Since everyone parked in the Class AAAA portion of PennLive’s state boys’ basketball rankings continues to beat up on one or another in a figurative sense — or so it seems — that means two things are in play here.
Parity, meaning the state tournament ought to be loads of fun.
And an unsettled situation in a fluid top 10.
While a number of ranked teams fell or encountered close calls, the only changes made to the top 10 were flip-flopping New Castle and Hampton — a head-to-head scrap made that easy — and Great Valley sliding several spots to No. 8.
As a result, North Allegheny and Chester each climbed one rung on the Class AAAA ladder. So, who’s next to climb, fall or disappear?
Especially since this week’s high-quality matchups include Roman Catholic and Neumann-Goretti, Martin Luther King-Math, Civics & Sciences, Martin Luther King-Constitution, Penn Wood-Philly Electrical, Penn Wood-McCaskey, Great Valley-Harrisburg, Chester-Academy Park and a whole bunch more.
So, as always, stay tuned.
Short synopses of our top 10 appear below — PIAA district, overall record and record for the week are displayed in parentheses — as does a list of teams that merit watching as the 2013-14 campaign continues to play out.
1. Roman Catholic (12, 12-2, 2-0) — previous ranking: 1 — With Rashann London (19/16), Manny Taylor (14/16) and Shep Garner (12/14) reaching double figures both times out, Chris McNesby’s Cahillites downed Philly Catholic League playmates West Catholic 80-47 and Conwell-Egan 63-52 and ran their winning streak to eight games. Really coming on, the burly Taylor also yanked down 12 boards in the win over Conwell-Egan. Should be a fun outing — and a packed house — Wednesday when Roman entertains Neumann-Goretti at Philadelphia University.
2. New Castle (7, 14-0, 3-0) — previous ranking: 3 — While Ralph Blundo’s Red Hurricane assumed command of the Pennsylvania’s western half with a victory over previous No. 2 Hampton (58-42) on Tuesday, New Castle spent the rest of last week popping Butler (75-48) and squeezing past Lower Merion (62-59, 2OT). Malik Hooker enjoyed a terrific week for the Hurricane, posting three double-digit efforts (17/30/17). New Castle also picked up a clutch four-point play and 15 points from Drew Allen in Saturday’s win at Lower Merion. Will host Pine-Richland on Tuesday.
3. Hampton (7, 14-1, 1-1) — previous ranking: 2 — Joe Lafko’s Talbots may have tumbled to New Castle 58-42 — Collin Luther banked 14 points in Hampton’s first loss — but the positive news out of the west came late last week when Pitt recruit Ryan Luther (ankle) checked back into the lineup in time to score 14 points in a 50-38 conquest of North Hills that also featured a dozen points from Joey Lafko. Will entertain Butler on Tuesday night.
4. Martin Luther King (12, 12-2, 2-1) — previous ranking: 4 — Was one of those up-and-down weeks for Sean Colson’s Cougars, who stopped Frankford (66-59), tumbled against Class AAA power Imhotep Charter (59-38) and bested Sanford (Del.) (64-59). While Sammy Foreman (20) and Jabri McCall (16) were two of the four Cougars to reach double figures against Frankford, McCall’s 15 led King in the loss to Imhotep. On Saturday, in the Kobe Bryant Classic at Harriton, Greg Bennett erupted for 33 points in the win over a good Sanford side. Will visit Math, Civics & Sciences on Tuesday.
5. Penn Wood (1, 10-2, 2-1) — previous ranking: 5 — Although Clyde Jones’ Patriots received big-time offensive performances from Malik Jackson (28/24) in victories over Del-Val League playmates Academy Park (80-71) and Chichester (82-59), the 6-0 junior struggled Saturday in Reading as Penn Wood fell to Class AAA No. 5 Berks Catholic (50-40). Addison Scott churned out three double-digit efforts (17/13/12), while Naeem East booked a triple-double (10p, 10r, 10bl) against Chichester. Will face another formidable foe in Philly Electrical today at Imhotep.
