Reading 77 Holy Name 40

The Reading Red Knights captured the Reading Holiday tournament championship with a thrashing at the hands of the Blue Jays from Holy Name. Here are my thoughts on the win:

1. This was probably the best effort we have seen from this team since the Chester win. It will be interesting to see how we handle ourselves going into the next game. The one thing that has come really clear is that this team plays it's best when it feels threatened.
2. Kudos to Coach Redding for showing some fire in a timeout when we were down and it really had an impact as our intensity level raised immediately. Also, I thought he had a brilliant strategy of making the game a full court game tonight and seeing that Holy Name would wear down with playing such a short bench plus also playing on back to back nights.
3. Marcus Dawkins was clearly the best player on the court tonight and really had s solid all around game with 21 points 12 boards and 7 assists.
4. Trenity Burdine also had a nice game with 19 points, but more importantly he got some of his offense in the paint and really attacked the basket. When Burdine and Dawkins come to play Reading is a very dangerous team.
5. I was really impressed with Marco Laureano tonight as he played some solid defense and chipped in with some nice play on the offense side of the ball as well.

Reading 65 Central 60

Reading won their opening round game of their Christmas tournament over Central High School tonight. With the win they advance to tomorrow's championship game tomorrows night against Holy Name. Here are my thoughts on the game:

1. Plain and simple this team plays to the level of its competition. While this is good in games against top competition, it will come back to bite us somewhere down the line.
2. Someone has got to corral Delvon Brown out their and limit the dribbling. I like the kid and think he is going to be a player but he had way too many turnovers and a lot of the turnovers game from him over dribbling.
3. I'm glad to see us weed out some of the guys who were on their own agenda and I'm glad we did it before the new year and should pay dividends down the line as some of these younger players develop.
4. I think the one thing om offense that tonight really pointed out to me was this team as no low post option and every thing on offense comes from the perimeter. But I liked what I saw from the Weiglinski kid and I think the more he plays he could develop into a nice low post player in time.
5. Just wanted to point out that if we win tomorrow night we will still lose points in the district rankings for playing a AA school.

District 3 AAAA Rankings as of 12/28

HARRISBURG
8.857
YORK
8.818
ELIZABETHTOWN
8.571
PENN MANOR
8.286
MANHEIM TOWNSHIP
8.286
HEMPFIELD
8.000
READING
7.777
SOLANCO
7.777
RED LION
7.714
CD EAST
7.571
CEDAR CLIFF
7.555
CENTRAL YORK
7.200
DANIEL BOONE
7.111
GETTYSBURG
7.111
WILSON
7.000
RED LAND
7.000
COCALICO
6.625
CENTRAL DAUPHIN
6.571
LOWER DAUPHIN
6.429
CONESTOGA VALLEY
6.333
MECHANICSBURG
6.200
WARWICK
6.143
EXETER
6.000
WAYNESBORO
6.000
GOVERNOR MIFFLIN
6.000
CHAMBERSBURG
6.000
CEDAR CREST
5.750
MCCASKEY
5.667
DALLASTOWN
5.625
TWIN VALLEY
5.571
SPRING GROVE
5.444
DOVER
5.400
CUMBERLAND VALLEY
5.200
LEBANON
5.143
EPHRATA
4.750
SOUTHWESTERN
4.250
GARDEN SPOT
4.250
CARLISLE
4.125
YORK VO-TECH
4.000
MANHEIM CENTRAL
3.889
LAMPETER-STRASBURG
3.375

Reading 61 Governor Mifflin 53

The Reading Red Knights got back on the winning track with a dull and uninspiring win tonight at the Geigle. Here are my thoughts on the game:

1. I support the coach's decision in trying to instill some discipline in this team, but I think it time over the holiday break to lay down the gauntlet and keep the guys who want to play and let the guys go who are only out for themselves.
   
2. Delvon Brown really played a sub par game tonight. I realize that he is going to have games where he has some growing pains this year but he took way too many bad shots and didn't get the team into the offense.
   
3. The one think to take solace out of tonight is that we really played terrible for about 3 and a half quarters and still won.
   
4. To me tonight the one player who really acted like he cared was Yamit Echevarria and he brings that effort every game.

District 3 AAAA Rankings as of 12/20

YORK
8.875
HARRISBURG
8.833
ELIZABETHTOWN
8.600
PENN MANOR
8.167
MANHEIM TOWNSHIP
8.167
HEMPFIELD
7.833
READING
7.625
RED LION
7.500
CEDAR CLIFF
7.429
SOLANCO
7.429
CD EAST
7.333
CENTRAL YORK
7.286
WAYNESBORO
7.000
RED LAND
6.875
GETTYSBURG
6.875
WILSON
6.857
DANIEL BOONE
6.857
COCALICO
6.833
WARWICK
6.500
LOWER DAUPHIN
6.429
CONESTOGA VALLEY
6.429
TWIN VALLEY
6.400
MECHANICSBURG
6.375
GOVERNOR MIFFLIN
6.333
CEDAR CREST
6.000
DOVER
5.875
DALLASTOWN
5.857
SPRING GROVE
5.857
CENTRAL DAUPHIN
5.800
CUMBERLAND VALLEY
5.714
MCCASKEY
5.667
CHAMBERSBURG
5.600
EXETER
5.167
EPHRATA
4.857
LEBANON
4.500
CARLISLE
4.429
MANHEIM CENTRAL
4.400
SOUTHWESTERN
4.286
YORK VO-TECH
4.250
GARDEN SPOT
3.500
LAMPETER-STRASBURG
2.600

Harrisburg 74 Reading 67

The Reading Red Knights fell to defeat this afternoon in Harrisburg against the Cougars of Harrisburg High by the score of 74-67. Here are my thoughts on the game:

1. I loved the effort that we played with today and I truly felt like we fought to the end. But in the second half the execution just wasn't there to beat Harrisburg. I sort of expected a let down today and I don't really think there was one but I think we will grow from this loss.
2. Xavier Mumford had a solid game today with his 11 points and 16 boards and really answered some doubters including myself. I still think he can tend to be inconsistent but at least he has really come to play in the big games this season.
3. Delvon Brown had a nice game today with his 14 points and really has settled in at the point guard and I think when you have him at your point guard it allows Marcus Dawkins to play off the ball where he is more effective.
4. I have been a big supporter of Coach Redding and thought he did a decent job of coaching today but I was scratching my head wondering if we would have thrown a zone at Harrisburg while they were making their big run in the 2nd half it would of at least slowed them down.
5. I echo what others have said about the facility at Harrisburg in that it is a first class facility and is definitely one of the nicer gyms in District III to watch a game. But can we please find a PA announcer who is capable of reading players names. If you don't know how to pronounce them go to the coaching staff and ask the way it is correctly pronounced.
6. Memo to the officials: We had two championship quality teams out their too bad your level of officiating didn't match the level of play on the court. The technicals called on both teams were overreactions and had no business being called.
7. I feel like after this game we have a much better sense of what this team is and what it can be. I strongly believe Reading has just as much talent as Harrisburg and that the Red Knights are still a strong contender in District III along with Harrisburg, York, Wilson and even undefeated dark horse Elizabethtown.

Reading 83 McCaskey 81

The Reading High Red Knights improved to 4-1 on the season with a 83081 win at Mccaksey on Saturday night. Here are my thoughts on the game:

1. I tip my hat to coach Redding for how tonight how he tried to continue to establish discipline on this team with benching 4 guys for a quarter tonight. The only way he is going to get his point across his by taking playing time away. I also like his strategy at the end of the game tonight with holding the ball at the end and diagramming a play to let Delvin Brown create something for himself as he hit the layup at the buzzer to win the game.
2. Xavier Mumford had a solid game tonight and really played hard down low and was a force inside for us tonight. I have been critical of him for being inconsistent, but hopefully this is the sign of better things to come.
3. Marcus Dawkins was probably the best player on the floor for us tonight and showed great leadership that we expected out of him. I believe this was the most aggressive I have seen him in his young career.
4. Ive heard some people complain about the defense and I think it is a concern but I think it will definitely improve as they get more comfortable in the system. But the biggest problem on defense tonight was that are transition defense was horrendous and we really need to work on busting it to get back on defense.
5. I think what your seeing on offense is that Coach Redding's offensive mindset is to run even more than we did last year and I think its a mindset that our players will get used to very easily. The thing tonight pointed out to me was that when we attack the basket we are a very productive offense, but when we settle for jumpers that aren't in the rhythm of the offense we are a offense that is easy to defend.

Reading 63 Coatesville 58

The Reading Red Knights opened their home schedule with a sloppy 63-58 win over the visiting Coatesville Indians. Here are my thoughts on the game:

1. Right now this team just doesn't play smart. That is why I think Coach Redding is trying to make them play fast and do things without thinking.
2. While Marcus Dawkins had a solid game he needs to avoid the ball handling errors he made because this team looks to him for leadership and you cant have costly turnovers in the 4th quarter.
3. I really feel like Trenity Burdine needs to get his head into basketball. I have always felt the more aggressive he is the better of a player he is and his mind really seems to wander out their. Burdine and Dawkins have to realize that they are the leaders of this team and it will go as far as they are willing to take it.
4. Yamil Echevarria had a nice game tonight and I really like the intensity he brings to this team because we really don't have anyone else on the squad who plays with this level of intensity. I really hope he gets more minutes as the season goes on.
5. Delvon Brown had a much better game tonight and I think as he gets more comfortable he well become a solid player and will make Reading back court much better.

Williamsport 84 Reading 67

The start to the Reading High basketball season got off to a rocky start with an 84-67 loss to Williamsport in the opener of the Bearcat Basketball Classic. Here are my thoughts on the game:

1. At times I thought we played hard and hustled out there tonight but at other times I thought we lack intensity and looked like we didn't care.
2. The one thing I was really disappointed in was I didn't see much leadership on the court from our returning players. I think this team with experience will get better but we need the Trenity Burdines and the Marcus Dawkins to be the leaders on the court, because this is their team.
3. The biggest negative I saw was that we looked a step slow and we didn't pass the ball with crispness and committed way too many turnovers.
4. My biggest criticism of the coaching staff was that their was no really set offense being run and it looked like we had five guys on the court doing five different things. I think part of this is that he was hired so late and he needs time to get his system down with the players.

