By Amauro Austin Sr

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Twitter: @AA215

Unfortunately, I had to rewrite my weekly notes cause this morning I accidentally boneheadedly deleted an unsaved original of 1000+ words.. So after dropping a few F-BOMBS, doing some things with the kids and then joyously watching my Eagles punch their ticket to the Super Bowl, we’ve exhaled and will do a condensed version of this weeks notes.. Sorry for the inconvenience.. — AA

Again this will be a more condensed version of our weekly notes due to my accidental delete of the original…

Maggie Lucas Classic last Sunday was my very first All Day High School Girls Showcase event.. Good time.. Girls basketball in our area is pretty darn good.. SALUTE Ladies..

Tuesday saw the battle for first place in the Suburban One Liberty between PW & Abington girls.. And just like all the other PW-Abington games I’ve seen over the last few years, it was a war.. PW prevailed by a point on a night they didn’t execute at their best.. Both teams had to deal with what I like to call a “Weird Whistle” but Abington was affected worse because the poor officiating cost them their best player, Sr G/F Cire Worley for key stretches in the game including the latter part of the 4th quarter after picking up her 5th foul.. The Lady Ghosts still fought hard til the end and even carried a lead until the final 8 seconds when Sr F Erin Daley’s 8-foot soft bouncing runner gave the Lady Colonials the game.. Daley & her bookend sr partner Abby Sharpe did what they do once again combining for 34 points & 14 boards.. Sharpe (20 & 7) & Daly (14 & 7).. Daly added 6 assists from her perch in the high post as the point forward.. She also eclipsed the exclusive career 1000 point plateau in the 2nd quarter.. Salute Erin!!!

Thursday we went over to Jefferson University to check out defending State Champs, Roman (6A) vs Devon Prep (3A) in a CL Battle.. The Cahillites pulled away late to take down the struggling Tide (3-6 in CL play) and continue to build on a strong season.. We’ll see much more of Roman down the line so we’ll speak more on them later but what can’t wait is my praise of their star & leader sr PG Xzayvier Brown (St Joseph’s). He’s one of these guys that teammates not only play for but go to extra mile for. Most expect him to make an immediate impact on Hawk Hill next year.. DP jr PG Ty Mishock deserves mention. His 4 trey-balls kept them afloat. Mishock has always been a very good floor general but now has an improved jumper in his arsenal.. Always good to see kids get better..

Back to Friends Central Friday night for a showdown against Academy of the New Church.. In an emotionally charged contest, the Lions ran away from the Phoenix in the 2nd half. Sr G Deywilk Tavares led the way again for ANC.. “Wilk” looks great after battling knee injuries for over a year. His weight looks a little down and he has spring in his step.. After a star night on Friday, he received a well-earned D1 offer from my Alma mater Hampton University of the CAA Saturday morning.. 6-4 Freshman F Dior Carter did his thing too. He’s one of those guys that knows how to dance around in the baseline area getting tough buckets. Love this young man’s approach.. Jr PG Reid Belcher had a nice night for FCS who just seemed out of sorts today. They couldn’t find their rhythm but Belcher had quite a few drives and finishes in traffic usually with a textbook floater the primary little man shot of choice these days..

We saw a doubleheader Saturday but we’re gonna start with game 2 first. I’ve really wanted to see the progress that Cristo Rey has made from a Program standpoint. I know Coach Kyle Sample works his tail off at that and that he’s also really organized & detailed. They were playing a big game in the Penn-Jersey League against Life Center for 1st place. I also wanted to see Life Center’s 6-8 Freshman big Al–Tariq Reevey.. Reevey was unavailable due to injury but LCA still had some talent playing. CR dismantled their rival in front of a star-studded crowd. The Private Catholic school from the Norf (17th & Allegheny) showed up and showed out. I’ve always like 6-7 Sr F Josh Wyche (Lafayette) and his versatility. But he’s hardly a one man show. 6-5 Soph SF Devin Booker, a transfer from Imhotep, could run and jump all day & night if he was allowed. Really good looking prospect. And Jr G Amari Dow, a crafty lefty has made great improvement every year. Not only is this program progressing well, they are ahead of schedule in my book, job well done..

Finally what we’ve all been waiting for, my thoughts on the Local Game of the year.. Camden & Imhotep has been talked about for the last 6 months.. Both teams have been steadily in the National Top 15.. Both teams have played a National slate outside of their league schedule and between both teams there are 3 Kentucky bound McDonald’s All–Americans in CMDs G DJ Wagner & C Aaron Bradshaw and Tep’s Justin Edwards.. Another sidebar was ESPN recently having Edwards overtake Wagner as their #1 in the Class.. So many small stories with the big game.. Tickets went on sale two weeks ago and were almost gone in 3 days and completely gone within a week.. Everybody who is anybody in this Local Hoops Community thing of ours was in the building to enjoy the show.. And for a change the evenly matched contest on paper lived up to all the hype in between the lines.. The biggest chapter tithe actual game was the point “god” War that commenced between Sr D1 signees: Camden’s Cian Medley (St Louis) & Tep’s Rahmir Barno (Florida Gulf Coast).. They are both around the same size in stature but both approach the game differently. Medley is a maestro who has total command of the room while being in lock step with his coach.. Barno has the speed of Sonic the Hedgehog and puts hella pressure on defenses with his deep paint touches and crafty finishes at the rim even over & around size/length.. It was an epic battle within the game..

The Panthers from over the Blue escaped the Wynnfield section of West Philly with a W due to the Wagner killer instinct kicking in during the second half when he relentlessly decided he was getting to the rim and scoring, getting fouled or both.. He also slowed down whoever he guarded at the other end.. He was SENSATIONAL!!! And unsung hero 6-8 sr F Dasear Haskins Camden’s 6th man came off the bench bombing away with four treys all from the corners.. The big lefty has to be one of the best available of the East Coast.. Even still Tep had a chance late as Edwards got a clean look at a go-ahead three down 2 with under 10 seconds left. It was a good shot.. It was the right shot.. It was the right guy shooting the shot.. He just pushed it a shade to the left.. to the left.. Jr G Ahmad Nowell had his sweet shooting on display all game.. He’s one of the most coveted guards in the class of 2024 Nationally.. Finally it was good to see our community out yesterday to support this event.. Too many folks to name, but know that everyone showed up yesterday for this and it was great to see you all.. It was a great game to cover and watch, like a big watch party amongst family & friends..

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