On the Trail With Ted
Basketball 2015-16, February 

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 Observations, notes, etc., on games I've seen during
the 2015-16 season . . . Plus some Tedbits.

If your name is misspelled on a TEAM PAGE, please speak up. Send an email to tedtee307@yahoo.com.

SPECIAL NOTE
  To all scorekeepers: PLEASE try to make sure that correct info on scoring is called into the Score Service (215-854-4570). Generally, it's better when the winning team calls in the results. That way the papers receive 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/Tedbits
 January Reports/Tedbits

FEB. 29
TEDBIT
  It takes a village to win many championships. In 27 seasons as Germantown Academy's basketball coach, Jim Fenerty has won 16 Inter-Ac crowns. The Patriots have stood alone 12 times and four times they've been forced to share. The 16 championship squads have included 44 starters. The breakdown is below. Juniors Evan-Eric Longino and Kyle McCloskey already own three titles and next year they'll have a chance to join Chris Krug, the only player in the I-A's 93-season hoops history to start for four champs (two outright/two shared). Alvin Williams (now an assistant to Fenerty) and Matt Walsh played in the NBA. 

Starters for Jim Fenerty's Gtn. Academy Champs
Name No.  -- Seasons --
Chris Krug 4 1995 1996 1997 1998
Damon Williams 3 1992 1993 1995  
Julius Williams 3 1995 1996 1997  
Lee Melchionni 3 2000 2001 2002  
Ted Skuchas 3 2000 2001 2002  
Dean Melchionni 3 2007 2008 2009  
Jeff Holton 3 2007 2008 2009  
Devon Goodman 3 2014 2015 2016  
Evan Eric-Longino 3 2014 2015 2016  
Kyle McCloskey 3 2014 2015 2016  
Larry Leith 2 1992 1993    
Alvin Williams 2 1992 1993    
Denis Kane 2 1992 1993    
Chad Lamelza 2 1995 *1996    
Jay Overcash 2 1996 1997    
Brian Burke 2 1997 1998    
Mike Slattery 2 2000 2001    
Matt Walsh 2 2001 2002    
Joe Hill 2 2007 2008    
Cameron Ayers 2 2008 2009    
Sam Lindgren 2 2014 2015    
Tim Guers 2 2014 2015    
Chris Rodgers 2 *1998 2000    
Bailey Whitman 1 2016      
Mark Nori 1 1992      
Damon Myers 1 1993      
Louis "B.J." Medley 1 1995      
Jason Lucas 1 1996      
Eddie Harris 1 1997      
Rob Heleniak 1 1998      
Seth Taft 1 1998      
Matt Kauderer 1 2000      
Troy Holiday 1 2001      
Jeff Curtin 1 2002      
Larry Sharp 1 2002      
D.J. Johnston 1 2007      
Kyle Griffin 1 2007      
Tim McCarty 1 2008      
Eric Yuschak 1 2009      
Jack McDonnell 1 2009      
Earl Edwards 1 2013      
Greg Dotson 1 2013      
James Drury 1 2013      
Julian Moore 1 2013      
Nick Lindner 1 2013      
Gabe Alter 1 2016      
*-injured late in season          

FEB. 28
TEDBIT
  Friday night, I wound up watching the Class AAAA City Title on Sports Fan Base Network and at one point the camera panned to King's bench. Head coach Sean Colson was standing to the right and to the left were one, two, three, FOUR other guys who also starred in the Public League. The mind began spinning. Man, how many points did those guys score? All played from the late '80s to mid-'90s and boxscores for all games were not always reported. Totals for league/playoff games are available, however, and the number is . . . 2,650! Sean (Franklin Learning Center) and Jason Lawson (Olney) played in the NBA. The other three guys are Mike Cassidy (Mastbaum), Dennis Caldwell (Edison) and Andre Griffin (Gratz). The columns below show PL regular season points, playoff points, total points and PL honors via the coaches. Back then, 30 players were picked -- three teams of 10 apiece.

Public League Points Scored by King's Coaching Staff
Name School Year PLRS PLP Total PLH
Jason Lawson, C Olney 1990 22 2 24  
    1991 148 8 156 2nd
    1992 221 43 264 1st
    1993 284 66 350 1st
      675 119 794  
Mike Cassidy, G Mastbaum 1991 56   56  
    1992 121   121  
    1993 211 19 230 2nd
    1994 238   238 1st
      626 19 645  
Dennis Caldwell, G Edison 1989 139   139  
    1990 143   143  
    1991 248 21 269 2nd
      530 21 551  
Andre Griffin, F Gratz 1989 137 35 172  
    1990 105 37 142  
    1991 78 37 115 2nd
      320 109 429  
Sean Colson, G FLC 1992 172 59 231 3rd
      172 59 231  
             
Totals     2,323 327 2,650  

FEB. 27
TEDBIT
  Deep into season No. 8 of the PIAA era, Neumann-Goretti has finally suffered a second consecutive "meaningful" loss . . . as in, a game within the Catholic League (regular season/playoffs), City Titles and state playoffs. In the Class AAA City Title, played last night at Saint Joseph's University, the Saints were stunned by Del-Val Charter, 81-79. This loss occurred four days after N-G was topped by Roman Catholic, 72-65, in the Catholic League championship game at the Palestra. An absolutely amazing run by coach Carl Arrigale's Saints. In all, they've gone 165-8 in these last eight seasons in "meaningful" games for a winning percentage of .954. The breakdown is below. In CL play, they have not lost two consecutive games since the 2008 season, when they were topped by SJ Prep, 57-51, on Friday, Jan. 18, and by Roman, 62-60, on Monday, Jan. 21. Their last two-game losing streak of any kind occurred during the 2013-14 season. In the City of Palms Classic, played in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the Saints fell to Providence Christian, of Jacksonville, Florida, 62-51, on Thursday, Dec. 19, and to Lincoln, of Brooklyn, New York, 60-55, on Saturday, Dec. 21. In the 2013 season, the league loss to La Salle, by a score of 65-62 on Sunday, Jan. 7, ended a streak of 73 consecutive victories in CL play (regular season/playoffs). Also, the Saints had won 72 in a row counting CL (regular season/playoffs), CTs and states since falling to Carroll in a 2009 state quarterfinal. Of course, this season isn't over. The Saints will compete in the state tourney and another AAA crown would not surprise.

N-G's "Meaningful" Results in the PIAA Era, 2009-16
  CLRS CLP CT State Total *WS
2009 16-0 3-0 1-0 2-1 22-1 22
2010 16-0 3-0 1-0 5-0 25-0 25
2011 13-0 3-0 1-0 5-0 22-0 22
2012 13-0 3-0 1-0 5-0 22-0 22
2013 12-1 3-0 1-0 2-1 18-2 15
2014 12-1 3-0 1-0 5-0 21-1 16
2015 12-1 2-1 1-0 5-0 20-2 13
2016 13-0 2-1 0-1 TBD 15-2 15
  107-3 22-2 7-1 29-2 165-8  
*-Longest CL/CLP/CT/State winning streak within that season

FEB. 26
TEDBIT
  By one standard, this is the Catholic League's best basketball season in this century. Reason: 10 of the 14 teams (71 percent) will finish with winning overall records and that eclipses what happened in 2008. That year there were 16 teams (North Catholic and Cardinal Dougherty have since closed) and 11 finished with winning records (69 percent). This year's feat was assured by Bonner-Prendie. In the last game of the regular season, the Friars defeated West Catholic to force a preplayoff for 10th place against the same opponent. They won that tilt, then followed with a victory over Conwell-Egan in a first-round playoff to go to 13-11. A loss to Neumann-Goretti in a quarterfinal completed the season at 13-12. Judge and SJ Prep finished 13-10. Records for other teams that have completed play: La Salle (17-6), Ryan (16-9) and Wood (14-10). Neumann-Goretti (22-3), Carroll (also 22-3), Roman (21-4) and Conwell-Egan (14-9) are still alive.

Catholic League Teams With Winning
Records In This Century
Year Teams *WR Pct.
2016 14 10 71
2008 16 11 69
2015 14 9 64
2012 14 9 64
2013 14 8 57
2007 16 9 56
2006 16 9 56
2005 16 9 56
2004 16 9 56
2003 16 9 56
2001 16 9 56
2011 14 7 50
2002 16 8 50
2000 16 8 50
2014 14 6 43
2010 17 7 41
2009 17 7 41
*-Teams with winning records

FEB. 25
TEDBIT
  The list below was first posted in 2014 and we thought it would make sense to update it, and expand it from 15 to 20. Neumann-Goretti's Quade Green already ranks fifth and could have three more chances next season to claim the No. 2 spot, or even No. 1. Also added: Roman sr. Tony Carr and 2015 Carroll grad Derrick Jones.

Top 20 Playoff Scorers in CL History
Name School Class Points High
Ja'Quan Newton N-G 2014 211 27
Lonnie McFarlan Roman 1980 164 26
Juan'ya Green Carroll 2011 160 39
Tony Chennault N-G 2010 158 24
Quade Green N-G 2017 144 31
Stephen Vasturia SJ Prep 2013 136 26
Bernard Jones Roman 1991 135 30
Rick Jackson N-G 2007 133 26
Donnie Carr Roman 1996 132 22
Tony Carr Roman 2016 132 24
Miles Overton SJ Prep 2013 131 26
Scoop Jardine N-G 2007 130 22
John Davis N-G 2013 129 25
Martin Ingelsby Carroll 1997 128 24
Tabby Cunningham Neumann 2004 127 21
Alan Watkins Roman 1989 126 24
Derrick Jones Carroll 2015 122 24
Shane Clark Dougherty 2004 120 25
Craig Conlin La Salle 1985 120 23
Eddie Griffin Roman 2000 120 23

FEB. 24 (Evening)
TEDBIT
  As mentioned in previous posts about this topic, maybe the color red gets them going. Whatever the reason, Carroll certainly has found a second home at Ryan in the eight years that the Catholic League has been part of the PIAA. Tonight, the Patriots upped their record to 8-2 in playoff games contested at Ryan, and the margin of defeat in  their two losses (both to Philly Electric) was three points. The biggest win, no doubt, occurred in a Class AAA quarterfinal in '09. That triumph over Neumann-Goretti helped Carroll become the CL's first state champ.  

Carroll's Postseason Games at Ryan, 2009-16
Year Occasion Opponent Result Carroll's Top Scorer Pts
2009 3/4 game Gratz W, 63-39 DJ Irving  25
state qtr N-G W, 70-65 DJ Irving  26
2010 3/4 game Gratz W, 48-43 Juan'ya Green 24
2011 3/4 game Boys' Latin W, 72-61 Yosef Yacob 23
2012 3/4 game  Phila. Elec. W, 48-37 Yosef Yacob 18
2013 3/4 game Phila. Elec. L, 48-46 Derrick Jones 19
2014 3/4 game Imhotep W, 53-37 Derrick Jones 18
state qtr Phila. Elec. L, 52-51 Derrick Jones 15
2015 3/4 game Audenried W, 71-46 Derrick Jones 20
2016 3/4 game Imhotep W, 70-61 John Rigsby 18

FEB. 24
TEDBIT
  Not sure if you checked out the recap for Monday night's Catholic League final, but if so you noticed that Roman, for the fourth time, hit NO three-pointers while winning the championship. Three-pointers became possible with the 1986-87 season and no other winning team has matched Roman's feat. The chart below lists total numbers for threes in all finals over the last 30 seasons. The winner has notched fewer threes 13 times and there have been four ties. Also listed are all guys who've hit at least three. Through '01, only guys on losing teams hit at least four. Since '02, four of the five guys with four have been on the winning team. Dougherty's Cuttino "Cat" Mobley enjoyed a long career in the NBA. He, North Catholic's Chris Heck and SJ Prep's Kyle Thompson are lefties.

