Reading High Hoops Blog: January 2008

Thursday, January 31, 2008

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.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

District 3 AAAA Rankings as of 1/30

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

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:

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.
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.
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.
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.

Monday, January 28, 2008

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.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

District 3 AAAA Rankings as of 1/27

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:

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
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.
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.
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.
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.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

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.

Friday, January 25, 2008

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:

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

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:

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

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:

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.
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.
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.
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.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

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

Reading
CD East
Cedar Crest
McCaskey
Red Land
Red Lion
Hempfield
York
Mechanicsburg
Exeter
Dallastown

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

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:

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.
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.
Cumberland Valley 7-11: One more loss will eliminate them and that should come on Friday against CD East.
Gettysburg 8-9: Need to go 4-2 down the stretch to get in.
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:

Penn Manor
Central Dauphin
Ephrata
Warwick
Governor Mifflin
Twin Valley
Lower Dauphin
Spring Grove
Garden Spot
York Vo-Tech

Saturday, January 19, 2008

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:

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

Friday, January 18, 2008

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:

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

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.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

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:

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

Monday, January 14, 2008

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.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Weekly Roundup

Just wanted to touch on a few topics in my weekly roundup.

The teams in District III AAAA fall in four categories. Those clinching bids, those who will likely clinch a bid, those almost eliminated, and those who are eliminated:

Clinching bids:

Reading
McCaskey
Hempfield
York
Red Lion
Cedar Crest
CD East
Red Land
Mechanicsburg

Likely to clinch a bid:

Chambersburg 7-6: Need 3 wins to clinch since they only play 20 PIAA games before the district cutoff. Could be tough though with games against CD East, Steel High, CD, Cedar Cliff, Greencastle Antrim, Bishop McDevitt, and Harrisburg.
Harrisburg 7-6: Need to go .500 down the stretch to qualify in result of playing 21 PIAA games before the cutoff. The win over Lower Merion yesterday was huge for their confidence. Still is very possible that their finale against Chambersburg could be almost like an elimination game.
Wilson 8-9: Needs to go 4-2 to qualify but the toughest part of their schedule is behind them. Might need to beat their rival Governor Mifflin in finale in Shillington to clinch bid.
Dallastown 9-6: Need two more wins to qualify and should be able to get that against some subpar competition in their remaining schedule with games against Lower Dauphin and Spring Grove.
Carlisle 11-6: With one more win they get in. The remaining schedule is not easy but should be able to get a win, if not they really dont deserve to be in.
Central York 9-7: Seems to be a very mediocre York county team. Need 3 wins to qualify. Besides the Spring Grove game not many easy outs on their remaining schedules.
Cedar Cliff 9-6: Has full alotment of 24 games on their schedule before cutoff. Need three wins in their final eight games. Team is leaking oil as we head to the end of the season. Still not a givein that they will make it. Sad after they started the season so promisingly.
Waynesboro 8-8: Needs to finish 4-3 in the final seven games to qualify. Even if they qualify will definitely be the lowest qualifing seed in the playoffs.
Conestoga Valley 9-7: Same as Waynesboro in that they need to go 4-3 to qualify. But dont play any team on their schedule that they really cant beat.
Exeter 9-4: Needs one win to clinch with only playing 20 PIAA games this season. Should get that win with remaining games against Twin Valley and Conrad Weiser.
Solanco 8-8: Needs to finish 4-3 over final seven games to get in. Besides Garden Spot all the Section II teams are very equal so not out of the question to see them get four wins before the end of the season.
Cocalico 10-7: Need two wins in final 6 games to qualify. Should be able to in very even Section II.

