Blogs > Gettin' Schooled

A boys basketball blog hosted by Daily Times reporter Christopher A. Vito



Saturday, January 31, 2009

THE BEST OF DELCO: JUNIORS

The Class of 2010 might as well be dubbed 'the class of the point guard'. As this reporter sees it, five of the county’s top-10 juniors play the point. And three more handle the No. 2 slot, which limits the number of post players to two.

Here are a few observations of Delaware County’s top juniors:
1. Tyree Johnson, PG, Penn Wood: A smart, instinctive No. 1 who can turn heads with his passing ability, Johnson, pictured, also has the ability to score in bunches (when needed).

2. Soutiri Sapnas, PG, Marple Newtown: A scoring, jumpshooting machine who is on his way to becoming his school’s all-time scoring champ, Sapnas is the focus of every team’s gameplan.

3. Maurice Nelson, SG, Chester: Like his older brother, he does a little bit of everything. Nelson has found a niche with the Clippers with his scoring (14.5 ppg).

4. D.J. Irving, SG, Archbishop Carroll: An unassuming player who looks for his teammates first, it’s a wonder how a player with that selfless mindset averages 14 ppg.

5. Jack Roberts, C, Strath Haven: His rebounding and shot-blocking skills are well advanced. His scoring touch is not there yet, but at 6-7, it is on the way.

6. Andrew Radomicki, PG, Penncrest: A gritty, hard-nosed point who does the stuff that doesn’t appear in box scores: gets everyone involved, takes charges, makes the extra pass.

7. Omari Grier, PG, Episcopal Academy: He can slash or hit a pull-up. Grier works his best in catch-and-shoot opportunities and he possesses some dangerous size on the wing.

8. Jamal Melvin, PG, Monsignor Bonner: An undersized guard who can bob and weave his way to the bucket, Melvin can also dish to his bigs if nothing is there. He is fun to watch.

9. Ben Mingledough, SF, Archbishop Carroll: Long and lean, he’s a terror on the perimeter. Mingledough has put scoring on the backburner for now because of his skills on defense.

10. Laquan Robinson, SG, Chester: A role player and a selective shooter, he chooses his opportunities wisely. On any given night, though, Robinson can go off for 15.

Others to watch: Radnor G Kyle Hammonds; Ridley C Cameron Gunter; Penncrest SG Rodney Duncan; Haverford School SG A.J. Jones; Chichester G Brian Parker; Springfield C Wally Rutecki; Glen Mills G Lavander Johns.

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Saturday, January 17, 2009

NO EXCUSES: PART 2

Last week, we debuted on here a weekly post called 'No Excuses', in which I'll give my take on a couple of the night's games. Here's the second installment of this new feature:
1. With 26 points from Rahlir Jefferson, Chester defeated Erie Cathedral Prep, the host of the McDonald's Classic where the Clippers had gone 1-5 in three previous appearances, but ... appear on the fast track toward winning this one. Today they play Archbishop Carroll (Md.), a 7-6 team, for the title.
2. Roman Catholic and Villanova commit Maalik Wayns (pictured) almost doubled up Monsignor Bonner Friday night, 83-42. The Cahillites are unbeaten in league play, but ... they still have North Catholic (8-5) and Archbishop Ryan (5-7), the league runners-up last year.
3. Penncrest has followed three consecutive losses with back-to-back wins, against Ridley and Garnet Valley, but ... could use a lengthy run to bolster their District One ranking. Marvin Holman-Little and Rodney Duncan, who are having mid- to high-double figures, have been playing great of late.
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LONGEST BASKET IN H.S. HOOPS HISTORY?
In Spain Park, Ala., last week, a player rebounded a missed free throw with less than two seconds remaining in his high school game. The player - Jake Lee - turned around and fired an 82-foot shot that banked off the glass and in to win the game.
Curiosity got the best of the opposing team's coach, who brought out the tape measure just to be certain how long the shot was. "I measured it at 82 feet," said Clay-Chalkville (Ala.) coach Marty Smith. "I had to know. I had to measure it."
See the shot for yourself here.
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DID YOU SEE FRIDAY'S DAILY TIMES?
If you didn't, you missed three full pages of Delco boys basketball coverage ... including:
  • A feature story on seniors Dan Clapp and Malik Carter, who have led a mini-renaissance at Chichester
  • The weekly notebook, which leads with the powerful 1-2 punch of Strath Haven's Calvin Newell and Jack Roberts
  • A Central League game story. I picked the game of the week, in which Springfield stunned Upper Darby behind 15 points from Zack DeVito

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Saturday, December 13, 2008

VIDEO, BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE DAILY TIMES

The Media Bowl. I attended the football version this past fall, but the boys basketball game between neighborhood rivals Penncrest and Strath Haven was intense.

As if the game - which the Lions won, 41-37 - wasn't good enough, we have video of it too. Daily Times photographer Bob Gurecki was on hand to snap still photos and video for the Web site. The game story is available, as well.

Marvin Holman-Little was the catalyst for the Lions, scoring 14 points and grabbing eight rebounds. For Haven, Calvin Newell scored 27 points and Jack Roberts swatted 12 shots in the loss.

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