Breakdown for 3's in Catholic League Finals, 1987-2016
Year Winner No. Loser No. Name No.
2016 Roman 0 N-G 2    
2015 Roman 4 N-G 7 Gemil Holbrook 3
          *Quade Green 3
2014 N-G 2 Roman 4    
2013 N-G 5 SJ Prep 6 Ja'Quan Newton 3
          *Kyle Thompson 3
2012 N-G 6 SJ Prep 9 Derrick Stewart 3
          *Miles Overton 3
          *Gene Williams 3
2011 N-G 5 Carroll 4 *Juan'ya Green 3
2010 N-G 7 Carroll 4    
2009 N-G 3 Roman 3    
2008 North 6 Ryan 3 Woody Redding 4
2007 Roman 3 N-G 0    
2006 N-G 1 Roman 1    
2005 N-G 4 SJ Prep 3    
2004 SJ Prep 7 Dougherty 5 John Griffin 4
2003 SJ Prep 8 Dougherty 6 T.J. Valerio 4
          Chris Clark 3
          *Isaac Greer 4
2002 Neumann 8 Ryan 6 Chris DelBrocco 6
2001 Neumann 5 Roman 6 *Jim Kelly 4
2000 Roman 5 Neumann 3 Michael Wild 3
1999 Roman 0 West 2    
1998 Judge 2 O'Hara 6 *Louis Becht 5
1997 Neumann 4 Carroll 2    
1996 Roman 4 Roman 3    
1995 Carroll 4 Roman 7 *Donnie Carr 4
1994 Roman 0 North 5 *Chris Heck 4
1993 Roman 2 North 2    
1992 Roman 1 Dougherty 5 *Cuttino Mobley 4
1991 Roman 5 La Salle 1    
1990 Roman 0 La Salle 5 *Ernie Koschineg 3
1989 Roman 3 La Salle 1 Jim O'Rourke 3
1988 Bonner 2 North 5 *Marc Alicea 3
1987 North 1 Roman 1    
*-member of losing team      

FEB. 23
TEDBIT
  Over the last 48 years, nine Catholic League players have collected at least 35 points/rebounds while helping their team claim victory in the championship game. With 22 points and 13 boards, sr. F Lamar Stevens did so last night as Roman topped Neumann-Goretti, 72-65, before a full house at the Palestra. Six of the nine have been Roman guys. The only non-frontcourt player was Roman's Nazeer Bostick, who accomplished the feat in last year's title win (also over N-G). Brian Daly is the father of current Carroll star Ryan Daly. Roman's Marc Jackson played in the NBA. Bonner's Jack Concannon is in his second stint as the Friars' coach.

Point/Rebound Totals of at Least 35 by Players for CL Champs, 1969-2016
Year Name Winner Loser Score Total Pts Rebs
1992 Kyle Locke Roman Dougherty 77-68 47 39 8
2003 Mark Zoller SJ Prep Dougherty 77-70 45 31 14
1990 Bernard Jones Roman La Salle 64-62 43 30 13
1988 Brian Daly Bonner North 62-59 40 30 10
1993 Marc Jackson Roman North 62-55 40 22 18
1982 Jack Concannon Bonner Judge 73-53 36 21 15
1980 Lonnie McFarlan Roman Kenrick 49-41 36 26 10
2015 Nazeer Bostick Roman N-G 64-59 36 23 13
2016 Lamar Stevens Roman N-G 72-65 35 22 13

FEB. 22 (Evening)
TEDBIT
  Tonight at the Palestra, Roman's Chris McNesby became the fifth city-leagues coach over the last 46 seasons to guide a team to a second championship after having played for a title team at a city-leagues school. He was a substitute guard for Roman in the '93 and '94 seasons (and made appearances in both finals; scored two points in '93) and then was a starter for the '95 squad. St. Thomas More, which closed in June 1975, was located at 47th & Wyalusing, in West Philly. Sean Colson, Tom Ingelsby and Fran O'Hanlon played in the NBA/ABA. Vince Miller (RIP) was Wilt Chamberlain's lifelong best buddy and a scout for the 76ers. O'Hanlon now coaches Lafayette. Fran Dunphy coaches Temple. Eddie Burke (RIP) coached Drexel. In all, eight guys have played for/coached championship teams since 1971.

City-Leagues Guys With Championships As Players and Coaches (In That Role Since 1971)
Name School as Coach Title(s) School as Player Title(s) Role as Player
Chris McNesby Roman 2015-16 Roman 1993-94 sub both seasons (then started in '95)
Sean Colson King 2014 Franklin LC 1992 3rd team All-Public
Carl Arrigale Neumann/N-G 2001-02, 05-06, 09-14 Penn Charter 1984 league MVP
Tom Ingelsby Carroll 1995 O'Hara 1968 2nd team All-Catholic (1st in '69)
Vince Miller Frankford 1988-89 Overbrook 1954-55 sub in '54; starter in '55
Fran O'Hanlon Bonner 1988 ST More 1966 1st team All-Catholic
Fran Dunphy Malvern 1976-77 Malvern 1965-66 sixth man in '65; 1st team All-Inter-Ac in '66
Eddie Burke SJ Prep/ST More 1971/1972 SJ Prep 1962 starter

FEB. 22
TAKE A GUESS
  Here are the guesses for the winner and final score in tonight's Catholic League final (posted in the order they were received) . . . The winner was Keith Hines, a long-time football/basketball stat man for the Daily News. He had Roman by 70-65. The final was 72-65. Mark "Frog" Carfagno, another long-time DN statman, had Roman getting the win at 68-65. Tom Carroll (69-65) was one point closer. Thanks to all participants!

  N-G Roman Score
"King" Ernie Gallagher yes   71-59
Big Steve Reid   yes 62-54
Paul McManus   yes 75-70
Jack Rutter   yes 56-53
Kieran Trainer yes   74-61
Bobby Hill   yes 65-59
Jim Gillespie   yes 55-50
Frog Carfagno   yes 68-65
Billy Everett yes   82-74
Amauro Austin yes   77-69
Michael Drumm yes   81-68
Pat McLoone yes   72-65
Big Willie McGonigle yes   69-64
Jim Trainer yes   71-59
Fran Costello yes   78-69
Joe Mason yes   74-70
Kevin Lauer yes   65-60
Joe Parisi yes   58-50
Blair Klumpp yes   55-50
Matt McCauley yes   75-70
  N-G Roman Score
Dan Greenberg yes   75-60
Charlie Lamb yes   53-49
Dan Solis-Cohen   yes 64-61
Mike Mack yes   75-66
Ed Cubbage yes   66-58
Eric DiPentima   yes 73-68
Ken Woodring yes   85-75
Mick Barrett yes   67-59
Tom Moore   yes 71-70
Tom Carroll   yes 69-65
Marty Weiss yes   70-65
John Knebels yes   74-63
Ed Barkowitz   yes 62-61
Huck Palmer yes   73-62
Frank "5" McArdle yes   78-68
Janet Dollard   yes 54-51
Jim Smith yes   76-65
Paul Hoffman yes   65-54
Bob Hamburger yes   75-60
Keith Hines   yes 70-65
Ryan Stewart yes   77-62

FEB. 22
TEDBIT
  The Palestra will be rockin' tonight for the Catholic League championship game and the winner will be able to double-brag, "Not only are we the 2016 champ, but we also own the all-time edge in our schools' playoff meetings!" Hard to believe, but right now the count is 11-11 between Roman and Neumann-Goretti (counting its forerunners, Southeast Catholic/Bishop Neumann/St. John Neumann) and the point differential is only 25 (1,221 for N-G/etc.; 1,196 for Roman). Also, eight meetings have been decided by no more than three points. Roman dominated the early years (seven of eight) while Neumann/N-G has done so since 2001 (nine of 11). This will be the teams' third straight finals meeting. That has happened only one other time in CL history. Roman beat La Salle in each final from 1989 through '91. Most amazing nugget on the list below: The record for most points racked up by the winner's leading scorer goes alllllll the way back to 1944. In a semi, Franny "Dutch" Henkel poured in 27 points to fuel a 53-28 romp. Did you notice? He missed matching Roman's total by just one point. Back in that era, a state Catholic champion was decided. Southeast Catholic crunched Johnstown Central Catholic, 38-20, before 5,338 at Philly's Convention Hall. (CH, not far from the Palestra, later became the Civic Center and was demolished in 2005. It hosted six Pub finals in the '90s). Good luck to both teams tonight. Please provide another classic!
  UPDATE: Roman won, 72-65. Details below.

Results of Playoff Games Between N-G and Roman
Year Round Winner Loser Score Leading Scorer Pts
1943 Pre Roman SE Catholic 44-34 Jack Maloney 14
1944 Semi SE Catholic Roman 53-28 Dutch Henkel 27
1973 Semi Roman Neumann 48-46 Rocco Piliero 14
1976 Quarter Roman Neumann 44-42 *see below 14
1979 Quarter Roman Neumann 76-56 Lonnie McFarlan 24
1980 Quarter Roman Neumann 77-47 Lonnie McFarlan 17
1990 Semi Roman Neumann 66-54 Bernard Jones 22
1994 Semi Roman Neumann 67-56 Donnie Carr 22
1997 Quarter Neumann Roman 71-58 Victor Thomas 16
1998 Quarter Roman Neumann 63-56 Rasual Butler 26
2000 Final Roman Neumann 58-55 Michael Wild 17
2001 Final Neumann Roman 60-59 Tabby Cunningham 19
2003 Quarter Neumann Roman 55-53 Tabby Cunningham 15
2004 Quarter Neumann Roman 57-47 Tabby Cunningham 16
2005 Quarter N-G Roman 61-41 DJ Rivera 25
2006 Final N-G Roman 44-41 Rick Jackson 12
2007 Final Roman N-G 59-56 Bradley Wanamaker 17
2009 Final N-G Roman 86-53 Tyreek Duren 26
2011 Semi N-G Roman 47-46 Lamin Fulton 14
2012 Semi N-G Roman 73-56 Ja'Quan Newton 17
2014 Final N-G Roman 53-48 Ja'Quan Newton 23
2015 Final Roman N-G 64-59 Nazeer Bostick 23
2016 Final Roman N-G 72-65 Lamar Stevens 22
*-Steve Compton and Reggie Jackson scored 14 points apiece

FEB. 21
TEDBIT
  The combatants will enter Monday night's Catholic League final, set for approximately 8:45 at the Palestra, with only six total losses. Neumann-Goretti is 22-2 while Roman is 20-4. That ranks sixth for teams heading INTO the title game since at least 1970. In last year's final, Roman prevented N-G coach Carl Arrigale from winning a seventh consecutive title (that would have been a league record) and collecting career triumph No. 400 (that came in the next game, over Imhotep, for the Class AAA City Title).
  UPDATE: 2016 game has been added with winner-loser positioning. 

Lowest Number of Total Losses
For CL Title Combatants, 1970-2015
(Heading INTO the Game)
Year Total
Losses		 Winner W-L Loser W-L
1997 3 Neumann  24-3 Carroll 27-0
2015 3 Roman 22-2 Neumann-Goretti 23-1
2010 4 Neumann-Goretti 23-1 Carroll 21-3
2003 4 SJ Prep 27-1 Dougherty 24-3
1996 4 Roman 25-1 Carroll 26-3
2016 6 Roman 20-4 Neumann-Goretti 22-2
2014 7 Neumann-Goretti 20-4 Roman 21-3
2012 7 Neumann-Goretti 21-3 SJ Prep 20-4
2007 7 Roman 24-3 Neumann-Goretti 24-4
2004 7 SJ Prep 24-3 Dougherty 24-4
2011 8 Neumann-Goretti 30-4 Carroll 20-4
2006 8 Neumann-Goretti 22-5 Roman 25-3
2000 8 Roman 23-5 Neumann  24-3

FEB. 21
TEDBIT
  Here are the results for Inter-Ac teams in the quarterfinal round of the Pennsylvania Independent Tournament (PAISAA, officially). As happened this time around, when Episcopal beat Haverford School, some games have featured I-A teams against each other. In 2010, there were separate eight-team tourneys and the winners did not meet. Germantown Academy is best in quarters with a 5-2 record.