Following teams our clinging to life support to get a bid:

Penn Manor: Two more losses to be eliminated.
Central Dauphin: Need to go 6-2 to qualify.
Manheim Township: Two more losses to be eliminated.
Lower Dauphin: Next loss eliminates them.
Warwick: Next loss eliminates them.
Governor Mifflin: Two more losses to be eliminated.
Twin Valley: Next loss eliminates them.
Ephrata: Next loss eliminates them.
Elizabethtown: Needs to go 6-2 down the stretch to qualify.
Gettysburg: Needs to go 6-2 down the stretch to qualify.
Southwestern: Needs to go 5-2 to qualify.
Cumberland Valley: Needs to go 5-2 to qualify.

The following teams have been eliminated:

York Vo-Tech
Spring Grove
Garden Spot

Some folks have asked me about McCaskey getting the 3 seed ahead of Cedar Crest. If they run the table they will get the 3 seed even if Cedar Crest would go 6-1 with the one remaining loss being to the Tornadoes.
For Reading to not be the #1 seed they would have to lose two games. Even if they suprisingly lost two games, CD East would have to run the table.
After seeing a decent sample size of the season I realistically think there are really only about five or six teams who I give a realistic shot of winning the District title. But with that being said after you get past the legitimate contenders of Reading, CD East, Red Land, Red Lion, and Harrisburg there are a lot of teams who are very even and similar. Some might question my calling Harrisburg a contender but as long as they have that black and silver jersey on they always have a chance.

Thats all for now, some great matchups this week which will go a long way in separating the men from the boys.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

District 3 AAAA Rankings as of 1/12

1
Reading
8.875
2
CD East
8.400
3
Cedar Crest
7.933
4
McCaskey
7.750
5
Red Lion
7.647
6
Red Land
7.625
7
Hempfield
7.400
8
Carlisle
7.188
9
Mechanicsburg
7.188
10
York
7.000
11
Cocalico
6.882
12
Cedar Cliff
6.866
13
Exeter
6.846
14
Conestoga Valley
6.688
15
Chambersburg
6.615
16
Dallastown
6.533
17
Central York
6.313
18
Harrisburg
6.308
19
Solanco
6.188
20
Waynesboro
5.376
21
Wilson
6.118
22
Cumberland Valley
5.929
23
Penn Manor
5.882
24
Manheim Township
5.812
25
Elizabethtown
5.800
26
Central Dauphin
5.733
27
Southwestern
5.625
28
Warwick
5.438
29
Gettysburg
5.333
30
Ephrata
5.313
31
Governor Mifflin
5.000
32
Lower Dauphin
4.571
33
Spring Grove
4.529
34
Twin Valley
4.313
35
Garden Spot
4.000
36
York Vo-Tech
3.563

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

Reading 79 York 56

The Reading Red Knights improved to 16-0 with a solid victory over the York High Bearcats in the nightcap of the Hoopgroup Shootout at Harrisburg High this afternoon. Here are my thoughts on the game:

I hope what many are reporting on the Pennlive board is untrue about Jaren Burdine. If it was his last game he did really go out with a bang. If he did something that broke a law I would find it very hard to imagine that Coach Reyes or the administration would let him play.
We really came out flat and it was kind of expected after a big game last night. Part of the problem was we were getting out hustled early and York was on fire from the field. But as the game went on we wore York down and had an easy time of it.
Trenity Burdine had a great game today as well. If his cousin his going to be out we will need him to keep stepping up his game.
The only negative for me from this game is that I thought we needed to get Jermaine more touches down low. He had his way with who ever was guarding him.
Kudos go out to Harrisburg for running a nice event today. Definitely one of the nicer gyms to watch a game at.
PCN really dropped the ball with not covering the games today instead of going for Farm show coverage. Memo to CN8 your viewers in the Reading and York county areas would have liked to have seen the York Reading game on your station as well.

