Scholastic Notebook !!!
-
THE CHOPS
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Scholastic Notebook !!!
Scholastic Notebook .........
1/6/2006 -
As the W.P.I.A.L. basketball season heads to the midway point of section play, one thing seems to be clear. Mount Lebanon is the team to beat in Class (AAAA).
The Blue Devils have established themselves as the No. #1 team – and it seems pretty clear-cut. They are 10-1, with the only loss coming to City League member Allderdice (“We didn’t play very well in that game,” said Mount Lebanon coach Joe David.)
At the start of the season, some publications, including MSA Sports, picked McKeesport as the No. #1 team. McKeesport is still good, but the Tigers lost last week to North Allegheny. Mount Lebanon has defeated North Allegheny twice.
“I think they’re definitely the team to beat,” said Chartiers Valley coach Tim McConnell, whose team was pasted by Mount Lebanon, 83-53, on Tuesday, January 3rd.
Mount Lebanon won a tournament in Florida over the holidays and then handled Chartiers Valley a few days later.
Mount Lebanon is the No.# 4 scoring team in Class (AAAA) at 63.5 points a game. What makes the Blue Devils hard to defend is their balance. They have four starters averaging in double figures, led by 6-foot-6 junior center Andrew Devlin. Ryan Lang, a 6-4 junior, Adam Potter, a 6-5 senior, and Shane Phillips, a 5-9 sophomore, also average in double figures.
Sturdy point guard Evan Stokar, a 6-foot senior, also averages in double figures.
“They have size, the shooters and they have a good point guard who can run the show. I think they have all the pieces of the puzzle,” McConnell said.
Devlin is a brute underneath. Pitt already has offered him a scholarship for football. “You look at our team, they can all shoot. Our balance is our key. On any given night, anyone can score for us,” said Devlin.
Mount Lebanon coach Joe David said, “There’s no doubt this is the most balanced team I’ve had. Last year, we had Geoff Koestler. If you stopped him, you took away a lot of our points.”
David likes what he sees of his team, but he is far from satisfied.
“All I know is we come to practice every day to get better,” said David, whose team lost in the WPIAL final last year to Upper St. Clair. “We still have a long way to go. I do feel, as I did at the beginning of the season, that we were maybe one of five or seven teams that could win it all. I think our guys are hungry. I like them hungry. I think they really want it this year. It’s nice to have guys in the gym every day who want to get better.”
"No" McDowell in W.P.I.A.L. ????????????????????????
Erie McDowell had wanted to join the W.P.I.A.L. for football only, and the W.P.I.A.L. was willing to accept the school for the one sport. But in order for McDowell to join the W.P.I.A.L. , the move had to be OK’d by District #10.
Sorry. On Thursday, the District #10 committee denied McDowell’s request to leave and join the W.P.I.A.L. for one sport. The vote was unanimous to deny the request.
Missing Amir............................................................................
It's as if Quaker Valley has been two totally different teams this season — the one with Amir Johnson and the one without him.
With Johnson, Quaker Valley was one of the top scoring teams in the W.P.I.A.L. and had a 6-1 record. Without him, the Quakers don't score nearly as much and they aren't winning as much.
They are 3-3 without Johnson.
Johnson, a senior point guard, was leading the WPIAL in scoring with a 30.9 average until his hand was broken in the seventh game against Moon. At the time, the Quakers were averaging 74.6 points a game.
Without Johnson, Quaker Valley has lost three of its past four and has averaged only 55.6 points a game in his absence.
The good news for Quaker Valley is Johnson will be back for the W.P.I.A.L. playoffs. But Quaker Valley isn't a total lock for the playoffs. Heading into January 7th action, the Quakers were in third place in Class (AA) section #3 with a 3-1 record, and only a half-game ahead of Carlynton (2-1). The top three teams make the playoffs.
They Rank...........................................................................
The Harrisburg Patriot-News is the only newspaper in the state that does state rankings for boys' and girls' basketball in each classification.