Performances by Inter-Ac in Quarterfinals of Pa. Indy Tourney
Year W-L EA GA HS MP PC SCH
2016 2-3 W W L L L --
2015 1-1 -- L W -- DNP --
2014 0-2 -- L L -- -- --
2013 3-2 L W W L W --
2012 2-1 -- W -- W L DNP
2011 1-0 -- -- -- W -- --
*2010 4-2 W W W L L W
2009 2-2 -- W L W -- L
  15-13 2-1 5-2 3-3 3-3 1-3 1-1
DNP: did not participate in tourney
*-two separate eight-team tourneys

FEB. 20
PA. INDEPENDENT TOURNAMENT
Quarterfinal
Hill School 59, Penn Charter 37
  Much to forget about this one, folks. PC was never close to being in it, falling into unsightly holes such as 17-3, 27-5, 38-10 and, finally, 47-12 before a late rally, achieved against Hill's deep subs, helped to reduce the pain at least a little. Hill, in Pottstown, is mostly a boarding school and gets its players from far and wide. Its starting center, jr. Solomon Ruddell, is from California. One of the forwards, sr. Jonas Stakeliunas, is from Lithuania. Oh, did we mention their respective heights are 7-1 and 6-8? And that some of their playmates are pretty adept from behind the arc? Probably should have, since those two factors meant EVERYTHING. PC missed 19 of its first 23 shots, finished with just three assists and had no one with more than four rebounds. The biggest moment likely occurred with 2:18 left as jr. F Alex Slook, making his varsity debut, claimed an offensive rebound in traffic and connected on a flip-shot follow to score his first two points. PC's squad had five seniors this season. Sean Foley was unavailable all the way through due to a serious shoulder injury suffered during football season. He kept PC's scorebook through three quarters, then was replaced by assistant Chris Burnett (father of jr. G Dylan). I had a feeling something was in the works. It was. Just seven seconds into the fourth quarter, coach Jim "Flipper" Phillips made sure the other seniors -- Fs Harrison Williams and Evan Ferrell, Gs Jake McCain and Michael Berk -- would get one last chance to play together. They departed as one with 5:59 left and sat together, with Foley, at the end of the bench for the rest of the game. I can only imagine how many thoughts were bouncing around in their heads. Shortly after game's end, I asked Flipper if it would be OK, following his locker room speech, to get a pic of the seniors. He nodded yes and asked me to join everyone in the locker room. He then began a speech and shortly into it became overwhelmed with emotion. He couldn't continue for 10 seconds, 20 seconds, probably even 30 seconds. Once he got rolling again, he mentioned, among other things, that he was "abundantly proud" of the team for its season-long effort and how, down the line, the seniors would be able to feel good about their contributions toward getting the program rolling again. The Quakers finished 13-10. That's just their third winning record in the last 10 seasons -- 12-11 in '14 and 16-9 in '13. In the seven seasons from 2000 through '06, winning records were posted six times. It'll be interesting to watch the 2016-17 crew and thanks to these guys for providing many enjoyable moments . . . The day began at PC with the girls tourney game vs. Abington Friends. That also yielded a loss. The Q's stormed to a 17-4 lead, but then managed just two points over the next 9 minutes, 40 seconds. Things got very weird. So many shots ALMOST went in, but didn't. The final score was 43-36. Sr. G Hannah Fox, who finished her career with 1,813 points, was honored before the game by phillysportsdigest.com for her athletic talents and all other positive qualities. Congrats to Hannah! Today's coolest visiting dignitary was Ellison Huggins, starting frontcourt guy for Mastbaum's 1982 Pub champs (his daughter, Alyssa DeNofa, plays for AFS). Ellison, at maybe 6-3, was the tallest Panther and, man, were those guys fun to watch! And interview (ha ha; everybody was a character). 'Baum finished 27-1 and was coached by an absolute gem of a man, the late Ralph "Bones" Schneider. Those were the days . . . It was also great to see Jeff Bond, Abington Friends' girls coach. Back in the day ('99 outright, '00 shared) he steered Episcopal's baseball team to back-to-back Inter-Ac championships. Most recent title beforehand? 1949. Titles since those? None. Well done, Jeff!

FEB. 20
TEDBIT
  This is year No. 8 for the Pennsylvania Independent Tournament (PAISAA, officially) and the Inter-Ac League is basking in the glow of its best first-round performance so far (5-1). Episcopal won Friday night, four more teams won yesterday/last night (Germantown Academy, Haverford School, Malvern Prep, Penn Charter) and SCH Academy suffered a loss. The I-A almost certainly would have been 5-1 in '13, but high-seed GA was given a first-round bye because the tourney did not include 16 teams.

Performances by Inter-Ac in 1st Round of Pa. Indy Tourney
Year W-L EA GA HS MP PC SCH
2016 5-1 W W W W W L
2015 2-3 L W W L DNP L
2014 2-4 L W W L L L
2013 4-1 W BYE W W W L
2012 1-3 L W L BYE L DNP
2011 1-5 L L L W L L
2010 different format; two separate tourneys with 8 teams apiece
2009 4-2 L W W W L W
  19-19 2-5 5-1 5-2 4-2 2-4 1-5
DNP: did not particpate

FEB. 19
PA. INDEPENDENT TOURNAMENT
First Round
Penn Charter 53, Academy of the New Church 52
  Because he played so well for PC's Third Team (mostly freshmen), frosh Ryan Maloney recently has practiced with the varsity was given the chance to sit on the bench in street clothes for this one. As ANC, down three, prepared to inbound with 11.4 seconds remaining, Maloney said, "OT. I'm not feelin' it." And . . . he didn't have to! The Quakers lived to see another day. (Night, actually. The quarterfinal will be played tomorrow night, 7 o'clock, at Hill School, in Pottstown.) On ANC's final possession, a trey and two were missed and the second rebound wound up in the hands of soph Marcus Littles, who appears to be about 6-9. Littles made the follow at 2.7 while also getting hacked. To that juncture he was 2-for-6 on foul shots, so the odds were in PC's favor. Littles' attempt hit the heel of the rim and the ball bounced over the baseline, toward the left corner, as the buzzer sounded. Any tournament win is much appreciated, but one collected as a road underdog is especially satisfying. How'd it happen? Primarily, the Q's won because they drained 10 three-pointers (thanks to snappy set-up passes) and played great defense on Littles, even though their lineup has no one remotely close to that size. How'd they almost lose? Because sr. F Harrison Williams and jr. G Dylan Burnett fouled out in the late going and they'd been mostly responsible -- albeit in a zone -- for making sure Little rarely touched the ball, let alone was able to rack up points. Williams departed with 3:27 left and the score at 47-37. Burnett followed suit at 1:57 with the lead down to five points. Right then, PC scored five quick points as jr. G Mike "Neeko" Hnatkowsky, off a great leap, tipped a loose ball to soph G Mason Williams, right near the basket, for an easy laup. Frosh WG Ryan "Poochie Pooch" Holmes then made a steal at three-quarters court and zoomed down for his second slam of the season. Alas, Littles then began to become a force and, eventually, his down-low bucket moved ANC within 51-50 with 25.7 left. Jr. PG Adam Holland went the Mr. Clutch route at 15.7, converting a one-and-one to make it 53-50. You already know what happened thereafter. This game's strangest nugget: PC owned a 22-18 halftime lead even though three starters were scoreless. One was H. Williams and since he's a senior, here's thinking he was telling himself in the locker room, "No way I'm gonna finish my career like THIS!" Not by a long shot. "Harry" scored 12 points in the second half while going 4-for-4 (3-for-3 on treys) from the floor. He also dished two assists. Great comeback! M. Williams did not score in the third quarter, but did have three rebounds in that session and finished with eight total (along with 20 points -- four treys). Holmes (eight) was the only other Q with more than four points. Holland and sr. G Jake McCain halved eight assists. Playing for ANC was soph WG Justin Anderson, a transfer from SCH Academy. He was off early, but finished with 10 points. The PG was frosh Louie Wild-Diorio, and he hit three treys for nine points. His dad, Michael Wild, was a productive WG for Roman's CL champs in 1999 and 2000. He was in attendance. Also on hand was Rob Forster, who is ANC's head lacrosse coach. His bro, Jack, is an assistant. All four Forsters (also Kevin and Randy) were major contributors in lacrosse and/or football at La Salle High. They owned golden-touch moments. La Salle assistant Tim Hueber was also on hand. He coached at now-closed North Catholic with PC assistant Mike McCarron and his son, Mark, was a marvelous writer for this website during his childhood. He now plays hoops for Immaculata (along with tennis). Also talked for a bit with Justin Baxter, the head hoops coach at Bryn Athyn College. That's adjacent to ANC. One of the refs was John Duffy, formerly the baseball coach at Germantown Academy. Another ref, ex-Dougherty lonnnng-range sniper John "Prez" Przybylinski, was a spectator. While driving out of the parking lot, I was stopped by a young guy who wanted to know how he could access past seasons on the website. I broke things down and he said, "Remember who I am?" I said, "No." (Not easy being an old fart.) I then asked him, "Who are you?" By then he was just about getting into his car. "Nah, that's OK," he said with a laugh. Hmmmmmm. Here's my belated guess: Rahim Washington, a frosh G for Bryn Athyn. He played for Prep Charter and was coached there by his dad, also named Rahim. While playing for Overbrook in '98, Dad scored 53 points in a game!

FEB. 19
TEDBIT
  Germantown Academy's Gabe Alter joined a special club when the annual Coaches' All-Inter-Ac Teams were released yesterday. Over the last 49 seasons, he's one of only 17 players to have earned all-league honors with a scoring average of 7.9 or lower. His was 7.6 and he was tabbed as a second-teamer. Almost always, all-star teams are dominated by the guys with the highest averages. So the guys listed below earned their notice thanks to great team-play qualities that did not go unnoticed by rival coaches. Steve Donnelly (Malvern in '76) and Denis Kane (Germantown Academy in '93) have been the only first-teamers. Amazingly, Donnelly's average (5.6) is the lowest . . . Congrats to Gabe!

Inter-Ac All-Star Honorees With
Low Scoring Averages, 1968-2016
Name Sch. Year Team PPG
Steve Donnelly MP 1976 1st 5.6
Tom Grandieri MP 2006 2nd 5.9
Gardy Kahoe GA 1968 2nd 6.5
Brian Teuber PC 2006 2nd 6.5
Dylan Brown EA 2005 2nd 6.6
Denis Kane GA 1993 1st 6.7
Rick Southcott MP 1983 2nd 6.8
Marv Dunmeyer PC 1986 2nd 7.0
Jim Farrell EA 1981 2nd 7.4
Gil Nassib MP 1976 2nd 7.6
Gabe Alter GA 2016 2nd 7.6
Kevin McGarvey PC 2006 2nd 7.6
Ted Skuchas GA 2001 2nd 7.7
Andrew Acker HS 2010 2nd 7.8
Larry Sharp GA 2004 2nd 7.8
Chris Wyszynski EA 1991 2nd 7.8
Brian Metzler EA 2012 2nd 7.9

FEB. 18
TEDBIT
  Think about how many postseason games have been played in Catholic League history. Last night, there was an all-time accomplishment. As Neumann-Goretti zoomed past Ryan, 89-55, in a semifinal at the Palestra, junior Quade Green (31) and senior Zane Martin (30) combined for 61 points. That's the No. 1 duo total, beating 54 by Roman's Kyle Locke (39) and James "Flames" Lewis (15; most recently the head coach at Philly Electric Charter) in the 1992 championship. Below are all totals of at least 45 points. Only three occurred in losing efforts. Martin's 30-point outburst was extra special: It raised his career total to exactly 1,000.
  UPDATE: No additions through the championship game.

