The All-Delco boys basketball team was unveiled in Wednesday's Daily Times. And based on the graphic at right - and the headline above - you should already know that Penn Wood junior point guard Tyree Johnson is the 2009 Player of the Year.

Johnson led the Patriots to their first PIAA Class AAAA championship and a Del Val League championship. Along the way, he became the county's best point guard and demonstrated the uncanny ability to make everyone around him play better, resulting in the school's first championship of any kind since 1992.

Four Patriots averaged in double figures this season - including Johnson - and two of them improved their scoring tallies significantly in the state playoffs. All thanks to Johnson's play, thus earning him the honor of Daily Times Player of the Year.

Here's the rest of the All-Delco team:

• D.J. Irving, Jr. PG, Archbishop Carroll (pictured)
• Calvin Newell, Sr. SG, Strath Haven
• Aaric Murray, Sr. C, Glen Mills
• Duane Johnson, Sr. F, Penn Wood
• Rahlir Jefferson, Sr. F, Chester

*Murray and Johnson are repeat All-Delco selections.

# # # #

It's been a while since I last posted - following state-championship lag from State College - here's a quick-hitting recap of what you might have missed:

• Former Chester coach Fred Pickett has thrown his hat into the political ring. He will launch a campaign for a city council spot.
• Penn Wood coach Clyde Jones was named the PIAA Class AAAA Coach of the Year. Seven Delco players earned state honors, too.
• Three-time All-Delco Tyreke Evans told FoxSports.com that he plans to leave Memphis to declare himself eligible for the NBA Draft.

This time of year is fun for a number of reasons: For one, the games begin to matter more (the same goes for every possession).

And we get closer to naming an All-Delco team.

I have about 10 players in consideration for the six spots available on the All-Delco boys basketball team (five players - one for each position - plus the Daily Times Player of the Year).

I try to allow the readers of this blog and of the newspaper an outlet to make their cases for their favorite players. So here's your chance, but I do have two rules. If you're going to provide an argument in favor of a player, you have to:

1. Be respectful of other teams and other players. After all, we're talking about high school student-athletes, not pros.
2. Cut the bad mouthing and the foul language. Keep it clean. Because when you state your case for a player and include curses in your blog comments, you indirectly represent that player and school.

Thanks in advance for the feedback. (Last year, we had 42 comments on a post similar to this one. Let's see if we can engage in a similar discussion.)

We're nearing the end of All-Delco week.

The Haverford School's Jordan LeBlanc was this year's pick as Daily Times Boys Soccer Player of the Year.

It wasn't unanimous - in fact, very few are. But based on my assessment of LeBlanc's play and with such high praise from a number of Delaware County coaches (including a few in the Central League who used off days with their teams to see LeBlanc in action), it was pretty clear why he is the POY.

Read more about LeBlanc, an Old Dominion University commit, and the rest of the All-Delco Boys Soccer team at delcotimes.com.

The other All-Delco teams announced this week were:
Tennis (POY-Strath Haven's Tessa Lyons)
Volleyball (POY-Springfield's Sam Tulskie)
Girls Soccer (POY-Strath Haven's Maddy Edwards)

# # # # #

ON THE GRIDIRON
There's kind of a big game tonight. Only one Delco team is alive in the District One playoffs, and No. 2 Garnet Valley would like to keep it that way when it faces No. 3 Neshaminy in a Class AAAA semifinal.

Outsiders to the program thought it would be asking a lot of the Jaguars, the Class AAA state runners-up, to repeat their success at AAAA. But Jared Bonacquisti isn't surprised that the Jags are 2-0 in their first 4A foray. He's a huge reason why GV has been so successful.

But there's a giant adversary on the other sideline. And when I say "giant," I mean it. The Neshaminy O and D lines average at 265 pounds per player. That's a lot of girth to get through. And to think 'Skins coach Mark Schmidt turned 18 non-starters a year ago into his 11-1 team today.

Like I said, big game in Concord Twp. tonight. Make sure you're there.

OK, here's where I suck up my pride and admit that I have been lackluster in the frequency with which I post about high school goings-on.

But I do have a couple updates to report:

1. All-Delco Week. Next week, the All-Delco teams for all of the fall sports (save football, which will run at season's conclusion) will appear next week in the Daily Times.

2. Winter Sports Previews. The week after we get All-Delco stuff out of the way, the Daily Times' staff will work diligently to put together everything you need to know about the winter sports teams. Keep an eye out.

3. How about Garnet Valley? It seems odd that Delco has but one football team still alive in the district- or state-playoff brackets. But nonetheless, the Jags are the sole survivors. Stay close to the Daily Times in the coming days for the most on their playoff bid.


