City of Basketball Love

Michael Bullock (@thebullp_n)
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Here’s installment No. 7 of City of Basketball Love’s state basketball rankings, a package that will appear on the website every Monday throughout the season. 

Appearing below are all four of our top 10s, with PIAA district and this season’s record displayed in parentheses. Only those schools competing for PIAA state championships are eligible for ranking purposes.

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CITY OF BASKETBALL LOVE STATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS

(records through games of Jan. 17/OW-others to watch/NR-not ranked)

CLASS AAAA

With Tuesday’s inclement weather causing a round of postponements involving Pittsburgh City League programs, No. 1 Allderdice suddenly was slated to play three times in three days. So, how did Buddy Valinsky’s top-ranked Dragons respond? By clocking City League rivals Perry Traditional and Westinghouse 82-38 and 95-45, respectively. Allderdice did not stop there, however, as Valinsky’s group decked Pittsburgh Central Catholic 78-34 in a four-game showcase at Mount Lebanon. James Jackson topped the Dragons with 22 points, while Ramon Creighton chimed in with 18 and Tim Jackson finished with 12. Also of note is the arrival of Cheltenham to the rankings for the first time; third-year head coach John Timms has an exciting group of seniors, led by guards Khalil White and Anthony White and forward Justin Sutton.

No.  School                                      Rec    Pvs
1.     Allderdice (8)                             12-1        1                          
2.     Roman Catholic (12)                 10-4        2
3.     Plymouth-Whitemarsh (1)         15-0        3
4.     Downingtown West (1)              16-1        4
5.     Parkland (11)                             12-3        5                              
6.     Coatesville (1)                            13-1        6
7.     Reading (3)                                13-3        7
8.     La Salle College (12)                 13-2        8
9.     Ridley (1)                                    14-1      10
10.   Cheltenham (1)                          12-3    OW

Checked in: No. 10 Cheltenham.
Checked out: No. 9 Archbishop Wood.

Others to watch: Abington (1) 12-3, Abington Heights (2) 13-0, Academy Park (1) 10-5, Archbishop Wood (12) 8-6, Baldwin (7) 12-3, Carlisle (3) 11-3, Cedar Crest (3) 14-2, Central Bucks West (1) 14-2, Central York (3) 14-2, Chartiers Valley (7) 11-3, Chester (1) 9-6, Conestoga (1) 11-4, Emmaus (11) 13-2, Franklin Regional (7) 10-4, Gateway (7) 10-4, Harrisburg (3) 10-1, Hazleton (2) 10-3, Hempfield (3) 11-5, Latrobe (7) 15-0, Lower Merion (1) 12-3, Martin Luther King (12) 12-6, McCaskey (3) 11-4, North Allegheny (7) 9-5, Northeastern (3) 13-1, Penn Hills (7) 12-4, Pennridge (1) 13-3, Pennsbury (1) 10-5, Peters Twp. (7) 10-4, Phoenixville (1) 14-3, Pine-Richland (7) 9-4, Pittsburgh Central Catholic (7) 10-3, Plum (7) 10-4, Pocono Mountain West (11) 13-1, Spring Grove (3) 11-2, St. Joseph’s Prep (12) 12-3, Strath Haven (1) 13-2, William Allen (11) 11-4, Williamsport (4) 8-5, York (3) 10-6.

Intriguing matchups of the week: Lots of prime-time matchups on tap all week long, but we’re only going to hone in on a few of them. Start with Monday when No. 2 Roman Catholic plays host to Philly Catholic League rival No. 9 La Salle College. Saturday’s scraps will feature No. 3 Plymouth-Whitemarsh at No. 7 Reading and freshly minted No. 10 Cheltenham at Abington. Finally, on Sunday, Class AAA No. 3 Imhotep Charter will visit No. 5 Parkland in suburban Allentown.

