Scholastic Notebook !!!
-
THE CHOPS
- Official BleacherCoach
- Posts: 1900
- Joined: October 24th, 2003, 10:42 am
- Location: SCOTTDALE, PA.
Scholastic Notebook !!!
Scholastic Notebook :
The Quaker Valley boys’ basketball team dropped down from Class (AAA) to (AA) this season. So naturally, the Quakers were expected to improve on their 5-18 record. A few returning starters from last year also brought reason for optimism at Quaker Valley.
Then Amir Johnson and Ryann Bradford showed up at Quaker Valley. And with those two, the Quakers have gone to a higher level.
Quaker Valley has a 4-1 overall record heading into Friday night’s game (12/17) at South Fayette. The only loss was to Beaver Falls, 98-80. MSA Sports has the Quakers ranked #7 this week among WPIAL Class (AA) teams and Johnson and Bradford have been the driving forces behind the success.
The two juniors transferred from Sewickley Academy. This is their third high school in three years. They attended Allderdice as freshmen.
Johnson, a point guard, is one of the WPIAL’s leading scorers with a 25.8 average. Bradford, a 6-4 forward, is averaging 18.4.
With these two players, Quaker Valley has its best team since Mike Mastroianni guided the Quakers to the 1999 PIAA Class (AA) final.
The Quakers also won the 1997 WPIAL Class (AA) title.
This is Tom Demko’s second year as Quaker Valley’s coach.
Both Johnson and Bradford have tasted success in the past.
They were members of last year’s Sewickley Academy team that won the WPIAL Class (A) championship. As freshmen at Allderdice, they saw playing time on a team that won a PIAA playoff game for the first time since 1988.
Medved Done:
Elizabeth Forward 6-6 senior Mike Medved was expected to be one of the top basketball players in WPIAL Class (AAA) this season, but Medved suffered a season-ending knee injury in a scrimmage just before the start of the season.
Medved recently accepted a scholarship to St. Vincent. Oh MAN!!!!
But without Medved, a sophomore big man has come to the forefront as a player to watch.
Steve Sweich, a 6-foot-8 10th-grader, has been dominant at times. He had 40 points and 18 rebounds in the season opener against Belle Vernon and 20 points and 15 rebounds in a recent game against Hopewell.
Joe Was There:
It might seem strange for Joe Paterno to be at a basketball game, but Paterno and assistant coach Tom Bradley were in the Gateway gym Thursday night for the Penn Hills-Gateway girls’ game.
One of Penn State’s top football recruits is Justin King. Paterno and Bradley were at Gateway visiting with King.
Apparently at some point in recent months, Paterno had told Gateway girls’ basketball player Jamie Smith that he would come see her play. Smith is King’s cousin.
Paterno kept good on his promise and Smith, a freshman, scored 14 points in a 64-22 victory against Penn Hills.
Recruiting Update:
Attending a Gateway girls' basketball game wasn't the only reason Joe Paterno and Tom Bradley were in town.
They paid a visit to Upper St. Clair to secure the rights to running back/defensive back Sean Lee, who has made a verbal commitment to Penn State.
Lee joins King as big name Quad~(A) players headed to Happy Valley.
Another big name from Class (AAAA) in 2004 is headed south as Ed Collington of Penn Hills made a verbal commitment to West Virginia.
Hillers Make Noise:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One of the surprise teams in the early going of WPIAL basketball is the Trinity boys, who have a 7-0 record.
The Hillers haven’t faced much competition, but this team has been a perennial loser.
Kudos to coach Joe Dunn for a job well done.
We could find out much more about Trinity when it plays Mount Lebanon on Tuesday, December 21st.
Rumors:
Bishop McDevitt will be one of the top Class (AAAA) football teams in the state next season with the return of star running back LeSean McCoy, who has rushed for more than 2,000 yards the past two seasons.
But at last weekend’s PIAA championships, the word among some reporters from Eastern Pennsylvania is that McDevitt might have another standout player next year.
Jeremiha Hunter was Manheim Central’s star this past season as a running back and linebacker. He rushed for more than 1,000 yards and already has scholarship offers from Michigan and Ohio State to play linebacker.
Apparently, Hunter might move to the Harrisburg area and attend McDevitt.
We’ll see.
Where Are They Now:
Former Monessen star girls’ basketball player Charel Allen isn’t starting as a freshman at Notre Dame, but she is still having an impact.
Allen, a guard, is averaging 25 minutes a game. She is averaging 7.9 points and 4 rebounds. She is shooting 84 percent (21 for 24) from the free-throw line and 44 percent from the field.