Most Productive One-Game Duos in Catholic League Playoff History
Year School Pts Leading Scorer Pts Second Scorer Pts Opponent W-L Round Score
2016 Neum.-Gor. 61 Quade Green 31 Zane Martin 30 Ryan Won Semi 89-55
1992 Roman 54 Kyle Locke 39 James Lewis 15 Dougherty Won Final 77-69
2011 SJ Prep 53 Stephen Vasturia 27 Miles Overton 26 Carroll Lost Qtr 72-67
2004 SJ Prep 52 John Griffin 27 Chris Clark 25 Dougherty Won Final 84-61
1984 Bonner 50 Rodney Blake 30 Dave Koskinen 20 W. Catholic Won Qtr 75-44
1995 La Salle 50 Jack Horgan 32 Joe Meade 18 Ryan Won Pre 80-67
1958 Neumann  49 Billy Mulvihill 26 Jim Gannon 23 Judge Won Final 67-59
2013 SJ Prep 49 Miles Overton 26 Stephen Vasturia 23 La Salle Won Qtr 74-57
2015 Neum.-Gor. 49 Quade Green 26 Lamarr Kimble 23 La Salle Won Semi 70-65
1990 Roman 48 Bernard Jones 30 Mike Watson 18 La Salle Won Final 64-62
2003 Dougherty 48 Kyle Lowry 29 Isaac Greer 19 SJ Prep Lost Final 77-70
2008 SJ Prep 48 Jim Mower 32 Matt Williams 16 Roman Won Qtr 61-55
2011 Carroll 48 Juan'ya Green 39 *see below 9 SJ Prep Won Qtr 72-67
2006 Neum.-Gor. 47 DJ Rivera 24 Rick Jackson 23 Dougherty Won Semi 84-73
1971 N. Catholic 46 Barry Brodzinski 26 Joe Wojtiw 20 SJ Prep Lost Semi 76-73
1999 O'Hara 46 Jeff Randazzo 23 Jeff Siti 23 SJ Prep Won Pre 79-58
2003 SJ Prep 46 Mark Zoller 31 Chris Clark 15 Dougherty Won Final 77-70
1998 Judge 45 Kris Dufner 28 Jim Reeves 17 N. Catholic Won Qtr 72-47
1998 O'Hara 45 Jeff Randazzo 29 Alex Sazonov 16 Ryan Won Semi 64-56
2000 O'Hara 45 Fran Grandieri 31 Harry Dougherty 14 Carroll Lost Pre 68-58
2003 SJ Prep 45 Mark Zoller 25 John Griffin 20 La Salle Won Semi 66-44
2009 Neum.-Gor. 45 Tyreek Duren 26 Tony Chennault 19 Roman Won Final 86-53
*-Jay Donovan and Yosef Yacob had 9 points apiece

FEB. 17
TAKE A GUESS
  Here are the guesses for the winners and total margin in tonight's Catholic League semis . . . Ernie Gallagher nailed it!

  N-G Ryan Roman Carroll Margin
Sean Woods yes   yes   21
Paul McManus yes   yes   29
Kevin Lauer yes   yes   18
Dan Greenberg yes   yes   36
Dan Solis-Cohen yes   yes   25
Ernie Gallagher  WINNER! yes   yes   35
Ken Woodring yes   yes   20
Michael Drumm yes   yes   24
Eric DiPentima yes   yes   25
Ari Bluestein yes   yes   28
Keith Hines   yes yes   8
Frog Carfagno yes   yes   27
Huck Palmer yes   yes   24
Marty Weiss yes     yes 22
John Knebels yes   yes   29
Amauro Austin yes   yes   23
Michael McGuire yes     yes 36
Bob Romano yes   yes   18
*Tom "Hockey Puck" McKenna yes   yes   25
Paul Hoffman yes   yes   37
Mike Mack yes   yes   42
Bobby Hill yes   yes   31
Mike Casey yes     yes 12
Blair Klumpp yes   yes   34
Anthony Franklin yes   yes   22
Joe Mangan yes   yes   21
*-by phone from his room at the rehabilitation facility; he's doing much better!

FEB. 17
TEDBIT
  Two rounds remain in this year's Catholic League playoffs and the teams still alive are Carroll, N-G, Roman and Ryan. Will a player on one (or more) of those teams barge his (or their) way onto the list below? It'll be a challenge. The respective records for points in CL playoffs at those schools are 39, 32, 39 again and 29. The 39-point guys are Juan'ya Green and Kyle Locke and they're tied for the No. 1 spot. (Click here for a combo pic from 2011.) Six of the schools listed below (Dougherty, Kenrick/K-K, North Catholic, Salesianum, St. James and St. Thomas More) are no longer with us. Four others (Camden Catholic, St. John's, Trenton Catholic and Villanova Prep) never made a playoff appearance. The factors involving Salesianum's Lex Gillespie deserve a special mention. In 1923, the Sallies lost to SJ Prep, 22-21, for the CL championship. Gillespie scored 17 of the Sallies' 21 points (81 percent) and shot 15-for-20 at the line. The Prep's John "Jocko" Collins, who went on to lead a wonderful life (click here for his obit) and remains one of the VERY best men with whom I have ever had interaction (during his time as a baseball scout), shot 12-for-17 at the line en route to 14 points. They were the ONLY guys in that game to shoot free throws. Why? That was the rule! One guy for each team shot all free throws. That was the last year for that rule. The 1968 game involving McDevitt (Bob Haas had 26 points) and North Catholic earned national attention. Click here to see why.
  UPDATE: I listed the wrong opponent for Chris Edwards' performance. Thanks to ex-Judge star Art Livingston for speaking up!
   UPDATE: No additions through the championship game.   

Top Scoring Efforts in Catholic League Playoffs for Each School
Name School Pts Year Opponent Round
Rodney Blake Bonner/B-P 30 1984 West Quarter
Brian Daly Bonner/B-P   1988 North Final
Juan'ya Green Carroll 39 2011 SJ Prep Quarter
Paul Terrell Dougherty 30 1974 North Quarter
Dave Frederick Egan/C-E 22 1964 Dougherty Final
Kris Dufner Judge 28 1998 North Quarter
Eddie Scott Kenrick/K-K 26 1987 North Semi
Jack Horgan La Salle 32 1995 Ryan Pre
Andrew Riviello Lansdale 18 2013 C-E Pre
Bob Haas McDevitt 26 1968 North Quarter
Marty Campbell SC/Neumann/N-G 32 1979 Roman Quarter
Chris Edwards North 28 2006 Dougherty Quarter
Fran Grandieri O'Hara 31 2000 Carroll Pre
Kyle Locke Roman 39 1992 Dougherty Final
Eric Fleming Ryan 29 2011 C-E Pre
Lex Gillespie Salesianum 17 1923 SJ Prep Final
Bill Lynch St. James 26 1952 West Semi
Jim Mower SJ Prep 32 2008 Roman Quarter
Mike Jones ST More 23 1968 West Quarter
John Driscoll West 25 1956 North Semi
Joe Thompson Wood 25 1997 La Salle Quarter
Luke Connaghan Wood   2015 Ryan Quarter

FEB. 16
TEDBIT
  So, maybe since yesterday you've been wondering . . . How many Catholic League coaches NOT connected to this century also led teams into the playoffs in season No. 1, plus notched a win? (smile). Here we go. There were different formats through the years from no playoffs, to just finals, to semis and finals, to quarters, semis and finals (with pre-playoffs mixed in, when necessary). Lots of famous names can be found below. Also, some guys led their coach to postseason victory No. 1, then began drawing X's and O's and matched their mentor's feat. The following guys below won first-year titles: Jocko McGarry, Joe Meehan, Jordan Oliver, Jim Usilton Jr., Jack Devine, Jack Pergolin, Mike Lynam (Jimmy's brother), Barry Brodzinski and Art Hunter.  

CL Coaches With Playoff Wins in First Season (Coached Only in Previous Century)
Year Name School Defeated Round Score Leading Scorer Pts
1939 Matt Guokas Sr. SJ Prep La Salle 2nd Half 25-17 Bill Kenney 8
1939 Jocko McGarry S. Catholic SJ Prep Final 35-32 Lou Fiorella 13
1942 Joe Meehan La Salle ST More Semi 38-31 Ed Shepper 14
1943 Jordan Oliver Roman  S. Catholic Pre 44-34 Jack Maloney 14
1946 Lou Fiorella S. Catholic St. James Semi 41-36 Jim "Reds" Furey 18
1948 Joe Langan W. Catholic Roman Semi 46-39 Ernie Beck 17
1951 Gene Powers W. Catholic S. Catholic Semi 41-40 Jack Devine 13
1952 Jim Usilton Jr. W. Catholic St. James Semi 76-49 Ed Williams 19
1959 Jack McKinney St. James ST More Pre 56-50 Tom Galia 24
1959 Jack Devine W. Catholic Dougherty Semi 46-39 Jimmy Lynam 17
1964 Jack Pergolin Dougherty Bonner Semi 74-64 Mike Kempski 24
1964 John Clark Egan Neumann Semi 59-47 *see below 20
1967 Bob Harrington Dougherty O'Hara First 66-49 Jack Kerrigan 19
1971 Tony Costantino N. Catholic Kenrick Quarter 51-46 Barry Brodzinski 15
1972 Eddie Burke ST More O'Hara Quarter 48-42 Carlton Kenty 20
1976 Mike Lynam Kenrick La Salle Quarter 52-51 Tom Catagnus 16
1978 Paul Lynch SJ Prep W. Catholic Quarter 63-62 John Staudenmayer 20
1982 Barry Brodzinski Roman  W. Catholic Quarter 77-75 Dallas Comegys 27
1984 Art Hunter Bonner W. Catholic Quarter 75-44 Rodney Blake 30
1989 Chet Walsh Carroll Neumann Pre 63-60 Matt Brown 21
1994 Mike Doyle Neumann O'Hara Pre 47-44 Rashid Bey 19
*-Chris Cosmas and Dave Frederick scored 20 points apiece.

FEB. 15
TEDBIT
  So, maybe you're wondering . . . How often does a Catholic League coach not only lead his team into the playoffs in his first season but also notch a win? Look below. This list includes all guys who coached for at least one season in this century (at the same school). Three began their stints back in the day. Judge's Bill Fox won the championship in his first season. North Catholic's Brother Jim Williams and Roman's Dennis Seddon/Chris McNesby also won semis, but lost in championship games.

