All-Delco boys basketball: Sharkey comes up big, Collins left his mark

In addition to Player of the Year Ryan Daly of Archbishop Carroll, the All-Delco team includes:

Josh Sharkey, Archbishop Carroll: The diminutive senior point guard loomed very large in everything the Patriots accomplished in a 23-win season. He finished second on the team in scoring at 14.5 points per game with an uncanny knack for knowing when to score and when to defer to teammates. The Samford commit filled the stat sheet nightly, averaging 7.4 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 3.3 steals per contest. He amassed 200 assists and had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.53. Combined with his 124 made baskets, Sharkey had a direct hand in 47 percent of the Patriots field goals. Sharkey shot 75.9 percent from the free throw line (132-for-174). He notched five double-doubles, four times registering more than 10 assists in a game, led by 14 against Archbishop Wood in the regular season. He tallied 17 points, nine rebounds and eight assists against Academy of the New Church, added 18-6-10 and nine steals against Bonner & Prendergast and hit Neumann-Goretti for 17-9-9. He scored a season-high 28 points against La Salle, collected 17 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists in the PCL quarterfinal win over Wood in two overtimes and scored 20 points in the Patriots’ PIAA Class AAA second-round ouster against Bishop McDevitt. Including his freshman year at Abington Friends, the All-Catholic League selection finishes his career with 990 points.

Khaleeq Campbell, Chester: The senior guard was the beating heart of Chester’s run to the District One Class AAAA final and the PIAA quarterfinals. He finished as the team’s leading scorer in terms of total points with 322, an average of 10.7 per game that trailed only Marquis Collins (12.1). He averaged 4.2 assists, 3.1 steals and 2.1 rebounds per game while leading the Clippers with 50 made 3-pointers. Between his made baskets and assists, Campbell contributed directly to 32.5 percent of the Clippers’ offense. It made for an impressive comeback by Campbell, who saw his junior season curtailed in December when he tore his ACL in a game against Plymouth Whitemarsh. Since the beginning of the 2014-15 season, the Clippers are 27-9 in games Campbell is healthy enough to finish, and 9-10 without him. He scored 28 points in a January win over Whitehall, 26 in a three-point survival against Chichester and 22 in the states ouster at the hands of Reading. He tallied a season-best eight assists in the other meeting with Chichester to go with 16 points. After missing significant recruiting periods during his injury, Campbell is still weighing his options for college basketball.

Jawan Collins, Academy Park: The senior combo guard did everything for the Knights, this season and throughout a career he ends as the program’s all-time leading scorer with 1,626 points. Collins is AP’s first basketball All-Delco since the player he supplanted, Byu-Deen Twyman in 2000. Under Collins’s watch, the Knights have made three straight appearances in the District One Class AAAA tournament, ending a six-year drought. The Del Val League Player of the Year led AP to its first PIAA Tournament since 1999 in a 20-win campaign. He averaged 21.3 points per game, but his real magic was bringing the best out of a talented supporting cast. A constant triple-double threat, he averaged 5.9 rebounds, 4.2 steals and 7.0 assists per game while leading the Knights with 55 made 3-pointers. He shot 71.9 percent from the free throw line in 178 attempts. Collins scored in double figures in all but one game, 14 times scoring more than 20 points and notching five 30-point games, topping out at 44 in a double-overtime loss to Malvern Prep in December. He recorded three triple-doubles – 19 points, 12 rebounds, 10 steals vs. West Chester Henderson; 30 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists against Phoenixville in three quarters; and 16-10-10 against Penn Wood in the second meeting (after 31 points in the first). He came within two actions of a triple-double on five other occasions. Also a football All-Delco, Collins is weighing Division II interest in both sports.

Brett Foster, Ridley: The senior guard leaves Ridley as the leader of one of the program’s most successful classes, playing in three straight PIAA Class AAAA tournaments and winning two consecutive Central League titles. This year’s championship came with a 16-0 regular season record and a 24-point trouncing of Conestoga in the final, led by Foster’s 23 points. The two-time Central League Player of the Year averaged 16.5 points along with five assists, three rebounds and three steals per game. The East Stroudsburg commit finishes his career with 1,427 points, trailing only Ervin Tunnell (1,538) in Ridley history. Foster suited up for 112 games in a Ridley jersey. The two-time All-Delco scored 20 or more points 14 times this season, including 31 in the District One semifinal loss to Chester and 30 in a December win over Harriton. He led the team with 47 made 3-pointers and shot 74.6 percent on 189 attempts from the free-throw line.

Nick Alikakos, Episcopal Academy: The junior forward makes his second appearance on the All-Delco team after leading the county in scoring with a 22.7 average for the Churchmen. He scored in double-figures in 25 of the Churchmen’s 26 outings, held to nine in the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association Tournament semifinal loss to Westtown. He averaged a double-double, chipping in 12 rebounds per game. Alikakos accounted for 39.7 percent of the Churchmen’s scoring, the largest individual share of any Delco player this season. He was held under 15 points in just two games and topped 20 points 14 times (plus five games of 19). He scored 30 or more points on five occasions, including consecutive games of 33 (Phelps School), 35 (Peddie School) and 37 (Episcopal High of Virginia) in December. In addition to his vaunted low-post play, Alikakos expanded his range to hit 14 3-pointers this season, fourth-most on a team that finished runner-up in the Inter-Ac League for a second straight season. Alikakos scored his 1,000th career point Jan. 15 vs. Malvern Prep; with 1,207 points, he’s seventh all-time in program history. The All-Inter-Ac pick has offers from Hartford, Lafayette and Penn and interest from several other Division I programs.