to all four championship games. Below is a breakdown. No district has pulled off a sweep.

MARCH 19
TEDBITS
  Neumann-Goretti sr. G Ja'Quan Newton last night became the Catholic League's all-time leading scorer during a 21-point effort vs. Phila. Electric in a PIAA Class AAA state semifinal. Below is a breakdown, year by year, category by category, of how he has scored 1,939 points. Jeff Jones (Bonner '07) previously owned the record with 1,923. His breakdown can be found below under March 12.
UPDATED THROUGH FINAL GAME OF CAREER

MARCH 18
PIAA CLASS AAA PLAYOFF, SEMIFINAL
Neumann-Goretti 65, Phila. Electrical 53
(At Southern)
  When the Saints trot onto the court Friday night in Hershey for the Class AAA state championship game, maybe the front of their uniform will read Newton-Goretti. That would be a fitting tribute, right? Not only has sr. G Ja'Quan Newton (Miami) been a starter for four Catholic League title squads, four City Champs and two state kingpins (with another perhaps in the offing), he's now the leading career scorer in CL history! Newton entered this one with 1,918 points, five short of the total racked up by 2007 Bonner grad Jeff Jones (three seasons at Virginia, one at Rider after a sit-out year). He started his scoring night with maybe a 12-foot jumper along the left baseline (south end of Southern's gym). Next came a step-back, right-wing jumper from a shade inside the arc. With 1:02 left in the quarter, he missed a foul-line jumper. At 42.8, rather than force one up, he made a nice pass to sr. F Jamal Custis and a three-point would have resulted had Custis nailed the free throw. On to the second quarter . . . On a fastbreak, Newton took a lead pass from sr. C Tony Toplyn (Campbell), went up and was thumped at 6:38. His first free throw was perfect. Oh, baby! One more point to own the record! . . . The second shot hit the front of the rim. The big moment came with 4:11 left until halftime. After getting the ball up top, a shade to the left, Newton exploded through the left part of the lane and curled in a lefthanded layup as the nearest guys merely watched. There'd be no pomp. No circumstance. Coach Carl Arrigale said later he would have felt funny stopping a state semi to celebrate an individual accomplishment, and that the Saints will do it up right for Newton sometime down the line. Even the PA announcer, website legend Mark "Frog" Carfagno, went the keep-it-low-key route. He didn't inform the fans of Newton's accomplishment until halftime was beginning. By the time he was able to do so, the Saints were already off the court in the northwest corner, heading to their downstairs locker room. There was nice applause for Ja'Quan, but he was not present to bask in that glow. The momentous-occasion field goal provided an 18-16 lead. Later, with 2.1 seconds left, sr. G Troy Harper (Campbell) was bumped while attempting a trey. He knocked down all three attempts and N-G entered intermission with a 28-24 advantage. The Saints were juuuuuust getting started, folks. They roared to the first 11 points of the third quarter, also, thanks to a trey by Harper, a regular by jr. G Lamarr "Fresh" Kimble, two free throws (intentional foul) by Custis, a tacked-on drive by Newton and a pair of free throws by Harper. Meanwhile, PET was 0-for-9 from the field. The game wasn't over at the end of that sequence, but the Chargers faced a monumental task. They proved to be somewhat up to it, and did scramble within 53-47 as jr. G Devante Truitt posted buckets off a drive and follow. Newton provided some room by converting a double-bonus, then Toplyn registered a deflating block and 'Quan hit two more free throws. PE played man-to-man against Newton, using sr. G Anthony Harris and then jr. G Jihad Barnes. Both defenders were very physical with arms/hands/chest-ups and Newton was often physical right back, sometimes going the extra dramatic route. I think a stern talk from the refs early in the game would have gone a long way to reeling things in. Harris picked up his second foul with 1:57 left in the first quarter. Barnes played Newton until halftime, then Harris resumed the duty and fouled out (while guarding Harper) 7:42 from game's end. N-G lived at the line in the second half, going an amazing 26-for-29. Newton finished with 21 points (1,939 total; breakdown will appear as part of Wednesday's Tedbits) thanks to six field goals and 9-for-10 at the line. He also had eight rebounds (as did Toplyn) and five steals. Kimble had three assists and Toplyn hustled for four blocks. For PE, Truitt scored 17 points and sr. G Larenz Thurman managed 12, finalizing his career number at 1,024. He scored 718 at Wilmington Friends before spending this one season at PE. Barnes hustled for 10 boards and four assists while sr. F-C James Suber mixed eight points with nine rebounds . . . Amauro Austin headed out to Coatesville to watch the sold-out AAAA semi involving La Salle and Chester. The Explorers triumphed, 61-55 (how many teams, ever, have beaten Lower Merion and Chester in consecutive games?), as jr. F David Krmpotich (19 points) and jr. WG Shawn Witherspoon (17) led the way. They both shot great: "Krump" was 6-for-8 (one trey) and 6-for-8 again; "Spoon" was 5-for-6 and 7-for-9. Krmpotich added six rebounds while Witherspoon had three assists. La Salle shot 18-for-33 from the floor and 24-for-31 at the line (12-for-15 in fourth quarter). Check this out: Saturday, as noted by athletic director Joe Parisi, La Salle's ice hockey team will play for the state championship (vs. Peters Township) at 5 at Penn State and the hoops squad will do likewise (vs. New Castle) at 8 at Hershey's Giant Center. The basketball Explorers include sr. sub WG Sean Greenberg. His sister, Bailey, plays for Wood, and that squad will try to win a state title at 6 o'clock Saturday (vs. Blackhawk). What a daily double that would be.

MARCH 18 (Evening)
TEDBITS
  Late this afternoon via text messages, and then in person before the game, I asked some people to guess how Neumann-Goretti sr. G Ja'Quan Newton would become the Catholic League's all-time leading scorer. Below are guesses from 29 people, including yours truly. Sixteen guys guessed a two (correct!), seven more guessed a trey (nah) and six more guessed a free throw (pretty darn close). Newton  entered needing six points. He had four when he stepped to the line for two shots 6:38 before halftime. He swished the first, then the second one bounced off the front of the rim. He notched his sixth and seventh points on a lefthanded layup 4:11 prior to halftime. Some guys were specific with their guesses. Some weren't. Thanks to everyone who participated!

MARCH 18
TEDBITS
  Talk about weird . . . District 12 thus far has produced 13 state champions. In semifinals, six times the opponent for the eventual state champ has been another D-12 squad. The average margin of victory in those games has been 18.3 points and the lowest spread has been 11 points. When Our Guys have played Elsewhere Guys (seven games), the average margin of victory has been 5.3 points. Neumann-Goretti and Phila. Electric play tonight (7 o'clock, at Southern) in AAA. If the winner wants to claim a state title Friday, winning this one by double digits might be a good omen (smile).

MARCH 17
TEDBITS
  For the fourth consecutive year, District 12 has advanced five teams to state semifinals. Also, for the fifth consecutive year (and seventh time in eight), the semis will include at least one all/D-12 battle.