I will not be blogging after tonight's game cause I have a prior commitment but I should be their on Tuesday for the game against Coatesville.

Season Preview

Folks I'm back for another season of Reading High Basketball. I must say with the amount of changes in the off season as made me even more excited for the new season as I like many of you probably are saying that we really have not much of a clue of how this season will transpire.

When Coach Reyes retired I was taken aback just because as much criticism he had received from a segment of the fan base I didn't envision him not coming back. As the years go on I think for the most part people will look at the Reyes era as an era where we had some great teams (2 district titles) and some teams who had great talent but just underachieved or didn't come through come playoff time. But I would say the Reyes era was definitely one that he left the program in much better shape than when he took over. Also it should be noted that he did instill a level of discipline on the court to many of his teams.

Now when Coach Reyes left I like many of you had hope for a high profile big name coach but has the days went by and hearing the constant talk of Kirk Singleton coming back, I was needless to say underwhelmed and not excited about the proposition. So when I heard of the hiring of Tim Redding I was at least happy that it was a name who had some credentials as he did cut his teeth as an assistant on the college circuit. So I did more research and I went to the archives and pulled out the Albright program from his senior year and on his profile this is what was said of him as a player:

English major with aim toward coaching and sports management. Walk on who has been a member of the JV and Varsity squads at Albright. Outstanding track athlete at Southwestern High School where he was All-County in football and a member of record-setting 32o00 relay team as a junior and senior. Head coach at the time Ken Tyler said of Redding "Tim is an extremely hard worker, and gives us another coach on the floor".

So with that being said I think he has some good traits as being a hard worker and usually players who aren't the most gifted do become excellent coaches. But I think we as a fan base should expect some bumps in the road this year as he grows into being a head coach. But with that being said I still expect this to be a team that wins the county title and competes on the district and state level.

I will have a blog entry after tomorrow's game but will not be able to attend the game on Saturday.

Reading 63 CD East 51

The Reading High Red Knights captured their 19th district title today by beating the Panthers of CD East this afternoon at the Giant Center in Hershey, PA. Here are my thoughts on today's game:

1. We really didn't play great on the offensive end today but defensively we came through with a championship performance. Hats off as it was a total team effort. Coming into the game I really thought we would have to limit their three guards and not only did we limit them we really shot them down as Amani Glenn was 1 for 11 from the field, Demond Bates was 4 for 11 from the field and John Breeden was 2 for 11 from the field. So their big three shot 7 for 33 for 21 percent.
2. To me the MVP of the game was Nelson Leon. He set the tempo in hitting a couple of three's to start the game and played his usual outstanding defense and the other's seem to feed off his great defensive play.
3. What is really scary about our squad is that we played about our B- game on offense and still beat CD East by 12.
4. Jermaine Jackson did fall hard on his back and with a week to rest hopefully he can be ready for the first round of the State tournament on Saturday. While not having an outstanding he still had a great game in getting 12 points and 10 boards and while earlier this week talking the talk he also walked the walk.
5. Hats off to all of our loyal fans who made their presence felt today and made it like a home game for us. Also memo to all the naysayers throughout District III and especially in the Harrisburg area what more do you want this team to do before you give us some damn respect.
6. Memo to the Giant Center if you want even bigger crowds how about lowering your concession prices. I'm not asking for $1 hot dogs or anything but when get chicken tenders and a small coke and it costs $11 something is wrong with this picture. Its not like the people attending the game our folks with 6 figure salaries.
7. Also great to see Marcus Dawkins return to action with him seeing big minutes I really expect us to play suffocating defense like we did today.
8. I wanted to say congrats to CD East for getting this far. Coach Leib is a class act and his program is definitely on the right track.
9. It was great to see Coach Reyes celebrating with the players and seeing him happy. Also classy move in the post game interview on WEEU giving credit to his assistants as well.
10. As we look ahead we will play the Indians of Souderton High school who entered the District I tournament as the 20th seed. In their last couple games they have only played six players so its definitely a team we have to make run the full court and just wear down.
11. For those of you who are reading my blog on pennlive.com if you want to view a video of the pics I sent please visit my blog at www.redknighthoops.blogspot.com

Reading 61 Elizabethtown 38

The Reading Red Knights clinched a berth in the District III Championship game with a 61-38 win over the Elizabethtown Bears tonight at the Giant Center in Hershey. The following are my thoughts on tonight's win:

1. Another great defensive effort tonight as we outrebounded Etown 27-20 and held them to 27% from the field and they only made 9 field goals for the game. The biggest improvement in the postseason is our play at the defensive end of the court. We are averaging giving up 44 ppg in the district playoffs.
2. Jordan Burdine has been the MVP of the district playoffs as he had another stellar game tonight with 20 points and four treys. So far in the districts he has scored a total of 56 points for an average of almost 19 points per game.
3. Nelson Leon had another great game defensively and chipped in 7 points and 6 boards. Lately he also seems to be more aggressive on offense.
4. It was really good to see us for the first time in the district playoffs come out and play well from the start and run our offense very smoothly and efficiently.
5. Trenity Burdine only had 4 points tonight but I thought he was much more active tonight than he was on Saturday and if his shot wasnt falling he still tried to contribute in other ways.
6. As we look ahead to Saturday's championship game, it should be stated that from the start of the season these two teams have played the best ball over the whole season so both squads definitely deserve to be here.
7. When I look at CD East I think their are two things that play in our favor. One, they our a small team on the whole and Jermaine could have his way inside as he has at least three or four inchees on any defender he will see. The second thing is while they are a disciplined team they are not a great shooting team, so if they score 44 points again on Saturday they will have a very tough time beating us. I will be looking at some film on them and have a scouting report on CD East up on my blog on either Wednesday or Thursday.

Etown Preview

The semifinal round of the District playoffs brings in a team many didnt expect to get this far in the Elizabethtown Bears. From scouting them I really believe this is a team who all year long has snuck up on a lot of teams and has really taken advantage of teams looking past them. I will give a rundown of the key players for the Bears:

12 Jordan Hallman 6' SR G: Star running back for football team and probably best athelete on the team. Ran for 1100 yards on the football field with 13 TD's and has averaged 10 ppg in the postseason. Decent outside shooter who can make the 3 if left open. Good defensive player probably will guard Macho as he is the fastest player on squad.

22 Kyle McNeal 6'2 JR F: Another player from league champion football squad. Has averaged 10 ppg in the postseason, but that is deceiving in that he had 19 in their pigtail game but hasnt been in double figures the last two games. McNeal isnt a great offensive player but makes the most out of his talent by being a great hustle player and will eat up the garbage from offensive rebounds.

25 Quinn Cozzens 6'2 JR G: One of the better offensive players on the team as he has averaged 14 ppg in the postseason and averaged 13 ppg in league play this year. Best scoring threat from the perimeter.

23 Chad Styer 6"2 JR F: Has also averaged 14 ppg in the postseason. Had a huge game Saturday with 21 points. Another player who can knock down the open shot and is someone who we cant give open looks to.

50 Nate Koach 6'4 SR F: Plays the center spot as he is the biggest player on the team. Averaging 11 ppg in the playoffs. Played wide receiver on the football team and is not slight of body but by no means strong. I really think this is a player who we can bring Cook into the game to wear down as the game goes on, because you have got to expect Koach to play almost all of the game. Getting him in foul trouble could be huge.

21 Nate McCurdy 5'10 JR G: Has averaged 3 ppg in two playoff games. First guy off the bench for the Bears. Not a great offensive threat but will be aggressive when he gets the ball and take it to the hole.

31 Bradley Garber 6'1 SO F: Son of former Phillies pitcher Gene Garber. Played in first round game and came off the bench for 7 points. Will see action if anyone in the front court gets into foul trouble. Probably most physical player on the team and could see action also if Cook gets more minutes.

Etown has some good ballhandlers but will be put to the test against our pressure defense. If they dont make shots they have no chance to win. I really think that Etown could come into the game as just happy to be their. I think it will take them some time to get used to playing in a big arena which is something they havent done.

Keys to the game

1. Macho must push the ball up the court and really be aggressive. Their is no one on the Etown roster who can match up with him speed wise. I really think he could have a huge game Tuesday night.

2. Run, run, and run some more: After studying some tape Etown will run when they get the chance but also is comfortable playing half court ball. But you have got to expect them to really try to make it a half court affair.

3. Get Jermaine going early: If we can get Jermaine some looks early in the game I really can see him going for 20 points and 10 boards. Etown simply has no answer for him at either end.

Prediction:

Reading 75

Etown 49

Reading 61 York 47

The Reading Red Knights advanced to the District III semifinals with a victory over the York Bearcats by the score of 61-47 at the Giant Center in Hershey, PA. Here are my thoughts on the game:

1. In the first quarter I really thought our intensity was not at the level it should be at. We have got to realize that no one we play is going to give us their best shot and we really need to get back to playing solid basketball for four quarters.
2. The MVP of today's game for me was Demrick Cook. After we were getting killed on the boards he came into the game controlled the paint, banged some bodies, and was a defensive force today. He only had 2 points but grabbed 17 rebounds and dished out 6 assists. I never knew he had such talent to throw a nice lead pass on the fast break but he did so twice and hit the player in stride.
3. Jordan Burdine continued his great play against York as he had 25 points and 6 rebounds. I really think why he has played so well against the Bearcats is because they dont have guards who can matchup to him height wise and he could get any shot he wanted to.
4. We really shot poorly today as we went 36% from the field, but that is the sign of how well we have played defensively and how talented we are that we can only shoot 36% and still win by 14 against a decent team.
5. I heard numerous fans from Harrisburg say that we were lucky since York missed so many layups but you have to give credit to some of that on the defensive effort by the Red Knights.
6. With today's win we will advance to play Elizabethtown. I fully expect us to win this game but the Bears record is a little deceiving. They are 16-10 on the season but only three of those losses have come after the New Year. But with that being said their best wins on the whole season are their two wins in the postseason.
7. I know the officiating was not top notch today but I really hope we refrain from bashing today's crew from the Lancaster-Lebanon League since they were doing their job with a heavy heart as they lost one of their own in veteran L-L official Tim Bartholomew passed away after the Hershey-Boiling Springs game on Thursday night. It had to be tough for these three men especially one of the officials today was on site when Tim collapsed after the game.
8. I just wanted to talk about Tim for a quick second. I got the chance to work with Mr. Bartholomew a few years ago at the Zinn's Park summer league and he always had time to talk to anyone was a basketball fan and took his job very seriously but did it because he liked kids and enjoyed officiating and not for a paycheck. I did go back and look at the tape from our last district championship and Tim was one of the officials in that game. I guess the best compliment I can give is that when you saw him officiating one of your games you knew you had one less thing to worry about.
9. I will be back tommorrow with my preview on the ETown game.

