Delcohoops.com

By Jack McCaffery

The summer tour led Larenzo Jerkins through 11 states and twice as many opportunities to impress, so Chester High basketball coach Keith Taylor would brace for the inevitable.

There was Jerkins, his 6-5-and-developing junior, creating a mild stir with SK Elite on the AAU barn-storm. That, then, would be the cue for the recruiters to pounce.

Not college recruiters.

The other kind.

“High school coaches in the state,” Jerkins was saying, before a recent practice at 9th and Barclay. “A lot of them. They were trying to contact me. Schools like O’Hara, Archbishop Carroll. A lot of teams.”

Such has been the test Taylor has had to endure at Chester, which long has produced gifted players and tolerated desperate high school recruiters. It’s nothing new, and that transfer portal will not likely be buttoned shut any time soon.

All Taylor can do, then, is try to sell Chester’s dazzling basketball history and try to keep pace.

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By Matthew DeGeorge

Building from scratch after not being able to play at all is something completely different. Add in a new coach and you’ve got the measure of the challenge before Academy Park this winter.

The Knights opted out of the 2021 season, citing concerns over COVID-19 in the community. That means new coach Todd Hryn has little experience within the ranks to build on. Instead, the former assistant at Penncrest and Strath Haven has a chance to create this year’s team out of whole cloth.

The closest thing to experience comes from the football field. The Knights will count on a pair of players from AP’s run to the District 1 Class 5A semifinals to provide grit in the post, via senior Ibrahim Sanogo and junior Darrell Fields. Kahlil Greenwood was one of the Knights’ top pass-catching threats in the fall, and the 5-9 senior has varsity experience dating back to 14 games as a sophomore.

Senior captain Zahamir Mobley played sparingly in his sophomore season in 2019-20. Sophomore Jamir Anderson will run the point, while junior Najee Shaw and senior Bryce Mickens will fill out the rotation.

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By Matt Smith

By and large, Garnet Valley and Springfield have dominated the Central League for most of the past decade.

The Jaguars and Cougars have combined for seven of the last eight championships.

In last year’s pandemic-shortened season, Springfield rolled through the league undefeated en route to winning both the Central and District 1 Class 5A titles. The Cougars were buoyed by All-Delco senior guards Alexa Abbonizio and Rachel Conran, both of whom were four-year starters. It wasn’t until the Cougars played eventual state champion Cardinal O’Hara in the PIAA Class 5A semifinals that they suffered their first and only loss.

Garnet Valley posted a 9-9 record and failed to make the District 1 Class 6A tournament. Two years prior, the Jaguars had won their first district championship and played in Hershey for the PIAA Class 6A title.

This will be a big year for Springfield’s talented junior class. Guards Lexi Aaron and Mia Valerio, as well as forward Anabel Kreydt, were either starters or first off the bench on a team that finished 22-1. After losing Conran and Abbonizio, who is the program’s all-time leading scorer, the Cougars will be searching for plenty of offense. Aaron has the ability to shoot from long range and Valerio is a crafty point guard who has carved out a reputation for her strong on-the-ball defense.The 5-foot-10 Kreydt was the Cougars’ de facto big last year. She can score in the low post, rebound and defend.

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By Matt Smith

Last season the Del Val League operated with three schools in a season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Academy Park was the only public school in the county that didn’t play sports during the 2020-21 school year. And Chichester didn’t garner enough student interest to support having a varsity team.

“This year feels like my first year coaching with us being off so long,” said AP coach Ron Bright, who begins his fifth season. “The chemistry with this team is better than any of my past teams, so I am excited to see how it all comes together.”

Senior forward Jada Kinlaw and junior guard Semaj Young are technically returning players on varsity. Senior guard Jade Wilson, senior forward Halayjah Solis-Morgan and senior center Akirah Hill are among the newcomers that Bright is hoping will grow into solid varsity players.

“We will have four seniors and two juniors in the rotation but only two players have varsity experience. One sophomore and four freshmen will also see varsity minutes,” he said. “This will be a young team that will have to win with defense and athleticism. Not having a season last year really hurt getting players varsity experience.”

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By Matt Smith

The Philadelphia Catholic League is loaded again.

For the first time in history, three PCL teams captured PIAA championships last March: Archbishop Wood (Class 4A) Cardinal O’Hara (5A) and West Catholic (2A). No one should be surprised if three or more teams from the best high school conference in Pennsylvania go on to win PIAA championships in 2022.

Delaware County’s three Catholic League squads are primed for success.

Cardinal O’Hara returns three of its five starters from a 15-4 team that won a PIAA state championship, including 6-foot-2 senior forward Maggie Doogan, the reigning Daily Times Player of the Year.  The Richmond commit was brilliant in the state final against Chartiers Valley and finished her junior campaign averaging 14 points and eight rebounds per game.

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By Jack McCaffery

Maggie Doogan knew for months that moment would arrive. Chrissie Doogan knew it for decades.

Maggie is the reigning All-Delco girls basketball Player of the Year about to enter her final season at Cardinal O’Hara High. Chrissie, her mother and the Lions’ head coach, was the Player of the Year in 1993. Together for the last three years, they have enjoyed the most recent burst of success of a program that has trafficked in great players and better teams since the late 1960s.

Beginning Saturday afternoon at the She’s Got Game Tournament in Washington, with a first-round game against St. Mary’s of Stockton, Calif., the final go-around at O’Hara for the two program greats will be on.

Already?

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