And, I promise I'll post more often. Scouts honor.

It's about the time again to start up that infectious All-Delco talk.

And during every high-school season, I implore the readers of this blog to submit their nominations for All-Delco honors. This time, it's for boys soccer.

Of course, not every player can be named All-Delco. So there are Second and Honorable Mention teams, as well.

OK, so here's what you should know about the process:
1. Nomination. You can comment on this blog (kindly, and while paying respect to other players) or send me an e-mail at cvito@delcotimes.com.

2. Outside sources. I don't do this alone, folks. I communicate with county coaches to gauge how they view particular players' ability. And reader input is valuable, too.

3. Intangibles. Goals and shutouts are important, but they're not always direct indicators of a player's ability. For example, a high goal scorer might be the result of playing in a weak league, or in terms of keepers, the defense in front of him might stop a ton of shots before they get to the box. So tell me what makes a player a worthwhile candidate.

For more, check out the feedback I got during the boys basketball season.

Three down, five to go.

All-Delco Week for the spring season is well underway. So far Chichester's Aurora Kan was named the golf Player of the Year, and Penncrest's Karen Shump defended her status as girls track Athlete of the Year with her fourth-such honor.

Now we move onto today's honoree - Penncrest's Anthony Batch, whose superb all-around season earned him boys track Athlete of the Year. Batch had the second-best time in the state in the 400 - his best event - and won all but one race this year, the 400-meter final at states.

In other high school news:
Batch's teammate Jerry Thompson made his commitment to South Carolina recently. Thompson, an All-Delco pole vaulter for two seasons, looks to continue that down in S.C., though he could pursue a future in the decathlon.

And finally, Chichester has hired Tom Dougherty as its new boys basketball coach. Dougherty has a bevy of experience, having coached at Sun Valley, Academy Park and Neumann-Goretti among others. He will replace Alan Munford, who left the Eagles to accept a head-coaching vacancy at his alma mater of Harry S Truman H.S. in Levittown.

If you've looked out your windows or been outside today, you've seen the rain, which has poured down in buckets.

Not trying to be a pessimist here, but it doesn't look like any baseball games will be played this afternoon. That means the full Del Val and Central League slates will be pushed back to another day or just outright cancelled, considering the district-playoff seeding meeting is this Thursday.

What does that mean? Well, it's one less win/loss a team can accrue to either bolster/harm its District One playoffs resume. We'll see how this all plays out, but more coming on the district playoff seedings as the week progresses.

ALL-DELCO CONSIDERATION
On another topic, I've received a recent flurry of e-mails about All-Delco consideration for baseball. As I did during the boys basketball season, I'm going to employ an open-door policy: If you have a baseball player you'd like to nominate for the All-Delco team, either e-mail me(christopheravito@gmail.com) or leave a post on the blog. Remember, the First Team gets 10 players (one at each position, plus a player of the year). I look forward to hearing from you.

As previously announced, Chester point guard Karon Burton is this year's All-Delco boys basketball Player of the Year.

Burton presented the obvious scoring average and additional statistical evidence to validate his selection as Player of the Year, but he also demonstrated the intangibles (i.e. vocal leadership) necessary to Chester's winning its sixth big-school state title earlier this month.

Right now you might be asking: Aside from Burton, who else got a nod? Here's the rest of the First Team:

• Steve Egee, G, Ridley
• Tyreke Evans, G, American Christian
• Aaric Murray, C, Glen Mills
• Nasir Robinson, F, Chester
• Duane Johnson, F, Penn Wood

There's far too much in today's edition of the Daily Times to recap here. Check it out for final standings, an extensive list of the scoring leaders in the county, bios of each of the First Teamers, a huge feature on Burton and who made the other teams.

IN OTHER NEWS
Evans, who made the All-Delco team for a third straight season, had a big night at the McDonald's All-American Game. The unsigned senior scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds.

I kept it a secret long enough: Chester High's Karon Burton is the 2008 All-Delco boys basketball Player of the Year.

Not only entertaining to watch with his high-flying moves and acrobatic passes, Burton led the Clippers in scoring, assists and steals en route to winning their sixth big-school state championship.

Chester coach Fred Pickett's team was littered with talent all over the floor, but it was Burton who tied it all together. Each of the Clippers' starters averaged in double figures on the year thanks to Burton, who incorporated everyone in the scoring on a nightly basis.

For the rest of the All-Delco First-Team and beyond, pick up a copy of Thursday's Daily Times.

