Cardinal O’Hara’s Izaiah Pasha, right, puts a shot up in the first half against Bonner & Prendie’s Brady Egan in Catholic League playoffs last season. (Pete Bannan – MediaNews Group)
By Matthew DeGeorge
Nine Delaware County boys basketball teams qualified for PIAA tournaments last season, all in the state’s top three classifications. They accounted for 12 wins, two state semifinals runs and, well, four maddening losses to Imhotep Charter on the way to its Class 5A title.
Following up such a landmark year, even by the bloated standards of the PIAA’s super-sized states fields, will be difficult. But if it transpires, Delco’s Philadelphia Catholic League teams will likely be the ones pushing the envelope.
Cardinal O’Hara returns the Player of the Year in Izaiah Pasha, who recently committed to Iona. The 6-4 guard wasn’t eligible to play in states last year due to PIAA transfer rules but will be eligible this season if the Lions get there. They would not have last year without Pasha’s 16.9 points-per-game average.
While O’Hara has to retool around him, they return a double-figures scorer in Josh Coulanges (10.4). Pearse McGuinn, the 6-8 forward who averaged 9.1 ppg last year and made big strides of late, is also back, and O’Hara added junior Aasim Burton, a transfer from Math, Civics and Science with Division I offers.