Reading 64 Carlisle 49

The Reading Red Knights were victorious tonight by a score of 64-49 in their first round district game against the Thundering Herd of Carlisle at Wilson High School. Here are my thoughts on the game:

1. Great to see us come out strong from the get go and I really thought we played our best half of basketball in the postseason tonight in the first half. It was great to see us back in attack mode.
2. Jermaine Jackson continued his outstanding play in the postseason with 21 points and 15 boards. I did thing when we had our rough third period we really got away from getting him touches.
3. As a team we didnt shoot the ball well as we only shot 39% from the field but I thought we ran our offense pretty effectively. But on the defensive end I thought we played pretty well. Held Carlisle to only 36% from the field and gave up very few easy baskets. Also a huge stat in tonight's game was how we really limited them to one shot and done with us holding a 45-21 rebounding advantage.
4. Nelson Leon had a nice game tonight in that he looked for his shot, played good defense, and grabbed 3 boards.
5. Great game tonight by Demrick Cook who only had two points but was a force on the glass and did a great job defensively.
6. I think the biggest advantage we got from the extra day of rest is that it let Macho heal his ankle up and after looking careless at the start of the game he really played well.
7. Looking ahead to Saturday's game, I think it is a team who we have film on and we have played already so we should not have problems getting adjusted to them. Youve got to think that York will make some adjustments, but with their style of play I dont think their is much their going to change. It also should help us that we have already played in a big arena and York has not.

Reading 72 Daniel Boone 54

The Reading Red Knights captured the Berks County Championship tonight at the Sovereign Center by a score of 72-54 in front of a crowd of almost 5,000. Here are my thoughts on tonight's game:

1. Jermaine Jackson continued his strong tournament play with a career high 27 points and 12 rebounds. He picked a great night to go for a career high. It was evident early he took the bull by the horns and put the others on his back and was not going to be denied. I think he was easily the tournament MVP. For the three games of the tournament he finished with a total of 64 points and 30 rebounds. Props to Jermaine for after the game really going out of his way to acknowledge the fans.
2. Jordan Burdine had a tough night from the field in shooting 1 for 12, but he never let his cold shooting get to him. He still drove to the basket and got to the foul line. Also should be noted he did a decent job of running the point when Macho was in foul trouble.
3. After getting into foul trouble in the first half Macho had a really nice second half with 14 second half points. He did tweak his ankle again tonight, but in the postgame celebration he did seem to be fine. Hopefully, he will get treatment this week and be ready to go on Wednesday.
4. I thought we played really well on the defensive end of the court tonight as Boone only shot 21 for 61 for 34% from the field. Also it did help that Boone was an anemic 1 for 8 from three point range. Credit should go out to Nelson Leon for doing a great job of defending Jeff Sowers to four points and only one field goal.
5. Credit also goes out to Coach Reyes and his whole coaching staff for having the team ready to play and not letting them panic when Boone kept trying to make a run to get back in the game.
6. Daniel Boone should be proud of the way they played tonight. I thought the most impressive thing was that they never changed the way they played and battled. I think they could make some noise in a really tough AAA bracket.
7. The big test for this team is getting over the hangover from tonight's win and getting back to business and focusing on Carlisle. I think it really helps playing against a team who beat us last year so I dont think we will look past Carlisle.
8. You have got to love the irony in a year after we were forced to play a game against a 12 seed Carlisle in their back yard, that this year we will face Carlisle and that they will have to travel 75 miles to play the game while we will travel a whopping three miles to play the game.
9. For those who read my blog on Pennlive if you go to www.redknighthoops.blogspot.com I have incorporated a movie with the pictures I took from the game I hope you all enjoy it.

Daniel Boone Preview

Friday's Berks County Title game promises to be a game that promises to be a game that will be exciting as it pits the two highest scoring teams in Berks county.

Boone is probably the only team from the county who can throw three double figure scorers on the court against Reading. But after watching them in three games they are a team who has some big flaws. For one, they are a terrible defensive team. They have given up a lot of points to some bad offensive teams as they gave up 58 to a bad Warwick team, 70 to Twin Valley, and 57 to Ephrata. So I expect this game to be easily played in the 70's. The other thing that I see with Boone is that they will go on scoring droughts from time to time and when they do this we have to make them pay when this happens. I think the one thing going for them is that they did get some confidence from that they played well against us in the last game. But you can only take that so far and I think that point is a big rallying point for Reading to come show that we are a much better team than the last game.

Keys to the game:
1. Get out to a lead early and make them play at an even faster tempo than they are used to.
2. Control the boards. This is a team the last time we played that killed us on the glass. Because if you limit them to outside shots they simply have no chance.
3. Get Jermaine Jackson off early. Because if he gets going early it will also open it up even more for Jordan Burdine. Quite simply there is no one on the Boone roster who can guard Jordan.

Prediction:

Reading 94
Daniel Boone 62

My other random thoughts on this week:

• After looking around at the other league's postseason tournaments, it is clear that Berks County Championship has the best facility to play the game at by far. Just look at where all the rest of the leagues play their title games. Lancaster-Lebanon league is playing theirs at Manheim Township high school, York played their's at York College, and the Mid Penn is playing their championship game at Cumberland Valley. So I think we all should be thankful that we have such a wonderful facility to play our league title game at.
• Memo to the BCIAA why is Jack Carl officiating playoff games? Who does he have pictures of? Im not one to just bash officials but I thought postseason assignments are on merit not on how many years you have officiated. After he blew that call in the Muhlenberg/SV game Carl should have been taken off any more county playoff games.
• Why was last night's game started at 6:00, but Monday's first game started at 6:30. I know there are festivities at halftime but lets start the games at 630 and 8. Its not like their are a ton of people who want to get home by 9:30.

Reading 79 Muhlenberg 58

The Reading High Red Knights earned a trip to the county championship game on Friday night with a 79-58 win over the Muhlenberg Muhls tonight at the Sovereign Center. Here are my thoughts on the game:

1. Offensively tonight I thought we ran our offense much better tonight. We got shots in the rhythm of the offense and were an amazing 7/12 for 58% from three point land. But also did a good job of not just settling for the outside shot.
2. Jermaine Jackson had a great game tonight with 18 points and 7 boards. It is really good to see him play in an aggressive way and really set the tempo for the rest of his teammates. I think if he has another double double you would have to consider him as tournament MVP.
3. Jordan Burdine also had a great game with 28 points and five three pointers. It was good to see Jordan not just settle for the outside jumper tonight as he attacked the basket. When he attacks the basket he is just a complete ballplayer.
4. I was a little miffed at the defensive gameplan which called for a zone most of the night. I just thought attacking Zeller like we did in the first game was more of the way to go. But Im not complaining we got the win.
5. The one distressing thing for this week is the amount of easy baskets we have given up. We are really going to need to shore that up and do it quickly.
6. Macho played tonight but I dont think he looked like he was at full strength. We really need him to get back healthy and attack the basket more. He still played a great game but I thought tonight we did miss his offense as he only had four points.
7. I was glad to see Daniel Boone win tonight for two reasons. First, I think the tempo they play at will really come in handy for us as we will be in a comfort playing the uptempo system the Blazers like to play. Second, I think the players on this squad really want to show that the last game was a fluke against Daniel Boone and really lay a pounding on them and their is no better place for it to happen than in the championship game.

Reading 69 Wyomissing 47

The Reading High Red Knights won their opening game of the postseason with a hard fought 69-47 against the Wyomissing Spartans tonight at Wilson High School. Here are my thoughts on the game:

1. The six day layoff really showed tonight. At times we seemed to be a step slow and at other times seemed a tad off our game. The game was much closer than the score would say. But we are going to need to improve if we want to win some hardware this year.
2. I thought on offense we ran our offense pretty well and we were unselfish and moved the ball around and got good looks at the basket.
3. Huge game tonight by Jermaine Jackson with 19 points and 11 boards. When Jermaine gets a double double we are almost unbeatable. We got him touches early and like I have hammered home this year get the big man involved early and he will come through.
4. Jordan Burdine has 15 points on a relatively poor shooting night as he went 4 for 14 from the field, but was effective getting to the line 10 times. When he attacks the basket and doesnt just shoot the outside jumper he is unstoppable.
5. It was good to see that when we were flat tonight that our senior leaders stepped to the forfront and got the team out of the doldrums. If you want to be a great team come playoff time you are going to need your seniors to play like seniors and they definitely did tonight.
6. Macho turned an ankle in the second quarter and left the game but returned after halftime and seemed to be at about 85-90%. Hopefully he will be able to go at close to full go on Wednesday.
7. I have to give props to Wyomissing tonight they gave us their best and played very well and definitely earned my respect as they had a solid game plan, were well coached, and didnt come into the game in awe of us like some other county teams have. Good luck Wyomissing in districts.
8. With Muhlenberg on Wednesday this is a matchup that definitely will favor us as they like to play fast. I expect a much better performace on Wednesday night.

