City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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West Philadelphia’s storied basketball history has seen some of the best hoops talent in the city put on a Speedboys uniform, from Kentucky’s Clarence ‘Eggy’ Tillman to Villanova’s Hubie White to Duke’s Gene Banks, who won an ACC scoring title and later played in the NBA in the 1980s. 

The venerable institution, formerly located at 48th and Walnut and now at 49th and Chestnut, was one of the city’s dominant powerhouses through the middle part of the 20th century all the way up through the 1990s, before the rise of the charter schools relegated the neighborhood schools to second-tier status, at least on the courts.

What none of those squads had ever done was host a PIAA state playoff game, much less win one, the Public League not joining the state association until midway through the first decade of the 21st century.

So when the Speedboys and their fans poured onto the court at the end of a hard-fought, roller-coaster, 59-58 win over Allentown Central Catholic, decades and decades of West Philadelphia history followed them.

Dayishon Miller (above) had 20 points, six rebounds, five assists and four blocks in West Philadelphia's first state playoff home win. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

“This school has so much history, but it’s the first time we had a state game, at home,” third-year head coach Adrian Burke said. “It means a lot — we’re just trying to continue on with the legacy and build from here.

“Yes, it’s a lot of pride for a neighborhood school,” added Burke, who played at Frankford under longtime coach Vince Miller, earning second-team all-city honors in 1986. “I would have never imagined in a million years being the head coach at West Philadelphia High School, it’s such an honor to me, I’m very humbled, I’m just so happy for the guys.”

Up next are District 3’s third seed, Trinity (19-6), which dispatched Collegium Charter in its first-round game on Tuesday night. But first, the Speedboys got to soak in all the emotions that came with pulling off a stunning upset of the defending state champs, who seemed to be in control the whole way through.

It was a game so good, Will Smith might have mentioned it in an updated Fresh Prince verse.

“I’m trying not to cry right now,” West Philly star senior Dayishon Miller said after stuffing the stat sheet with 20 points, six rebounds, five assists and four blocks before having to watch the final two minutes from the bench after fouling out. “It feels good — everybody doubted us, we just lost some games, but it’s great to bounce back.”

Even Miller on the sideline, the Speedboys were still able to close strong against a Vikings group that led almost the entire way through, a brief 3-0 lead by West Philadelphia (on a Miller triple) their only advantage until junior guard Nasir Washington put the hosts up 58-57 with under a minute to play on the last of his 17 points.

Allentown Central Catholic took the lead back thanks to a pair of free-throws by senior guard Tyson Thomas, who had 19 points, six assists and four steals for the Vikings (21-6), who captured the 2021 PIAA Class 4A state title — something Burke said he didn’t realize until the morning of the game. 

The game’s winning points were supplied by junior Elijah Hester, who struggled with fouls all night long but was on the court when it counted. The 6-0 guard drove left and finished through contact, putting West Philly (20-5) up with just under 30 seconds left. 

“We needed a basket, so I just put the ball in the hoop,” Hester said. “I’d been in foul trouble, I was sitting on the bench, I had to do something because I wasn’t giving the team a lot. I had to put the ball in the basket.”

“I ain’t going to lie, I didn’t know he was going to make it,” Miller said. “That was a tough layup…it was a foul too, it should have been an and-one.”

The Speedboys then had to sit through a final Allentown Central Catholic timeout and one final defensive possession, frustrating their visitors until an open 3-point look just ahead of the buzzer clanged off iron.

At the end, they survived a 23-point outing from Vikings senior and Randolph-Macon (Va.) commit Liam Joyce, an 11-point third-quarter deficit, and their star player fouling out in crunch time. West Philly stuck around the whole way through, trailing by just four at the break, getting a couple 3-pointers from Washington early in the fourth to close a nine-point gap to a couple possessions through a tight fourth quarter.

“We were ready for this, wanted this, we weren’t going to give up, we weren’t going to stop,” Burke said. “My guys were just ready to go, even with Dayishon fouled out, we never lost focus on the game and that we were trying to get accomplished by winning this game. 

