City of Basketball Love

Michael Bullock (@thebullp_n)
--

Here’s installment No. 1 of City of Basketball Love’s state rankings, a package that will appear on Mondays throughout the remainder of the regular season.

We did showcase a set of preseason rankings in the lead up to the opening weekend (Dec. 9-10) and those groupings will serve as a starting point — since we’re going to shuffle some things around based on the early returns.

Appearing below are all six 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.

CITY OF BASKETBALL LOVE STATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS

(records through games of Dec. 18/OW-others to watch/NR-not ranked)

CLASS 6A

Everyone said the Lehigh Valley’s East Penn Conference was going to be flush with tremendous matchups that keep gymnasiums buzzing and fans screaming. Well, they weren’t kidding. And Steve Yoder’s Emmaus Green Hornets used their season-opening 75-68 victory over preseason No. 3 Pocono Mountain West to make a loud statement and hammer their way into CoBL’s 6A top 10. NJIT recruit David Kachelries rang up 28 points on opening night, his twin brother, Matt Kachelries, checked in with 22. Before last week came to a close, the Kachelries siblings totaled a combined 58 points in victories over Northampton and Pennridge.

No.  School                                        Rec    Pvs
1.     Reading (3)                                  3-1        1                          
2.     William Allen (11)                         5-0        4
3.     Archbishop Ryan (12)                  4-0        8
4.     Carlisle (3)                                   4-0        6
5.     Plymouth-Whitemarsh (1)            4-0        5
6.     Roman Catholic (12)                    3-0    OW
7.     Abington (1)                                 4-2        2
8.     Emmaus (11)                               3-0     OW
9.     Williamsport (4)                            3-1         9
10.   Pocono Mountain West (11)        3-1        3                               

Checked in: No. 6 Roman Catholic, No. 8 Emmaus.
Checked out: No. 7 Hatboro-Horsham, No. 10 Pine-Richland.

Others to watch: Bethlehem Liberty (11, 2-2), Butler (7, 3-1), Central Dauphin East (3, 5-0), Central York (3, 2-2), Cheltenham (1, 1-1), Coatesville (1, 2-2), Conestoga (1, 3-0), Council Rock South (1, 4-1), Dallastown (3, 4-1), Downingtown East (1, 5-0), Father Judge (12, 4-1), Fox Chapel (7, 4-0), Garnet Valley (1, 3-1), Harrisburg (3, 2-1), Hatboro-Horsham (1, 3-1), Hazleton (2, 2-2), Hempfield (3, 2-1), La Salle College (12, 2-3), Latrobe (7, 3-0), Lower Merion (1, 3-2), Parkland (11, 2-2), Penn Hills (7, 3-0), Pennsbury (1, 3-1), Pine-Richland (7, 3-0), State College (6, 2-2).

Bullish matchup of the week: Carlisle’s historic Gene Evans Gymnasium will be loud and stuffed to the rafters Friday night when top-ranked Reading pays a pre-holiday visit to the No. 4 Thundering Herd and all-state guard DeShawn “Day Day” Millington. These two squared off in last season’s District 3-AAAA quarterfinals at Hershey’s Giant Center in what probably was the best game of the big school event, a contest Rick Perez’s Red Knights eventually won 78-73 in overtime. Millington pocketed 19 points for the Herd, while Reading’s Lonnie Walker rang up 37.

CLASS 5A

Archbishop Carroll may be introducing a number of new players to its passionate partisans, but the positive results continue to roll in for Paul Romanczuk’s Patriots. And even though three of Carroll’s four successes thus far have come by a total of 11 points — a four-point win over Cleveland St. Ignatius, a five-point triumph at Cheltenham and a two-point victory at home in overtime over Penn Wood — those narrow victories figure to pay dividends once the season winds into February and March. Bottom line is keep an eye on Romanczuk’s retooling Patriots.