Notre Dame has a 9-1 record.
"THE CHOPS".
The Quaker Valley boys’ basketball team dropped down from Class (AAA) to (AA) this season. So naturally, the Quakers were expected to improve on their 5-18 record. A few returning starters from last year also brought reason for optimism at Quaker Valley.
Then Amir Johnson and Ryann Bradford showed up at Quaker Valley. And with those two, the Quakers have gone to a higher level.
Quaker Valley has a 4-1 overall record heading into Friday night’s game (12/17) at South Fayette. The only loss was to Beaver Falls, 98-80. MSA Sports has the Quakers ranked #7 this week among WPIAL Class (AA) teams and Johnson and Bradford have been the driving forces behind the success.
The two juniors transferred from Sewickley Academy. This is their third high school in three years. They attended Allderdice as freshmen.
Johnson, a point guard, is one of the WPIAL’s leading scorers with a 25.8 average. Bradford, a 6-4 forward, is averaging 18.4.
With these two players, Quaker Valley has its best team since Mike Mastroianni guided the Quakers to the 1999 PIAA Class (AA) final.
The Quakers also won the 1997 WPIAL Class (AA) title.
This is Tom Demko’s second year as Quaker Valley’s coach.
Both Johnson and Bradford have tasted success in the past.
They were members of last year’s Sewickley Academy team that won the WPIAL Class (A) championship. As freshmen at Allderdice, they saw playing time on a team that won a PIAA playoff game for the first time since 1988.
Medved Done:
Elizabeth Forward 6-6 senior Mike Medved was expected to be one of the top basketball players in WPIAL Class (AAA) this season, but Medved suffered a season-ending knee injury in a scrimmage just before the start of the season.
Medved recently accepted a scholarship to St. Vincent. Oh MAN!!!!
But without Medved, a sophomore big man has come to the forefront as a player to watch.
Steve Sweich, a 6-foot-8 10th-grader, has been dominant at times. He had 40 points and 18 rebounds in the season opener against Belle Vernon and 20 points and 15 rebounds in a recent game against Hopewell.
Joe Was There:
It might seem strange for Joe Paterno to be at a basketball game, but Paterno and assistant coach Tom Bradley were in the Gateway gym Thursday night for the Penn Hills-Gateway girls’ game.
One of Penn State’s top football recruits is Justin King. Paterno and Bradley were at Gateway visiting with King.
Apparently at some point in recent months, Paterno had told Gateway girls’ basketball player Jamie Smith that he would come see her play. Smith is King’s cousin.
Paterno kept good on his promise and Smith, a freshman, scored 14 points in a 64-22 victory against Penn Hills.
Recruiting Update:
Attending a Gateway girls' basketball game wasn't the only reason Joe Paterno and Tom Bradley were in town.
They paid a visit to Upper St. Clair to secure the rights to running back/defensive back Sean Lee, who has made a verbal commitment to Penn State.
Lee joins King as big name Quad~(A) players headed to Happy Valley.
Another big name from Class (AAAA) in 2004 is headed south as Ed Collington of Penn Hills made a verbal commitment to West Virginia.
Hillers Make Noise:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One of the surprise teams in the early going of WPIAL basketball is the Trinity boys, who have a 7-0 record.
The Hillers haven’t faced much competition, but this team has been a perennial loser.
Kudos to coach Joe Dunn for a job well done.
We could find out much more about Trinity when it plays Mount Lebanon on Tuesday, December 21st.
Rumors:
Bishop McDevitt will be one of the top Class (AAAA) football teams in the state next season with the return of star running back LeSean McCoy, who has rushed for more than 2,000 yards the past two seasons.
But at last weekend’s PIAA championships, the word among some reporters from Eastern Pennsylvania is that McDevitt might have another standout player next year.
Jeremiha Hunter was Manheim Central’s star this past season as a running back and linebacker. He rushed for more than 1,000 yards and already has scholarship offers from Michigan and Ohio State to play linebacker.
Apparently, Hunter might move to the Harrisburg area and attend McDevitt.
We’ll see.
Where Are They Now:
Former Monessen star girls’ basketball player Charel Allen isn’t starting as a freshman at Notre Dame, but she is still having an impact.
Allen, a guard, is averaging 25 minutes a game. She is averaging 7.9 points and 4 rebounds. She is shooting 84 percent (21 for 24) from the free-throw line and 44 percent from the field.
Notre Dame has a 9-1 record.
"THE CHOPS".