Sean
Singletary
almost never experiences trouble having his way with
football and basketball opponents.
His parents are
sometimes another matter.
Singletary lives
off Lincoln Drive in West Mount Airy and long ago
dreamed of attending nearby Penn Charter. He's
starring there now, but first he had to play
hopscotch.
"I wanted to come
here from the time I was in seventh grade," he said.
"I knew how good the sports teams were, and about
the great academics. But I couldn't get my parents
[Harold and Jacqueline] to go along. I'd ask them
every year. They'd say, 'We don't think so. '
"When they said
last summer that I could transfer here, my first
thought was, 'All right! Finally! ' I was so happy.
"
Singletary, a
5-11, 165-pound junior, last fall earned second-team
Daily News All-City honors at the multipurpose slot
for his contributions to the
Inter-Ac
League champions as a wideout, defensive back and
return man.
He's at least as
impressive in hoops. Maybe more so.
It's not without
justification that people compare Singletary to
Roman Catholic product Marvin Harrison, star wideout
for the Indianapolis Colts. As a senior, Harrison
earned MVP honors in Catholic South basketball.
In 18 minutes
yesterday, Singletary collected 25 points, three
steals and two assists as the Quakers stormed past
visiting Episcopal Academy, 76-51, to join Mal-vern
Prep at 4-0 in the
Inter-Ac.
PC hosts Malvern on Friday night.
Singletary -
quick, elusive, explosive, perceptive (you name it)
- shot 10-for-15 overall, 4-for-6 on treys and
1-for-1 at the line. He especially toyed with the
Churchmen in the first 9 1/2 minutes, pouring in 16
points and making all three of his steals as PC
zoomed to a 29-16 lead.
"If I see the
other guards come onto the court without a swagger,
I figure I can jump them," he said. "I try to get us
going right away. "
Singletary's
first high school stop was Haverford School, also of
the Inter-Ac.
Next was Perkiomen School, a small-enrollment
boarding school in deep Montgomery County.
"My parents
decided it would just be a good thing to have me go
to Haverford," Singletary said. "A couple things
went wrong there, so then they thought I'd mature in
a boarding school. Sometimes you couldn't even go
home on weekends, so that was different.
"When I started
getting a lot of basketball attention last summer
[on the AAU trail], they thought it would be best if
I came home for school, so I could get the kind of
exposure you get in the city. "
Singletary's
father boxed while in the service. His mother played
basketball at West Philadelphia. One brother, Brian,
ran track at Bishop McDevitt. The other, Harold,
starred in lacrosse at Perkiomen (which did not have
football at the time) and later played football at
Kutztown.
Does Sean have a
favorite?
"I'm neutral
right now," he said, "but personally, for the
future, I'd say I like basketball better. I'd like
to play that professionally, if it could happen.
"This spring and
summer, I'm going to concentrate completely on
basketball and try to see where I stand against all
the best players around the country. That'll help me
decide what I want to do for college.
"One thing I
might try to do is play both. I'd have to add about
20 pounds for that. "
PC's weapons were
plentiful. Rob Kurz, a 6-8 junior, totaled 23 points
and 12 rebounds. Matt Ryan, bound for Boston College
to play quarterback, had eight points, eight boards
and four blocks. Sophomore wing guard Zack Zeglinski
distributed seven assists and even grabbed seven
boards.
For Episcopal,
freshman forward/center Gerald Henderson, son of the
former NBA player by the same name, mixed 20 points,
eight rebounds and four blocks. Ron Frazier added 16
points.
Singletary is
aware of his skills.
"If I wanted to,
I'm sure I could break some scoring records," he
said. "But on a team like this one, everybody can
get theirs.
"As the point
guard, my job is to make sure everyone is involved.
I like to pass and make good plays. But if the guy
trying to play me is slow, hey, I have to take
advantage."
|
Singletary leads charge
for PC
By TED SILARY silaryt@phillynews.com
SEAN
SINGLETARY has
a message for those
basketball fans who like
to tease him by
bellowing "Braces! . . .
Braces! "
You're
only half correct.
Yes, the
top teeth are tinseled.
But those on the lower
deck are uncovered and -
phew, look at that -
there are many.
"My mom
said I had to get the
braces," Singletary
said, smiling. "It was
supposed to be both
rows, but on the bottom
ones . . . I'm probably
going to have to get
what they call
'aggressive treatment. '
Get some of those things
outta there.
"I need
to get this wrapped up.
Next year, I'm going to
be walking around a
college campus. I can't
have this stuff going
on. "
Singletary is a 5-11,
175-pound point guard at
Penn Charter, and a
Virginia signee. A
fifth-year senior, his
high school travels have
taken him from Haverford
School (1 year) to
Perkiomen Prep (2) to PC
(2 more), and have
produced more than 2,100
career points.
But,
brace yourself, this kid
is so much more than a
scorer, and he proved so
again last night.
In an
Inter-Ac
League game, played
before an overflow crowd
that was a wonderful
basketball experience
pretty much from
beginning to end,
Singletary led all
scorers with 30 points
as PC tripped visiting
Germantown Academy,
74-64.
He also
had 10 rebounds. And
eight assists. And four
steals.
Singletary shot
10-for-20 (3-for-4 on
treys) and 7-for-8 at
the line as the Quakers
went to 6-0 in league
play. Four games remain,
but only a vintage
collapse would prevent
them from winning a
second consecutive
title.
As
always, Singletary made
three or four plays that
only he could have made,
whether because of
athleticism, timing or
instincts and, on a
fastbreak, he even
unfurled a dunk.
In time,
he allowed himself to
look ahead to tonight,
when PC will play
Cardinal Dougherty in
the second game of a
showcase event, roughly
7:45, at Arcadia
University, in Glenside.
GA and Simon Gratz will
play at 6.
Dougherty
has its own franchise
guard in Villanova-bound
Kyle Lowry.
"I've
been thinking about it a
lot," Singletary said.
"It seems like people
all around the city will
be paying attention to
this one. They've been
building up the
[personal] matchup.
"We used
to be like best friends.
We haven't talked in a
while. We're very
competitive with each
other and our fans like
to talk trash to each
other. "
Based on
how he performed as a
junior, Singletary last
fall likely would have
been one of the city's
top football players.
However, he suffered a
shoulder injury last
spring playing AAU hoops
- trying to dunk, no
less - and he gave up
the sport.
"I hadn't
dunked since the
spring," he said. "My
shoulder's up to 95
percent. Almost 100,
really. "
Notre
Dame signee Rob Kurz
added 19 points, 12
boards and five blocks
for PC, and had an
eye-popping sequence in
which he got a block and
raced downcourt for a
dunk. Zack Zeglinski hit
three treys en route to
13 points. His brother,
Sam, dealt five assists.
Joe Rauchut scrapped for
eight points and five
boards. Brian Grimes led
GA with 26 points, nine
rebounds and five
assists.
Singletary's slam
provided a 64-58 lead.
PC eased away by
completing a 16-for-17
showing at the foul
line.
In the PC
portion of his career,
Singletary has scored
979 points. Getting to
1,000 tonight would be
nice. Knocking off the
lofty Cards would be
preferable.
"I take
pride in doing all the
things I do," Singletary
said. "The idea is to
keep a nice team
momentum going. I can
make that happen by
grabbing rebounds and
making nice passes and
playing tough defense.
"You only
get assists if your
teammates are making
shots. But if they're
off, I still pass.
That's because I know
they're working hard and
they'll come around. "
So will
more "Braces!" chants.
"I might
as well get used to it,"
he said, smiling. "I'll
hear 40 times more stuff
in ACC games."
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