District 3 AAAA Rankings as of 1/31

1
Reading
23-0
8.739
2
CD East
20-2
8.318
3
McCaskey
18-4
8.091
4
Cedar Crest
18-4
7.773
5
Red Lion
19-4
7.739
6
Hempfield
17-5
7.682
7
Red Land
18-4
7.545
8
York
17-6
7.261
9
Conestoga Valley
14-8
7.091
10
Dallastown
15-7
7.045
11
Elizabethtown
14-9
6.870
12
Mechanicsburg
14-8
6.818
13
Cedar Cliff
14-9
6.783
14
Cocalico
13-10
6.783
15
Carlisle
13-9
6.682
16
Chambersburg
12-8
6.632
17
Exeter
12-8
6.45018
Harrisburg
11-9
6.450
19
Wilson
12-11
6.304
20
Gettysburg
13-10
6.087
21
Waynesboro
11-11
5.455
22
Penn Manor
9-14
5.826
23
Solanco
9-13
5.818
24
Manheim Township
8-14
5.773
25
Cumberland Valley
8-14
5.591
26
Central York
9-14
5.522
27
Southwestern
9-14
5.478
28
Ephrata
7-15
5.409
29
Governor Mifflin
7-15
5.182
30
Central Dauphin
6-16
5.136
31
Warwick
5-18
4.913
32
Spring Grove
5-18
4.565
33
Lower Dauphin
4-18
4.364
34
Twin Valley
6-16
4.318
35
Garden Spot
1-22
4.000
36
York Vo-Tech
4-18
3.455

If the season ended tonight the first round matchups would be:
1Reading vs 16Chambersburg/17Exeter
2CD East vs 15Carlisle/18Harrisburg
3McCaskey vs 14Cocalico/19Wilson
4Cedar Crest vs 13Cedar Cliff/20Gettysburg
5Red Lion vs 12Mechanicsburg/21Waynesboro
6Hempfield vs 11Elizabethtown
7Red Land vs10Dallastown
8York vs 9Conestoga Valley

Ok let me go down the list of possibilities here with each seed.

Reading clinched the #1 seed.
Like I said last night. CD East wins they have the 2 seed, if they lose McCaskey gets the 2 seed and CD East gets the 3 seed.
Cedar Crest clinched the 4 seed
Red Lion clinched the 5 seed
Hempfield clinched the 6 seed
Red Land clinched the 7 seed no matter if they win or lose on Friday against Susquehanna Township
York has clinched the 8 seed
If Conestoga Valley beats Governor Mifflin they stay as the 9 seed. If they would lose which I dont expect to happen Dallastown becomes the 9 and CV falls to the 10 seed.
I could go into a whole lot of scenarios for the 11-17 slots but they would confuse you as well as me. But if Harrisburg wins like I have said before they will either be 15 or 16. If they lose they stay at 18. I do know that if Harrisburg and Cedar Cliff win then we will have Harrisburg at 15, Carlisle at 16, Chambersburg at 17, and Exeter at 18.
Wilson won tonight to clinch their berth and will be the 19 seed
Gettysburg will be the 20 seed.
Waynesboro will try and finish their three game gauntlet to get in as the 21 seed with their game against West Perry. So win and their in lose and their done.

Also if you folks have any questions I will try and clarify and if you are at a game on Friday night please post a score on Pennlive as soon as you can so I can get the first round matchups as soon as I can for everyone.

District 3 AAAA Rankings as of 1/30

1
Reading
23-0
8.739
2
CD East
20-2
8.318
3
McCaskey
18-4
8.091
4
Cedar Crest
18-4
7.773
5
Red Lion
19-4
7.739
6
Hempfield
17-5
7.682
7
Red Land
18-4
7.545
8
York
17-6
7.261
9
Conestoga Valley
14-8
7.091
10
Dallastown
15-7
7.045
11
Elizabethtown
14-9
6.870
12
Mechanicsburg
14-8
6.818
13
Cedar Cliff
14-9
6.783
14
Cocalico
13-10
6.783
15
Carlisle
13-9
6.682
16
Exeter
12-7
6.632
17
Chambersburg
12-8
6.632
18
Harrisburg
11-9
6.450
19
Wilson
11-11
6.182
20
Gettysburg
12-10
6.000
21
Waynesboro
11-11
5.455
22
Penn Manor
9-14
5.826
23
Solanco
9-13
5.818
24
Manheim Township
8-14
5.773
25
Cumberland Valley
8-14
5.591
26
Central York
9-14
5.522
27
Southwestern
9-14
5.478
28
Ephrata
7-15
5.409
29
Governor Mifflin
7-14
5.238
30
Central Dauphin
6-16
5.136
31
Warwick
5-18
4.913
32
Spring Grove
5-18
4.565
33
Twin Valley
6-15
4.381
34
Lower Dauphin
4-18
4.364
35
Garden Spot
1-22
4.000
36
York Vo-Tech
5-18
3.565

If the season ended today the matchups would be:
1Reading vs 16Exeter/17Chambersburg
2CD East vs 15Carlisle/18Harrisburg
3McCaskey vs 14Cocalico/19Wilson
4Cedar Crest vs 13Cedar Cliff/20Gettysburg
5Red Lion vs 12Mechanicsburg/21Waynesboro
6Hempfield vs 11Elizabethtown
7Red Land vs 10Dallastown
8York vs 9Conestoga Valley

Like I mentioned before Harrisburg will be in the 16/17 slot if they win unless Daniel Boone beats Exeter and Cedar Cliff beats Carlisle along with the Harrisburg win would push the Cougars to 15th. The other thing is that if the Cougars are in the 16/17 game they will assuredly have to play Cedar Cliff in the pigtail round. Also if CD East loses on Friday to Steel High they will drop to the 3rd seed and McCaskey will gain the #2 seed.

District 3 AAAA Rankings as of 1/29

1
Reading
23-0
8.739
2
CD East
19-2
8.286
3
McCaskey
17-4
8.048
4
Red Lion
19-4
7.739
5
Cedar Crest
17-4
7.714
6
Hempfield
16-5
7.619
7
Red Land
17-4
7.476
8
York
17-6
7.261
9
Dallastown
15-7
7.045
10
Conestoga Valley
13-8
7.000
11
Mechanicsburg
15-6
6.952
12
Cedar Cliff
14-9
6.783
13
Elizabethtown
13-9
6.773
14
Cocalico
12-10
6.682
15
Exeter
12-7
6.632
16
Chambersburg
12-8
6.632
17
Carlisle
12-9
6.619
18
Harrisburg
11-9
6.450
19
Wilson
11-11
6.182
20
Gettysburg
12-10
6.000
21
Penn Manor
9-13
5.910
22
Solanco
9-12
5.905
23
Manheim Township
8-13
5.857
24
Cumberland Valley
8-14
5.591
25
Central York
9-14
5.522
26
Southwestern
9-14
5.478
27
Ephrata
7-14
5.476
28
Waynesboro
10-11
5.286
29
Governor Mifflin
7-14
5.238
30
Central Dauphin
6-15
5.190
31
Warwick
5-17
4.955
32
Spring Grove
5-18
4.565
33
Twin Valley
6-15
4.381
34
Lower Dauphin
4-17
4.381
35
Garden Spot
1-21
4.000
36
York Vo-Tech
5-18
3.565

If the season ended today the first round matchups would be:
1Reading vs 16Chambersburg/17Carlisle
2CD East vs 15Exeter/18Harrisburg
3McCaskey vs 14Cocalico/19Wilson
4Red Lion vs 13Elizabethtown/20Gettysburg
5Cedar Crest vs 12Cedar Cliff
6Hempfield vs 11Mechanicsburg
7Red Land vs 10Conestoga Valley
8York vs 9Dallastown

Congratulations goes out to Gettysburg and Carlisle for clinching births into the district tournament. Also, Waynesboro one the first leg of their three game gauntlet to get into the district tournament.

Reading 90 Exeter 56

The Reading Red Knights capped their season of dreams with a convincing 90-56 win over the visiting Exeter Eagles tonight at the Geigle. Here are my thoughts on the game:

1. Smart move by the coaching staff in holding Trenity Burdine out of tonight's game. The only meaning of tonight's game was on whether we finished off the regular season undefeated. The 6 days off should really come in handy as we have some players who need to heal the bumps and bruises.
2. Was kind of disappointed with the sluggish start. But as any championship team does they finished the final three quarters strong. Things really started to pick up for us when Dawkins got into the game. The one thing that I really took notice to when Marcus got in the game was that our defensive intensity really came to the forefront.
3. I thought the perfect example of what this team is all about was tonight when reserve forward By-Nee Waples had a dunk in the closing minutes and the bench just rose to their feet. Things like this show how they are one unit and have great chemistry and camaraderie. This team has taken a lot of insults and criticisms from outsiders and have played hard all year and given the school and the city something to be very proud of.
4. As we look ahead to the county playoffs we will play the second place finisher out of Berks IV. With us being well rested it should really help since whoever we play assuming that the Berks IV race goes to a tiebreaker will have played a hard fought game on Friday night and then have to ratchet it up to play us while we have been healing since Tuesday night.

District 3 AAAA Rankings as of 1/28

1
Reading
22-0
8.727
2
CD East
19-2
8.286
3
McCaskey
17-4
8.048
4
Red Lion
19-4
7.739
5
Cedar Crest
17-4
7.714
6
Hempfield
16-5
7.619
7
Red Land
17-4
7.476
8
York
17-6
7.261
9
Dallastown
15-7
7.045
10
Conestoga Valley
13-8
7.000
11
Mechanicsburg
14-6
6.950
12
Exeter
12-6
6.778
13
Elizabethtown
13-9
6.773
14
Cedar Cliff
13-9
6.682
15
Cocalico
12-10
6.682
16
Harrisburg
11-8
6.579
17
Chambersburg
10-8
6.556
18
Carlisle
11-9
6.500
19
Wilson
11-11
6.182
20
Gettysburg
11-10
5.905
21
Penn Manor
9-13
5.910
22
Solanco
9-12
5.905
23
Manheim Township
8-13
5.857
24
Cumberland Valley
8-14
5.591
25
Central York
9-14
5.522
26
Southwestern
9-14
5.478
27
Ephrata
7-14
5.476
28
Central Dauphin
6-14
5.250
29
Waynesboro
9-11
5.150
30
Governor Mifflin
6-14
5.100
31
Warwick
5-17
4.955
32
Spring Grove
5-18
4.565
33
Twin Valley
6-14
4.450
34
Lower Dauphin
4-17
4.381
35
Garden Spot
1-21
4.000
36
York Vo-Tech
4-18
3.455

If the season ended today the first round matchups would be:
1Reading vs 16Harrisburg/17Chambersburg
2CD East vs 15Cocalico/18Carlisle
3McCaskey vs 14Cedar Cliff/19Wilson
4Red Lion vs 13Elizabethtown/20Gettysburg
5Cedar Crest vs 12Exeter
6Hempfield vs 11Mechanicsburg
7Red Land vs 10Conestoga Valley
8York vs 9Dallastown

Harrisburg should move up to around #14 with two winnable games this week.
Solanco has been eliminated with tonight's loss and with the Wilson loss the Bulldogs now need to find a way to win against Mifflin to get in.

