Scouting report

I promise I won't be like the scouts who scouted Wampum for the 1958 state title game and came back and told Mr. Kreiser, Wampum would pose no problem for the Tide. I will tell you without a doubt that McCaskey is easily the best team the Crimson Tide has faced all year and perhaps in the last few years.

Coach Steve Powell's team brings an impressive 20-4 record into tomorrow night's game. They finished Section 1 play with a perfect 16-0 record. Columbia had the second best league record at 15-1.

The Red Tornado has won 12 in a row since losing to York High, 64-60, in the finals of the McCaskey Tournament around Christmas.

Three of their four loses were to the top teams Class AAAA teams in the state -- Chester by 16; Norristown by 8 and Reading by 23. They play an impressive non-league schedule.

Common opponents: There are now three. McCaskey beat E-town, 68-62 on Dec. 11; Ephrata, 62-46 on Jan. 15 and Manheim Central, 63-44 last night.

Atmosphere: McCaskey is a city school and they really aren't a big draw in terms of fans. The night I saw McCaskey play Hempfield, there was plenty of room in McCaskey's gym. If the Tide fans turn out in mass like they have over the last week, it will be a huge lift for the Tide. McCaskey fans can be cruel, so the Tide will have to overcome some "words" from the stands that might not be too kind. Can I hear the sportsmanship code being damaged or broken tomorrow night, probably.

Game Site: I have yet to see a basketball game at the new gym at L-S. Was there for the L-L League wrestling tournament last year. It's big and had that new gym smell. One thing to watch is the rims. Are they shooter's rims? Are the rims going to be tough that neither team will get the bounce?

Game Time: Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. I'd get there well before 6, just to make sure that the fans get the right seats.

Refs: Was looking in the morning paper today to see what officials had first round games. The Lebanon game didn't list the officials. Names I didn't see having first round games were Travis Sorenson, Lenny Neff (who I saw at last night's game), Ron Metzger, Tim Bartholomew and of course Rick Hartl. Would be nice to see three of the top officials at the game. There are two I mentioned above that would be nice and one that wouldn't.

Coaches: One thing fans will notice is the number of coaches that sit on the McCaskey bench. There's head coach Steve Powell. He's been there forever, first as an assistant under Pete Horn and the last thousand years (just kidding) as head coach. I remember when he played at the 'Ville. The interesting question is what color sweater will Powell, who won his 300th game earlier this year wear. The night I saw the Tornado he had a brown sweater on. He also has a ton of assistants. The J.V. coach definitely is GQ and there's another coach that dons a sweater and one that wears warm-ups.

Starters:
C - Jarren Harris, (15) 6-4. He missed the first half of the season with an eligibility problem. Returned before Christmas and has been a factor in the low post. Was expected to be out this week because of academic issues. He returned last night with a vengeance against Central.
Harris posts up on the blocks and is a tough match-up for anyone. He’s left –hand as well. He bangs the boards and Columbia will need to block out and get Harris called for going over the back. They also need to keep pushing him off the blocks like they did Saturday’s with Catholic’s Simon O’Leary.
F – Lamar Patterson, (21), 6-5. He’s just a junior and already has verbally committed to Pitt. The brother of Perry Patterson is up and down. He has the ability to take over and dominate games, but usually is seen working the perimeter. He can burn you for 40 points one game and five or six the next. Can drive to the bucket and dish out or shoot the outside j.
G – Jamaal Parker (11), 6-0. He’s the point guard. Dishes the ball off. Doesn’t score much. Did have 10 points on Monday. He will pressure the opposing point guard all over the floor. Likes to hand check while playing defense.
G - Franklyn Thomas (23), 6-2. May not play because of a separated shoulder. If he doesn’t play, look for Bryant Bryd (22) to start. I think he is the team’s best guard and substituted a lot against Hempfield for Parker.
F – Damien Ruiz (44), 6-4. He’s a banger. He can rebound and get some cheap baskets. Did come off the bench Monday night against Central.

Subs: Jared Shaeffer, (10), guard; Byrd (22), Victor Asencio (40), Leontae Turner (44). McCaskey plays a lot of players and sometimes they lose some consistency.

Defense: McCaskey will play man-to-man and looking to pressure the ball. Against Hempfield, they did not play very good defense in the first half, but turned it up a notch in the second half, with more pressure.

Match-ups: McCaskey size will present big problems for the Tide. Athletically, the Tide is just as athletic and quick.

What I saw: Hempfield played a very deliberate game against McCaskey. The kept the floor wide in their half-court set and McCaskey got very little offside help. Hempfield had success with their point guard penetrating the middle and dishing out for a three-pointer or an easy bucket on the offside. Hempfield also had easy buckets or chances by cutting players off a high post screen and because McCaskey had no help side, they got easy looks.
Columbia needs to keep the floor wide. Run a lot of back doors and pull the string when McCaskey overplays. McCaskey does rely on its big boys, i.e. Harris to block anything in the lane.
Talked to someone who was at the McCaskey game last night with Central and they were surprised by Patterson’s effort and wondered what Pitt saw in him. He should be a bigger part of the game plan than he is.

Hempfield, who doesn’t have the athletes that Columbia does, got into trouble against McCaskey when they tried to run with them. When Hempfield was under control, they gave McCaskey problems.

McCaskey definitely likes to get up and down the court and at times takes a lot of bad shots.

Foul shooting could also be a factor in the game as well.

Columbia can play with McCaskey, but they need to get over the “wow” factor of playing them and take advantage of every chance they get.

Should be an outstanding game. Yep, the league title game, if you ask me.