It’s always a little unusual that the hottest time of the year usually coincides with a sport most closely associated with the winter sports season. However, July is a time when there’s a number of basketball tournaments played in both the Washington, DC and Pennsylvania areas.
I had the chance this weekend to check out one of them—the “A-town Throw Down”—and see some of the action, as well as uncover some developing storylines worth watching as we head closer to the scholastic regular season.
OBSERVATION #1: I would NOT categorize Nazareth’s championship as a “major upset.”
This was quite the topic of conversation on Sunday as the Blue Eagles dispatched the defending Eastern Pennsylvania Conference & District XI champs—and the favorites to win this tournament—before going on to defeating Central Catholic in the final. Anyone who watched Nazareth during the final weeks of last winter’s season—and I had the chance to see them four times—could tell you that this team was maturing…and building confidence…as a unit. Yes, a look at the box scores of their last two meetings with the Trojans indicates Parkland blow-outs. However, Nazareth had to overcome a couple key injuries, had athletes playing varsity for the first time ever, and had to play guys out of position…and still put together a very impressive run to first qualify, then to advance deep, in the District XI playoffs.
Furthermore, Nazareth had won three of its five games in the previous week’s tournament, and the underclassmen (Johan Dotson, Kevin Wagner) look much more comfortable playing against the other top teams in the area over this past weekend. Both Dotson and Wagner exhibited great skill during the regular season and seemed like they would emerge as standout players in the area…and that time came on Sunday with impressive showings in both their semifinal and final contests. Parkland will still clearly be the team to beat this winter, but the Eagles will not be sneaking up on any teams next season.
It was a good tournament for all the Allentown teams. Central Catholic also had an impressive showing in advancing to the tourney’s last contest (a fact that also should not be a surprise—if you read my blog on the Vikings last month, that is). The Vikings are mixing some returning players with new talent. Dieruff had a nice showing and recorded an impressive win over Reading. Although Allen didn’t make the final two games, they did feature a number of returning players and had some impressive moments this past weekend and look to be among the top EPC teams again in the coming months.
OBSERVATION #2: Bethlehem Catholic will be better this season.
I doubt teams will be able to beat up on the Golden Hawks again this season. While they didn’t make it to the semifinals, I was impressed by the confidence—offensively—I saw among the Becahi players. They were matched up against some strong competition this weekend, and constantly attacked the basket and acted aggressively in both passing and taking shot attempts. I think they still have to work on their defense and develop a little more consistency overall, but after a very disappointing season, I think the future is very bright for the Hawks as they embark on a new era under new Head Coach Ray Barbosa.
OBSERVATION #3: The Return of the “Big Bangers”
There is no way to unequivocally say that what one sees over the summer will translate into the winter, indoor season. However, for a couple days, I was impressed by several big men who seem to play “Old School” and demand the basketball—then knew what to do with it when they got it. The game has evolved so that guards and small forwards are usually the go-to players, but a few centers really seemed to battle and work hard in the paint this past weekend.
One of the players who fit this bill was Whitehall’s Logan McKinley.
Against Del Val Charter and Hempfield, McKinley was constantly contested, hooked and bumped around by his opposing big men, but held his own and gave a shove-or-two in return. Just as impressively he showed excellent footwork and good fundamentals in providing solid offense for his Zephyrs. In fact, even when he was on this bench, it was Eric Johnson coming in and exhibiting some nice inside moves. Whitehall graduated nearly its entire team from last year, but if they can get quality minutes from their big men to go along with rising sophomore Mikey Esquilian, the Zephs could be right back in the district playoff hunt again this winter.
OBSERVATION #4: Defense is still important.
While stressing defense is always a key to winning teams, the defensive efforts sometimes wane during the summer leagues—especially on a weekend as hot as it was this year. However, I have to give a shout-out to Liberty’s Amir Griffin.
The Hurricanes were in a tied ballgame with their tournament future up for grabs and found themselves on defense at the end of their game. When the team came over to its huddle during the timeout, it was the players who wanted Amir to guard CB West’s top player with the game on the line.
There’s no question the Hurricanes have some big-time offensive weapons returning for the 2015-16 season and will once again be among the area’s elite teams, but it always good to recognize the top defensive players, as they don’t always seem to get the publicity that the top offensive players do.
Don’t forget, you can see more great summertime basketball. Coming up next week will be the 26th Annual Catasauqua Tournament of Champions to be held at the Catty Playground once again this season. RCN-TV will once again broadcast the title game on Thursday, July 30th.