District 3 AAAA Rankings as of 1/27

1
Reading
22-0
8.727
2
CD East
19-2
8.286
3
McCaskey
16-4
8.000
4
Cedar Crest
17-3
7.900
5
Red Lion
18-4
7.682
6
Hempfield
15-5
7.550
7
Red Land
17-4
7.476
8
York
16-6
7.182
9
Dallastown
14-7
6.952
10
Mechanicsburg
14-6
6.950
11
Conestoga Valley
12-8
6.900
12
Cocalico
12-9
6.810
13
Exeter
12-6
6.778
14
Elizabethtown
12-9
6.667
15
Harrisburg
11-8
6.579
16
Cedar Cliff
12-9
6.571
17
Chambersburg
10-8
6.556
18
Carlisle
11-9
6.500
19
Wilson
11-10
6.286
20
Gettysburg
11-9
6.050
21
Solanco
9-11
6.000
22
Manheim Township
8-12
5.950
23
Penn Manor
8-13
5.762
24
Cumberland Valley
8-13
5.714
25
Central York
9-13
5.591
26
Southwestern
9-13
5.545
27
Ephrata
6-14
5.300
28
Central Dauphin
6-14
5.250
29
Waynesboro
9-11
5.150
30
Governor Mifflin
6-14
5.100
31
Warwick
5-16
5.000
32
Spring Grove
5-17
4.591
33
Twin Valley
6-14
4.450
34
Lower Dauphin
4-16
4.400
35
Garden Spot
1-20
4.000
36
York Vo-Tech
4-17
3.524

If the season ended today the first round matchups would be:
1Reading vs 16Cedar Cliff/17Chambersburg
2CD East vs 15Harrisburg/18Carlisle
3McCaskey vs 14Elizabethtown/19Wilson
4Cedar Crest vs 13Exeter/20Gettysburg
5Red Lion vs 12Cocalico
6Hempfield vs 11Conestoga Valley
7Red Land vs 10Mechanicsburg
8York vs 9Dallastown

The following teams are still alive for a district berth:

1. Carlisle 11-9: Need one more win to get in. Should get it with a relatively easy schedule the rest of the way. Remaing games are Central Dauphin, Kennard Dale, and at Cedar Cliff
2. Wilson 11-10: Need one more win in final two games to get in. Remaing games are Emmaus and at Governor Mifflin. They better beat Emmaus cause the Mifflin game could be a tough one as it will be Goveror Mifflin's playoff game as this will be their last game of the regular season.
3. Gettysburg 11-9: Needs one win in last four games which should be attainable. Remaining schedule is Susquehanna Township, At Palmyra, At Littlestown, and Lower Dauphin.
4. Solanco 9-11: Needs to win last three games to qualify which is almost a herculian task. All three remaining games are against teams with at least 12 wins. If they miss out they will look back at loss against 6-14 Ephrata as the backbreaker. Remainig games are At Elizabethtown, At Cocalico, and Oxford.
5. Waynesboro: In the same bind as Solanco in that they need to win three straight to get in. Still have a punchers chance to make it in that their final three games are all against teams with 8 wins or less. Remaining schedule is At Northern, At Central Dauphin, and West Perry.

Sunday Night Rant

While I was waiting for the Harrisburg score to come in, I wanted to take time to get something off my chest. It occurred to me this week after hearing numerous times announcements of sportsmanship and behavior at the start of the game that these announcements are getting longer and longer and now are getting almost as long as Dr. King's war and peace speech. I realize administrators and the powers that be in the PIAA realize this is necessary but I think if you asked 99.9% of fans if this is necessary they would say no and be able to tell you what is acceptable and not acceptable. I really belief that the PIAA has taken some of the fun out of going to high school games and they need to hear from some of us because at times they seem to be a communistic like organization. I went and did some research on the PIAA's sportsmanship policy and what they consider unacceptable behavior. I will go through each category of what PIAA considers unacceptable behavior and state what I think the good parts and bad parts of it are:

• Yelling, waving arms, or objects during and opponent's free throw attempt: I know when i was a student this rule was not on the books but I know some disagree I think it is a rule that is OK with regards to the waving arms or objects. But not being able to yell while an opponent is shooting a foul shot is an example of how they are trying to take away the fun from all of us. To me as long as your not yelling anything vulgar or derisive there should be no problem with yelling during an opponents foul shot attempt.
• Disrespectful or derogatory cheers, chants, songs, or gestures: I think this rule is spot on and pretty good. I think the higher up's should take the time and realize at times that kids will be kids and nicely let them know what is unacceptable.
• Criticizing contest officials in any way: This is one I have a huge problem with. So every player, coach or fan who argues with an official is showing unacceptable behavior. I think what the PIAA should realize is that bad calls happen and are part of the game but it is acceptable for fans and coaches to show their displeasure as long as they are not profane in doing so. I don't see what is wrong with a fan who thinks their team is getting the short end of the stick yelling out to an official that there are two teams on the court or to call them both ways. Also officials should be bigger people than to react to this.
• Cheers that antagonize an opponent: I think this is something that should be dealt with on a case by case basis. I think in some cases where fans will yell to another team's fan's chants of "Why so quiet" or "We cant hear you" are perfectly fine. But when they get mean spirited like the Lancaster Catholic fans chanting "Food stamps" at the Columbia fans should be dealt with swiftly.
• Refusing to shake hands or give recognition of good performance: I think there is no place for not shaking hands with an opponent after the game. But in reading in depth the PIAA's sportsmanship section on their website they think you should cheer an opponents great play. I'm sorry your not going to get me to cheer for an opponent making a good play against my team. It's high school sports, not high school musical.
• Blaming a loss on contest officials, coaches, or participants: This is one that I think is violated way too much and their is no place for doing such.
• Laughing or name calling to distract an opponent: I really don't see this happen a lot so I think it is fine that it is on the books and don't disagree with it.
• Use of profanity or displays of anger: I know the PIAA wants everyone to be nice and I don't think fans should use vulgarity in any way. But these men in their stuffed suits in the PIAA office I think should realize that if this rule applies to coaches then 95% of coaches have exhibited unacceptable behavior.
• Doing own cheers instead of following the lead of cheerleaders: This is another rule that is so asinine and needs to be taken off the books. I think cheerleaders are wonderful people and a huge part of high school athletics. But lets face it they don't lead cheers more than maybe two or three times a quarter. So the other times the fans start a chant where they spell out the letters of their school or nickname are showing unacceptable behavior. Also their our times where a school's cheerleaders are unable to attend for numerous reasons, so the PIAA is saying to us that you cant start a cheer of your own and you will just have to sit on your hands.
• Wearing extreme of unusual clothing or excessive body paint that detracts from the contest: Another rule that is extraneous and I don't see the point of it. So as I attended the Central Catholic/Holy Name game last night, then all those CC fans who had their chest's painted with letters spelling out Cardinals should have been ejected. If I was a player a nice looking cheerleader would be far more distracting than some student with their face or body painted. This rule is another example of the PIAA trying to legislate the fun out of athletics.

After reading through this list of items my biggest fear is that they are almost expecting fans to go to the game and either sit on their hands or wear a straight jacket. These athletic events are supposed to be fun and my biggest fear is that the PIAA is trying to legislate the fun out of it. I realize that no one in the PIAA will read this but I welcome their feedback as well as my loyal readers feedback.

District 3 AAAA Rankings as of 1/26

1
Reading
22-0
8.727
2
CD East
19-2
8.286
3
McCaskey
16-4
8.000
4
Cedar Crest
17-3
7.900
5
Red Lion
18-4
7.682
6
Hempfield
15-5
7.550
7
Red Land
17-4
7.476
8
York
16-6
7.182
9
Dallastown
14-7
6.952
10
Mechanicsburg
14-6
6.950
11
Conestoga Valley
12-8
6.900
12
Cocalico
12-9
6.810
13
Exeter
12-6
6.778
14
Harrisburg
11-7
6.722
15
Elizabethtown
12-9
6.667
16
Cedar Cliff
12-9
6.571
17
Chambersburg
10-8
6.556
18
Carlisle
11-9
6.500
19
Wilson
11-10
6.286
20
Gettysburg
11-9
6.050
21
Solanco
9-11
6.000
22
Manheim Township
8-12
5.950
23
Penn Manor
8-13
5.762
24
Cumberland Valley
8-13
5.714
25
Central York
9-13
5.591
26
Southwestern
9-13
5.545
27
Ephrata
6-14
5.300
28
Central Dauphin
6-14
5.250
29
Waynesboro
9-11
5.150
30
Governor Mifflin
6-14
5.100
31
Warwick
5-16
5.000
32
Spring Grove
5-17
4.591
33
Twin Valley
6-14
4.450
34
Lower Dauphin
4-16
4.400
35
Garden Spot
1-20
4.000
36
York Vo-Tech
4-17
3.524

If the season ended today the matchups would be:
1Reading vs 16Cedar Cliff/17Chambersburg
2CD East vs 15Elizabethtown/18Carlisle
3McCaskey vs 14Harrisburg/19Wilson
4Cedar Crest vs 13 Exeter/20Gettysburg
5Red Lion vs 12Cocalico
6Hempfield vs 11Conestoga Valley
7Red Land vs 10Mechanicsburg
8York vs 9Dallastown

Congratulations go out to the Chambersburg Trojans who became the 17th team in the AAAA district field.

Some people have asked if Harrisburg loses to Chester will they fall to 16th and the answer to that is no they would only be the 15th seed.

