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Scholastic Play-By-Play Tipoff Preview

12/03/2015, 10:45am EST
By Aron Minkoff

Marquis Collins (above) and Chester are one of the many talented teams in Saturday's Floors USA/Philly.com Rally Play-By-Play Tip-Off Classic. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Aron Minkoff (@Aron Minkoff)
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The first of many Scholastic Play-By-Play Classics, the Floors USA/Philly.com Rally Play-By-Play Tip-Off Classic, will take place on Saturday, December 5 at Widener University and Holy Family University. This event helps mark the start of the high school basketball season and will be the first of many events that we will preview and cover this season.

Here's the schedule for a full day of hoops:

Widener University
St. Joseph’s Prep vs. Pennsbury 12:00
Roman Catholic vs. Parkland 1:45
Neumann-Goretti vs. Dover (Del.) 3:30
Imhotep Charter vs. Taylor Allderdice 5:15
Chester vs. Martin Luther King 7:00
Archbishop Carroll vs. Academy New Church 8:30

Holy Family University
South Shore (N.Y.) vs. George Washington 2:30
Archbishop Wood vs. J.P. McCaskey 4:15
Conwell-Egan vs. Samuel Fels 6:00

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Can't-Miss Games

Roman Catholic vs. Parkland
The defending AAAA State champion Cahillites open up their season with a Parkland opponent that lost in the second round of the state playoffs last season after a 28-2 season. Roman features a trio of Penn State commits in guard Tony Carr, wingman Nazeer Bostick and big man Lamar Stevens, who will be making his Roman debut after transferring in from the Haverford School. Senior big man Paul Newman too will look to take another step in his development, the 6-foot-7 center has an offer to Towson. It will be interesting to see how the Cahillites replace the presence of shooter Gemil Holbrook as well as forward Manny Taylor, who both graduated after last season. Juniors Dakquan Davis and D’Andre Vilmar figure to play increased roles in the Roman offense this season, and 6-6 freshman Mikael Jones looks like a stud in the making. Parkland features 6-foot-6 wing Kyle Stout, a Lafayette commit who possess a tremendous shooting arsenal as well as 6-foot-6 forward Sam Iorio, class of 2017, with offers from schools such as Lafayette, Lehigh and Boston University. Parkland also has two dual-sport athletes in 6-foot-2 guard Devante Cross, a Boston College commit (quarterback) and 6-foot-4 forward Kenny Yeboah, a Temple commit (wide receiver), who are both very good on the hardcourt as well.

Imhotep Charter vs. Taylor Allderdice
This matchup will feature a pair of teams that finished in the semifinals of their respective classes in the state playoffs last season, Imhotep in AAA and Allderdice in AAAA. Imhotep features highly-sought after guard Daron Russell, a 5-foot-10 speedster with offers to Temple, Penn and La Salle already. Jaekwon Carlyle, a 6-foot guard who has already committed to Hampton as well as Koby Thomas, a 6-foot-5 forward with an offer to Tennessee-Chattanooga round up the big three threat that Imhotep possesses. Look for wing Nysir Marshburn to take on an expanded role with Imhotep this season as the 6-foot-5 all-around athlete begins his senior year. Allderdice travels across the state from Pittsburgh for this East vs. West showdown. The Dragons feature twins Tim Jackson and James Jackson, who are best known for their football exploits but can shoot with the best of them. The two are still fielding football offers, James plays quarterback/cornerback and Tim plays wide receiver/safety, and the two are fielding interest from Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia and already have an offer from Arizona State. Perhaps, Allderdice’s best player is senior Ramon Creighton, a versatile 6-foot-1 guard with a big frame, pushing 200 pounds. Two other players to look out for from Allderdice, 6-foot-9 Tim Pugh who missed last year’s semifinal matchup with a foot injury, and 6-foot-5 Jordan Rawls who should round out the starting five. The Dragons return eight varsity letter-winners. Being from Pittsburgh, Allderdice does not receive too much exposure for its basketball program, but people are beginning to pay attention after a trip to the state semifinals last season.

Chester HS vs. Martin Luther King
Chester finished last season in the District 1 playoffs with a loss to Coatesville, their first time missing the PIAA playoffs since 1992. The Clippers will take on Martin Luther King, last season’s AAAA state-playoffs runner-ups. They'll be welcoming back senior point guard Khaleeq Campbell, who missed the vast majority of his junior season with a torn ACL suffered 11 months ago; fellow senior Marquis Collins, a 6-7 lefty forward with a few DIvision I offers, will also be a featured piece, as will 6-3 senior Jahmi Bailey-Green. Junior Jordan Camper, a 6-foot-8 power forward will also take on a meaningful role for the Clippers this season. Martin Luther King features a roster-overhaul from last year’s team for coach Sean Colson. 6-foot-2 guard Nasir Bell will take over the primary ball-handling duties from the departed Sammy Freeman and 6-foot-7 forward Rasool Samir will also take on a meaningful role, both are seniors. They'll also welcome back senior guard Jabri McCall, who nearly transferred to ANC over the summer. Junior guard, Qadir Burgess (6-0 also figures to take on a leading role for King after coming in from Bishop McDevitt.

Archbishop Wood vs. J.P. McCaskey
The Archbishop Wood Vikings wrapped up their second season under John Mosco with a loss to Roman Catholic in the Catholic League quarterfinals, a Roman team they beat during the regular season. They will take on a J.P. McCaskey team that went 23-11 last season and just narrowly lost to Roman in the state semifinals last season, 69-66. Wood features sophomore Tyree Pickron, a 6-foot-3 wing who turned quite a few heads as a freshman last season, as well as junior point guard Collin Gillespie, a 6-foot pure-shooter. The senior leader of this Vikings team will be Tommy Funk, a 6-foot guard who has committed to Army. McCaskey is led by 6-foot-4 guard Kobe Gantz, a senior with offers to Rider and Loyola (Md.).


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