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CLASS AAA

Stepping into the top 10 for the first time this season is an undefeated Pottsville outfit skippered by Dave Mullaney that treasures defensive play and is yielding just over 32 points per game. And while the Crimson Tide has maneuvered past every obstacle on its slate thus far — victories at Wilson West Lawn, Williamsport and Shamokin might be the most impressive — Mullaney’s bunch must deal with dangerous Schuylkill League foes Blue Mountain and North Schuylkill this week at Martz Hall. A date with unbeaten Salisbury later this month also looms.

No.  School                                       Rec     Pvs
1.     Neumann-Goretti (12)                13-2        1
2.     Archbishop Carroll (12)              14-1        2
3.     Imhotep Charter (12)                 14-2         3
4.     New Castle (7)                           15-0         5
5.     Scranton Prep (2)                       11-2         6
6.     Mars (7)                                       11-4         4
7.     Beaver Falls (7)                           13-2         8
8.     Pottsville (11)                              14-0     OW
9.     Lewisburg (4)                              12-0         9
10.   Milton Hershey (3)                      13-0       10

Checked in: No. 8 Pottsville.
Checked out: No. 7 Cathedral Prep.

Others to watch: Allentown Central Catholic (11) 11-4, Benjamin Franklin (12) 12-3, Bethlehem Catholic (11) 9-5, Bishop McDevitt (3) 11-4, Blue Mountain (11) 12-3, Boys’ Latin (12) 14-3, Cathedral Prep (11) 11-4, Cocalico (3) 13-3, Crestwood (2) 9-4, Del-Val Charter (12) 12-4, Eastern Lebanon County (3) 15-2, Eastern York (3) 12-3, General McLane (10) 11-3, Girard (10) 13-1, Highlands (7) 12-3, Hollidaysburg (6) 13-1, Holy Ghost Prep (1) 12-3, Lampeter-Strasburg (3) 15-1, Lower Moreland (1) 12-3, Manheim Central (3) 11-4, Meadville (10) 12-1, Middletown (3) 10-5, Nanticoke (2) 11-2, Octorara (1) 14-1, Palmyra (3) 13-3, Salisbury (11) 13-0, Shamokin (4) 13-1, Somerset (5) 11-4, Steel-High (3) 8-6, Strong Vincent (10) 9-4.

Intriguing matchups of the week: No. 1 Neumann-Goretti and No. 2 Archbishop Carroll will endure grueling weeks, as both squads will play three times against Philly Catholic League opposition — including the biggie Friday when they square off at Goretti. Goretti, which won four times last week, also will visit Archbishop Wood on Tuesday and entertain an also-unbeaten-in-PCL-play St. Joseph’s Prep on Sunday. Carroll’s slate also features dates against Prep and La Salle College.

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CLASS AA

No. 2 Conwell-Egan capped a perfect 3-for-3 week in Philly Catholic League play Friday by rallying twice for a 76-72 road victory against a suddenly struggling Archbishop Wood side. Down 17-10 after one quarter, Frank Sciolla’s Eagles promptly rattled off a 14-0 run sparked by the hot hand of Vinny Dalessandro. Dalessandro netted 14 of his 22 points in the second, including 12 from beyond the arc. Yet despite holding a 12-point lead going into the fourth quarter, C-E was down by four with 2:41 to go. What followed was a number of trips to the foul line for LaPri McCray-Pace, who scored 19 of his game-high 33 in the final stanza. Earlier in the week, Sciolla’s club knocked off Cardinal O’Hara and Lansdale Catholic.

No.  School                                            Rec    Pvs
1.     Aliquippa (7)                                    13-0        1
2.     Conwell-Egan (12)                           11-4        2
3.     Lincoln Park (7)                                12-2        3
4.     Mid Valley (2)                                    13-0        4
5.     Greensburg C.C. (7)                         14-1        5
6.     Church Farm (1)                               11-2        6
7.     Camp Hill (3)                                     10-3        7                                     
8.     Minersville (11)                                  11-2        8
9.     Quaker Valley (7)                              13-2        9
10.   West Branch (6)                                11-1      10

Checked in: No one.
Checked out: No one.