District 3 AAAA Rankings as of 1/25

1
Reading
22-0
8.727
2
CD East
19-2
8.286
3
McCaskey
16-4
8.000
4
Cedar Crest
17-3
7.900
5
Red Lion
18-4
7.682
6
Hempfield
15-5
7.550
7
Red Land
17-4
7.476
8
York
16-6
7.182
9
Dallastown
14-7
6.952
10
Mechanicsburg
14-6
6.950
11
Conestoga Valley
12-8
6.900
12
Cocalico
12-9
6.810
13
Exeter
12-6
6.778
14
Harrisburg
11-7
6.722
15
Cedar Cliff
12-9
6.571
16
Elizabethtown
12-9
6.667
17
Carlisle
11-9
6.500
18
Chambersburg
9-8
6.471
19
Wilson
11-10
6.286
20
Gettysburg
10-9
5.895
21
Solanco
9-11
6.000
22
Manheim Township
8-12
5.950
23
Penn Manor
8-13
5.762
24
Cumberland Valley
8-13
5.714
25
Central York
9-13
5.591
26
Southwestern
9-13
5.545
27
Ephrata
6-14
5.300
28
Central Dauphin
6-14
5.250
29
Waynesboro
9-11
5.150
30
Warwick
5-16
5.000
31
Governor Mifflin
5-14
4.895
32
Spring Grove
5-17
4.591
33
Twin Valley
6-14
4.450
34
Lower Dauphin
4-16
4.400
35
Garden Spot
1-19
4.000
36
York Vo-Tech
4-17
3.524

If the season ended today the matchups would be:
1Reading vs 16Elizabethtown/17Carlisle
2CD East vs 15Cedar Cliff/18Chambersburg
3McCaskey vs 14Harrisburg/19Wilson
4Cedar Crest vs 13Exeter/20Gettysburg
5Red Lion vs 12Cocalico
6Hempfield vs 11Conestoga Valley
7Red Land vs 10Mechanicsburg
8York vs 9Dallastown

Congratulations to the Reading High Red Knights for clinching the #1 seed. Congratulations also go out to Harrisburg, Cocalico, Cedar Cliff, Conestoga Valley, and Elizabethtown for clinching bids in the District tournament.

So as of now 16 teams have clinched and it looks like right now that the District III AAAA tournament will have 20 teams in it.

Another thing is that tonight McCaskey leaped ahead of Cedar Crest to the number 3 spot. If the Tornadoes win their last two games and CD East loses to Steel High the Red Tornadoes will finish ahead of CD East for the #2 spot.

Reading 94 Muhlenberg 48

The Reading Red Knights had a dominating performance tonight in a 94-48 win over the Muhlenberg Muhls. The win leaves the Red Knights one win away from a perfect regular season. Here are my thoughts on the game:

1. I know we have had a lot of impressive wins this year, but I think this was our most dominant performance of the year. It seems awkward to say but the game was over four minutes in. I think you would be hard pressed to find anything to complain about in our game tonight. Also should be noted that every player on the Reading rosters scored a point tonight and every player except for Camara had a field goal.
2. Macho set the tempo tonight. He ramped up the defense on Muhlenberg's best player Derek Zeller and constantly knifed through the lane and attacked the rim. Earlier in the week Macho had called out Zeller and had told him he was coming for him. So it is refreshing to see a player who can talk the talk but also walk the walk. I also think you will be hard pressed to find a faster point guard in the state of Pennsylvania.
3. Jermaine Jackson looked better tonight on his injured ankle. I don't think he has quite the same explosiveness but he did make his presence felt as he was much better tonight than he was last night.
4. Jordan Burdine led all scorers with 15 points and 8 assists. Once again with Jordan out their it showed how potent our offense is and is almost impossible to hold down for a whole game.
5. I thought Coach Reyes and his coaching staff coached the pants off the Muhlenberg coaching staff. First, he had his team ready for bear tonight and they were locked in from the start. He also earns points running 2 guys at Derek Zeller in the first quarter which helped to get Muhlenberg on their heels. It amazes me how these teams who just don't have the horses try and run up and down the court against the Red Knights. It is like they are playing Russian Roulette. The other thing amazes me with our opponents is how they always come out in zone and we just shoot them right out of the game early on.
6. With tonight's win we are the number 1 seed in the District III AAAA tournament and are probably looking at a first game being played at Governor Mifflin or Wilson.

District 3 AAAA Rankings as of 1/24

1
Reading
21-0
8.762
2
CD East
18-2
8.250
3
Cedar Crest
17-2
8.105
4
McCaskey
15-4
7.947
5
Red Lion
17-4
7.619
6
Hempfield
14-5
7.474
7
Red Land
16-4
7.450
8
York
16-5
7.333
9
Exeter
12-5
6.941
10
Mechanicsburg
13-6
6.895
11
Dallastown
13-7
6.850
12
Conestoga Valley
11-8
6.789
13
Cocalico
11-9
6.700
14
Carlisle
11-8
6.684
15
Harrisburg
10-7
6.588
16
Elizabethtown
11-9
6.550
17
Cedar Cliff
11-9
6.500
18
Chambersburg
9-8
6.471
19
Wilson
10-10
6.150
20
Gettysburg
9-9
5.833
21
Solanco
9-10
6.105
22
Manheim Township
8-11
6.053
23
Cumberland Valley
8-12
5.800
24
Central York
9-12
5.667
25
Southwestern
9-12
5.619
26
Penn Manor
7-13
5.600
27
Ephrata
6-13
5.368
28
Central Dauphin
6-13
5.316
29
Waynesboro
9-10
5.263
30
Warwick
5-15
5.050
31
Governor Mifflin
5-14
4.895
32
Twin Valley
6-13
4.526
33
Lower Dauphin
4-15
4.474
34
Spring Grove
4-17
4.381
35
Garden Spot
1-18
4.000
36
York Vo-Tech
4-16
3.550

If the season ended today the matchups would be the following

1Reading vs 16Elizabethtown/17Cedar Cliff
2CD East vs 15Harrisburg/18Chambersburg
3Cedar Crest vs 14Carlisle/19Wilson
4McCaskey vs 13Cocalico/20Gettysburg
5Red Lion vs 12Conestoga Valley
6Hempfield vs 11Dallastown
7Red Land vs 10Mechanicsburg
8York vs 9Exeter

Reading 89 Governor Mifflin 43

The Reading Red Knights coasted to an easy 89-43 win tonight at home against the over matched Governor Mifflin Mustangs. Here are my thoughts on the game:

1. It was great to see Jordan Burdine on the court and in uniform tonight. He never really drove the ball to the whole but he has not lost his jumper as he made four three pointers. I didn't think he would start tonight, but he did and his play didn't skip a beat. When he is on the court it gives the offense so much balance and has to honor all of our shooters.
2. I loved how we came out strong again and let Mifflin know there was no chance for them in tonight's game. Good job by Coach Reyes in getting our starters some minutes but getting them some rest in the 4th quarter. I know some have wondered why we would play back to back games but it is a good thing to go through and I don't expect it to hamper us in the least.
3. Jermaine Jackson started tonight and looked to be playing at 75% with a sprained ankle. I know some might want him to rest but having him out their at 75% alters shots on the inside and after Tuesday. He will have a full six days to rest before the county playoffs start. Jermaine only had five points and I didn't think we did a good job of getting him touches in the first quarter.
4. Joshua Sheriff had another solid effort tonight with 8 points off the bench. It is nice to see a player take advantage of the time he is getting in Marcus Dawkins absence. You've got to wonder if and when Dawkins comes back if he will be behind Sheriff on the depth chart.
5. Tonight's win clinched a Berks I regular season title and a tie for the #1 seed in the district playoffs. I will have updated rankings later on tonight.
6. The last thing I wanted to talk about was on the Pennlive board I have seen a number of rival fans complain about us running up the score, playing dirty, or just having an open animosity toward the Reading High program. I really think we should come to the fact as being the biggest school out there were never going to be the most well liked or have verbal bouquets thrown our way when talking about our team. So I really think we need to embrace the image of being the big bully on the block. Kind of the same way the Patriots or the the Oakland Raiders of the 1970's. Just my opinion would love to hear what the rest of the Red Knight nation thinks.

District 3 AAAA Rankings as of 1/22

1
Reading
20-0
8.750
2
CD East
18-2
8.250
3
Cedar Crest
17-2
8.105
4
McCaskey
15-4
7.947
5
Red Lion
17-4
7.619
6
Hempfield
14-5
7.474
7
Red Land
16-4
7.450
8
York
16-5
7.333
9
Exeter
12-5
6.941
10
Mechanicsburg
13-6
6.895
11
Dallastown
13-7
6.850
12
Conestoga Valley
11-8
6.789
13
Cocalico
11-9
6.700
14
Carlisle
11-8
6.684
15
Harrisburg
10-7
6.588
16
Chambersburg
9-8
6.471
17
Cedar Cliff
10-9
6.421
18
Elizabethtown
10-9
6.421
19
Wilson
10-10
6.150
20
Gettysburg
9-9
5.833
21
Solanco
9-10
6.105
22
Manheim Township
8-11
6.053
23
Cumberland Valley
8-11
5.895
24
Central York
9-11
5.800
25
Southwestern
9-12
5.619
26
Penn Manor
7-13
5.600
27
Ephrata
6-13
5.368
28
Central Dauphin
6-13
5.316
29
Waynesboro
9-10
5.263
30
Warwick
5-15
5.050
31
Governor Mifflin
5-13
4.944
32
Twin Valley
6-13
4.526
33
Lower Dauphin
4-15
4.474
34
Spring Grove
4-17
4.381
35
Garden Spot
1-18
4.000
36
York Vo-Tech
4-16
3.550

If the season ended today the first round matchups would be:
1Reading vs 16Chambersburg/17Cedar Cliff
2CD East vs 15Harrisburg/18Elizabethtown
3Cedar Crest vs 14Carlisle/19Wilson
4McCaskey vs. 13Cocalico/20Gettysburg
5Red Lion vs 12 Conestoga Valley
6Hempfield vs 11Dallastown
7Red Land vs 10Mechanicsburg
8York vs 9Exeter

Reading 89 Fleetwood 54

The Reading Red Knights improved their record to a perfect 20-0 with a 89-54 win over the Fleetwood Tigers at Fleetwood High School tonight. Here are my thoughts on the game:

1. Jermaine Jackson turned and ankle tonight as he stepped on a Fleetwood player. At first it looked pretty bad but he was able to put weight on it and did return to action for a couple of minutes. Good job by Coach Reyes to get him out of the game once it was clear that the game was well in hand. Hopefully with some treatment he will be able to play on Thursday but it would be foolish to rush him back out their. Our 20-0 record has afforded us the chance to rest some guys if they really need it.
2. It was good to see Jordan Burdine at least in street clothes rooting on his teammates. Also, was nice to see him sit next to the coach and have a smile on his face. I think what Coach Reyes will do is have him work his way back into the starting lineup. I would guess he probably will come off the bench on Thursday and Friday nights for about 8-10 minutes a game, then hopefully have him start on senior night.
3. Good to see us shoot a much better percentage at the foul line tonight as we went 6-8 from the line. The only negative I thought we gave up way too many easy baskets but I don't think its anything to get bent out of shape about. Because on Saturday night West York did not have a field goal in the last 3:30 of the game.
4. One thing we have really found out over the last four games is that we can count on Joshua Sheriff to come off the bench and give the squad some offense. It was also good to see Demrick Cook have a solid game in extended play tonight. Demrick should be lauded for how good of a team player he has cause most kids who are starters at the beginning of the season and then our relegated to playing 6-8 minutes a game would just quit and he hasn't complained and just worked hard.