CL Coaches With Playoff Wins in First Season (Coached at Least One Season in This Century)
Year Coach School Defeated Round Score Leading Scorer Pts
1975 Bill Fox Judge Dougherty Quarter 64-59 Al Clancy 22
1987 Dennis Seddon Roman Bonner Quarter 53-45 Chuck Veterano 20
1994 Bro. Jim Williams North Catholic Conwell-Egan Quarter 78-65 Chris Heck 20
2001 Bernie Rogers Ryan La Salle Quarter 63-55 Andy MacDonald 15
2002 Speedy Morris SJ Prep Bonner Quarter 66-46 Chris Clark 24
2009 Sean Tait Wood Conwell-Egan First 49-37 Fran Dougherty 14
2009 Chris McNesby Roman La Salle Quarter 73-49 Rakeem Brookins 31
2010 Jack Walsh Wood West Catholic Quarter 55-46 Brian O'Grady 18
2010 Bill Day Dougherty Conwell-Egan First 64-53 Brandyn Wims 12
2010 Guy Moore North Catholic Judge First 66-64 Bobby Makor 18
2014 Jazz Williams West Catholic Lansdale First 48-45 Jahmil Harris 23
2016 Joe Zeglinski Ryan La Salle Quarter 67-49 Izaiah Brockington 27

FEB. 14
TEDBIT
  One thing about Archbishop Ryan's basketball team: When it pulls off a quarterfinal upset, it does so in style. In this century, lower seeds have claimed victory 12 times in CL quarters. Ryan has accomplished the feat three times and owns three of the top four margins of victory. Friday night, the Raiders rolled to a 67-49 victory at La Salle for coach Joe Zeglinski . . . Hey, look who led Ryan in scoring in its 2006 success. The same guy. In 2008, Andrew Rogers did his starring for his brother, Bernie. They now can be found on the coaching staff at Haverford School. Bernie is the head man. Andrew is one of his assistants. Some games below featured teams with identical records. The seedings were based on tie-breakers.

Upsets in CL Quarterfinals, 2000-16
Year Winner (Seed) Loser (Seed) Score Margin Leading Scorer Pts
2008 Ryan (3) Dougherty (2) 72-46 26 Andrew Rogers 21
2016 Ryan (5) La Salle (4) 67-49 18 Izaiah Brockington 27
2003 La Salle (3) Wood (2) 46-29 17 Will Furey 14
2006 Ryan (3) Judge (2) 39-26 13 Joe Zeglinski 12
2002 Neumann (4) Carroll (1) 56-43 13 Adon El 18
2008 Bonner (3) Neumann-Goretti (2) 63-53 10 Lijah Thompson 18
2004 Neumann (3) Roman (2) 57-47 10 Tabby Cunningham 16
2011 Roman (5) Judge (4) 63-57 6 Montana Mayfield  12
2008 SJ Prep (4) Roman (1) 61-55 6 Jim Mower 32
2001 Dougherty (4) Judge (1) 47-41 6 Mark Seidenburg 14
2015 La Salle (5) SJ Prep (4) 37-33 4 *see below 11
2010 SJ Prep (3) Roman (2) 42-41 1 Joe Nardi 20
*-Dave Krmpotich and Shawn Witherspoon scored 11 points apiece.

FEB. 13
TEDBIT
  Last night, in a quarterfinal that matched Neumann-Goretti and visiting Bonner-Prendie, two Catholic League playoff records were broken. N-G won, 104-65. The Saints' total is a record and so are the 169 combined points. The previous one-team record: 98 by N-G in a 2014 quarterfinal. The previous combined record: 157 by N-G and now-closed Dougherty in a 2006 semifinal (N-G won, 84-73). The mark for largest victory remains at 47 points. In a 2000 quarterfinal, Roman beat West Catholic, 85-38. 

Highest Team Scoring Totals in Catholic League Playoff History
Year Round Winner Pts Loser Pts Leading Scorer Pts
2016 Quarter Neumann-Goretti 104 Bonner-Prendie 65 Zane Martin 26
2014 Quarter Neumann-Goretti 98 West Catholic 58 Ja'Quan Newton 26
1991 Quarter Roman 89 Bonner 55 Bernard Jones 21
2010 First Neumann-Goretti 89 Dougherty 58 Tony Chennault 24
2015 Quarter Neumann-Goretti 88 Judge 57 Zane Martin 20
1992 Final Roman 87 Dougherty 68 Kyle Locke 39
2009 Final Neumann-Goretti 86 Roman 53 Tyreek Duren 26
2000 Quarter Roman 85 West Catholic 38 #Eddie Griffin 23
2013 Quarter Neumann-Goretti 85 McDevittt 54 John Davis 25
1986 Final Roman 84 Dougherty 57 Ernest Pollard 22
2004 Final SJ Prep 84 Dougherty 61 John Griffin 27
2001 Semi Roman 84 Dougherty 53 Tamal Forchion 23
2006 Semi Neumann-Goretti 84 Dougherty 73 D.J. Rivera 24
2014 Quarter Roman 84 McDevittt 56 Rashann London 15
1987 Semi Roman 82 Carroll 66 Alan Watkins 24
1988 Semi Roman 82 West Catholic 69 Alan Watkins 23
1996 Quarter Carroll 81 Neumann 63 Martin Ingelsby 24
2007 Quarter Neumann-Goretti 81 Bonner 57 *see below 22
1959 Pre Dougherty 80 Roman 27 Jack Shepper 27
1995 Pre La Salle 80 Ryan 67 Jack Horgan 32
2002 Quarter Dougherty 80 Wood 62 Tim Smink 17
#-advanced to NBA
*-Rick Jackson and Antonio "Scoop" Jardine had 22 points apiece

FEB. 12
TEDBIT
  As mentioned in the recaps for this year's Catholic League playoffs, the 2015-16 Bonner-Prendergast Friars are the first squad over 47 seasons to win two CL postseason games despite having zero Coaches' All-Catholic honorees on the roster. After topping West Catholic on Sunday to force a pre-playoff, the Friars downed that same foe Tuesday at La Salle High to earn 10th place and then trekked to Levittown Wednesday night to challenge Conwell-Egan in a first-round playoff. They claimed that win, 47-45, on a late steal/layup by Christian Lane, and overcame an eight-point deficit in the final 3 1/2 minutes. In 2013, Lansdale Catholic also won a pre-playoff with no A-C honorees. In 1970, the number of A-C teams in each division was upped from two to three (30 players in all). The number of honorees was reduced to 25 in 2011 when the league switched from two divisions to all one league. Below is a list that shows postseason wins since 1970 by teams with only ONE A-C honoree. In 1975, thanks in large part to MVP Zane Major, Roman triumphed in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Note: I will go over this once again to make sure no teams were missed.

CL Teams With Postseason Wins Despite Having Just One Coaches' All-Catholic Honoree, 1970-2016
Year Team Player Honor Opponent Round Score
2015 Judge Will Brazukas 3rd team Bonner-Prendie First 64-49
2014 West Catholic Jahlil Harris 3rd team Lansdale Catholic First 48-45
2012 O'Hara Ed Allen 3rd team Conwell-Egan First 45-44
2011 Ryan Eric Fleming 1st team Conwell-Egan Pre 53-45
  Bonner Scott Slade 2nd team West Catholic First 56-54
2009 La Salle Tom Cooney 2nd team SJ Prep First 32-30
2000 O'Hara Fran Grandieri 1st team SJ Prep Pre 63-59 (OT)
1995 La Salle Jack Horgan 1st team Ryan Pre 80-67
1993 West Catholic Scott Galloway 1st team O'Hara Pre 51-49 (OT)
1991 Dougherty *Shawn Newman 1st team McDevitt Pre 51-50
1985 Carroll Barry Bekkedam 2nd team Bonner  Pre 61-50
  "      " "    " "    " Roman Quarter 60-56
1981 St. James John McHugh 2nd team Bonner Pre 35-33
  "     " "    " "    " Roman Quarter 58-56
1980 Judge John Luciano 3rd team Ryan Quarter 57-54
1979 North Catholic Tom Bonk 2nd team McDevitt Pre 46-42
  La Salle Dave Gray 1st team North Catholic Pre 43-41
1977 Dougherty Jim Dorsey 2nd team La Salle Pre 76-56
  "     " "    " "    " North Catholic Quarter 49-47
1975 Roman *Zane Major 1st team Carroll Quarter 43-38
  "     " "    " "    " Bonner Semi  
1972 Judge Joe "Bud" Elsesser 1st team Dougherty Pre 64-39
*-MVP          

FEB. 11
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Penn Charter 57, Haverford School 55
  Let's liken PC's Inter-Ac campaign to a sandwich. The meat? Not too tasty. The bread? Very delightful! In the I-A's opening day tripleheader, the Quakers sent a shock wave through the league by topping Episcopal. After mostly not faring well (2-6) through their next eight games, tonight they finished with quite the heart-warming flair by claiming a 57-55 road win over the same opponent that had mostly sliced and diced them two days earlier. By 18 points, to be exact. Congrats to coach Jim "Flipper" Phillips and his troops for not going through the motions. Honestly, the Q's displayed more intensity and play-for-keepsedness in the first minutes of this game than they did pretty much throughout Tuesday's not-much-of-a-contest. The Fords also played hard and this one offered high entertainment value throughout. The energy provided by Haverford's student rooters also was appreciated (though a quick game of half-court, 5-on-5 at halftime likely set back basketball 50 years -- smile). HS owned a 35-27 lead at halftime after shooting 8-for-9 from the floor in the second quarter. The last shot was a right-corner trey by sub soph G Nasir Smith. It was his only shot of the game. PC won the third quarter, 13-6, but things did not look promising when HS reached one-and-one status just 23 seconds into the final stanza. Luckily for the Q's, they did not keep putting HS on the line. A big moment occurred when jr. G Mike "Neeko" Hnatkowsky, after not coming close on consecutive treys, made the smart decision to storm inside the arc and go to the hoop. His layup brought PC within 48-44. Finally, a 52-52 tie was achieved with 1:37 left when jr. G Mason Williams canned a lefthanded layup. Next came the play of the game. Near HS' bench, jr. G Dylan Burnett made a leaping, acrobatic steal while simultaneously pushing the ball ahead. He raced upcourt to track it down and went bullet-like to the hoop for what he hoped would be a layup. Pow! He was fouled and hit both shots at 1:07 to make it 54-52. Here's what happened thereafter: sr. F Evan Ferrell got a piece of a three from the left side of the top of the key by sr. F-C Jack Marshall, and Burnett snagged the rebound . . . Hnatkowsky missed a one-and-one at 21.1, but sr. F Harrison Williams forced a held ball and the arrow favored PC . . . M. Williams converted a one-and-one at 15.5 for 56-52 . . . Sr. G Micah Sims drained a trey from the TKL at 8.1, drawing the Fords within 56-55 . . . Hnatkowsky inbounded and -- what a surprise! (not really, he's a quarterback) -- whipped a long pass to frosh G Ryan "Pooch/Poochie" Holmes, who was hacked at 5.6 while attempting a layup. The HS kids chanted, "You won't make it!! You won't make it!! They were right. Holmes again stepped to the line and took a deep breath. The kids repeated that chant along with, "Choke! Choke! Choke!" They were wrong. Holmes hit the second shot for 57-55 . . . Sims inbounded and the ball wound up in the hands of soph G Joe Dignazio, a sub. He'd taken just one shot all game. Dignazio scrambled to a spot a shade beyond the foul line, lifted, fired and . . . sr. G Jake McCain, who made a start in the absence of jr. PG Adam Holland (injury), got a piece of it! He blocked it! . . . A successful follow came after the buzzer. Understandably, the Q's were pretty darn happy. They darn near floated downstairs to the locker room. McCain had to feel especially good. Aside from making that huge defensive play, he sniped 3-for-6 on treys for nine points, two short of his season high. Also, H. Williams had 16 points, three assists and two blocks, Burnett had four assists and M. Williams mixed six rebounds with 13 points. Soph G Kharon Randolph (16) and Marshall (13) scored in double figures for HS . . . HS frosh WG Gavin Burke is known as "Buckets" to the student rooters. Sub frosh F-C Asim Richards goes by "Baby Shaq." PC assistant Mike McCarron, former star and coach at North Catholic, didn't arrive until shortly before the 6 o'clock start. He explained the situation, with a laugh, by saying, "I'm definitely a city boy. I was at Haverford High." Oh, baby. Ed Foley, who handles boys AD duties at PC, kept a mean scorebook. Ed's son, Sean, a sr. F out all season due to injury, trotted around the court and into the stands between the first and second quarters. He approached JV player Alex Slook and told him, um, his game shorts were needed. Quickly. Slook went over behind PC's bench and gave the pants to Burnett. Dylan stepped behind the curtain separating the main/side gyms and, presto, he was back in action shortly. Gotta love that Alex Slook. He'll give you the pants off his . . . well, they were in his gym bag, actually (smile). HS soph Bobby Stratts, a JV player (also dresses varsity) is the grandson of George Stratts, who coached Cardinal Dougherty to the 1982 CL football championship. He also coached at McDevitt and O'Hara, and guided the latter to the 2000 CL Red crown. One of my favorite people (though I know I drove him crazy at times -- ha ha). Enjoyed having a short conversation with HS sr. QB Kevin Carter, whose season was cut short by severe injuries. There's a chance he'll wind up at Ithaca, my college home for the first two years. Major in TV-radio, Kev. Become a sports broadcaster. They'll love ya. Best of luck! PC's non-league games with Gratz and Academy of the New Church have been scratched. PC WILL play ANC next Friday, on the road, in the first round of the Pennsy Indy Tournament.