But what might be a little more interesting is the Middle Atlantic Sports News/LLHoops.com rankings for the entire state, regardless of classification.
Here are Middle Atlantic's first rankings:
1. Harrisburg.
2. Roman Catholic.
3. St. John Neumann.
4. St. Joseph's Prep.
5. Plymouth-Whitemarsh.
6. Simon Gratz.
7. Pocono Mountain East.
8. PrepCharter.
9. Schenley.
10. Chester.
Mount Lebanon is ranked No.#13.
===============================================
The Son Rises..................
You've seen Craig James' mug on TV a lot lately, as a college football analyst for ABC. He is a former star running back at SMU who also played in the NFL.
But did you know James has a son who has made a pretty good name for himself.
Adam James is a 6-3, 230-pound tight end at a high school in Texas who will play in the Army All-American Bowl Saturday in San Antonio. West Allegheny star Dorin
Dickerson will also play in the game.
Adam James is considering Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Mississippi and Nevada.
More All-Americans
Gateway's Aaron Smith and lineman Chris Hanna were selected to play in the All-American Bowl last night in Shreveport, La. The game included some other top players in the country who weren't in the Army All-American Bowl.
Big "33" Coaches................
Mars' Scott Heinauer and Peabody's Bob Flaus have been selected as assistant coaches for the 2006 Big 33 all-star football game in Hershey, which will match Pennsylvania against Ohio.
Hoping for Double Figures ?????????????????
The Cornell girls' basketball team might not want pity. But don't you have to feel sorry for the Raiders' plight this season?
This is how bad Cornell is: It's an above-average night when the team scores double figures.
Cornell is averaging 8.7 points a game while giving up 67.1. The Raiders are 0-8 and here are some of their losses: 75-8, 67-3, 70-5, 67-5 and 101-8.
Heading for 2,000 ...................................................
The 2,000-point club in W.P.I.A.L. boys' basketball could be growing in upcoming weeks. Beaver Falls' Lance Jeter has 1,834 points heading into the January 6th game against Freedom. Shenango's Steve McNees has 1,788 points heading into the January 6th game against Mohawk. "THE CHOPS".
1/6/2006 -
As the W.P.I.A.L. basketball season heads to the midway point of section play, one thing seems to be clear. Mount Lebanon is the team to beat in Class (AAAA).
The Blue Devils have established themselves as the No. #1 team – and it seems pretty clear-cut. They are 10-1, with the only loss coming to City League member Allderdice (“We didn’t play very well in that game,” said Mount Lebanon coach Joe David.)
At the start of the season, some publications, including MSA Sports, picked McKeesport as the No. #1 team. McKeesport is still good, but the Tigers lost last week to North Allegheny. Mount Lebanon has defeated North Allegheny twice.
“I think they’re definitely the team to beat,” said Chartiers Valley coach Tim McConnell, whose team was pasted by Mount Lebanon, 83-53, on Tuesday, January 3rd.
Mount Lebanon won a tournament in Florida over the holidays and then handled Chartiers Valley a few days later.
Mount Lebanon is the No.# 4 scoring team in Class (AAAA) at 63.5 points a game. What makes the Blue Devils hard to defend is their balance. They have four starters averaging in double figures, led by 6-foot-6 junior center Andrew Devlin. Ryan Lang, a 6-4 junior, Adam Potter, a 6-5 senior, and Shane Phillips, a 5-9 sophomore, also average in double figures.
Sturdy point guard Evan Stokar, a 6-foot senior, also averages in double figures.
“They have size, the shooters and they have a good point guard who can run the show. I think they have all the pieces of the puzzle,” McConnell said.
Devlin is a brute underneath. Pitt already has offered him a scholarship for football. “You look at our team, they can all shoot. Our balance is our key. On any given night, anyone can score for us,” said Devlin.
Mount Lebanon coach Joe David said, “There’s no doubt this is the most balanced team I’ve had. Last year, we had Geoff Koestler. If you stopped him, you took away a lot of our points.”
David likes what he sees of his team, but he is far from satisfied.