Weekly Roundup

I first wanted to apologize for giving some incorrect info last night. Reading does not clinch the #1 seed with two wins. They clinch a tie for the #1 seed with two wins.

Ill first start by giving an update on where all 36 teams in AAAA stand after all games were played for this weekend.

Teams Clinching bids

1. Reading
2. CD East
3. Cedar Crest
4. McCaskey
5. Red Land
6. Red Lion
7. Hempfield
8. York
9. Mechanicsburg
10. Exeter
11. Dallastown

Teams who haven't clinched a bid but our in decent to really good shape to clinch:

1. Conestoga Valley 11-7: Needs one more win to clinch. Have three tough league games upcoming but finish up with a one win Garden Spot and a underachieving Governor Mifflin team.
2. Carlisle 11-7: Needs one more win to clinch. Has not played good ball as of late as they are in the midst of a three game losing streak. Tough week with games against CD East and Steel High. But should get a win against Cedar Cliff or Kennard Dale.
3. Cocalico 10-8: Need two wins in last four games to clinch. Darlings of December and Early January but seem to be leaking oil as they are in the midst of a four game losing streak and have lost six of their last eight games. Once thought to be a forgone conclusion that they would make it now not so sure. Should win against Garden Spot but then finish up against rival Ephrata who they have had little success with in the past and then go on to play Solanco and Conestoga Valley.
4. Cedar Cliff 10-8: Need two more wins to clinch. Have lost four of their last five games but they are done playing Steel High and CD East. So they should get in but like Cocalico are leaking oil right now.
5. Harrisburg 9-7: Also need two more wins to clinch. Have tough games left with Chester and Steel High but should get to 11 wins.
6. Chambersburg 8-8: Only play 20 PIAA games so they need two wins in their last four games. Won't be easy to get those wins with their schedule remaining. They play Cedar Cliff and Greencastle-Antrim this week and finish up with McDevitt and Harrisburg.
7. Elizabethtown 9-9: One of the hottest teams lately with winning three straight and seven of their last nine. Also helps that four of their final five games are on their home court.
8. Solanco 9-9: They are another team playing good ball lately with winning three of their last four games. They need to finish 3-2 down the stretch which wont be easy. Could come down to their last game on Feb. 1 against a tough Oxford team.
9. Waynesboro 9-9: Also need to finish 3-2 down the stretch to get in. Four of their five remaining games are on the road. It is a virtual lock that if they get in they will be the lowest seeded team cause of there very low power rating.
10. Wilson 9-10: Some might say their chances aren't good. But when you look at their schedule not a tough lot to get through. But only one of their last four is on their home court. Their playoff life could come down to their final game against crosstown rival Governor Mifflin in Shillington.

Teams whose playoff hopes are on life support:

1. Manheim Township 7-10: Need to win four of their last five games to get in which isn't going to happen with games against Cedar Crest, Hempfield, and Mccaskey left on their schedule.
2. Central York 9-10: Need to win three of their last four and have games against Red Lion and York left so they look to be staying home come February 2.
3. Cumberland Valley 7-11: One more loss will eliminate them and that should come on Friday against CD East.
4. Gettysburg 8-9: Need to go 4-2 down the stretch to get in.
5. Southwestern 9-11: One more loss eliminates them and I don't see them winning any of their remaining games with them playing York, Red Lion, and Dallastown.

Teams who have been eliminated:

1. Penn Manor
2. Central Dauphin
3. Ephrata
4. Warwick
5. Governor Mifflin
6. Twin Valley
7. Lower Dauphin
8. Spring Grove
9. Garden Spot
10. York Vo-Tech

District 3 AAAA Rankings as of 1/19

1
Reading
19-0
8.790
2
CD East
16-2
8.167
3
Cedar Crest
16-2
8.056
4
McCaskey
14-4
7.889
5
Red Land
16-3
7.737
6
Red Lion
16-4
7.550
7
Hempfield
13-5
7.389
8
York
15-5
7.250
9
Conestoga Valley
11-7
6.944
10
Carlisle
11-7
6.833
11
Mechanicsburg
12-6
6.833
12
Exeter
11-5
6.813
13
Dallastown
12-7
6.737
14
Cocalico
10-9
6.579
15
Cedar Cliff
10-8
6.556
16
Harrisburg
9-7
6.500
17
Chambersburg
8-8
6.313
18
Elizabethtown
9-9
6.278
19
Solanco
9-9
6.222
20
Waynesboro
9-9
5.389
21
Wilson
9-10
6.053
22
Manheim Township
7-10
6.000
23
Central York
9-10
5.895
24
Cumberland Valley
7-11
5.722
25
Gettysburg
8-9
5.706
26
Southwestern
9-11
5.700
27
Penn Manor
7-12
5.684
28
Central Dauphin
6-12
5.444
29
Ephrata
5-13
5.167
30
Warwick
5-13
5.167
31
Governor Mifflin
5-12
5.059
32
Twin Valley
6-12
4.556
33
Lower Dauphin
4-14
4.500
34
Spring Grove
4-16
4.400
35
Garden Spot
1-17
4.000
36
York Vo-Tech
3-16
3.368

If the season ended today the matchups would be the following:
1Reading vs 16Harrisburg/17Chambersburg
2CD East vs. 15Cedar Cliff/18 Elizabethtown
3Cedar Crest vs 14Cocalico/19Solanco
4McCaskey vs. 13 Dallastown/20Waynesboro
5Red Land vs. 12Exeter
6Red Lion vs 11Mechanicsburg
7Hempfield vs 10 Carlisle
8York vs 9Conestoga Valley

Reading 55 West York 53

The Reading Red Knights continued their perfect season with a thrilling, heart stopping 55-53 win over the Bulldogs from West York tonight at West York. Here are my thoughts on the game:

1. Jermaine Jackson had probably his best game of his Reading career tonight with 20 points and the winning basket on a driving dunk in the last minute of the game. Every great player has a landmark performance and I think for Jermaine tonight was his. Great job by Coach Reyes to see we had a big size advantage and keep attacking it and forcing West York to make an adjustment.
2. I heard numerous people on the board and after the game complain about the officiating. I thought the officials let both teams play and decide the game. Folks I think the thing to remember here is when you go on the road and especially to another county to play a road game your never going to get a whole lot of calls. The officials really grasped the concept that no one paid their $4 to come watch them, they came to watch the players from both schools play.
3. Tonight's game was a total team effort. Every player seemed to have made a contribution. This is a sign that this team is special and is going to do whatever it takes to win.
4. Nelson Leon woke up out of his offensive doldrums and hit two big three's in the fourth quarter to get Reading back in the lead. In the fourth quarter he also played some great lock down defense.
5. Demrick Cook played very solid and was definitely a force on the defensive side of the court in the limited minutes he played tonight. It was also valuable since it gave Jermaine some time to rest on the bench.
6. Tonight's game was what makes high school basketball special. Two great teams battling it out in a playoff type environment in front of a packed raucous gym.
7. Credit goes out to both teams for playing in this kind of game so close to the end of the regular season. I think you will see this game will make both teams better. West York was definitely as I expected a well coached team who didn't come in to the game in awe of Reading. I think they are definitely a contender for a county title in York County and definitely a contender for the district crown in AAA. Who is to say we might have seen two district champions going at it tonight.
8. I must give props to West York because I think Reading has probably played teams with better talent but I think of all the teams they have played in the regular season they were the smartest and best coached team the Red Knights have seen to this point. I wish them well and their fans had class which is something you cant say for another team nicknamed the Bulldogs.
9. So the season of dreams continues with 4 more Berks league games before we can clinch a perfect regular season. I hope we come back at full strength with all of our players on Tuesday.

District 3 AAAA Rankings as of 1/17

1
Reading
18-0
8.833
2
CD East
16-2
8.167
3
Cedar Crest
15-2
8.059
4
McCaskey
14-4
7.889
5
Red Land
16-3
7.737
6
Red Lion
16-4
7.550
7
Hempfield
12-5
7.294
8
York
15-5
7.250
9
Exeter
11-4
7.000
10
Conestoga Valley
11-7
6.944
11
Carlisle
11-7
6.833
12
Mechanicsburg
12-6
6.833
13
Cedar Cliff
10-7
6.765
14
Dallastown
11-7
6.611
15
Cocalico
10-9
6.579
16
Harrisburg
9-7
6.500
17
Chambersburg
8-8
6.313
18
Solanco
9-9
6.222
19
Waynesboro
9-9
5.389
20
Elizabethtown
8-9
6.176
21
Wilson
9-10
6.053
22
Manheim Township
7-10
6.000
23
Central York
9-10
5.895
24
Southwestern
9-10
5.842
25
Cumberland Valley
7-10
5.824
26
Gettysburg
8-9
5.706
27
Penn Manor
7-12
5.684
28
Central Dauphin
6-11
5.530
29
Warwick
5-12
5.353
30
Ephrata
5-13
5.167
31
Governor Mifflin
4-12
4.813
32
Twin Valley
6-12
4.556
33
Lower Dauphin
4-13
4.529
34
Spring Grove
4-16
4.400
35
Garden Spot
1-17
4.000
36
York Vo-Tech
3-16
3.368

If the season ended today the matchups would be:
1Reading vs 16Harrisburg/17Chambersburg
2CD East vs 15/Cocalico/18Solanco
3Cedar Crest vs 14Dallastown/19Waynesboro
4McCaskey vs 13Cedar Cliff
5Red Land vs 12Mechanicsburg
6Red Lion vs 11Carlisle
7Hempfield vs 10Conestoga Valley
8York vs 9Exeter

Reading 82 Twin Valley 28

The Reading High Red Knights improved to 18-0 with a 82-28 drubbing of the Twin Valley Raiders at the Geigle tonight. Here are my thoughts on the game:

1. It was good to see us come out on fire and put away a hapless team. Your not going to find out much tonight against a terrible team. But I thought our energy was really good and it didn't look to me like we were going through the motions.
2. Jermaine Jackson looked to tweak his knee a little bit. But did return in the second half and looked fine. I expect him to be ready to go and not be affected at all.
3. The team defense was better tonight. We did a great job shutting down Twin Valley's best player who is the leading scorer in the BCIAA.
4. I think the BCIAA should wise up and send Twin Valley to Berks III and bring back Hamburg to Berks II. I know they are AAAA but Twin Valley is a woe-be-gone basketball program and has never really been very good. At least if you have Hamburg in Berks II they look like a competent but not great team. Just one person's opinion.
5. Looking ahead to tomorrow night we come in the much more rested team. We will be playing our third game in 5 days but with tonight's game I don't think we really expended much energy. But West York is coming in playing their fourth game in six days. So I think we should definitely have more energy than West York.
6. I have gotten to study some tape on West York. They are very well coached and run a very high octane but disciplined offense. Like us, they are very unselfish and a great outside shooting team. There biggest player is 6'4 but they still have decent size with all of their other starters being around 6'2. The one thing you can take to the bank about them is their not going to come in fearing us and I believe give us our toughest game to date since way back in December against Academy Park.
7. I expect us to win the game by wearing them down in the fourth quarter. But I don't see anything more than a 12 point game. Folks I did get to see that their gym is not very big so I urge you if your making the trip to get their early, preferably around 6.
8. If you needed directions go to this link:

http://www.mapquest.com/directions/main.adp?go=1&do=nw&rmm=1&un=m&cl=EN&ct=NA&rsres=1&1ffi=&1l=&1g=&1pl=&1v=&1n=&2ffi=&2l=&2g=&2pl=&2v=&2n=&1pn=&1a=&1c=reading&1s=PA&1z=&2pn=&2a=1800+bannister+street&2c=york&2s=pa&2z=17404&r=f

District 3 AAAA Rankings as of 1/16

1
Reading
8.824
2
CD East
8.118
3
Cedar Crest
8.000
4
McCaskey
7.824
5
Red Land
7.722
6
Hempfield
7.500
7
Red Lion
7.474
8
York
7.158
9
Carlisle
7.000
10
Exeter
6.929
11
Mechanicsburg
6.833
12
Conestoga Valley
6.824
13
Cedar Cliff
6.765
14
Dallastown
6.765
15
Cocalico
6.722
16
Harrisburg
6.667
17
Central York
6.000
18
Waynesboro
5.389
19
Chambersburg
6.133
20
Solanco
6.059
21
Manheim Township
6.000
22
Elizabethtown
6.000
23
Wilson
5.944
24
Penn Manor
5.778
25
Southwestern
5.667
26
Central Dauphin
5.625
27
Cumberland Valley
5.625
28
Gettysburg
5.563
29
Warwick
5.353
30
Ephrata
5.235
31
Governor Mifflin
4.933
32
Lower Dauphin
4.625
33
Twin Valley
4.588
34
Spring Grove
4.421
35
Garden Spot
4.000
36
York Vo-Tech
3.445

If the season ended today the matchups would be:
1Reading vs 16Harrisburg/17Central York
2CD East vs 15Cocalico/18Waynesboro
3Cedar Crest vs 14Dallastown
4McCaskey vs 13 Cedar Cliff
5Red Land vs 12Conestoga Valley
6Hempfield vs 11Mechanicsburg
7Red Lion vs 10Exeter
8York vs 9Carlisle

Facts and Figures on Red Knights Season

With two more days before the next game I figured I would put some facts and figures on the season with six games left.

• High Point Total: 101 vs. McCaskey
• Low Point Total: 53 vs. Academy Park
• Victories of 20 points or more: 11
• Victories of 30 points or more: 6
• Victories of 40 points o4 more: 3
• Reading has beaten teams in 7 different counties: Berks, Lehigh, Lancaster, York, Delaware, Chester, and Dauphin counties.
• All 5 starters for the Red Knights has been the high scorer in a game this season: Jordan Burdine, Justin Rodriquez, Jermaine Jackson, Trenity Burdine, and Nelson Leon
• Reading has had 8 players have double figures in points in a game: Jordan Burdine, Demrick Cook, Jermaine Jackson, Trenity Burdine, Nelson Leon, Justin Rodriquez, Marcus Dawkins, and Joshua Sheriff.
• Reading has had 8 different players hit a three pointer this year: Jordan Burdine, Trenity Burdine, Jermaine Jackson, Justin Rodriquez, Nelson Leon, Marcus Dawkins, Joshua Sheriff, and Jordan Merriweather.
• Reading has scored under 10 points in only 4 quarters this whole season.
• Reading has scored 20 or more points in a quarter 29 times and have scored 30 or more points in 4 quarters this season.
• Reading has beaten 11 teams with a .500 record or better.

District 3 AAAA Rankings as of 1/15

1
Reading
8.824
2
CD East
8.438
3
Cedar Crest
8.000
4
McCaskey
7.824
5
Red Land
7.706
6
Red Lion
7.667
7
Hempfield
7.500
8
York
7.056
9
Carlisle
7.000
10
Mechanicsburg
7.000
11
Exeter
6.929
12
Conestoga Valley
6.824
13
Cocalico
6.722
14
Dallastown
6.625
15
Cedar Cliff
6.625
16
Harrisburg
6.500
17
Chambersburg
6.357
18
Central York
6.118
19
Solanco
6.059
20
Manheim Township
6.000
21
Elizabethtown
6.000
22
Wilson
5.944
23
Penn Manor
5.778
24
Central Dauphin
5.733
25
Cumberland Valley
5.733
26
Southwestern
5.471
27
Warwick
5.353
28
Gettysburg
5.333
29
Waynesboro
5.235
30
Ephrata
5.235
31
Governor Mifflin
4.933
32
Lower Dauphin
4.800
33
Twin Valley
4.588
34
Spring Grove
4.445
35
Garden Spot
4.000
36
York Vo-Tech
3.530

Congratulations should go out to the Exeter Eagles. They have become the 10th team to clinch a birth in the District AAAA tournament.

If the season ended today the matchups would be:
1Reading vs 16Harrisburg/17Chambersburg
2CD East vs 15Cedar Cliff/18Central York
3Cedar Crest vs 14Dallastown
4McCaskey vs 13Cocalico
5Red Land vs 12Conestoga Valley
6Red Lion vs 11Exeter
7Hempfield vs 10Mechanicsburg
8York vs 9Carlisle

Reading 79 Daniel Boone 66

The Reading High Red Knights kept their perfect season intact with a very hard fought win over the Blazers of Daniel Boone in Birdsboro. Here are my thoughts on the game:

1. I wanted to first address the off the court issues that have been reported. Jordan Burdine will be out for a week with a disciplinary issue. I will leave it at that on this issue. It really is nobody's business besides his family and the teams, that is why from this point forward I wont be going into any detail on this issue. At halftime, I was able to overhear Jordan's uncle tell a cheerleader that he would be back on Monday. Marcus Dawkins also will be out for two weeks due to being academically ineligible. I hope this is something Marcus can learn from and I'm not going to crucify the kid because lets all remember he is still a freshman. But with that being said I believe we will become a stronger team throughout this because you will see this team deal with the adversity in a honorable way.
2. I wont say we looked flat at the start of the game, I think the team almost seemed down because of the distractions and not having two teammates with them. But give Boone credit they came out like a house of fire and ready to play. The thing that I think woke up the team was the overrated chant from the Blazer fans.
3. Trenity Burdine had his best game of his young Red Knight career. It was good to see him shoulder a big load of the offense tonight.
4. Jermaine Jackson had a great game as well tonight with 16 points and 12 rebounds. He is going to need to really demand the ball and get his touches down low the rest of the week. I know he missed a couple of dunks tonight, but I think that really has to do with just being fatigued at the end of the game. I wouldn't get bent out of shape on this, since he played a great game tonight.
5. The rest of the week we are going to really need to ratchet up our defense if we want to stay undefeated. We gave up way too many easy baskets and got manhandled on the defensive boards by Daniel Boone tonight.
6. I think it should be said that tonight down early a lot of past Red Knight teams would of panicked and this squad just kept working hard and wouldn't be denied. I know a lot of people will say it is going to be hard for us to finish the regular season undefeated, but I say to those people it is supposed to be hard to go through a regular season unscathed and I have total confidence that the leadership on this team is going to give us everything they have.

District 3 AAAA Rankings as of 1/14

1
Reading
8.875
2
CD East
8.438
3
Cedar Crest
7.933
4
McCaskey
7.750
5
Red Land
7.706
6
Red Lion
7.667
7
Hempfield
7.400
8
York
7.056
9
Carlisle
7.000
10
Mechanicsburg
7.000
11
Cocalico
6.882
12
Exeter
6.846
13
Conestoga Valley
6.688
14
Dallastown
6.625
15
Cedar Cliff
6.625
16
Harrisburg
6.500
17
Chambersburg
6.357
18
Solanco
6.188
19
Central York
6.118
20
Wilson
6.118
21
Penn Manor
5.882
22
Manheim Township
5.812
23
Elizabethtown
5.800
24
Central Dauphin
5.733
25
Cumberland Valley
5.733
26
Southwestern
5.471
27
Warwick
5.438
28
Gettysburg
5.333
29
Ephrata
5.313
30
Waynesboro
5.235
31
Governor Mifflin
5.000
32
Lower Dauphin
4.800
33
Spring Grove
4.445
34
Twin Valley
4.313
35
Garden Spot
4.000
36
York Vo-Tech
3.530

If the season ended today our matchups would be:

1Reading vs 16Harrisburg/17Chambersburg
2CD East vs 15Cedar Cliff/18Solanco
3Cedar Crest vs 14Dallastown/19Central York
4McCaskey vs 13Conestoga Valley
5Red Land vs 12Exeter
6Red Lion vs. 11Cocalico
7Hempfield vs 10 Mechanicsburg
8York vs 9Carlisle

Red Knight fans dont worry about Harrisburg being at 16. I think you will see the Cougars go at worse 4-3 down the stretch and get in around a 13 or 14 seed. Quite possibly we could see a Harrisburg/McCaskey matchup in the first round. But that is looking way down the line.