Only one WPIAL team in state top 25

 

 Mike White | 4:05 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 24

Jerry Shenk has been covering high school basketball in Pennsylvania and publishing state rankings for decades. He knows his stuff and his rankings are interesting because they are the top 25 overall, regardless of class.

Below are his rankings for the Middle Atlantic Sports news and www.LLHoops.com. It's a very good site if you're interested in some Eastern Pennsylvania hoops, which some people are this time of year. Ted Silary's web site www.tedsilary.com also is excellent for Philadelphia area basketball and football. And www.pahoops.org has a lot of interesting info, especially for the history of basketball in Pennsylvania.

But if you look at the below rankings, you'll see only one Western Pennsylvania team in the top 25 (Chartiers Valley at No. 11). Also, in the Harrisburg Patriot-News rankings, there is not one WPIAL team in the Class AAAA top 10.

I know this isn't a great year for AAAA teams in the WPIAL, but I think the knocks against area basketball this season are a little over the top. A WPIAL Class AAAA team won't win the PIAA title and there is not a great team in AAAA this year. And I know this area is way below Philadelphia in terms of top teams. I'm not comparing our area to Philadelphia. But I have a hard time believing the likes of Peters Township and Mt. Lebanon aren't on par with a few of the teams in the bottom 25 of Shenk's rankings. There are suburban teams ranked in the top 25 that can't be world-beaters.

For example, do you really think a few WPIAL AAAA teams couldn't be as good as Shamokin, Central Dauphin East (near Harrisburg), Pocono Mountain East or Holy Cross (Class AA). They are all ranked somewhere between 20 and 25.

In other words, this area this year isn't as bad as some people make it out.

And I have a prediction: Don't be surprised if a Pittsburgh City League team (in Class AAA or AAAA) makes some noise in the state playoffs. I'm not saying they'll win a state title, but Allderdice, Oliver and Perry are good enough to open some eyes.

Anyway, here is a look at Shenk's rankings and he gives a little rundown on each team.