“All I know is we come to practice every day to get better,” said David, whose team lost in the WPIAL final last year to Upper St. Clair. “We still have a long way to go. I do feel, as I did at the beginning of the season, that we were maybe one of five or seven teams that could win it all. I think our guys are hungry. I like them hungry. I think they really want it this year. It’s nice to have guys in the gym every day who want to get better.”
"No" McDowell in W.P.I.A.L. ????????????????????????
Erie McDowell had wanted to join the W.P.I.A.L. for football only, and the W.P.I.A.L. was willing to accept the school for the one sport. But in order for McDowell to join the W.P.I.A.L. , the move had to be OK’d by District #10.
Sorry. On Thursday, the District #10 committee denied McDowell’s request to leave and join the W.P.I.A.L. for one sport. The vote was unanimous to deny the request.
Missing Amir............................................................................
It's as if Quaker Valley has been two totally different teams this season — the one with Amir Johnson and the one without him.
With Johnson, Quaker Valley was one of the top scoring teams in the W.P.I.A.L. and had a 6-1 record. Without him, the Quakers don't score nearly as much and they aren't winning as much.
They are 3-3 without Johnson.
Johnson, a senior point guard, was leading the WPIAL in scoring with a 30.9 average until his hand was broken in the seventh game against Moon. At the time, the Quakers were averaging 74.6 points a game.
Without Johnson, Quaker Valley has lost three of its past four and has averaged only 55.6 points a game in his absence.
The good news for Quaker Valley is Johnson will be back for the W.P.I.A.L. playoffs. But Quaker Valley isn't a total lock for the playoffs. Heading into January 7th action, the Quakers were in third place in Class (AA) section #3 with a 3-1 record, and only a half-game ahead of Carlynton (2-1). The top three teams make the playoffs.
They Rank...........................................................................
The Harrisburg Patriot-News is the only newspaper in the state that does state rankings for boys' and girls' basketball in each classification.
But what might be a little more interesting is the Middle Atlantic Sports News/LLHoops.com rankings for the entire state, regardless of classification.
Here are Middle Atlantic's first rankings:
1. Harrisburg.
2. Roman Catholic.
3. St. John Neumann.
4. St. Joseph's Prep.
5. Plymouth-Whitemarsh.
6. Simon Gratz.
7. Pocono Mountain East.
8. PrepCharter.
9. Schenley.
10. Chester.
Mount Lebanon is ranked No.#13.
===============================================
The Son Rises..................
You've seen Craig James' mug on TV a lot lately, as a college football analyst for ABC. He is a former star running back at SMU who also played in the NFL.
But did you know James has a son who has made a pretty good name for himself.
Adam James is a 6-3, 230-pound tight end at a high school in Texas who will play in the Army All-American Bowl Saturday in San Antonio. West Allegheny star Dorin
Dickerson will also play in the game.
Adam James is considering Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Mississippi and Nevada.
More All-Americans
Gateway's Aaron Smith and lineman Chris Hanna were selected to play in the All-American Bowl last night in Shreveport, La. The game included some other top players in the country who weren't in the Army All-American Bowl.
Big "33" Coaches................
Mars' Scott Heinauer and Peabody's Bob Flaus have been selected as assistant coaches for the 2006 Big 33 all-star football game in Hershey, which will match Pennsylvania against Ohio.
Hoping for Double Figures ?????????????????
The Cornell girls' basketball team might not want pity. But don't you have to feel sorry for the Raiders' plight this season?
This is how bad Cornell is: It's an above-average night when the team scores double figures.
Cornell is averaging 8.7 points a game while giving up 67.1. The Raiders are 0-8 and here are some of their losses: 75-8, 67-3, 70-5, 67-5 and 101-8.
Heading for 2,000 ...................................................
The 2,000-point club in W.P.I.A.L. boys' basketball could be growing in upcoming weeks. Beaver Falls' Lance Jeter has 1,834 points heading into the January 6th game against Freedom. Shenango's Steve McNees has 1,788 points heading into the January 6th game against Mohawk. "THE CHOPS".