FEB. 11
TEDBIT
  Tuesday's game at Penn Charter offered a Rogers festival. Bernie was coaching Haverford School. His brother, Andrew, was assisting. Their cousin, Joe, was assisting. Their uncle, Jack, PC's Chief Development Officer, was sitting across the way in the stands. Chris Rodgers was assisting PC. Oh, wait. His surname has a "d" in there. Never mind. Not related (smile). The Rogers family has been prominent on the local sports scene seemingly forever. Where do we start? . . . Let's begin with four brothers, in order: Jim, Bernie, Jack and Jerry Rogers. All are graduates of now-closed Cardinal Dougherty. Jim did not play sports, but is revered throughout this area for his long stint as the chief trainer for Temple's Sports Medicine Centers, which pioneered care for high school teams. Bernie and Jerry played football-baseball at Dougherty. Jim's son, Jim, played football at McDevitt. Bernie and Andrew are Bernie's sons and they were basketball stars at Ryan. They thrived in college hoops at Ursinus and Maine, respectively. Jerry's sons, Jerry and Kevin, played football-baseball at Ryan and Kevin even had a short stint for this website covering Ryan basketball in 2006 (cool!). The four brothers' first cousin, Joe Rogers, was a star basketball player for Carroll and then had a strong career at Villanova. His sons, Joe and Murphy, played hoops at Malvern and Joe played for Cleveland State as a walk-on. His dad, Joe (Roman), was the leading vote-getter on the Coaches' All-Catholic Team in 1943 and then became a first-magnitude football star at 'Nova (and an assistant coach after that). "Carroll Joe's" nephew, Joe McCallion (mom is Mary Beth), played hoops at Haverford School, was also the Inter-Ac's football MVP in 2010 and was good enough in lacrosse to captain Penn's team in 2015. That family breakdown comes courtesy of Bernie, the HS coach (thanks!), and below you'll find league points scored by the assorted members. Except for the Roman Joe Rogers. Our records don't go back that far and no point totals were mentioned in stories that publicized the All-Catholic teams.
  UPDATE: Had some great interaction in person Tuesday and Thursday with "Malvern Joe" Rogers and via email Thursday with his dad, "Carroll Joe" Rogers, about additions for the Greater Rogers Family.
  Here's what CJ emailed about his side of the clan:
  Button Meloney Rogers – My Wife – Carroll basketball '73
  Patrick – Malvern – Basketball (soph year), lacrosse, 1st team all league , Captain of Penn Lacrosse team 2006
  Kevin – Malvern Basketball (soph year) and lacrosse
  Brian – Bishop Shanahan – 1st team all league, Captain Lacrosse team and Widener Lacrosse
  My sister Patti Rogers Barton - Prendie basketball -- wife of Michael Barton, St. Tommy More, basketball class of 1969
  Patti – Prendie basketball – wife of Michael Barton St.Tommy More class of 1969
  Murphy – Basketball Episcopal, Captain second team All-Inter-Ac class of 1995
  Patrick – Basketball, Lacrosse 1997 Episcopal
  My sister Joanne Rogers Jacquette – wife of Jim Jacquette – Carroll class of '70 – All Catholic Baseball 1st team, HM football captain
  Joanne Rogers – Basketball – Carroll
  Matthew – Football - Wissahickon
  David – Basketball, Tennis St.Joe’s Prep
  My sister Maribeth Rogers, wife of Rob McCallion – Rob played football at Episcopal and Lebanon Valley
  Robbie -- Football, Basketball and Lacrosse 1st  team all league at Episcopal, Captain of Army lacrosse team
  Joe - (mentioned above)
  My brother -- John Rogers – Carroll – Football class of 82 – 2 year starter -- varsity basketball – 2 years
  My brother -- Tom Rogers -- Carroll - 1st team All-Catholic in '75
  My brother -- Jim Rogers -- Carroll -- indoor/outdoor track (half-miler).
  --
  At yesterday's Penn Charter-Haverford School game, "Malvern Joe" mentioned that basketball player Mike Morsell (La Salle '97) is also part of the family, via marriage.
  Totals for all qualifying "newcomers" have been entered below. More than 700 points have been added. Thanks, guys!

League Scoring for the Greater Rogers Family
Name School Year CL Playoffs Total
Bernie Rogers Ryan 1990 60   60
    1991 115   115
    1992 224 11 235
      399 11 410
           
Andrew Rogers Ryan 2006 104 5 109
    2007 179 17 196
    2008 189 56 245
      472 78 550
           
Joe Rogers Carroll 1971 9   9
    1972 164   164
    1973 251   251
      424   424
           
John Rogers Carroll 1981 6   6
           
Mike Barton ST More 1969 186   186
           
Dave Jacquette SJ Prep 1998 47   47
           
Mike Morsell La Salle 1995 4   4
    1996 58 4 62
    1997 92 22 114
      154 26 180
           
Name School Year I-A Playoffs Total
Joe Rogers Malvern 1998 16 X 16
           
Murphy Rogers Malvern 2014 5 X 5
           
Joe McCallion Hav. School 2010 2 X 2
           
Rob McCallion Episcopal 2006 6 X 8
           
Kevin Rogers Malvern 2002 0   0
           
Pat Rogers Malvern 2000 2   2
           
Murphy Barton Episcopal 1994 83 X 83
    1995 142 X 142
      225 X 225
           
Pat Barton Episcopal 1997 43 X 43
    1998 53 X 53
      96 X 96
           
  Totals   2,040 115 2,155

FEB. 10
TEDBIT
  Neumann-Goretti placed three guys among the top six vote-getters on the 2016 Coaches' All-Catholic Team. That has happened just eight times since 1950 through the league's two formats -- all one league and divisions. Dougherty's 2004 team fared the best, accumulating the fewest number of what we'll call power points with guys in the first, second and fourth spots for seven total. This year's N-G squad places sixth at 13. Three pretty amazing guys on this list. Sunday, Kyle Lowry will become the first Philly guy to make consecutive starts in NBA all-star games since Wilt Chamberlain. Marvin Harrison was just voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And Bonner's John Cappelletti won the Heisman Trophy while playing running back for Penn State in 1973. (Also, Chris Arizin is the son of NBA all-timer Paul Arizin.) As you'll notice, two teams from one season (2003) made the list. Pretty amazing.

Schools With Three All-Catholic Honorees
Within the Top 6 Vote-Getters, 1950-2016
Year School Pts Players No.
2004 Dougherty 7 DeSean White 1
      #Kyle Lowry 2
      Shane Clark 4
1991 *Roman 9 &Marvin Harrison 1
      Bernard Jones 3
      Mike Watson 5
2003 Dougherty 10 #Kyle Lowry 1
      DeSean White 3
      Shane Clark 6
2010 *Neumann-Goretti 11 Tony Chennault 1
      Danny tewart 4
      Tyreek Duren 6
2003 *SJ Prep 12 Mark Zoller 1
      John Griffin 5
      Chris Clark 6
2016 Neumann-Goretti 13 Quade Green 2
      Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree 5
      Zane Martin 6
1970 Bonner 14 Jim Haggarty 3
      &John Cappelletti 5
      Joe DiCicco 6
1985 O'Hara 14 Mike Louden 3
      Mike Connor 5
      Chris Arizin 6
*-won CL championship      
#-advanced to NBA      
&-advanced to NFL      

FEB. 9
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Haverford School 61, Penn Charter 43
  Throughout all three city leagues, I'm guessing no defender shows more competence and desire than PC jr. G Dylan Burnett. Overall today, he did a great job against soph WG Kharon Randolph, who was limited to two points (on free throws) over the final three quarters. In the first 3:20, however, Randolph used a quick dribble and darting movements to break free enough to score seven points (two regulars, one three) as the Fords stormed to a 9-1 lead. Ballgame. Say what? Ballgame in that short a period of time? Basically, yes. Through the first quarter, I kept writing down HS' shooting numbers from the floor: 4-for-5 . . . 5-for-6 . . . 6-for-7 . . . 7-for-9. The Fords flashed to a 16-1 lead in five minutes and never found themselves severely challenged the rest of the way. Oh, PC did not completely die. The Quakers advanced within 48-35 with 4:44 left and, hey, just last Friday, HS trailed Malvern by 20 in the third quarter and charged back to win by seven, 93-86, in the highest-scoring Inter-Ac game in this century, so anything CAN happen. What happened this time around? Coach Bernie Rogers (formerly of Archbishop Ryan) ordered his club to spread the floor and treasure the ball even more and no field goal attempts were launched until the final minute when subs came onto the floor. In between, HS shot 11-for-12 at the foul line. Frosh G Gavin Burke, whose dad (Terry, first team All-Catholic guard in '88) and grandpop (Les, from 1982 through '86) starred and coached at La Salle High, led the way with 18 points. He sniped 4-for-5 on treys. Sr. C Jack Marshall (13, 6-for-7 floor) and Randolph (11) also reached double figures. The Fords threw lots of snappy passes and consistently found open spots. Clockwork time. PC's starters outscored the subs by only 25-18. Soph WG Mason Williams had 14 points and six boards. Burnett (three) was the only other Q with more than two carom-clutches. Frosh G Ryan "Poochie/Pooch" Holmes tallied 11 points thanks to 4-for-4 shooting (one trey). This was today's only Inter-Ac contest. GA-MP and EA-SCH were postponed at the sight of the first snowflake. Slight exaggeration. (Maybe -- smile.) On hand was NBA guard Jameer Nelson, the former Chester and Saint Joseph's all-timer. His son, Jameer, is a freshman sub on the varsity/JV teams. Thanks to Jameer for agreeing to pose for two pics -- one with his son, and one with three PC players. Among the refs were two veterans, Tom Hoban and Bill Ciavarelli. (Bill was the one who alerted me to the fact that Jameer, sitting in the front row at the opposite end, was in the building. Thanks, Bill.) Jack Rogers, PC's Chief Development Officer, is Bernie's uncle. Bernie's brother, Andrew, who also starred at Ryan (first team All-City), is one of his assistants. Joe Rogers, another relative (he played at Malvern) and the son of early-'70s Carroll star Joe Rogers, is also an assistant. These two teams will meet again Thursday in a makeup caused by The Absolutely Worst Snowstorm in the History of the World. Just figuring that's what Hurricane Schwartz called it. I know Sue Serio wouldn't go that far off the deep end. She's the best weather person ever (smile).

