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Pete & Jameer Nelson Play-by-Play Classic Preview (Dec. 29-30)

12/27/2016, 9:00am EST
By CoBL Staff

Jamar Sudan (above) and Chester will enjoy a home-crowd advantage as usual at the Jameer Nelson Classic. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Jeff Griffith (@Jeff_Griffith21),
Michael Bullock (@thebullp_n)

& Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
--

For the twelfth straight year, the Scholastic Play-by-Play Pete and Jameer Nelson Classic is set to return to the campus of Widener University for a two-day, twelve-game event featuring top local talent.

With several of the best programs in southeastern Pennsylvania – as well as few from Delaware and New Jersey – preparing for a marathon of high school hoops action, here’s a preview of the event, as well as the full schedule:

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Event Schedule
Thursday, December 29
Cheltenham vs. Pennsbury (11:30 AM)
St. Joe’s Prep vs. Bishop Shanahan (1:00 PM)
Atlantic City vs. Episcopal Academy (2:45 PM)
La Salle College HS vs. Carlisle (4:30 PM)
Archbishop Ryan vs. St. Thomas More (Del.) (6:15 PM)
Chester vs. Abington (8 PM)

Friday, December 30
St. Thomas More (Del.) vs. Coatesville (12 PM)
La Salle College HS vs. St. Elizabeth (Del.) (1:45 PM)
St. Joe’s Prep vs. St. George’s (Del.) (3:30 PM)
Martin Luther King vs. Episcopal Academy (5:15 PM)
Chester vs. Pennsbury (7 PM)
Abington vs. Neumann-Goretti (8:45 PM)

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Can’t-Miss Games


Jarrod Stukes (above) and La Salle College HS take on District 3's Carlisle in a highlight game on Thursday. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

La Salle vs. Carlisle -- Dec. 29, 4:30 PM

While Andre Anderson's Thundering Herd opened the season by reeling off six consecutive victories — No. 6 arrived last week with a win at home over perennial Mid-Penn Commonwealth Division hammer Harrisburg featuring 28 points from DeShawn "Day Day" Millington — Class 6A No. 7 Carlisle suffered a 58-49 loss to Reading before a sellout crowd at Gene Evans Gymnasium. While Millington and 6-6 Ethan Houston have been consistent thus far this season and Milligan appears to have shrugged off a shooting slump, what's key for the Herd is what they get from the Barnes cousins, 5-9 junior Gavyn, 6-5 junior Ki and 6-3 senior Nate. Not deep, but really athletic.

Chester vs. Abington – Dec. 29, 8 PM

A matchup that features two of the last two years’ district one class AAAA finalists should not fail to disappoint, as both teams have proven this season that they can hang with top-tier opponents. The Clippers already have a victory over Miami-commit Lonnie Walker and Reading under their belt, and recently entered the class 5A state rankings at No. 9. Led by the likes of senior forwards Jordan Camper (6-7) and Jamar Sudan (6-6), a pair of athletic interior presences, Larry Yarbray’s squad is once again an imposing opponent for anyone around.

Chester vs. Pennsbury – Dec. 30, 7 PM

The Clippers will face another formidable area opponent in the Pennsbury Falcons on their second day at Widener. The Falcons are led by seniors like Mark Flagg, a 6-foot-7 forward who can shoot it; Tyler Sessa-Reeves, a small, scrappy floor general; and Billy Warren, a 6-foot-7 forward and offseason transfer from Neshaminy. Pennsbury lost its only contest against a state-ranked opponent – a 59-47 decision to Archbishop Ryan – but has picked up wins over solid opponents like North Penn and Berks Catholic.


Kentucky commit Quade Green (above) and Neumann-Goretti are the odds-on favorites for the 3A championship. (Photo: Kathy Leister/CoBL)

Abington vs. Neumann-Goretti – Dec. 30, 8:45 PM

In the event’s grand finale, there should be a large audience on tap for a primetime performance from the area’s best team, Neumann-Goretti, and their star 6-foot-tall point guard, Kentucky commit Quade Green. The Saints recently dropped three consecutive games at the City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Fla. against nationally-ranked opponents -- Green missed the last two games -- but still remained at No. 1 in the Class 3A state rankings. They’ll be back in the state of Pennsylvania hungry to get back in the win column, with a talented cast that includes not only Green, but also 6-foot-8 Villanova-commit Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree, junior forward Marcus Littles and more. Their opponent, the Galloping Ghosts of Abington, sits at No. 6 in the 6A ranks; after pick up an early win over Archbishop Carroll, Abington fell to Roman Catholic and Archbishop Wood before notching three league wins. The Ghosts will need their strong frontcourt of 6-foot-7 sophomore Eric Dixon and 6-foot-9 Joe O’Brien to step up if they want to have any hope of upsetting Neumann-Goretti.

Other Teams/Players of Note

Archbishop Ryan – The surprise team in the Catholic League last year, making it all the way to the PCL semifinals in the Palestra, the Raiders are playing at an extremely high level in head coach Joe Zeglinski’s second season. NJIT commit Izaiah Brockington, a 6-3 lefty who can score at all three levels, leads the way, but they also get significant contributions from 6-7 senior Matiss Kulackovskis and sophomores Ja’Quill Stone and Amin Bryant.

Coatesville – The Red Raiders, which took part in this event last year, have ripped off five straight wins after falling at Plymouth-Whitemarsh and Reading. Coatesville is led by the guard tandem of Kamau Brickus and Jhamir Brickus, the latter of which is an explosive scorer despite being only a freshman.


Navy commit Nick Alikakos (above) and the Churchmen are one of several frontrunners in the Inter-Ac. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Episcopal Academy – Behind seniors like 6-foot-7 do-it-all forward Nick Alikakos, a Navy commit, and versatiles 6-0 guard Connor Delaney, the Churchmen will face tough tests in Atlantic City and Martin Luther King.

Martin Luther King – The Cougars have taken several airtight losses to talented teams like Imhotep, the Perkiomen School and Math, Civics and Sciences, but recently took down Conwell-Egan to improve to 5-3. Sean Colson’s team, led by senior guard Qadir Burgess, will be greatly tested once again by Episcopal in their only game at Widener.

St. Joe's Prep – Head coach Speedy Morris’ group struggled early with double-digit losses to Malvern Prep and Germantown Academy, but guarantees to put up points in bunches behind a talented and deep stable of guards that includes seniors Brian Griffin and Matt Hartz and juniors Kyle Thompson and Darius Kinnel. Big man Ed Croswell, a 6-7 junior who helpd Math, Civics and Sciences to the Class A state championship game last year, gives them some real talent down low as well.


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