6. North Allegheny (7, 12-2, 0-2) — previous ranking: 7 — Bouncing back from their losses at Hampton and New Castle, Dave DeGregorio’s rebounding Tigers spent last week besting North Hills (73-60) and Pine-Richland (59-53). Pitt football recruit Elijah Zeise (18/14) and Joe Mancini (15/17) posted a pair of double-digit outings for NA, which will spend Tuesday night hosting Shaler.
7. Chester (1, 9-3, 2-1) — previous ranking: 8 — Apparently nothing is going to come easy for Larry Yarbray’s Clippers, who began last week by grinding out victories over Del-Val League rivals Glen Mills (53-48) and Interboro (76-56) and closed the seven-day stretch by falling to Imhotep Charter (59-52). Mahir Johnson reached double figures in all three outings (20/16/20), while Tyrell Sturdivant collected 10 points or more twice (12/29) before Imhotep blanked the 6-8 senior. Will be back in league play on Tuesday night when Chichester visits the Clip Joint.
8. Great Valley (1, 13-2, 3-1) — previous ranking: 6 — Jim Nolan’s Patriots likely spent the weekend catching their breath after closing out a hectic stretch filled with victories over Unionville (49-36), Sun Valley (66-37) and Octorara (72-37), as well as a loss to Philly Electrical (52-48) in the Kobe Bryant Classic. Villanova-bound Mikal Bridges was his typically productive self, reaching double figures in all four games and totaling 59 points. Cyree Ames (10/12/11) also had three outings with 10 points or more. Will entertain Kennett on Thursday night.
9. Abington (1, 13-2, 3-0) — previous ranking: 9 — While the Ghosts may not have popped a player into double figures in victories over Bensalem (71-26) and Council Rock South (53-31), they did push 23 players into the scorebook in those two wins. Nine more, including Matt Penecale (20), Amir Hinton (15) and Lazaros Mackrides (15), crammed into the book during Saturday’s 76-55 thumping of Cheltenham. Will have a difficult date Tuesday night at Council Rock North.
10. Pennsbury (1, 11-2, 3-0) — previous ranking: 10 — Rebounded from a one-point loss to Abington by decking Neshaminy (70-37), Bensalem (67-48) and Norristown (80-67). Cameron Jones (20/13/31) and Derrick Woods (10/16/13) reached double digits in all three victories, while Steve Ciotti banked 14 and 22 in the conquests of Bensalem and Norristown, respectively. Will play three more times this week, with a visit from William Tennent on Tuesday night initiating the festivities.
OTHERS TO WATCH: Academy Park (1) 10-2, Cathedral Prep (10) 7-5, Cedar Crest (3) 14-2, Central (12) 15-2, Central York (3) 13-2, Conestoga (1) 10-2, Cumberland Valley (3) 13-3, East Stroudsburg North (11) 12-3, Emmaus (11) 11-4, Fox Chapel (11-4), Franklin Regional (7) 9-5, Gateway (7) 11-5, Harrisburg (3) 13-3, Haverford (1) 12-4, Hazleton (2) 11-2, Hempfield (3) 12-3, Hempfield (7) 13-1, LaSalle College (12) 12-3, Lower Dauphin (3) 11-4, Lower Merion (1) 8-6, McDowell (10) 14-1, Obama Academy (8) 13-0, Parkland (11) 12-2, Penncrest (1) 13-3, Pennridge (1) 11-4, Plum (7) 13-1, Plymouth-Whitemarsh (1) 13-2, Reading (3) 10-6, Red Lion (3) 15-2, Ridley (1) 9-5, Spring-Ford (1) 14-2, St. Joseph’s Prep (12) 13-3, Upper Darby (1) 11-4, Upper St. Clair (7) 10-4, Whitehall (11) 9-5, Wilson (3) 15-1, York (3) 10-5.
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