Boys Basketball Super 7, Dec. 22
It’s not even two weeks into the season and I’ve already seen a season’s worth of drama, overtimes and buzzer-beaters. Not too bad, and all purely coincidence on my part. One trend that seems to be emerging early in the season, though, bears mentioning.
Anecdotally, I’m seeing a depression in 3-point shooting. Marvin Freeman of Sun Valley, for instance, hit 10 3-pointers in his first two games on opening weekend. That was more than seven or eight teams did in two outings. That’s surprising in the duck-and-chuck era of Golden State imitation. Certain teams are connecting from deep in volume – it’s a central facet for Radnor, Academy Park, Marple Newtown, Haverford and others. Certain teams have their numbers inflated by one hot shooter: Penncrest has gotten 16 of its 20 3-pointers from Tyler Norwood, while Ryan Morris has 14 of Strath Haven’s 24.
Other teams have been slow to find their shooting touch. Delco Christian, for instance, has gone without a 3-pointer in two of six outings, yet it works for a 5-1 team. Chester has just seven triples in three games. Even Archbishop Carroll, averaging 67.8 points per game, is hitting just four triples per game. It’s obviously early, but the way in which these trends shift is of interest.
In any event, here are this week’s rankings, with records based on games through Thursday night. Look for stat leaders later on Friday or Saturday.
1. Bonner & Prendergast (6-1) Last week: 1
I’m good with the Friars still at number one. Isaiah Wong (21.0 ppg) is as good as advertised. Thursday’s win over Penn Charter is what I’ve been waiting for from Tariq Ingraham and Ajiri Johnson, where they combined for a season-high 36 points and demolished the Quakers inside. The depth is there, via role players like Tyreese Watson and Chris Haynes. This is a talented team with room to grow.
2. Archbishop Carroll (4-2) Last week: 2
The Patriots showed the good and bad against Coatesville. For three quarters, its ancillary options struggled to find shots and AJ Hoggard carried them. Then in the fourth, Luke House and Devon Ferrero came alive, and they roared past the Red Raiders. The featured scorer role is still up for grabs, magnified in two games without Hoggard, though he’s back.
3. Haverford School (6-2) Last week: 3
I went into the season thinking that this is the Fords year to end an Inter-Ac title drought stretching back to the last millennium. Then Germantown Academy got thumped a couple of times … and Episcopal Academy has struggled with injuries … and Malvern Prep got dominated by Bonner … and Springside Chestnut Hill lost to Chester Charter School for the Arts. And Haverford is taking care of business with four legitimate scoring options and a bevy of solid rotation cogs.
4. Penncrest (5-0) Last week: 5
News flash: Tyler Norwood is good. Yeah, he’s averaging 27.6 points per game. But he’s also had one game of 10 assists and two other high-assist games to get others involved. Six Lions are averaging four or more points per game, including Matt Arbogast at 10.2. Whether or not Arbogast stays in double-figures or Chris Mills (7.8 ppg) rises to join him is less important than the collective contributions of the non-Norwood contingent. Last year, Norwood scored 45.9 percent of the Lions’ points; this year, the figure has dipped slightly to 43.9. Norwood is an outstanding scorer, but repeating as District 1 champs and progressing deeper into states requires more from the group, and they’re on the path toward that.
5. Episcopal Academy (5-5) Last week: 6
Matt Dade has missed time. So has Alex Capitano. By my reckoning, only three Churchmen have played all 10 games. Yet through a tough schedule, the Churchmen are at .500. The parallels to last year – a tenacious team flying under the radar and beset by injuries that then crashes the Inter-Ac title picture – are palpable.
5. Chester (1-2) Last week: 4
Three games aren’t enough to draw definitive conclusions, but I’ve seen enough to drop them slightly. The Dec. 30 meeting with Penncrest will be revelatory, answering a question we were deprived of last year in the District 1 Class 5A field. The good news: Chester’s defense is off to a strong start, allowing 59.3 ppg (and keeping high-powered Reading to 65). The bad news: Michael Smith is the only one scoring consistently. The Clippers miss the perimeter threat of Ahrod Carter from last year almost as much as the interior threat of Jamar Sudan. We’ll see who emerges along the way.
7. Chichester (4-1) Last week: NR
I’ll say it: The Eagles could force their way into the Del Val title picture. Everyone else in the league has struggled: AP is 1-4, Penn Wood is 2-3, as is Glen Mills, the Bulls averaging 38 points per game. If the Eagles could beat Chester at home, then they’ve got a shot (that’s no minor task, I know). They possess balance, with DaQuan Granberry better integrated into the offense than a lone scorer, and Amiri Stewart providing an astute hand at the point. If Mike Davie can come back from a knee injury in January to fill the lane, that could provide another dimension.
Dropped out: Garnet Valley.
Honorable mention: Garnet Valley (2-2, let’s begin the circularity: Garnet Valley pounded Upper Darby, which handled Haverford, which dropped Garnet Valley for its first league win in 21 games. So to channel my inner Vizzini, clearly I cannot choose the team in front of me for the final spot. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, but when Austin Laughlin doesn’t score, as when he was limited to seven points against Haverford, the Jags will struggle); Upper Darby (4-2, Bob Miller could have a special group, as recovering from a 12-point deficit to win at Conestoga illustrates. Jalun Trent is so long at the point, and Magd Abdelwahab is one of the better volume shooters around. The Royals are being smart early by flexing a 10-man rotation; as we get to the business end of the season and that tightens, you’ll see Miller distill the best version of this roster, which is a tantalizing prospect); Springfield (3-2, between the absences of Ja’Den McKenzie and Frank Durham, Springfield still hasn’t had its full complement available. Even if Mike Webb’s 27 ppg average is unsustainable (it probably is), this team is worthy of the top half of the Central League); Cardinal O’Hara (1-1, if I have Springfield in here, I have to include the Lions, despite snow limiting them to just two games. They have a ton of talent, and it’ll be intriguing to see how they coalesce); Delco Christian (5-1, the Knights were the last team without a loss in Delco, so let’s toss them in here. This is a big team for the Bicentennial thanks to Tyler Smith, Jackson Piotrowski and Obinna Nwobodo. They don’t have a featured scorer – Tyler Penley leads the way at 13.7 ppg with six players between five and eight ppg – but size and balance will take you many places).
