Barefoot scored 39 last night...

[WPIAL~Titan]

If you want to watch two excellent scorers, go to Altoona (tomorrow at 5:30PM) or State College (Saturday at 6:30PM) this weekend and watch Shaler Area play.

The best inside/outside combo in western PA will be playing there in 6-4 200 combo guard Nick Sefscik (19ppg/6apg) and 6-6 215 guard/forward/center Stu Anglum (21ppg/13rpg/4apg). Stu plays any of the 5 positions on the floor, including point guard if he has to, and plays them all well.

Both players are excellent and two of the best players this year in western PA. Stu and Nick have both been offered full scholarships by several D2 and NAIA schools and have drawn recent small D1 interest. More improtantly, they are great kids.

Sefscik and Anglum have led Shaler to a fast 3-0 start and a top 5 Ranking in WPIAL AAAA (Post Gazette and Trib-Review), including wins over NYC Catholic League perennial power All Hallows HS 72-68 (current Pitt starter Ron Ramon attended there, as well as Olden Polynice, Bobby Cremins, and Ken Walker), WPIAL AAAA contender Mount Lebanon 67-61 (Lebo is led by Geoff Kestler, who committed to play at Princeton University next year), and previously unbeaten Franklin Regional of Murrysville, 70-44.

Click on the link below to read more about Stu Anglum, who was named the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Athlete of the Week this past week:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04344/424170.stm


WT

[CRplayer]

who cares if barefoot shot alot, not like he shot and missed all night, the goal of the game is to score points, he shot and scored. good job brian

[foghorn]

Hey, Bailey's a great coach and all, but don't tell me he never ran up the score -- unless he had a reason. Maybe Coach Criswell had a reason.

A better answer, and the right one, is that a big lead at TM doesn't mean squat. Let's say you're up by 25 and put second and third stringers in. Tussey presses, steals three or four in a row, hits a few 3's, and before you know it, it's under 10 and anybody's game. It's not poor sportsmanship -- it's just that Bailey and TM won't concede. That's exactly what happened in the jv game. Ridge is up by 18-20 in the first period; they sub, and bingo, by halftime it's a one point game. A game that Tussey eventually wins on a last second basket by a player who started both varsity and jv, by the way. (Nothing the matter with that either, in my opinion.)

A coach keeps his first team -- or better to say best players because Ridge subbed quite a bit (they're at least 9 deep when everyone's healthy) -- in against TM because he has to. I consider that a tribute to TM and the way they go at it. I've been playing/coaching/attending games at TM during the entire DB era, and no lead is big enough.

And I'll add one more thing. This TM team will get better as the year goes on -- and I guarantee they'll win more than a few games they shouldn't, at least on paper.

I hope you people in Tussey have a Bailey clone ready when he retires -- because that's the only way you've ever gonna get another coach like him.

[Tussey Mt. fan]

Foghorn, I have been associated with Coach Bailey and TM basketball for 30 years and can only remember 1 time he intentionally ran up the score. That's when Forbes fired his buddy Gelvin. And I'm not saying Crisswell intentionally ran up the score but it looked that way to me. Just my opinion. I agree with alot of what you said in your post. But, leaving your best player in the game until the very end is crazy. There was no way TM was coming back from 25 down against that team.

When you only have 10 players on the team someone has to play in both games.

[3 point dinger]

Ridge took a huge risk in a game that was already decided. Barefoot could have easy turned an ankle or something.

[foghorn]

I have no problem, I said, with players playing both games, even if there aren't a limited number, though obviously whatever the case you risk someone getting hurt in the jv game. I was on a team that had 11 guys once, and for a couple weeks 3 guys were hurt. Plus we're talking 15-18 year old kids here. If they can't play 2 games, they should stay at home with their computers. TM having only 10 players says sometyhing very positive about those boys that are there. I'd take every dang one of them for my team any day.

Running up the score is a very subjective business. Coach Criswell doesn't run up scores either when he has a chance. Why he kept Barefoot in a little longer is only known to him and really only his business. I'm simply saying that were I the coach, I would have kept him in there most of that time too, knowing how quickly things could go south in the Terror Dome. Plus, maybe DB hasn't intentionally run up the score on Ridge over the years, but as someone who has sat in the stands and watched some blowouts, it has sure looked that way to me. Again, it can be very subjective. I played and coached for Royce Waltman for a good many years. People were always gripeing about how he would run up the score. Years after he left the area and became a divison 1 college coach I asked him about that criticism. He looked me squarely in the eyes and said, "Maybe it was crazy, but I was always afraid we'd still lose, even if it was literally impossible."

Like you, TM fan, this is simply my opinion.

[ujustbeenserved]

well very good job brian...congrads

[Goodwill]

If he would like to improve as player he needs to become less lazy. I would have scored 39 points if I didn't play any defense during a game. I have seen him play several times and he is really lazy. Someone should have helped him develop better form in his earlier days, poor form indeed.

[HOLLYWOOD]

Delieverance,

Don't worry about CPA, he is a true hater!!

[abpk2903]

What is Goodwill thinking w/o Brian ridge would be 4th or 5th best team in the county to the 2nd best team w/o him ridge wouldn't even have beaten nbc