No.  School                                      Rec    Pvs
1.     Archbishop Wood (12)               3-2         1
2.     Bangor (11)                                4-0         2
3.     Abington Heights (2)                   3-1         3
4.     Upper Merion (1)                         3-0         4
5.     Northeastern (3)                          5-0         6
6.     Whitehall (11)                              4-1         5
7.     Archbishop Carroll (12)               4-1         8
8.     Bonner-Prendergast (12)            4-0     OW
9.     Highlands (7)                               2-2        9
10.   Meadville (10)                              4-0      10

Checked in: No. 8 Bonner-Prendergast
Checked out: No. 7 Hampton

Others to watch: Allentown Central Catholic (11, 2-2), Bishop Shanahan (1, 3-1), Blue Mountain (11, 2-1), Cathedral Prep (10, 3-1), Chartiers Valley (7, 4-0), Chester (1, 3-0), Great Valley (1, 3-1), Hampton (7, 3-2), Holy Ghost Prep (1, 3-1), Manheim Central (3, 4-0), Mars (7, 2-0), Martin Luther King (12, 4-2), Mastery Charter North (12, 6-0), Mechanicsburg (3, 3-1), Milton Hershey (3, 2-2), Montour (7, 2-1), Palmyra (3, 4-1), Penncrest (1, 3-2), Pottsville (11, 1-1), Simon Gratz (12, 4-2), Spring Grove (3, 2-1), Springfield-Delco (1, 3-0), Strath Haven (1, 3-1), West Scranton (2, 3-1), Wissahickon (1, 1-2), York (3, 2-2).

Bullish matchups of the week: Chester’s Fred Pickett Gymnasium has a pair of potential dandies on tap, as Larry Yarbray’s Clippers (3-0) will entertain 6A No. 1 Reading on Tuesday night and 2A No. 2 Math, Civics & Sciences on Friday night. Should Chester sweep those dates, a promotion will be warranted.

CLASS 4A

Drilling a school-record 17 treys — including 12 in the opening half — Quaker Valley rolled Ellwood City by a convincing 92-45 margin. Amazingly, 12 of those 3-balls dropped in the first two quarters as Mike Mastroianni’s Quakers led 61-23 at the break. Coletrane Washington paced the early barrage, pocketing 18 first-half points as Quaker Valley eased to its fourth win in as many tries.

No.  School                                         Rec    Pvs
1.     Imhotep Charter (12)                  2-1       1
2.     New Castle (7)                            3-0        4
3.     Beaver Falls (7)                          1-1        3
4.     Scranton Prep (2)                        2-1       2
5.     Bethlehem Catholic (11)              4-0        5
6.     Meyers (2)                                   1-1        6
7.     Quaker Valley (7)                        4-0        9
8.     Salisbury (11)                              2-1         8
9.     Conwell-Egan (12)                      3-1     OW
10.   Clearfield (9)                                3-0     10

Checked in: No. 9 Conwell-Egan.
Checked out: No. 7 Farrell.

Others to watch: Central Valley (7, 4-0), Danville (4, 4-0), Eastern York (3, 2-1), Farrell (10, 1-2), Lancaster Catholic (3, 4-0), Lower Moreland (1, 3-1), Middletown (3, 0-0), Nanticoke (2, 4-0), Saucon Valley (11, 4-1), Strong Vincent (10, 1-1).

Bullish matchups of the week: You’ll have to wait until Friday night for our recommended must-see contests, because that’s when No. 2 New Castle will play host to No. 7 Quaker Valley in a WPIAL Section 2 encounter that should have those out west curious. As for northeast Pennsylvania hoops fanatics, No. 4 Scranton Prep will be home for what should be a fast-paced matchup with 6A No. 9 Williamsport.    

CLASS 3A

Squaring off against a pair of Philly Public League opponents, No. 1 Neumann-Goretti turned back both adversaries, opening the season with a 76-56 victory over Class 2A No. 1 Constitution before downing Class 4A No. 1 Imhotep Charter 87-73. Kentucky recruit Quade Green totaled 54 points in the two victories, including 37 in the Saints’ impressive conquest of Imhotep. Villanova recruit Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree also is off to a good start, pocketing a combined 41 points in the sweep. Up next for Carl Arrigale’s club is a Monday scrap with Florida’s IMG Academy at the City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Fla.

No.  School                                           Rec    Pvs
1.     Neumann-Goretti (12)                 2-0        1
2.     Trinity (3)                                     3-0        2
3.     Lincoln Park (7)                           3-2        3
4.     Valley Forge (1)                           3-2       4
5.     Steel Valley (7)                            3-1        5
6.     Mid Valley (2)                              3-0        6
7.     York Catholic (3)                          2-1        7
8.     Del-Val Charter (12)                     2-2    NR
9.     Lancaster Mennonite (3)              4-1        8
10.  Central Cambria (6)                       4-0     10

Checked in: No. 8 Del-Val Charter.
Checked out: No. 9 Girard.

