An unfortunate incident plagued the Chester Clippers basketball team this winter. One of their players - freshman reserve Kareem Robinson - was wounded in the lower back by gunfire Feb. 10.

Robinson, who missed the remainder of the Clippers' season, spoke to the Daily Times for an exclusive look into his recovery process.

According to Robinson, it won't be an arduous one for the 5-7, 125-pound point guard, who is already back in the gym shooting and has a tremendous support system behind him. Fans, coaches and teammates met Robinson in his hospital room the night of the shooting, and have been by his side ever since.

Kareem's big brother Laquan Robinson (pictured, background) misses playing with Kareem. So did the rest of the Clippers. "Because I couldn't play," Kareem Robinson said, "we talked basketball all the time. That's all we could do."

Kareem Robinson was on the bench for the Clippers' seven playoff games (five district, two state), including their season-ending 62-49 loss to Williamsport March 11. Who knows how far the Clippers could have gone with their sparkplug freshman in the rotation? He posted some strong numbers in his first season at Chester. Here are his per-game averages: 6.1 points, 2.8 steals, 2.2 assists, 2.0 rebounds.

Robinson is on his way to a complete recovery.

"We missed him a lot," Chester coach Larry Yarbray said, "but he'll be back for us next year. He's still smiling. ... The important thing for him was understanding that he's in the Chester Clippers' family. Once you're in the family, you're always in the family."

Delaware County had a rough showing in Friday's opening round of the District One Class AAAA playoffs. Seven local teams made the bracket, and only three moved on to the next round:

• At Upper Darby, Tre Davis (pictured) and the No. 16 Royals could not keep up with Souderton's A.J. Picard, who shot 8-for-11 from the floor. Harry Chaykun reports.
• At Penn Wood, the No. 3 Patriots were on a mission to make quick work of No. 30 Chichester. Mission accomplished. Matt Smith reports. And Bob Gurecki chips in with video coverage.
• At Chester, the No. 1 Clippers were able to regroup after a difficult week in which freshman point guard Kareem Robinson was shot twice. It was an emotional win. Your favorite blogger was on the scene.
• ELSEWHERE: No. 12 Glen Mills advanced, No. 10 Penncrest was upset and No. 22 Radnor could not spring a road win. The roundup.
  

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When the District One Class AAA and A brackets were unveiled, Strath Haven coach Steve Lewis was a little apprehensive. Reason being, his No. 6 Panthers have to do battle in the first-round with an 11th-seeded Upper Moreland team that "smacked us in the mouth," he said.

More on the brackets.

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Coming Sunday: The Daily Times has you (and the Catholic League playoffs) covered. Sports editor Rob Parent was on hand for Archbishop Carroll's win over West Catholic. A Northeast Philadelphia guy - born and raised - I didn't have to travel too far for Monsignor Bonner's loss to North Catholic, which was held at Archbishop Ryan. We'll have the latest in Sunday's edition.

Chester freshman Kareem Robinson, recovering from two gunshot wounds suffered Wednesday, was released from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Thursday and plans on attending the Clippers' playoff game Friday.

Robinson, according to Chester coach Larry Yarbray and a report filed by Chester Police, was an innocent bystander and the victim of a random act of violence. He is extremely fortunate the two bullets did not pierce a major artery or major organ. The injuries were not life-threatening, though Robinson will not play again this season.

For more on Robinson, check out Friday's Daily Times.

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ALSO IN FRIDAY'S NEWSPAPER: A full preview of the District One Class AAAA playoffs, featuring a little something on all seven Delco teams involved. The weekly feature story is on Chester's Rahlir Jefferson emerging not only as a scoring leader but as a vocal leader.

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Something else to keep an eye on is the release of the District One Class AAA playoff bracket, which will be announced Friday. A safe guess is that Marple Newtown, Strath Haven and Springfield make the cut. Sun Valley could have an outside chance, too.

Check back to Gettin' Schooled Friday for the latest on the seedings.

Two days after seeing the best game of the season - Penn Wood 53, Chester 52 - I was treated to another gem Thursday when the same Penn Wood team took down Glen Mills, 61-57, in double overtime.