FEB. 9
TEDBIT
  The NBA All-Star Game is scheduled for Sunday in Toronto and it will be quite the special occasion for Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry, a product of now-closed Cardinal Dougherty. He'll be making a second consecutive start and one of "Our Guys" (Public/Catholic/Inter-Ac) has not done that since Wilt Chamberlain (Overbrook) completed a four-starts run in 1968! The game was first played in 1951. It has been played every year since except for 1999, when a lockout got in the way. As you would expect, many of Wilt's numbers are beyond outrageous. His bests are 42 points and 25 rebounds. For his 42 points, Wilt shot 17-for-23 and 8-for-16. Guy Rodgers (old Northeast, at 8th and Lehigh) owns the assists mark with 11. Earl "The Pearl" Monroe (Bartram, did not get promoted to the varsity until halfway through his junior year), Paul Arizin (La Salle, never played one second of varsity ball) and Larry Foust (the old Southeast Catholic at 7th & Christian, one of Neumann-Goretti's many forerunners) have also been starters. Only details for STARTERS are listed below. The nickname is used for seasons when the team was located in Philadelphia.
  UPDATE: Kyle Lowry's stats for 2016 have been added. He missed tying the "Our Guys" record for assists by one.

Performances by "Our Guys" Starters in NBA All-Star Games
Year Name School Team Pts Reb Asst
2016 Kyle Lowry Dougherty Toronto 14 5 10
2015 Kyle Lowry Dougherty Toronto 10 3 8
1975 Earl Monroe Bartram New York  9 3 2
1973 Wilt Chamberlain Overbrook Los Angeles 2 7 3
1971 Earl Monroe Bartram Baltimore 6 5 2
1969 Earl Monroe Bartram Baltimore 21 4 4
1968 Wilt Chamberlain Overbrook 76ers 7 7 6
1967 Guy Rodgers Northeast Chicago 1 2 8
  Wilt Chamberlain Overbrook 76ers 14 22 4
1966 Wilt Chamberlain Overbrook 76ers 21 9 3
  Guy Rodgers Northeast San Francisco 8 7 11
1965 Wilt Chamberlain Overbrook San Francisco 20 16 1
1964 Guy Rodgers Northeast San Francisco 6 2 2
1963 Wilt Chamberlain Overbrook San Francisco 17 19 0
1962 Wilt Chamberlain Overbrook Warriors 42 24 1
1961 Wilt Chamberlain Overbrook Warriors 12 18 5
1960 Wilt Chamberlain Overbrook Warriors 23 25 2
1959 Paul Arizin La Salle Warriors 16 8 0
1957 Paul Arizin La Salle Warriors 13 5 0
1956 Larry Foust Southeast Catholic Fort Wayne 9 4 0
  Paul Arizin La Salle Warriors 13 7 1
1955 Larry Foust Southeast Catholic Fort Wayne 7 7 1
1952 Paul Arizin La Salle Warriors 26 6 0

FEB. 8
TEDBIT
  Below you'll find top scoring averages in league play for some notable father-son combos. Which guys rule the roost? Sons own an 11-5 advantage. (Scoring data for waaaaay-back dads is not available, so that's why not all notable combos are listed.)

Dad Beats Son
Name School Year G Pts Avg
Anthony Chennault Frankford 1981 15 305 20.3
Tony Chennault Neumann-Goretti 2010 15 268 17.9
           
Mike Blackshear Overbrook 1976 13 240 18.5
Micheal Blackshear Gratz 2002 8 85 10.6
           
Sean Lloyd Roxborough 1986 13 316 24.3
Sean Lloyd Imhotep 2014 9 119 13.2
           
Mike Terry Franklin LC 1988 13 246 18.9
Mike Terry North Catholic 2010 13 229 17.6
           
Brian Daly Bonner 1988 14 315 22.5
Ryan Daly Carroll 2016 13 288 22.
           
Son Beats Dad
Name School Year G Pts Avg
Ashley Howard Bonner 2000 14 333 23.8
*Maurice "Mo" Howard SJ Prep 1971 16 345 21.6
           
Martin Ingelsby Carroll 1997 14 288 20.6
*Tom Ingelsby O'Hara 1969 16 284 17.7
           
Miles Overton SJ Prep 2013 13 220 16.9
*Doug Overton Dobbins 1987 13 175 13.5
           
John Cox Eng. & Science 1999 12 347 28.9
*John "Chubby" Cox Roxborough 1972 14 319 22.8
           
Matt Guokas Penn Charter 1988 9 157 17.4
*Matt Guokas SJ Prep 1962 12 245 16.3
           
Levan "Shawn" Alston Haver. School 2015 10 182 18.2
Levan Alston Gratz 1991 10 114 11.4
           
John Griffin SJ Prep 2004 14 213 15.2
John Griffin Roman 1974 16 191 11.9
           
Marshall Taylor West Catholic 2004 14 205 21.8
Marshall Taylor Southern 1986 13 78 6.0
           
Ja'Quan Newton Neumann-Goretti 2014 13 284 21.8
Joe Newton West Phila. 1992 11 225 20.5
           
Troy Roundtree Northeast 2003 13 293 22.5
Jim Roundtree Edison 1971 14 246 17.6
           
Vince Curran SJ Prep 1987 14 268 19.1
Vince Curran SJ Prep 1963 15 217 14.5
*-advanced to NBA          

FEB. 6
TEDBIT
  Germantown Academy's 64-51 win over Episcopal, accomplished last night, was doubly noteworthy. Aside from enabling the Patriots to clinch at least a tie for the Inter-Ac championship, the triumph lifted their overall record to 20-5. Thus, 10 times in this century's 17 seasons GA has claimed at least 20 wins. Coach Jim Fenerty has been fully involved in nine and 90 percent involved in one. In 2012, a medical issue forced Jim to miss the Patriots' final six games. His record was 18-6 and fill-in Mike Hannigan, Jim's forever assistant, garnered the other two wins. The Patriots' best record (27-3) was posted in the 2000-01 season. They just missed 20 in 2010 and 2014, going 19-8 in each season. Also, they went 18-11 in 2008, 17-11 in '07 and 17-12 in '06. Other records: 14-14 in '11 and '03.
  UPDATE: We have added info about the rest of Jim's coaching career at GA. His stint began with the 1989-90 season. In all, he was won 20 games 14 times (and, as mentioned above, came within a whisker of coaching for the entire 2012 season). His '96 team was 19-4 and the '99 squad was 18-8.
  UPDATE: Record for 2016 has been updated through end of season. 

Year W-L
1992 20-5
1993 24-1
1995 20-5
1997 23-5
1998 23-9
2000 25-2
2001 27-3
2002 23-7
2004 24-8
2005 24-6
2009 24-6
2012 20-10
2013 23-6
2015 22-6
2016 24-6

FEB. 5
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Penn Charter 67, SCH Academy 41
  This game was played at SCH and PC was the first team to appear on the court. No music was playing over the sound system and a couple PC guys made note of the fact that they missed it. Jr. WG Mike "Neeko" Hnatkowsky responded with, "I like the silence. Calm before the storm." Indeed! Though it would be an outright lie to say the Quakers dominated this tilt from the start, they did own a 16-7 lead halfway into the second quarter and a 32-16 pad with 5:40 left in the third stanza. From there they mostly kept rolling en route to posting a large-margin victory. In the early going, the Q's were flat outhustled for rebounds/loose balls a few times and I can't imagine those developments sat too well with coach Jim "Flipper" Phillips. Once, SCH jr. G Chris "Bubba" Alleyne, who's already committed to Maryland for baseball and is only 5-10, "outhungried" three PC guys for a leaping rebound. For my money, it was the most compelling play of the night, especially since two of the three were much taller. As for the most interesting sequence, that occurred early in the fourth quarter when sr. F Harrison Williams notched a pair of three-point plays -- yes, the old-fashioned kind -- two seconds apart. Then, 12 seconds later, he converted a one-and-one to complete an eight-points-in-14-seconds outburst. That would project to 1,097 points over 32 minutes! Take that, Wilt Chamberlain! (smile). PC eventually dominated because it claimed 35 rebounds and fared well on the break. SCH has struggled this season and is now missing two guys due to injury. After a slow start, soph WG Sean Simon had some impressive second-half moments and wound up with 19 points. He was perfect (5-for-5) at the line. Alleyne had 10 points. PC dressed 12 players and all hit the scoring column. Harrison Williams led the way with 16 while soph WG Mason Williams and jr. PG Adam Holland halved 24. Holland also dealt five assists. Sr. F Evan Ferrell (six) paced the rebound parade. Though neither team is upper echelon, an impressive crowd was on hand. Not a full house, but both schools were supported by energetic student rooters. Color-wise, PC's crew went the patriotic route. SCH's kids mostly opted for pastels . . . SCH football lineman Darian Bryant, who recently cut short his senior year to enroll at Temple, showed up to cheer for his former schoolmates. He said he'll be part of the graduation ceremony and can even attend the prom. John McArdle, SCH's former coach, handled clock/scoreboard duties. He's now working with the school's kindergarten students and those kids have to be experiencing all KINDS of fun, as does anyone who interacts with John. By the way, John's boss, as the director of the boys portion of the lower school, is Janet Giovinazzo. Her brother, Steve Bonnie, is a long-time Penn Charter teacher/administrator/track coach and my sister, Jean, has been best friends with Janet since their early days together at the ol' Lankenau School, which was located on School House lane across from PC. (That property has long been part of Philadelphia University's campus.) Hey, this website is definitely the place to visit for old-fart nuggets. Sitting along the far baseline, not far from my perch, was another former Blue Devils coach, Ed Aversa. He's also the life of most parties and at halftime he said, "Let's play a game of one-on-one . . . To one." He then added, "Nah, we better not. It would take an hour for someone to score." Ha, ha. Football coach Rick Knox made sure SCH's students behaved themselves and offered a nugget about Alleyne. Bubba was planning a return to football this past fall and even practiced for a week. He then suffered a minor injury at a baseball showcase and was told, Rick said, to ditch the football return. Not good! Multisport athletes rule! Especially when the total number is three. SCH soph Anthony Marrone, who's en route to becoming quite the lineman (Knox loves his work ethic and how he handles himself overall; click here for a report on Inter-Ac prospects), walked over from the stands to say hello. I wrote about his dad, Marc, when he starred at Neumann. When I asked Anthony how his dad was doing, he responded, "He's at a father-daughter dance right now." Cool. Her name is Francesca, age 12, and she attends St. Philip Neri, in Lafayette Hill. Meanwhile, here's hoping someone caught Marc's cool dance moves on video (smile).

FEB. 5
TEDBIT
  Eleven down, two to go. If it wins tonight at Judge and home Sunday vs. Conwell-Egan, Neumann-Goretti will become the 29th team in Catholic League hoops history to finish the regular season with a perfect record. N-G already stands second behind Roman (10) with five. These perfect records were accomplished in a combination of divisional and all-one-league play. N-G has done so four times recently, but beforehand a team with a perfect regular season had not won the championship since Roman in 1996. The regular season records of championship teams are in bold type. That number is 15. Championship games were not held on an annual basis before 1942.
  UPDATE: N-G finished the 2015-16 regular CL season with a 13-0 record.

