PW’s Malone, GA’s Goodman named All-State

Philadelphia and its suburbs are one of the biggest and best basketball hotspots in the entire country.

District 1, District 12 and leagues like the Inter-Ac and Friends Schools League churn out high-caliber players year after year and plenty of southeastern PA teams are among those competing for state titles. Making an all-state team in Pennsylvania isn’t easy, but athletes from the region are usually well represented when those lists do come out.

It was no different this year when the Pennsylvania Sports Writers All-State boys basketball teams were released on Saturday. Expectedly, District 12 teams had heavy representation but the Times Herald, Reporter and Montgomery Media areas also got their share of nods.

Prior to the season, plenty of people pointed to Plymouth Whitemarsh as a likely District I AAAA champion. With an experienced core, a veteran coach in Jim Donofrio and a star in senior Xzavier Malone, there was plenty to like about the Colonials.

PW delievered, winning an SOL American title, the district title and advancing to the state semifinals before falling to eventual state champ Roman Catholic. All season long, Malone came up big time after time for his team, building on a breakout junior season after he had transferred from Martin Luther King.

Averaging 20 points per game with a smooth outside shot and usually at least one highlight dunk, the 6-foot-3 Malone was a second team all-state selection. Athletic and talented, Malone will play collegiately at Division I Rider next year.

The last two years, one of the hidden gems in District I resided in Lower Moreland. Adopting a high-tempo, perimeter-shot seeking style, the Lions rolled up plenty of wins and sank a lot of 3-pointers. The catalyst for all of it was point guard Danny Duffey, a guy capable of doing it all.

Surrounded by an army of 3-point shooters and scrappy defenders, Duffey made the undersized Lions hum, averaging 20 points as he reached 1,000 points and 500 assists for his career. Lower Moreland reached the District I AAA title game, then went on a fun ride through the state playoffs, falling to state champ Neumann-Goretti in the quarterfinals.

In his last game, Duffey scored 33 points against a team loaded with Division I prospects and three all-state players. Duffey is still weighing his college options, but closed his stellar high school career as a third team all-state pick.

While Germantown Academy isn’t part of the PIAA, its players were eligible for all-state consideration. Good thing, as senior guard Devon Goodman certainly warranted it and got it. Named the Inter-Ac MVP, Goodman had a marvelous senior year as he led the Patriots to the PAISAA title game where they fell to Westtown School.

The 5-foot-10 guard has pledged to play at Penn next year after averaging 19.8 points per game as a high school senior. Athletic and capable of scoring in any way imaginable, Goodman kept all his teammates involved too as GA built a multi-faceted offense around him.

Goodman’s standout campaign earned him a spot on the all-state second team at Class AA, where GA would have been slotted in the PIAA.

Phil-Mont Christian Academy has been a consistent player in the Bicentennial Athletic League and District 1 Class A scene the last half-decade and especially the last four years. A big reason was their big man, 6-foot-8 center Sean Griffin, a long and springy athlete who impacted the game on both ends.

Able to get up and down the floor with ease and speed, Griffin threw down plenty of lobs from buddy and teammate Noah Baldez while crushing plenty of shots on the defensive end. Griffin averaged 15.3 ppg for the District I champs, helping his team to the state quarterfinals.

The center was named second team all-state in Class A but has not made his college choice yet, weighing several offers as the April signing period approaches.

CLASS AAAA

Player of the Year: Tony Carr, Roman Catholic
Coach of the Year: Buddy Valinsky, Taylor Allderice

First Team
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Second Team
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Third Team
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CLASS AAA

Player of the Year: Quade Green, Neumann-Goretti
Coach of the Year: Rob Carmody, Mars

First Team
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Second Team
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Third Team
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CLASS AA

Player of the Year: De’Andre Hunter, Friends Central
Coach of the Year: Nick Lackovich, Aliquippa

First Team
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Second Team
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Third Team
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CLASS A

Player of the Year: Sagaba Konate, Kennedy Catholic
Coach of the Year: Rick Mancino, Kennedy Catholic

First Team
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Second Team
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Third Team
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