“I’m so proud of my guys.”

West Philadelphia had enjoyed a strong season, beating Bonner-Prendergast and St. Joe’s Prep back in December to open eyes around the city, then made a run to the Public League semifinals, beating Constitution along the way. Though they fell short against eventual champ Imhotep in the Public League playoffs, they’ve got a bigger goal in mind now that it’s March.

“We’re going to win the state championship,” Miller said. “You feel me?”

By Quarter
West Philadelphia:  16  |  12  |  15  |  16  ||  59
Allentown CC:         20  |  12  |  20  |   6   ||  58

Shooting
West Philadelphia: 21-52 FG (4-15 3PT), 13-22 FT
Allentown CC: 21-44 FG (2-13 3PT), 14-29 FT

Scorers
West Philadelphia: Deyishon Miller 20, Nasir Washington 17, Jaden Williams 8, Elijah Hester 6, John Fields 4, Nasir Davis 3, Jihad Pickens-Brown 1

Allentown CC: Liam Joyce 23, Tyson Thomas 19, Nico Pulleri 8, Jahrel Vigo 4, Anthony Jones 2, Brendan Reed

~~~

Abington rolls in girls’ 6A opener

Dan Marsh had a feeling his Ghosts weren’t going to be challenged much in their state playoff opener, so the Abington coach had a different challenge: see if everybody on his varsity roster could reach the scoreboard.

The Ghosts fell just short of that goal, but 14 out of 15 girls did reach the scoring column as Abington rolled Northeast High, 60-18, to advance into the Round of 16.

“We start three juniors and two freshmen, so to be able to get our seniors on the court in a state playoff game, it was important to us,” Marsh said. “It’s important because we want these kids to recognize that this needs to be a staple of our program, getting to the state playoffs every year, and experiencing that. We were able to do that, able to get everybody in and everybody that experience, so that’s valuable for sure.”

One of the top teams in the Suburban One League, Abington (22-5) boasts multiple Division I prospects on its deep roster, on a program that’s made double-digit state playoff appearances in Marsh’s 19 seasons as the main man on the sidelines. Northeast (11-8), on the other end, showed up at West Philadelphia on Tuesday with a roster of just six girls; there was a massive gap in size and athleticism between the two benches, and it didn’t take long for that to play out on the hardwood.

Abington’s starters only needed four minutes to open up an 18-0 lead on Northeast, at which point Marsh started to cycle through not just his second unit but his third, everybody on the roster getting plenty of playing time, even with the second half played under a running clock following a 43-7 halftime advantage.

The Ghosts have a much stiffer challenge in the second round, as they’ll play District 3 champ Central Dauphin, which dispatched Upper Dublin 47-23 in its first-round matchup. After being able to smile and enjoy their time on the court Tuesday night, Abington’s going to have to dial up the intensity big-time to make it to the quarterfinals.

“I wasn’t dishonest with them, we knew this was a game we should win and it shouldn’t be much of an issue,” Marsh said. “I told them tomorrow and Thursday we need to have two really good, focused practices, do our film work, and be ready to play Central Dauphin.”

By Quarter
Abington:    28  |  15  |  12  |   5   ||  60
Northeast:   2   |   5   |   3   |   8   ||  18

Shooting
Abington: 22-44 FG (6-15 3PT), 6-18 FT
Northeast: 8-29 FG (0-8 3PT), 2-4 FT

Scorers
Abington: Jaida Helm 11, Abril Bowser 10, Jordyn Reynolds 8, Cire Worley 6, Piper McGinley 5, Krysten Brown 4, Lila Stonehouse 3, Sarah O’Leary 2, Harper McGinley 2, Carly Slavin 2, Maya Johnson 2, Dani Brusha 2, Ashley Reilly, Maura Day 1

Northeast: Skylynn Rivera 6, Tasnim Sabill 6, Taslim Sabill 4, Lyric Ramsden 2