Catholic League Teams With Perfect Records in League Play
Roman Neum./N-G Dougherty La Salle North Catholic West Catholic Carroll Judge ST More
1922 8-0 1965 14-0 1964 12-0 1950 14-0 1929 6-0 1944 16-0 1997 14-0 1978 16-0 1952 14-0
1930 8-0 2009 16-0 2003 14-0 1965 12-0 1974 16-0 1976 14-0            
1933 8-0 2010 16-0 2004 14-0                        
1934 8-0 2011 13-0 2007 14-0                        
1981 14-0 2012 13-0                            
1990 14-0 2016 13-0                            
1991 14-0                                
1996 14-0                                
2008 14-0                                
2014 13-0                                

FEB. 4
TEDBIT
  While reading Bob Cooney's terrific story on Jimmy Lynam in yesterday's Daily News, I was reminded of the need to complete a project. Last year, as Ryan Daly, now a senior stud, began to make waves for Archbishop Carroll, I decided to research how many Catholic League points had been scored by members of his immediate and extended families. That breakdown -- finally -- is below. Now for the explanation. In 1959, Lynam and Jim Boyle were starters for West Catholic's Catholic League champions. (As was Herb Magee, the wildly successful forever coach at Philadelphia University -- nee Textile.). Jimmy is the oldest of 11 children and four of his brothers -- Mike at Bonner; Fran, Dan and Kevin (a k a "Butch") at Carroll -- also played for CL schools. Jimmy's son, Jim, better known as "H" within the family, played one season of varsity ball for O'Hara in 1986. On the other side, Jim Boyle's son, Jim, is married to Lynam's oldest child, Kathy. Their sons, Brian and Thomas (a k a "Toe"), played for Bonner and Carroll, respectively. Jim Boyle's daughters, Tracie and Kelly, are married to former CL stars -- Brian Daly at Bonner; Mike Doyle at O'Hara. Ryan and Colin Daly, Brian's sons, play for Carroll. OK, take a deep breath. We know this family tree stuff isn't easy (smile) . . . Jimmy Lynam and Jim Boyle, among other jobs, were head college coaches at St. Joseph's. They'd played there together for Jack Ramsay. Jimmy coached the Hawks for three seasons (1979-81) and Jim, who passed away in 2005, did so for nine (1982-90). Jimmy coached for two-plus decades in the NBA (10 seasons as head man; he also had a stint at the Sixer's general manager), and now partners with his daughter, Dei, to provide pregame and postgame Sixers coverage on Comcast SportsNet. Mike Lynam wound up coaching at Bishop Kenrick and steered the Knights to the 1976 CL championship. Brian Daly led Bonner to the 1988 CL crown and was named the Daily News City Player of the Year. He also coached the Friars (2006-09) and most recently was an assistant at Penn State. Mike Doyle is the head coach at Penncrest. His older brother, Leo, also played at O'Hara. So, there you have it . . . Six Lynams, three Boyles, three Dalys and two Doyles. Fourteen total CL players (others played in suburban public schools). And the total number of Catholic League points is, ch-ching . . . 3,577. That total includes 3,255 in regular season games and 322 in playoffs. (Way back in the day, the CL held consolation games for semifinal losers. Those points are not included.) Thanks to Dei Lynam and Brian Daly for their help in nailing down the family tree. The numbers come from my archives and those of Tom Taylor, who long has helped with the tracking of city scoring. Thanks as always, Tom.
  **UPDATE, 2/4: I heard late this morning from Jimmy Lynam. He reminded me that his sister, Patty, is married to . . . Don DiJulia! He's Saint Joseph's long-time athletic director and he, too, played CL ball, at the now-closed St. James, in Chester. His senior season was 1960 and, among other feats, he scored 19 points in a semifinal. His points  have been added to the bottom of the list and the totals have been adjusted. Thanks, Jimmy!**
  **UPDATE, Part II, 2/4:** I heard this evening from Steve Cloran, the head coach at O'Hara. He let me know that his wife, Kathleen, is Don DiJulia's daughter! Cool! (A similar email, making note of Steve's status, came from Tim Schlegel, a website fan.) Steve was the CL coaches' South MVP in 1990 while playing for O'Hara. Also, Steve reminded me that Don's son, John Paul, played for SJ Prep (briefly, as it turns out, but every point helps -- smile.) These two guys are added below. Thanks, Steve and Tim!** 

Name School Year CL Playoffs Total
Jimmy Lynam West Catholic 1957 13 2 15
    1958 114   114
    1959 208 10 218
      335 12 347
           
Mike Lynam Bonner 1965 34 0 34
    1966 79 24 105
      113 24 137
           
Fran Lynam Carroll 1970 2   2
    1971 187 15 202
    1972     ill
    1973 135   135
      324 15 339
           
Dan Lynam Carroll 1972 2   2
    1973 7   7
    1974 99   99
      108   108
           
Kevin "Butch" Lynam Carroll 1975 23   23
    1976 60 25 85
    1977 125 52 177
      208 77 285
           
Jim "H" Lynam O'Hara 1986 105 4 109
           
Leo Doyle O'Hara 1977 8   8
    1978 142   142
      150   150
           
Mike Doyle O'Hara 1982 4   4
    1983 183   183
    1984 195 34 229
      382 34 416
           
Jim Boyle West Catholic 1958 37   37
    1959 160 22 182
      197 22 219
           
Brian Boyle Bonner 2008 62 1 63
    2009 71 12 83
      133 13 146
           
Tom "Toe" Boyle Carroll 2010 15 3 18
    2011 20 2 22
      35 5 40
           
Brian Daly Bonner 1986 121   121
    1987 244 15 259
    1988 315 74 389
      680 89 769
           
Ryan Daly Carroll 2014 30 4 34
    2015 133 23 156
    2016 249   249
      412 27 439
           
Colin Daly Carroll 2015 33   33
    2016 40   40
      73   73
           
Don DiJulia St. James 1958 2   2
    1959 23 3 26
    1960 169 28 197
      194 31 225
           
John Paul DiJulia SJ Prep 2000 8 7 15
           
Steve Cloran O'Hara 1989 98 18 116
    1990 263 7 270
      361 25 386
           
  adjusted totals >>> 3,818 385 4,203

FEB. 2
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Germantown Academy 55, Penn Charter 35
  Though this event was labeled a game, it was more like a clinic. The Patriots showed superior spacing and hard work off the ball while imposing their will, pretty much, on offense. Defensively, they allowed PC few comfortable looks and grabbed most rebounds to produce numerous fast breaks. GA rolled to 15 of the game's first 21 points in 5 minutes, 17 seconds, and ended the quarter with a 21-10 lead as sr. swingman Gabe Alter beat the buzzer with a straight-on jumper. "OK," the Q's had to be saying to themselves. "Not great, but we can get right back into this with a respectable start to the second quarter." Didn't happen. The Patriots nailed five of their next six shots and upped their pad to 33-14. How bad did things get? GA's biggest lead was 28, at 47-19, roughly midway through the third stanza. Even a great PC moment, with 2:56 left in the game, did not turn out well. Sr. F Harrison Williams absolutely pummeled a tight-in shot by jr. G Kyle McCloskey. Bam!! What happened? McCloskey stayed with the play, grabbed the rebound and converted the follow while absorbing contact. Then -- but of course -- he completed the three-point play. Sr. PG Devon Goodman, who's bound for Penn, had an interesting performance. Often, he appeared to be getting himself into tough situations that would lead to a turnover or bad shot. Somehow, bingo, he wound up making the right play. Verrrrrry interesting. No one reached 10 points for PC. Soph WG Mason Williams rang up nine. He also claimed a team-high five boards. No one had more than one assist or one steal (ouch). H. Williams did have two punches. Had a lengthy pre-JV game talk with the varsity coaches, PC's Jim "Flipper" Phillips and GA's Jim Fenerty. Everything was off the record. Don't ask (smile). It was great to see Joe O'Hara, who's now assisting GA's new baseball coach, former Judge boss Tim Ginter. Joe holds the Public League record for most championships, having won six from '85 through '95. Marc Ross, a former Judge assistant and star righthander for Washington (he pitched the Eagles to the '78 Pub crown), is also on Ginter's staff. Cool! Among the spectators was Robin Roberts Jr., a GA grad and, yes, the son of the deceased Hall of Fame Phillies righthander. After leaving pro baseball, Robin Sr. had a stint as GA's coach in the early to mid-'70s. After that, in the '79 and '80 seasons, GA's basketball coach was Hal Greer, former star guard for the 76ers and also a Hall of Fame member (inducted in '82). Robin Roberts (286 wins) and Hal Greer (21,586 points), two Hall of Famers, coaching a few years apart at the same school. Pretty amazing, right?

FEB. 2
TEDBIT
  In the 2009-10 season, en route to a 30-1 overall record and the Class AAA state championship, all five of Neumann-Goretti's starters averaged double figures in CL regular season play. In the Saints' 11th game of this season, played Sunday, Vaughn Covington lifted his average to 10.2, thus enabling the 2015-16 squad to match the feat of the six-years-ago squad. One "problem" . . . Two games remain. Will the feat hold up? We'll see. Look below for the starters and averages. For now, when comparing averages, 2009-10 owns a 3-2 advantage. But all three advantages are small -- 17.9 to 17.7, 11.6 to 11.5 and 10.7 to 10.2.
  UPDATE: The chart below is finalized through the end of the regular season. The 2009-10 guys win, 3-2.

2009-10 Starters G Pts Avg   2015-16 Starters G Pts Avg
Tony Chennault 15 268 17.9 <<< Zane Martin 13 234 18.0
Danny Stewart 16 221 13.8 <<< Quade Green 13 223 17.2
Tyreek Duren 16 217 13.6 >>> Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree 13 171 13.2
Lamin Fulton 16 185 11.6 >>> Rasheed Browne 13 150 11.5
Mustafaa Jones 16 171 10.7 >>> Vaughn Covington 13 136 10.5

FEB. 1
TEDBIT
  As the final moments of yesterday's game between Judge and SJ Prep wound down, a look at recent history would have told you: Judge is going to win. The teams have met 12 times over the last 10 seasons. Each time the margin of victory has been small, Judge has won. Each time it has been medium to large, the Prep has won. In fact, Judge has never won by more than four points and the Prep has always won by at least eight. The games in the 2007 and '08 seasons were non-leaguers. The teams met twice apiece in the '09 and '10 seasons in Red Division play. This is year No. 6 of the all-one-league format. In the latter part of the previous century, Judge won all nine meetings from '89 through '99 (did not play in '91 and '92). The Prep broke the skid in '00, by 51-50. In '94, Judge posted its win by a score of 64-57. Its point leader was some guy named Sean Tait (18). Wait, isn't he . . . ? Yes, he is. Sean is now Judge's coach. (He also contributed 13 points the next year in a 52-49 triumph; Jim Thomas led the way with 19.) The Crusaders enjoyed some frolics in that stretch -- 85-58 in '93 (Matt Henrich 16) and 78-46 in '98 (Jim Reeves 22). 

The SJ Prep-Judge Series, 2007-16
Year SJ Prep's Wins Margin Leading Scorer Pts
2015 53-42 11 Chris Clover 17
2014 44-36 8 Chris Clover 25
2013 62-54 8 Stephen Vasturia 20
2012 71-57 14 Stephen Vasturia 31
2010 33-19 14 Gene Williams 13
2009 61-50 11 Dan Fitzpatrick 16
      Mike Leithead 16
2007 62-39 23 Jim Mower 16
    7 G    
    89 Pts    
    12.7 PPG    
Year Judge's Wins Margin Leading Scorer Pts
2016 58-56 2 Quincy Reed 20
2011 44-41 3 Steven Griffin 15
2010 40-38 2 Joe Kehoe 14
2009 46-42 (OT) 4 Ryan Fenningham 12
      John McGrath 12
      Tom Ryan 12
2008 36-35 1 Matt McLaughlin 12
    5 G    
    12 Pts    
    2.4 PPG