MIDDLE ATLANTIC SPORTS NEWS/LLHoops.com PIAA BOYS BASKETBALL RATINGS PIAA STATE RATINGS February 22, 2009 =========================================== 1. Philadelphia Neumann-Goretti (22-2) (Philadelphia Catholic League-District 12 AAA) In the District 12/Philadelphia Catholic League Semifinals, Neumann-Goretti defeated North Catholic 77-62. Daniel Stewart led with 18pts, Tyreek Duren had 17pts and Andre Gillette added 12pts. 2. Penn Wood (22-3) (District 1 AAAA) in a District 1 AAAA Round of 16 game, the Patriots destroyed Bensalem 65-32. Aaron Brown led with 20pts, Tyree Johnson had 11pts, while Duane Johnson and Chris White both added 10pts….In the Quarterfinals, Penn Wood avenged an earlier loss and defeated Lower Merion 38-35 by overcoming a 31-26 deficit after the third quarter. Duane Johnson led with 12pts and Tyree Johnson added 11pts.   3. Pennsbury (22-3) (District 1 AAAA) Pennsbury routed Owen J. Roberts 70-48 in the District 1 AAAA Round of 16. Dalton Pepper led the way with 29pts as 12-players hit the scoring column…..The Falcons then ripped Central Bucks South 56-37 in the Quarterfinals as Pepper led with 16pts and Eddie DiRugeris had 13pts 4. York (27-0) (District 3 AAAA) The Bearcats opened play in the District 3 AAAA First Round, by beating Dallastown for the third time with an 86-55 win. The undefeated Bearcats got double-digit scoring from five starters in dismantling Dallastown at Central York High School. Chemin Lambert led the Bearcats in scoring with 14 points, while big men Malik Generett and Malachi Leonard each scored 13. Kelvin Parker (12 points) and Jevaughn Murphy (11) also reached double figures for William Penn…..In the Quarterfinals, York fell behind Reading by 17pts in the middle of the fourth quarter but rallied for a 66-65 victory as Leonard put back a missed shot with 8.2 seconds left. Generett   5. Philadelphia Imhotep Charter (26-1) (Philadelphia Public League-District 12 AA) In the Public League Semifinals, the Panthers fell behind Philadelphia Math, Civics & Science 23-14 after the first quarter. But then outscored the   Mighty Elephants 70-32 over the final three quarters to reach the finals with an 84-55 victory. Will Adams 6. Chester (21-4) (District 1 AAAA) in the District 1 AAAA Round of 16, the Clippers had a big third quarter outscoring Souderton 24-8 in a 66-58 victory. Maurice Nelson led with 25pts, Rahlir Jefferson had 19pts and Laquan Robinson scored 10pts…..The Clippers drop down some, but not to far, pending what they do the rest of the tournament, after a Quarterfinal 61-59 loss to Norristown. Rahlir Jefferson scored 15pts, Laquan Robinson 14pts and Maurice Nelson 13pts in the loss.   7. Philadelphia Roman Catholic (17-7) (Philadelphia Catholic League-District 12 AAAA) In the District 12/Philadelphia Catholic League Semifinals Roman went overtime to defeat Archbishop Carroll 63-59. 6-3 jr Kevin Regan led with 24pts, 5-11 jr Rakeem Brookins had 13pts and 6-1 freshman Andre Horne added 12pts. 8. Radnor Archbishop Carroll (21-3) (Philadelphia Catholic League-District 12 AAA) Carroll took Roman Catholic to overtime before losing 63-59 in the District 12/Philadelphia Catholic League Semifinals. Andre Wilburn led with 14pts, 6-3 soph Juan’ya Green had 13pts and 6-5 sr Kasheef Festus added 12 points.   9. Philadelphia Strawberry Mansion (18-4) (Philadelphia Public League D-12 AA) in the Public League - District 12 Third Place game, the Knights defeated Philadelphia Communications Tech 85-79. They trailed 24-18 at the end of the first quarter. But a 25-8 second quarter gave them the lead for good. 6-1 sr Darren Lawrence scored a career-high 33pts, 21 in the second half. Devonte’ Newbill (16pts) and Marcus Grimes (12pts) and Marcus “Worm” Johnson (10pts, three assists) also played well. Mansion will now be the #4 team from District 12 AA. 10. Norristown (20-5) (District 1 AAAA) In a District 1 AAAA Round of 16, the Eagles took care of West Chester Rustin 62-41 going out to a 33-15 halftime lead and coasting from there. Lorenzo Christmas with 22pts and Khalif Wyatt with 20pts led the way…..Khalif Wyatt scored 31pts and helped Norristown avenge an earlier loss to Chester with a 61-59 victory in the Quarterfinals. 11. Chartiers Valley (24-0) (District 7 WPIAL - AAA) In the Colts WPIAL/District 7 AAA First Round game, they rolled over Mars, 75-49. Ahead by just three points through two quarters, top-seeded Chartiers Valley returned to their usual dominant play in the second half to blow out the Planets (16-8) at North Allegheny. 5-11 jr T.J. McConnell scored 11 of his 23 points in the second half for the Colts and notched 11 steals. 6-2 soph Matt Noszka added 20 points and hit five 3-pointers as the Colts hit 14 from beyond the arc as a team…..In the Quarterfinals they were pushed hard by Blackhawk, before winning 54-51 to stay unbeaten. Matt Noszka -- who intercepted a pass with 2.8 seconds left to seal the win -- scored 12 points for the Colts. Chartiers Valley also got 13 points each from Teagan Lindsay and Eli Maravich and 12 from T.J. McConnell.   