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.

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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.

There will be no Delaware County representation at this year's McDonald's All-America Game.

Roman Catholic's Maalik Wayns (pictured), a Villanova signee, was Southeastern Pennsylvania's only choice for the game, which will be played April 1 in Miami, Fla.

Four players from Delco had been nominated for entry in the game: Glen Mills' Aaric Murray, Penn Wood's Duane Johnson, Strath Haven's Calvin Newell and Chester's Rahlir Jefferson.

Dominic Cheek, a 6-6 guard from St. Anthony in New Jersey, was Villanova's second selection to the prestigious game. Villanova, with two recruits selected, has more representatives in the game than all schools except North Carolina, which has three.

Delco was vying for a representative in the game for consecutive seasons. American Christian's Tyreke Evans made last year's game, and earned MVP honors. Archbishop Carroll's Barry Bekkedam is the county's only other rep in the McDonald's showcase.

The wait is over.

Not your wait for the gifts, or even the wait in department store lines (sorry, last-minute shoppers.) The wait is over for the first boys basketball notebook, which hits news stands Friday.

Here are some items featured within that will whet your appetite:

• The first Super 7 poll
• Radnor staying afloat since its bump to Class AAAA
• Why the hot starts for Interboro and Penncrest
• The Game of the Week
• And more.

With this being a holiday week, I likely won't be posting with regularity. I can't promise daily posts this week, but check back as often as possible.

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Movin' on up: Penn Wood, at 5-0 through Monday, has ascended to No. 37 in this week's ESPN/Rise Fab 50 national poll.

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Gifts first, Daily Times second: I know presents will be the first thing on your to-do list come Thursday, Dec. 25, but pick up a copy of that day's Daily Times for the run-down on this year's Jameer Nelson Classic.

I had a good 20 minutes on the phone last weekend with the Orlando Magic guard, and he had some insightful things to say - about his own giving ways (in the spirit of the holidays), about his alma maters, and about his brother, Maurice Nelson, and the Chester Clippers.

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Former Delco File: Lamont 'Mo Mo' Jones, a standout junior last season at American Christian, is doing well for himself down at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, where he and his teammates have raced out to a 17-0 record and a No. 3 ranking by PrepNation's weekly poll. Jones, as you may know, took backseat to Tyreke Evans, but was as gifted a shooter as the now-Memphis guard.

The boys basketball season isn't one day old yet and there are so many storylines to follow.

There are so many that they all could not fit into the Daily Times' season preview, which appears in Friday's edition. Here are a few others to keep your eyes on this year:

1. Is Soutiri Sapnas for real? The Marple Newtown junior (pictured), who lit the Central League on fire last season with his rampant scoring, will move to the point guard position this winter. Will he continue his torrid scoring ways?

2. Sun Valley's Tom Brennan needs 41 points to eclipse the 1,000-point mark for his career. That being said, Brennan averaged 24 ppg last year, so it might only take two games to get there.

3. Remember this guy? The school he used to play for formed into New Beginnings Academy, which will play The Christian Academy Friday night in the Delco Christian Tip Off Tournament.

For more, pick up a copy of Friday's Daily Times. And get out and enjoy a game!

American Christian Academy, the tiny prep school in Aston that earned so much national attention in the last couple years, is no more.

Earlier this week, administrators at the school announced that it will end its middle-school and high-school services and maintain only its elementary-school operations, primarily serving as a school for Baptist-church-related education.

The decision ends American Christian's run atop the national prep-school landscape. Players like Dwayne Jones (St. Joseph's U, Cleveland Cavaliers) all the way to Tyreke Evans (Memphis U) made their home with the Eagles. Reasons for the decision were not made official, though it's believed that the closing of the middle and high schools is related to finances or the school's always-in-question academic standards.

Said former coach Ray Carroll, in a 2006 interview with the Daily Times: "They sit in a classroom where there's no reading, no writing and no teaching taking place. ...These kids are great kids who want to learn, but don't know how. I often walk by their classrooms and see them sleeping."

For more on American Christian, check out the story from earlier this week.