The All-Delco boys basketball teams will be highlighted in the Thursday, March 27 edition of the Daily Times. Be sure to pick up a copy.

Here's how the rest of the week pans out:
Monday, March 24 - Girls basketball
Tuesday, March 25 - Wrestling
Wednesday, March 26 - Swimming

Just a reminder: The basketball season is over, but Gettin' Schooled will be the first place to look for the latest off-season basketball news in Delaware County. Check back for the newest updates, as well as baseball news. (That's my spring beat.)

Well, basketball fans, the season is finally behind us. In addition to congratulating the Chester Clippers on their Class AAAA state title, I just have a few announcements to make:

All-Delco News. It's almost time to reveal my All-Delco teams, which were finalized following Saturday's game. Keep close to the Daily Times for updates on when the teams will appear in the newspaper.

PIAA Rule Change No. 1. The PIAA has approved two notable amendments which take effect next season. First, District One receives an additional seed in the PIAA Class AAAA state tournament, increasing its tally from eight teams to nine. What does this mean? Well, the eight teams to make the quarterfinals are still guaranteed a berth in the state bracket, with one more team finding its way in. How? That's to be determined.

PIAA Rule Change No. 2. The PIAA made official a transfer rule, which forces a student-athlete between 10th and 12th grades to sit out half a season should he switch schools.

Staying at State College. Though unofficial, the PIAA and Penn State have agreed to extend a contract to keep the state-title games at Bryce Jordan. More to come as it becomes known.

It's baseball season! Just because the hoops season is over doesn't mean you can't visit Gettin' Schooled for the next few months. It's a high school sports blog and as such, I'll be posting my daily musings from my next high school beat - baseball. And there definitely will be basketball news to check back for, as always. So I look forward to your continued readership.

The Springfield Cougars have won six games this season. Fortunately for them, three of them have come in a row, ever since taking a 3-19 mark into the final week of the season.

Coach Kevin McCormick's crew is headed to the district quarterfinals, where they will play No. 3 Great Valley. Three weeks ago, I'm not sure anyone would have believed this possible, but hand it to the Cougars - they're playing their best ball right now.

MAKE-UPS ON TAP: Two Class AAA games, originally scheduled for Wednesday, will be played today. No. 9 Harriton is at No. 8 Marple Newtown, and No. 10 Radnor is at No. 7 Phoenixville.

THREE TEAMS MAKE STATES: In Class AAAA, three teams are moving onto states after posting second-round wins. No. 1 Chester, forward Shawn Oakman (pictured) and No. 5 Penn Wood and No. 6 Ridley have picked up berths in the PIAA playoff bracket. From here on out, each of District One's eight state-bound teams will play three games for seeding purposes. The sad reality? One of those eight teams will lose three straight games in February and still make the state tournament.

ALL-DELCO UPDATE: I'm enjoying the feedback from my open-door policy with All-Delco selections. Like I've said, I'll never close my ears to a fan's pitch for a player (or two). Plus I welcome the message board-style posting you - the readers - have made possible. Keep it up. And, for clarity's sake, the team has six players: Player of the Year and the top five players assigned by position. So using those guidelines, get in your suggestions.

TEAM COVERAGE: If you're a boys basketball fan in Delaware County, pick up a copy of today's Daily Times. You'll definitely be getting your money's worth. Villanova beat writer Terry Toohey was at Ridley, Eagles beat writer Bob Grotz covered the Catholic League play-in game, I was at Chester and we had a write-up on Glen Mills.

This is one of the best times of the year: the playoffs have just begun, and soon enough it'll be time to name the All-Delco Team. This is where you, the reader, enter into the equation.

I have a general idea of who will make this year's All-Delco Team, but I'd like your thoughts on the matter. As the Daily Times continues ushering in the digital age of journalism, I've opted to use my blog as a medium for such a task. Either leave a comment on the blog or e-mail me who you think should make the team and why. My only request is that your responses be clear, concise and clean (no trash-talking on other players or foul language, please). I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Now back to the playoffs.

The results are in: two Delaware County schools are in the Catholic League playoffs. Well, sort of. Monsignor Bonner picked up the Southern Division's third seed by posting a 9-5 league record. The Friars will play No. 2 Neumann-Goretti on Saturday.

Archbishop Carroll and Saint Joseph's Prep will partake in a play-in game Wednesday for the fourth and final Southern Division seed. Both teams finished at 8-6 in league play. The Catholic League playoffs begin next weekend. The Patriots and the Hawks will play at Cardinal O'Hara Wednesday at 7 p.m. for the right to advance.