Blogs > Gettin' Schooled

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



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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Wednesday, January 7, 2009

NO EXCUSES, PLAY LIKE A CHAMPION

Tuesday night brought the first real 'weather threat' to the boys basketball season, with some freezing rain and slippery streets.

But there were six games played and a couple had interesting developments:

1. Chester took care of business in its Del Val League opener against Interboro, but needed the second half to close the deal and expand on a one-point halftime lead. No need to call the optometrist - you read that correctly. One point? Wow.

2. Episcopal Academy sent the game to overtime on a buzzer-beating three, but stumbled two OT sessions later. This EA team, for being so young, is pretty darn good.

3. Glen Mills beat Academy Park in what I like to call a 'four corners kind of game.' Park held the ball throughout and the Mills almost lost because of it. But isn't it a little too early in the season to be trying to beat a team by taking advantage of the lack of a shot clock?

***NOTE: If you didn't notice, I italicized the word but throughout this post, which is going to be a weekly segment on Gettin' Schooled called "No Excuses." It gives me a chance to delve a little deeper into some of the games throughout the week. Let me know what you think.

***ALSO: Take a look at Matt Smith's game story from Tuesday's paper. He does a real nice job of writing up the latest installment of the neighborhood rivalry between Cardinal O'Hara and Monsignor Bonner, in which Jerry Colvin and the Friars took down the Lions.

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