CHESTER TO NAME COACH TODAY
The boys basketball program at Chester High has been without a coach long enough. Mere minutes after the leading the Clippers to their sixth big-school state title, 13-year coach Fred Pickett announced his retirement, which means the spot has been vacant for nearly three months.

It is believed that longtime assistant Larry Yarbray will take Pickett's spot on the bench. That decision, which has been confirmed by multiple sources, will be confirmed tonight at a Chester Upland School Board meeting.

More to come when everything's official. Until then, check out today's story.

In case you haven't noticed, these last couple days have been a whirlwind for us at the Daily Times. Allow me to provide the rundown:

Wednesday
American Christian's Tyreke Evans commits to Memphis, which is what we predicted. I'm sure you've heard by now, but the Evans family and the school did not permit the Times entry to the press conference, making our jobs far more difficult. (It's not easy telling the story from the parking lot.)

Thursday
Two of the more-entertaining baseball games took place. Joe Perry (pictured) and his Chichester teammates weren't able to hold off Del Val League frontrunner Sun Valley, 3-2.

And in the Central League, Springfield erased a six-run deficit and threw out the game-tying runner at the plate for the final out of an 11-10 win over Strath Haven. Though he went 0-for-3 at the plate, shortstop James Simpson made up for it with his relay toss to catch the runner at home.

Friday
One of the nation's top high school quarterbacks - Delaware County's own Tom Savage - will make an announcement today at Cardinal O'Hara High School. The Lions' junior QB is expected to announce that he will attend Rutgers following his June 2009 graduation. And, of course, the Times will be there.

The drama is over. The suspense has been quelled.

American Christian guard Tyreke Evans ended that Tuesday, choosing Memphis over a quintet of other potential suitors. He announced his decision at a 3 p.m. press conference at the school, where ESPN camera crews were on hand for the live-televised announcement.

For more on Evans' signing - and info on a host of other local players giving their word to play at the next level - pick up a copy of Thursday's Daily Times.

Media outlets from here to Bristol, Conn., and likely beyond, will descend on Aston today for a press conference at American Christian and featuring Tyreke Evans.

The top unsigned recruit in the nation, Evans will make his announcement today at 3 p.m. in a nationally televised event. ESPNEWS and ESPNU will carry the live feed.

According to several sources familiar with Evans' situation, it is believed that Evans is a lock to commit to Memphis. It makes sense: Memphis coach John Calipari had his contract renewed yesterday, when a mere hours earlier, freshman Derrick Rose announced he'd enter the NBA Draft.

Of course, it still remains a possibility that Evans (named an All-American by McDonald's and Parade Magazine) could end up at either Villanova or Texas.

The Chester native and three-time All-Delco pick, who averaged 29 points this season, will tell the nation today.

Think you're overworked? Ask Penncrest's Andrew Kirk how he felt.

Kirk, a strong right-hander for the Lions, had thrown eight months out of the year between a handful of teams. His arm overworked, Kirk sat out last season with his biceps muscle having contracted.

The result is a stronger Kirk who now has more bite on his best two pitches - fastball and curveball.

What else is going on in Delaware County baseball?

Glen Mills catcher Jeremy Bartz put down the ball and bat for the weekend so he can work on the barbells. He and the Bulls powerlifting team are vying for a national high school title.

At Monsignor Bonner, the Friars are still having trouble with their new field. But pitcher Ryan Haley (1 run in 7 innings) is taking coach Joe DeBarbieri's mind off the intangibles.


The baseball notebook, which features a Super 7 ranking, will appear in the Daily Times every Wednesday. Keep an eye out for it. And for the latest, stay logged onto Gettin' Schooled.

IN BOYS BASKETBALL NEWS
American Christian guard Tyreke Evans has not made offical the plans for his immediate future. But we do know a little more than we did on Tuesday:

Villanova is still in the running. Evans visited with Wildcats coach Jay Wright Tuesday night.

His decision will be made April 16. That's when Evans has scheduled a press conference at American Christian to make an announcement.

So now it's a case of wait-and-see with Evans and his college playing career. We'll keep you posted.

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.

When the McDonald's All-American Game tips off tonight, one of Delaware County's own will be in the lineup.