Friday, January 11, 2008

District 3 AAAA Rankings as of 1/11

1
Reading
8.867
2
CD East
8.400
3
Cedar Crest
7.933
4
McCaskey
7.750
5
Red Lion
7.647
6
Red Land
7.600
7
Hempfield
7.400
8
Carlisle
7.400
9
York
7.188
10
Mechanicsburg
7.188
11
Cocalico
6.882
12
Cedar Cliff
6.866
13
Exeter
6.846
14
Conestoga Valley
6.688
15
Chambersburg
6.615
16
Dallastown
6.533
17
Central York
6.313
18
Solanco
6.188
19
Harrisburg
6.083
20
Wilson
6.118
21
Cumberland Valley
5.929
22
Penn Manor
5.882
23
Manheim Township
5.812
24
Elizabethtown
5.800
25
Central Dauphin
5.733
26
Southwestern
5.625
27
Warwick
5.438
28
Gettysburg
5.333
29
Ephrata
5.313
30
Waynesboro
5.133
31
Governor Mifflin
5.000
32
Lower Dauphin
4.571
33
Spring Grove
4.529
34
Twin Valley
4.400
35
Garden Spot
4.000
36
York Vo-Tech
3.563

Reading 57 Wilson 42

The Reading Red Knights continued their perfect season with a big win over Wilson tonight in West Lawn. Here are my thoughts on tonight's game:

The win tonight said a lot about the growth, experience, leadership and toughness of this team. It showed once again we can play at any tempo and be successful. There were a lot of different junctures in this game where past teams would have had problems but this team kept fighting tonight and really got the job done.
Jermaine Jackson had a great game tonight with 15 points and 9 boards. Wilson didn't have any answer for him down low. It is fitting he had his best game against Wilson in what could be his last game against the Bulldogs.
Jordan Burdine led all scorers tonight with 19 points. He played an all around great game and attacked the basket very well.
I love how we got great minutes from the bench tonight. I really believe that when we go to the bench our defense doesn't get worse. I heard some people complaining when they brought Cook into the game. Folks, I think we should stop expecting Cook to be an offensive force out there. He is going to give you toughness, rebounding, and a big body down low. When he was in the game tonight I thought Demrick gave excellent minutes out there.
Memo to the BCIAA: When Reading and Wilson play its a big game so could you please get your 1st team crew to do the game.
For as inconsistent as the officiating was tonight this team doesn't worry about that and they just play through what ever comes their way. Its almost as they let us fans worry about that.
We now will face a talented York High team tomorrow at Harrisburg High. This game will tell us more about this team. The good thing is that they will be coming off a Friday night game as well. I don't think this game took a lot out of the squad but we will truly find out tomorrow what is left in the tank. The best thing for us is playing in the final game tomorrow.
It sounds strange to say but the two toughest games left on our schedule are against teams from York county.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

District 3 AAAA Rankings as of 1/9

1
Reading
8.857
2
CD East
8.357
3
Cedar Crest
7.857
4
McCaskey
7.667
5
Red Lion
7.625
6
Red Land
7.500
7
Mechanicsburg
7.467
8
Carlisle
7.357
9
Hempfield
7.286
10
York
7.133
11
Chambersburg
7.091
12
Cedar Cliff
7.071
13
Cocalico
7.063
14
Dallastown
6.786
15
Exeter
6.667
16
Conestoga Valley
6.533
17
Wilson
6.250
18
Central York
6.200
19
Harrisburg
6.083
20
Waynesboro
5.429
21
Penn Manor
6.000
22
Solanco
6.000
23
Elizabethtown
5.929
24
Cumberland Valley
5.692
25
Central Dauphin
5.643
26
Manheim Township
5.600
27
Warwick
5.533
28
Southwestern
5.467
29
Gettysburg
5.429
30
Ephrata
5.400
31
Governor Mifflin
5.077
32
Lower Dauphin
4.692
33
Spring Grove
4.625
34
Twin Valley
4.400
35
Garden Spot
4.000
36
York Vo-Tech
3.600