And when sophomore forward Aaron Brown was picking apart The Mills in overtime, it got me thinking about who are the top underclassmen in Delaware County.

Here's this reporter's list:
1. Juan'Ya Green, So., PG, Archbishop Carroll: Green, 6-3, can make something happen from anywhere on the floor. He's getting high Division I recruiting interest (understandably so).

2. Aaron Brown, So., PF, Penn Wood: The Roman Catholic transfer, 6-5, is a converted center who is finding a home on the wing. His outside game is improving day by day.

3. Isaiah Baker, So., C, Episcopal Academy: The third-leading scorer for the Churchmen is 6-7 and is learning how to play within the body with which he's been blessed. Keep an eye on him.

4. Shawn Oakman, So., C, Penn Wood: A starter last year as a freshman, the 6-8 Oakman (pictured) is a talented rebounder and shotblocker. A boost in his scoring average (7 ppg.) will come with time.

5. Chazz Fisher, So., SG, Strath Haven: He started the year at JV and continues his quick ascent through coach Steve Lewis' system. Fisher is a jumpshooter with good skills around the glass, too.

6. Kurt Johnson, So, SG, Marple Newtown: Johnson, a JV call-up due to injury early on, is one of the best up-and-coming 3-point shooters in the county.

7. Montrail Talford, So, PG, Upper Darby: He is learning more and more. This is his second year of varsity experience with an upperclassmen-laden lineup.

8. Kareem Robinson, Fr., PG, Chester: The Clippers are grooming the 5-10 guard, the younger brother of two-time All-Delco Nasir, as an heir apparent to the point.

9. Rahmir Jefferson, Fr., SF, Chester: Imagine Rahlir Jefferson three years ago, except maybe just a tad more polished.

10. Norm Donkin, So., SG, Ridley: A pure shooter with decent range. He's a building block toward the future at Ridley.

Anybody I left out, shoot me an e-mail or leave a comment here.
Coming up Saturday: the top juniors in Delco.

Two of Delaware County's three undefeated boys basketball teams won again Saturday night, but their perfect seasons face serious threats this week.

Penncrest pushed around Unionville, 58-28, and Penn Wood subdued Central, 76-46. The challenges ahead will be covered by the Daily Times.

Tuesday: The Lions (10-0) take on fellow unbeaten Conestoga (12-0) Tuesday night in a game between the only loss-less Central League teams. Count on a solid low-block matchup with the Lions' Marvin Holman-Little (a physical 6-6 forward) and the Pioneers' Jake Cohen (a 6-10 Davidson commit).

Thursday: The Patriots (9-0) have to get past Chichester Tuesday before they can look ahead to an early-season game of the year candidate against Chester. In Thursday's meeting, look for the backcourt play of Penn Wood's Tyree Johnson and Aaron Brown to be on full display against the Clippers' talented duo in Kareem Robinson and Laquan Robinson.

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AROUND THE CORNER: No Delaware County teams has Pennsbury on its schedule, but they should keep an eye on their foes to the North.

The Bucks County-based Falcons (6-2) are fresh off an impressive showing in the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Behind senior West Virginia commit Dalton Pepper (pictured), they beat two teams that recently fell out of PrepNation.com's Southeast Region top 10.

They were drubbed by St. Patrick's (N.J.), the fourth-best team in the nation, and lost in a close one to an unranked Martin Luther King (Calif.) team.

Pennsbury resumed Suburban One play Saturday by whalloping Abington, 67-44. Look out.

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BULLS KEEP ROLLING: Around this time of year, the students at Glen Mills get a lengthy break to go home and enjoy the holidays with their families. So you'd think a two-week layoff would hurt the Battlin' Bulls, right?

Wrong. The 14 days since beating Downingtown West Dec. 20 had no effect in the Bulls' 16-point win over Bensalem Saturday. Aaric Murray scored 23 points, and Reggie Miles contributed 10 points, 11 assists and a solid defensive showing.

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MY RESOLUTION TO YOU: The infrequency with which I've posted lately is due to a couple things, namely though it was the holidays. Now that we're in the New Year (and I've resolved to not have another three-day week until July), I'll be posting with more regularity. So stay close to Gettin' Schooled.