Others to watch: Avonworth (7) 9-6, Bellwood-Antis (6) 11-2, Berlin Brothersvalley (5) 10-0, Bishop Canevin (7) 11-3, Bishop McCort (6) 9-4, Dunmore (2) 9-4, Fairview (10) 8-6, Greenville (10) 9-5, Hanover (3) 12-4, Hughesville (4) 10-3, Laurel (7) 12-3, Mastery Charter North (12) 15-1, Neshannock (7) 11-4, Northwestern (10) 11-3, Our Lady of Sacred Heart (7) 11-3, Penns Valley (6) 11-2, Richland (6) 7-5, Shady Side Academy (7) 10-4, Titusville (10) 12-2, Trinity (3) 9-5, Tyrone (6) 8-3, Upper Dauphin (3) 13-3, Washington (7) 9-5, West Middlesex (10) 8-5, Westmont Hilltop (6) 7-6, York Catholic (3) 11-4.

Intriguing matchups of the week: Everything gets going in a hurry, beginning Monday night when No. 10 West Branch visits a dangerous Tyrone side. No. 7 will be seeking revenge — and a share of the Mid-Penn Capital Division lead — when Class AAA No. 10 Milton Hershey stops by on Tuesday night. And on Thursday night, No. 1 Aliquippa will head north for a scrap with Class A No. 3 Farrell. 

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CLASS A

On the cusp for some time, Phil-Mont Christian finally popped into the top 10 after spending last week knocking off three opponents and running its win streak to 12 games. Glenn Dolton’s Falcons began the week by downing Bicentennial League playmates Faith Christian (46-33) and Calvary Christian (66-57), then defeated The Christian Academy (68-48) to end their latest seven-day stretch. Noah Baldez (15.3 ppg), David Giuliani (14.3) and Sean Griffin (13.3) put together consistent weeks.

No.  School                                             Rec    Pvs
1.     Kennedy Catholic (10)                      10-2       1
2.     Monessen (7)                                    11-3       2                                 
3.     Farrell (10)                                         10-2       3
4.     Constitution (12)                                 8-7       4
5.     St. John Neumann (4)                       11-0       5
6.     Sewickley Academy (7)                     13-1       6
7.     Elk County Catholic (9)                      13-0       7
8.     Homer-Center (6)                               11-0       8
9.     Clarion-Limestone (9)                        13-1      10
10.   Phil-Mont Christian (1)                      15-1     OW

Checked in: No. 10 Phil-Mont Christian.
Checked out: No. 9 Ridgway.

Others to watch: Bishop Carroll (6) 10-3, Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic (7) 7-7, Clarion (9) 10-3, Coudersport (9) 12-0, Cowanesque Valley (4) 12-2, Delco Christian (1) 8-5, Eden Christian (7) 12-3, Faith Christian (1) 11-4, Ferndale (6) 11-2, Jeannette (7) 10-4, Jenkintown (1) 13-3, Lincoln Leadership (11) 9-5, Lourdes Regional (4) 13-2, Math, Civics & Sciences (12) 5-13, McConnellsburg (5) 10-2, Millville (4) 11-2, North Penn-Mansfield (4) 10-5, Notre Dame-East Stroudsburg (11) 8-6, Old Forge (2) 6-6, Paul Robeson (12) 12-4, Portage (6) 10-3, Ridgway (9) 11-2, Rocky Grove (10) 10-4, Saltsburg (6) 11-2, Shanksville-Stonycreek (5) 12-1, Shenandoah Valley (11) 10-3, Southern Fulton (5) 10-3, Sullivan County (4) 13-0, Union-Rimersburg (9) 10-4, Vincentian (7) 9-4, York Country Day (3) 12-0.

Intriguing matchups of the week: No. 1 Kennedy Catholic, its perch atop the Class A standings about to challenged, will square off against two other ranked sides later this week — with both games scheduled at home in Hermitage. Up first on Tuesday will be backyard rival Farrell, which bested Kennedy in last year’s state semifinals and sits two rungs below Rick Mancino’s Golden Eagles. Then, on Friday, No. 4 Constitution will make the journey west from Philly to play Kennedy. Rob Moore’s Generals, the reigning PIAA Class A champs, downed Farrell in last season’s final.