12. Parkland (22-3) (District 11 AAAA) Parkland defeated Easton 64-48 in the District 11 AAAA Quarterfinals. Jalee Clark led with 26pts and 12rebs. M.J. Miorelli   13. Philadelphia North Catholic (16-8) (Philadelphia Catholic League-District 12 AAAA) In the District 12/Philadelphia Catholic League Semifinals, North Catholic was defeated 77-62 by Neumann-Goretti. Jack O’Neill led with 18pts, Rakeem Christmas had 14pts and Woody Redding scored 11 points.   14. Lower Merion (22-5) (District 1 AAAA) Extended winning streak to 17 in a 45-41 win over Central Bucks West in the District 1 AAAA Round of 16. Greg Robbins led the way with 18pts…..The streak was stopped in the Quarterfinals by Penn Wood, 38-35. Robbins led with 14pts in the loss. 15. Philadelphia Prep Charter (18-6) (Philadelphia Public League-District 12 AA) The Huskies are idle until the PIAA State AA Playoffs start   16. Harrisburg (22-4) (District 3 AAAA) In the District 3 AAAA Round of 16, the Cougars defeated Gettysburg 62-46. 5-10 sr Wayne Griffin led with 18pts and 6-4 sr Cody Williams added 11pts…..In the Quarterfinals, Harrisburg was ahead 32-30 entering the fourth quarter before using a 17-8 run to close out the game and pull away from Penn Manor for a 49-38 victory. Harrisburg forced 27 turnovers and limited Penn Manor to 14 field goals. Eric Henry was the catalyst for the Cougars, posting 15 points, six rebounds, eight assists and nine steals. He scored nine of his points in the fourth quarter to help Harrisburg pull away. Breland Roach added 10 points for Harrisburg 17. Conestoga (23-2) (District 1 AAAA) The   Pioneers easily defeated West Chester Henderson 65-36 in their District 1 AAAA Round of 16 game. Doug Jakiela led with 12pts, Robert Scott had 11pts and Jake Cohen added 10pts…..In the Quarterfinals, Conestoga got 21pts from Jake Cohen and 12pts from Mike D’Angelo in a 43-34 victory over Plymouth-Whitemarsh. 18. Williamsport (19-3) (District 4 AAAA) Did not play this week. Opens District 2 AAAA Playoffs this week against Wyoming Valley West in the Semifinals. 19. Plymouth-Whitemarsh (21-4) (District 1 AAAA) In the District 1 AAAA Round of 16, the Colonials defeated Neshaminy 63-47 as C. J. Aiken led with 20pts, Jaylen Bond   20. Philadelphia Communications Tech (20-5) (Phila. Public League-District 12 AA) In the Public League - District 12 AA Third Place Game, the Phoenix lost 85-79 to Strawberry Mansion and ended their season. Chris Jones led with 23pts, Sherman Blanford had 15pts, 11rebs, 3blks Antonio Gee” Monroe had 15pts and Shaqauille Shannon also had 15pts.   21. Central Dauphin East (22-3) (District 3 AAAA) The Panthers opened the District 3 AAAA Tournament with a 60-39 first round win over Mechanicsburg. Amani Glenn and Brian Chatman both scored 14pts to lead East and Jon Breeden had 12pts and seven assists…..In the Quarterfinals, East used a 17-8 fourth quarter to defeat Elizabethtown 48-42. Demond Bates led the way with 16pts, Jonathan Breeden had 15pts and Amani Glenn scored 12pts.   22. Susquehanna Township (19-4) (District 3 AAA) The Indians had to battle hard to defeat Kennard-Dale 58-53 in their District 3 AAA First Round Game. 6-3 sr Greg Edwards scored 31pts to rescue Township from defeat. 6-7 sr Akeem Wilson added 11pts…..Susquehanna Township then bested Lancaster Catholic 72-57 in the Quarterfinals as Greg Edwards led with 22pts, Akeem Wilson and Ben Dupree had 18pts apiece. 23. Shamokin (21-1) (District 4 AAA) The Indians did not play and open the District 4 AAA Tournament next week in the Semifinals against Milton.   24. Pocono Mountain East (22-4) (District 11 AAAA) The Cardinals defeated East Stroudsburg South 81-74 in a District 11 AAAA Pigtail Game as Kendall Harris Kyheim Hall 25. Dunmore Holy Cross (21-2) (District 2 AA) The Crusaders crushed Dunmore 61-40 to win the Lackawanna League Division 2 Overall Championship. Junior center Mark Bevacqua led with 23pts, making eight of his 10 shots from the floor. Junior guard Louis Ciprino scored 19pts….. Mark Bevacqua scored 19 points, and Louis Cipriano chipped in 13 as Holy Cross rolled past West Side CTC, 72-31 in the District 2 AA Round of 16. Brett Podhyski scored 10 for the Crusaders, who jumped out to a 28-4 lead by the end of the first quarter had 15pts, Kendall Harris added 13pts and Lamont Tillery scored 12pts.led five Cardinals in double figures with 19 points. Joe Marra contributed 14 points, while D.J. Strayhorn and Kyheim Hall added 12 points each, Lamont Tillery chipped in with 11.….Pocono Mountain East then avenged a loss to Pocono Mountain West with an 85-67 victory in the Quarterfinals. D. J. Strayhorn poured in 25pts, had 13pts, while Sam Pygatt added 11pts…..Drops down after a 43-34 loss to Conestoga in the Quarterfinals. It was their second loss of the season to the Pioneers. Jaylen Bond was high scorer with 8pts had 13 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, Paul Pammer had 7 points, 6 rebounds and Nick Miller had 7 points, 3 assists.led with 27pts, Sam Prescott had 21pts and Parrish Grant scored 12pts…..Imhotep then won the Public League Championship with a 49-43 victory over Philadelphia Franklin Learning Center. The Panthers led at the half, 24-11, but FLC made a game of it and pulled to within one point down the stretch. Sam Prescott led the way with 24pts, 13rebs, 2 steals and 3blks and Parrish Grant finished with 10pts. scored a team-high 20pts and ripped down 13rebs, while Leonard had 17pts and 14rebs.