Others to watch: Camp Hill (3, 4-0), Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic (7, 2-0), Columbia (3, 3-1), Dunmore (2, 2-1), Fairview (10, 4-0), Girard (10, 3-1), Greenville (10, 3-0), Holy Redeemer (2, 2-0), Loyalsock (4, 4-0), Notre Dame-Green Pond (11, 3-1), Steel-High (3, 1-1), Wellsboro (4, 3-1), Westmont Hilltop (6, 3-2).

Bullish matchups of the week: We’ll start with a nod toward northeastern Pennsylvania, where Monday night No. 6 Mid Valley will visit ranked 4A outfit Meyers in Wilkes-Barre. … There’s another really good one on tap Wednesday night in Camp Hill, where the Lions will entertain No. 2 Trinity in a Mid-Penn Capital Division neighborhood dustup.

CLASS 2A

Combustible senior guard Joel Santana is off to a sizzling start, averaging 25.0 points per game for a Shenandoah Valley bunch that opened the season with victories over Lewisburg, Wellsboro, Tamaqua and Minersville. Santana averaged 22.5 ppg a season ago, landing all-state honors after Shenandoah Valley advanced to the quarterfinals of the PIAA Class A playoffs. Robbie Miller’s Blue Devils, yet to play at home, will entertain Schuylkill League rival Mahanoy Area on Monday night.

No.  School                                                  Rec    Pvs
1.     Constitution (12)                              3-3       1
2.     Math, Civics & Sciences (12)          5-0       2
3.     Church Farm (1)                              5-1        3
4.     Sewickley Academy (7)                   3-0        4
5.     Our Lady Sacred Heart (7)              4-0        9
6.     Shenandoah Valley (11)                   4-0       8     
7.     Bishop Guilfoyle (6)                          0-0        7
8.     Greensburg C.C. (7)                         3-0    OW
9.     Bishop Canevin (7)                           2-2        6
10.   North Penn-Mansfield (4)                 3-2     10

Checked in: No. 8 Greensburg C.C.
Checked out: No. 5 Holy Cross.

Others to watch: Bishop McCort (6, 1-0), Brockway (9, 3-1), Cambridge Springs (10, 3-2), Clarion-Limestone (9, 3-1), Coudersport (9, 1-0), Holy Cross (2, 2-2), Laurel (7, 4-0), Marian Catholic (11, 1-1), Ridgway (9, 5-0), Rocky Grove (10, 2-1), Wilmington (10, 2-2).

Bullish matchups of the week: Since both of our sparkling encounters are scheduled for Tuesday night, we’ll start with a peek out west and a WPIAL scrap between No. 5 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and No. 9 Bishop Canevin. … There’s a biggie in Philly, too, as No. 2 Math, Civics & Sciences will host Martin Luther King.

CLASS 1A

An all-state selection as a sophomore and again last season, St. John Neumann senior Kevin Anderson flashed those abilities over and over and over again Saturday as the Golden Knights stopped North Penn-Mansfield 70-51. The 6-3 Delaware recruit tormented the Tigers throughout, scoring 23 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out 12 assists as Michael Kirby’s Knights collared their 70th consecutive regular-season victory.

No.  School                                               Rec    Pvs
1.     Kennedy Catholic (10)                       3-0        1
2.     Monessen (7)                                     2-2        2
3.     St. John Neumann (4)                        3-0       4
4.     Elk County Catholic (9)                      2-0        7
5.     York Country Day (3)                         3-2        3
6.     Saltsburg (6)                                      4-0        6
7.     Sullivan County (4)                            2-1        5
8.     Faith Christian (1)                              2-0        8
9.     Shanksville-Stonycreek (5)               4-1      10
10.   Southern Fulton (5)                           3-1        9

Checked in: N/A
Checked out: N/A

Others to watch: Bishop Carroll (6, 2-2), Clairton (7, 0-1), Cornell (7, 5-0), Ferndale (6, 4-0), Lincoln Leadership (11, 4-0), Lourdes Regional (4, 1-1), Shade (5, 3-0).

Bullish matchup of the week: Flash that wide-ranging spotlight toward Williamsport’s East End yet again Tuesday night, as St. John Neumann will play host to York Country Day in a matchup of ranked 1A sides.