Take one look at Shawn Oakman and you'll likely run the other way. He's scary big. At 6-9, 240, Oakman is the real deal when it comes to post players in Delaware County.

A Penn Wood junior, Oakman spent a couple minutes with me following the Patriots' 66-48 victory over Chester Sunday. We talked everything from his offense to his defense, his turning point, where he'd like to play college basketball ... and even what jersey number he's lobbying for:

Daily Times: Do you feel like you've turned a corner
Shawn Oakman: I'm definitely more patient. I read the defense better and make a better decision with the ball. I used to rush. Now, I'm finishing better. The whole coaching staff has told me to relax. It all started when I came back from Florida (the City of Palms Classic). The first two games, I didn't do too good. The last two games, I got dunks. So that's why I try to get a dunk every game. I had a reality check down in Florida.

DT: What part of your game are you most proud of - scoring? Rebounding? The blocked shots?
SO: I like my defense. But eight points? I know I can do better than that. I can get double-digits every night. I missed (four) free throws and that was the difference.

DT: So a triple-double is within reach for you?
SO: Oh, most definitely. I'm trying to be like Rap Curry. When he was (the Daily Times) Player of the Year, he averaged a triple-double. He's said to me, 'As soon as you get a triple double, you can wear my jersey.' So now I'm working on wearing that No. 33.

DT: When's the offense going to come your way?
SO: Oh, I tell all the guys to give me the ball. I say, 'Look my way' because if it's not there for me, I'll just kick it out to them, you know? Someone's going to be wide open, so feed me the ball first.

DT: What schools really like you?
SO: Saint Joseph's, Miami (Fla.), Providence, Georgetown, Houston, Rice, Marquette and Pittsburgh. They've all called. I think only St. Joe's has seen me play. Miami is supposed to come out.

DT: The way you played this football season, earning All-Delco honors, you've got to be leaning that way, right?
SO: No, I'm stuck in the middle. I don't want to do both, either. I want to focus on one. I'll make the choice senior year. That's when I'll make my decision.

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If you pick up a copy of Wednesday's Daily Times, you'd read about:
---Penncrest suffering its first loss of the season, 54-32, to Lower Merion. The Lions got close and even took the lead, 26-25, in the third quarter, before the host Aces ripped of 20 of the game's next 23 points. (Check back to the blog today for more on this game.)
---Sun Valley's Chris Nelson hit the game-tying and game-winning shots to lift Sun Valley in overtime.

Here's an up-close look at the Chester/Penn Wood game:
Early in the second quarter and with the game's outcome still in doubt, Penn Wood junior forward Aaron Brown (pictured) was whistled for a technical foul. The call was questionable, causing spectators and reporters, alike, to scratch their heads.

Brown is not an overly aggressive player. And players from both sides were jawing. Turns out he was whistled for running into his teammate, Shawn Oakman, which had to have been perceived as a sign of boasting, because there was no blatant contact between players from opposing teams.

"They all talk (trash) and any kind of bump would be seen as a form of aggression," Penn Wood coach Clyde Jones said. "Aaron is always emotional. But I know his emotions are going to lead to production."

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BY THE NUMBERS
10-11: Chester's proficiency at the free-throw line, a 91-percent clip.
19-34: Penn Wood's proficiency at the free-throw line, a 55-percent clip.
37-21: Penn Wood's rebounding advantage.
1: Technical foul, against Penn Wood's Aaron Brown.
3:28: Time it took Chester to get on the board.
4: Points scored by Will Brown during a dynamic second-quarter play. He hit a 3-pointer from the right side of the arc and, after sustaining a foul by Chester's Laquan Robinson, made the subsequent free throw.

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The arrangement to bring the first meeting of the season between these two Pennsylvania titans to Saint Joseph's University was the product of internal connections. Penn Wood alumnus Rap Curry, also the Patriots' athletic director, played a fruitful college career on Hawk Hill. So did Jameer Nelson, whose younger brother, Maurice Nelson, plays for Chester.

The younger Nelson, who had 17 points, was playing on the floor of Hagan Arena - formerly the Fieldhouse - for the first time in his life. And hanging about the court, in the rafters, is a banner bearing his brother's No. 14 and his likeness.

"I didn't even look up there today," Mo Nelson said. "I have in the past. Not today."

PHOTO BY DAILY TIMES' PHOTOGRAPHER BOB GURECKI