Month: March 2016

By CoBL Staff

The most exciting high school state tournament out of the four PIAA classes is without a doubt that of its biggest classification. The AAAA bracket has the heavyweight names that have won state title after state title: Lower Merion, Chester, Reading, Plymouth Whitemarsh and more.

This year they’re joined by several upstarts, including one tough Pittsburgh squad with an underdog mentality, a savvy veteran squad from Allentown that’s no stranger to postseason play.

The Favorites
Parkland (25-3): The four-time District 11 champions are in “win-now” mode, with a talented senior class looking for one last deep run before heading off to their respective colleges. Senior guard Devante Cross (8.8 ppg, 4.2 apg) will be playing quarterback at Virginia, forward Kenny Yeboah (10.9 ppg, 7.1 rpg) will be playing tight end at Temple and small forward Kyle Stout (17.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg) will be taking his sharpshooting talents to nearby Lafayette, the only one of the trio to continue his hoops career in college. Then there’s junior forward Sam Iorio, a talented 6-6 wing and D-I recruit in his own right, who leads the team with 18.4 ppg and trails only Yeboah with 6.8 rpg. The last three years, the Trojans have won their first-round matchup only to lose to a District 1 team in the second round. To break that streak this year, they’ll need to first get past Conestoga and then likely another Central League team, Ridley, to reach the quarterfinals.

(click on this link for more favorites and the dark horses)

A trio of Philadelphia-area squads lead the field in the PIAA Class AAA tournament, with defending champion Neumann-Goretti challenged by one Catholic League foe and one Public League opponent that proved last week it’s up for the challenge. But there’s plenty of competition from the central and western parts of the state too, plus a talented team from up north who all hope to have their say in things.

Here’s a look at the Class AAA field, with all games taking place Friday night at various gyms across the state:

The Favorites
Archbishop Carroll (22-3): Despite a not-insignificant turnover from a year ago, Paul Romanczuk’s Patriots are playing perhaps their best basketball since a PIAA championship run in 2009. D-I bound seniors Josh Sharkey (Samford) and Ryan Daly (Hartford) lead the way for a roster that gets production from its top 10. They’ve got good size inside in the form of 6-8 Latvian big man Miks Antoms, while 6-4 senior wing John Rigsby has enjoyed a very strong year as well; 6-3 junior sharpshooter Colin Daly, Ryan’s younger brother, rounds out the starting lineup. Beyond them, Romanczuk has a number of players he can call upon off the bench: 6-6 junior Jesse McPhearson, 6-3 junior Khari Williams, 6-6 senior Alex House, 6-5 sophomore Devin Ferrero and others are all capable of coming in to contribute a bucket or two, grab some rebounds and play tough D.

(click on this link for more favorites and dark horses)