American Christian star guard Tyreke Evans (pictured below) was selected to play in the game, which will begin at 9:30 p.m. at Milwaukee's Bradley Center and televised live locally on ESPN.

Evans, widely considered the nation's top unsigned recruit, is the second player from Delco to play in the all-star showcase. Archbishop Carroll's Barry Bekkedam played in 1986.

Evans, whose team lost earlier this month in the National Prep School Championship at Fordham University, is in no rush to make an announcement on his immediate future. The official signing period for basketball does not begin until April 16, the earliest date on which players can sign national letters of intent.

Aside from Evans, who will play for the East Stars, there are plenty of other players worth tuning in to see. UCLA recruit Jrue Holiday, considered by many to be the top guard in the nation, will be suiting up for the West team. The top center (Louisville commit Samardo Samuels) and top power forward (North Carolina commit Tyler Zeller) will also play tonight.

American Christian guard Tyreke Evans made an official visit last weekend to Memphis, one of six schools vying for the 6-foot-6 star guard. And according to a source close to the situation, The Daily Times has learned Evans did not commit to the school before returning home.

Evans was on Memphis' campus for the highly-anticipated matchup between the No. 1 Tigers and No. 2 Tennessee. Memphis' perfect season ended in a 66-62 loss to the Volunteers.

Recently named a McDonald's All-American, Evans is kicking around offers from five other schools - Connecticut, Louisville, Seton Hall, Texas and Villanova. Evans averages more than 33 points per game for the Eagles.

BIG 5 COACH SIGHTINGS
The District One Class AAAA championship game drew a sell-out crowd, with two of the seats at Villanova's Pavilion Sunday were occupied by Big 5 coaches. Temple's Fran Dunphy and Villanova's Jay Wright were on hand for the 61-47 Chester win. It is believed that both coaches are courting a Chester player, as they have been seen at a number of the Clippers' games throughout this season.

And then there were three.

A field of 17 Delaware County teams to make the postseason has narrowed to just three after the elimination of two local teams on Wednesday.

Class A Delco Christian lost in the district semifinals. Offering up the quote of the night was Knights senior Jake Godino, who was truly hurt by his team's loss: "I don’t know what happened," Godino said. "A loss is a loss … and we worked hard. But things didn’t work out for us."

And Jamal Melvin (pictured) and Monsignor Bonner dropped a heartbreaker in the Catholic League semifinals. The Friars tied the game with five seconds remaining, but subsequently fouled an Archbishop Ryan player with 0.8 ticks left. A la Villanova / Georgetown, this one was decided at the free-throw line.

Only three Delco teams are still playing this season: Chester will tipoff Friday with a district championship on the line; and Penn Wood and Ridley are in Class AAAA's play-back games before heading to states. As for Ridley, the Green Raiders' loss Wednesday means they can attain no higher than District One's seventh seed in states.

EVANS NETS HONOR
McDonald's All-American team was announced Wednesday, and star guard Tyreke Evans of American Christian made the cut. The two-time All-Delco averages 33.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 4.3 steals for the Eagles (26-4).

A combination of injury and family reasons kept American Christian star Tyreke Evans from suiting up in the Neutral Zone Hoops Showcase in Kentucky, according to a report in the Louisville Courier-Journal.

American Christian coach Tony Bergeron told the C-J that Evans, one of the most highly-recruited seniors in the nation, sustained an unspecified injury in the Primetime Shootout two weekends ago. Additionally, the Evans' family suffered the loss of two family members in recent weeks.

American Christian lost an 82-77 decision to Findlay Prep (Nev.) in the national invitational tournament. The Eagles had been 6-0 prior to Saturday when playing without Evans in the lineup.

IN NATIONAL NEWS:
It appears the longtime coach of a St. Louis-based high school paid for the housing, food and clothing of two star players who led the city's Vashon High School to several state championships in one of the most elaborate recruiting scandals this reporter's ever heard of.

Allegedly, Floyd Irons put up more than $25,000 to bring the ineligible student-athletes to the school in exchange for their participation in games. All of this was released in a 193-page report of a meeting between Irons and the Missouri State High School Activities Association.