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

District 3 AAAA Rankings as of 1/8

1
Reading
8.857
2
CD East
8.357
3
Cedar Crest
7.769
4
Red Lion
7.625
5
McCaskey
7.571
6
Red Land
7.500
7
Mechanicsburg
7.467
8
Carlisle
7.357
9
Cocalico
7.267
10
Hempfield
7.154
11
York
7.133
12
Chambersburg
7.091
13
Cedar Cliff
7.071
14
Dallastown
6.786
15
Conestoga Valley
6.714
16
Exeter
6.667
17
Wilson
6.250
18
Central York
6.200
19
Harrisburg
6.083
20
Elizabethtown
6.077
21
Penn Manor
5.800
22
Solanco
5.786
23
Manheim Township
5.714
24
Cumberland Valley
5.692
25
Central Dauphin
5.643
26
Warwick
5.643
27
Southwestern
5.467
28
Gettysburg
5.429
29
Waynesboro
5.231
30
Ephrata
5.143
31
Governor Mifflin
5.077
32
Lower Dauphin
4.692
33
Spring Grove
4.625
34
Twin Valley
4.400
35
Garden Spot
4.000
36
York Vo-Tech
3.600

Reading 99 Governor Mifflin 47

The Reading High Red Knights continued their perfect season with a convincing beatdown of the Governor Mifflin Mustangs at the Intermediate School in Shillington. Here are my thoughts on tonights win:

I loved the way we came out tonight and just took it to them. The 12-0 run to the start the game took Mifflin out of their game plan and really was the beginning of the end. Coach Reyes should get some credit for having the team totally focused on tonight. This was the classic game where most teams would be looking ahead to tougher games the remainder of the week.
Jermain Jackson had a great effort tonight with 16 points and numerous rebounds. He took advantage of the huge size advantage he had inside tonight against a very small Mifflin team. Like I have stated before, get him touches early and he will have a huge game.
Macho continued his outstanding play tonight and along with his 13 points had some great assists as well. You had to love him throwing up the alley oops to Jermaine Jackson.
I must give a big thumbs up to the fans tonight. I love the way we booed the refs relentlessly tonight when they were calling fouls at the end of the game tonight and trying to hold us back from scoring 100 points.
Ive wanted to mention this before but haven't gotten around to this, the one thing that this team has really done this year is taking charges. Charges aren't the most fun or the most exciting thing to do on the defensive end of the court, but they definitely win games.

Monday, January 7, 2008

District 3 AAAA Rankings as of 1/7

1
Reading
8.846
2
CD East
8.308
3
Cedar Crest
7.000
4
Red Lion
7.769
5
McCaskey
7.571
6
Red Land
7.500
7
Chambersburg
7.400
8
Mechanicsburg
7.357
9
Cedar Cliff
7.308
10
Cocalico
7.267
11
Carlisle
7.231
12
Hempfield
7.154
13
York
7.071
14
Conestoga Valley
6.714
15
Dallastown
6.692
16
Exeter
6.667
17
Central York
6.429
18
Wilson
6.130
19
Central Dauphin
6.077
20
Elizabethtown
6.077
21
Harrisburg
5.909
22
Penn Manor
5.800
23
Solanco
5.786
24
Manheim Township
5.714
25
Southwestern
5.643
26
Warwick
5.643
27
Gettysburg
5.615
28
Cumberland Valley
5.417
29
Waynesboro
5.231
30
Governor Mifflin
5.167
31
Ephrata
5.143
32
Lower Dauphin
4.750
33
Spring Grove
4.733
34
Twin Valley
4.500
35
Garden Spot
4.000
36
York Vo-Tech
3.643

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Reading 66 Harrisburg 54

The Reading Red Knights continued their perfect season tonight with an impressive win over the Harrisburg Cougars tonight at the Geigle. Here are my thoughts on the game:

For the first couple of minutes you could tell we were a bit flat, but once we hit a couple of jumpers and got some steals the sluggishness seemed to wear off.
I thought the big difference in the game tonight was the quality play by Trenity Burdine. He not only hit a couple of three's but he was aggressive and got some key buckets on drives to the hoop and put backs. I really think this kid doesn't really know how good he can be, but to his credit every game he keeps working hard and improving.
Jermain Jackson had his first sub par game offensively in about a month. But give him credit he had a tremendous dunk on an alley-oop. He also made his presence felt on the defensive end. I think a big part of his woes on offense tonight were he didn't get many touches and he was getting pushed off the block by the physical Harrisburg defenders.
Macho led the team with 21 points 8 rebounds and 6 assists. The biggest thing he brought to the game tonight was the aggressiveness that wore off on all of his teammates. This was big, because in my opinion when you play Harrisburg you cant play scared and you have to take the game to them. Because when they get you down they smell blood and will go for the kill.
I think tonight was probably our best effort on the defensive side of the ball. This is the area that we need to keep improving on because we know the offense is going to be there.
Great job by Nelson Leon and Marcus Dawkins on making Quincy Roberts work and really tired him out as the game went on. I think we can all agree that Quincy Roberts is the best opposing player we have seen this year and probably will see in the regular season going forward. Also, Roberts definitely looked to be 100%. Because a guy with a groin pull would not be able to jam with the authority that he did tonight.
Big props go out to the fans tonight for packing the house and creating a huge home court advantage. It was easily the biggest crowd in the last few years. The last time that I saw the Geigle this packed was probably the regular season showdown with Conrad Weiser in January of 2004.
The only thing that really bugged me tonight was how Harrisburg kept their starters on the court at the end of the game to try and make the score look better than it was. What really did they get out of closing the lead to 12?

Friday, January 4, 2008

District 3 AAAA Rankings as of 1/4

1
Reading
8.833
2
CD East
8.308
3
Cedar Crest
8.167
4
Red Lion
7.857
5
Carlisle
7.615
6
Cedar Cliff
7.583
7
McCaskey
7.462
8
Chambersburg
7.400
9
Red Land
7.385
10
Mechanicsburg
7.357
11
Cocalico
7.143
12
York
7.077
13
Hempfield
7.000
14
Dallastown
7.000
15
Exeter
6.700
16
Solanco
6.692
17
Central York
6.230
18
Conestoga Valley
6.154
19
Wilson
6.133
20
Harrisburg
6.100
21
Penn Manor
5.929
22
Central Dauphin
5.917
23
Manheim Township
5.846
24
Elizabethtown
5.833
25
Southwestern
5.643
26
Gettysburg
5.615
27
Waynesboro
5.500
28
Warwick
5.500
29
Cumberland Valley
5.417
30
Ephrata
5.417
31
Spring Grove
5.286
32
Governor Mifflin
4.900
33
Lower Dauphin
4.818
34
Twin Valley
4.308
35
Garden Spot
4.000
36
York Vo-Tech
3.462

Thursday, January 3, 2008

District 3 AAAA Rankings as of 1/2

1
Reading
8.833
2
CD East
8.750
3
Cedar Crest
8.545
4
Carlisle
7.917
5
Red Lion
7.769
6
Red Land
7.750
7
Cedar Cliff
7.455
8
McCaskey
7.333
9
Mechanicsburg
7.308
10
Chambersburg
7.222
11
Exeter
7.111
12
Cocalico
7.000
13
York
6.917
14
Solanco
6.917
15
Hempfield
6.818
16
Dallastown
6.818
17
Central York
6.417
18
Harrisburg
6.333
19
Conestoga Valley
6.333
20
Manheim Township
6.000
21
Wilson
5.929
22
Southwestern
5.769
23
Penn Manor
5.692
24
Central Dauphin
5.636
25
Warwick
5.636
26
Cumberland Valley
5.545
27
Elizabethtown
5.545
28
Waynesboro
5.455
29
Spring Grove
5.385
30
Gettysburg
5.333
31
Ephrata
5.091
32
Governor Mifflin
5.000
33
Lower Dauphin
4.900
34
Twin Valley
4.417
35
Garden Spot
4.000
36
York Vo-Tech
3.583