IN LOCAL NEWS:
Dates and times of playoff games featuring area teams are set:

• Class A: No. 5 Delco Christian/No. 1 Faith Christian, Wednesday, 6 p.m., at William Tennent High School
• Class AAAA: No. 5 Penn Wood/No. 1 Chester, Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., at Norristown High School
• Class AAAA: No. 6 Ridley/No. 7 Downingtown West, Wednesday, 7 p.m., at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School

Just got back in from the Kobe Bryant Classic at Villanova's Pavilion. Here are a couple things I saw that I couldn't fit into my stories:

• The Catholic League playoffs are right around the corner, so a couple role players from Delco's CL teams made sure they got one last look at Roman Catholic. Archbishop Carroll's D.J. Irving and Monsignor Bonner's Lijah Thompson and Henry Smith were on hand to watch the Cahillites.


• American Christian's Tyreke Evans returned to the Pavilion following his afternoon game for one of the nightcaps - Roman vs. Chester. He tried to slip in a back door before a security guard tried to squelch that plan. That is, until she recognized who Evans was. No one likes to give out special treatment. But in this case, the security guard felt she had to oblige.


• Chester's Russell Johnson sat out the Clippers' 83-73 win over Roman Catholic. Johnson was dressed in street clothes on the Chester bench for Friday's game, too. His status was not immediately known.


• Congrats to Conestoga and Ridley, which clinched a co-championship in the Central League with wins Saturday. Both teams will enter the District One Class AAAA tournament with identical 20-4, 15-3 records.

I feel pretty lucky. It's not often that in a 24-hour period you get to see the nation's top football recruit and boys and girls basketball recruits. But that's what the Primetime Shootout and the Kobe Bryant Classic have provided me.

I just watched Elena Delle Donne (a Connecticut commit) and her Ursuline Academy team polish off a 57-44 victory over Germantown Academy at Villanova's Pavilion, where American Christian and Tyreke Evans are warming up to face Academy of the New Church.

And last night right here, I saw Jeannette's Terrelle Pryor, the No. 1 football player in the country, struggle against Chester. It only gets better today, with Ridley and Lower Merion doing battle for the Central League crown.

Be sure to check back to Gettin' Schooled later tonight, when I'll post an update from the Kobe Bryant Classic.

The Primetime Shootout proved to be quite entertaining. In the first night of the four-night, two-weekend extravaganza, there were plenty of reasons for basketball fans to buy a ticket:

1. Jeannette forward Terrelle Pryor (pictured), the No. 1 football recruit in the country, scored 21 points and was named team MVP in their 80-70 loss to Chester.
2. Clippers guard Karon Burton never ceases to amaze me. Fighting the flu last week, he turned in a solid effort. Tonight, he won team MVP with a team-high 32 points.
3. American Christian's Tyreke Evans & Co. traveled from Aston to Villanova, drawing crowds and defensive attention against the formerly-top-ranked St. Benedict's.

For more on the Primetime Shootout, be sure to check out Saturday's Daily Times. Columnist extraordinaire Jack McCaffery and I tag-teamed the event, so pick up a copy today.

American Christian is back in action here Saturday against Academy of the New Church in the Kobe Bryant Classic. Also participating in that event are Lower Merion and Ridley, who go to battle with the Central League title on the line. Hold onto your seats.

I got word last night that American Christian star guard Tyreke Evans was hospitalized Saturday with a concussion, an injury suffered during his Eagles' 80-56 win in a tournament in Norfolk, Va.

Evans struck his head on the hardwood at Old Dominion University while trying to block a shot against Norfolk (Va.) Collegiate. According to his coach Tony Bergeron, Evans was unconscious for a brief period, but was answering basic questions following his injury.

Rivals ranks Evans, a Chester resident, as the sixth-best recruit in the Class of 2008. He's the second-best recruit who is yet to sign. Once considering Connecticut and Texas, Evans is believed to have trimmed his list of potential schools to three choices: Villanova, Memphis and Louisville.

For more on Evans' injury, pick up a copy of today's Daily Times.