Musings And Takeaways From State Finals Weekend At Giant Center (2022 Edition)
Written by: Andy Herr on March 28, 2022
Well, the three-day, hour-long drive that yours truly took from Denver to Hershey on Route 322 this past weekend has since come and gone. Candidly, it’s always a bittersweet moment to walk out of Giant Center late on a Saturday night (usually in gale force winds too for whatever the reason) in knowing and acknowledging that the routine that you’ve engulfed yourself in over the previous three months of going out and covering games on a fairly religious, almost nightly basis is now totally extinguished, or at least til summer leagues start up again in the next couple months that is. But enough about my own personal sob stories. Here are some prevailing thoughts that I’ve gathered about the state of the state over the course of the six boys’ games held at Giant Center in particular.
1A
Look out world, but there appears to be a blossoming new superpower emerging on the scene. And no, they aren’t from Philadelphia either. Say hello to the Bishop Canevin Crusaders by way of Pittsburgh located on the western banks of the Ohio River. Newsflash, but they seem to be an emerging threat to Pennsylvania boys’ basketball supremacy.
Pound for pound, this was probably the best game of the entire week, even when you take out the 1A classification marker. All day long, both Canevin and St John Neumann from Williamsport raced up and down the floor with a pace that would’ve made guys like Tom Izzo blush. And while the Golden Knights would have their moments –thanks to fellas like Davion Hill running the show who put up a remarkable 27 shots all by his lonesome in the contest – Canevin’s 56% shooting from the field largely proved to be the difference in this, a prevailing theme that would quickly become evident as the weekend only progressed onward. But the most important stat for Canevin? The fact that the Crusaders started two freshmen (solid freshmen too mind you) en route to claiming the school’s first state championship early on Thursday afternoon as the WPIAL champs took down the District 4 champs by way of a 64-47 final verdict.
In watching Canevin play, I don’t have many doubts that the Crusaders –yes, a 1A outfit—could’ve won Lancaster-Lebanon Section One this year had they been given the opportunity for a sense of fit and placement if you will. That’s just how talented they are. Add in the fact that the Crusaders are led by the young and energetic talents of one head coach, Gino Palmsoina, and it’s easy to see why this is a program to keep an eye on for the foreseeable future here.
2A
History folks. That’s what Our Lady of Sacred Heart from Moon Township offered us in Hershey this weekend. Thanks to the Chargers’ 92-71 track meet of a victory over Philadelphia Public School outfit Constitution, their triumph in this year’s 2A state title game marked the program’s 68th straight win, an incredible level of achievement that now ties them alongside the West Philadelphia Speedboys’ equal mark put forth from 1976-78, meaning that OLSH’s season-opener next season suddenly becomes appointment-viewing in the early part of December. But perhaps something even more impressive? The fact that Friday’s win also marked the Chargers’ 51st straight win by double digits, a fact gleaned due to sitting next to the fine folks calling the game for the OLSH Network while down on press row who mentioned it during their broadcast. 😊 Add in fact that the OLSH found themselves down by more than 20 points in their state semifinal round game against Kennedy Catholic the last time out and then the stat truly becomes mind-bending.
Just like in the 1A game, stellar, lights-out shooting from the field rued the day here for the victors as well. Of course, you could probably had a hunch given that OLSH flirted with a near 100-point performance. In this one, the winner shot a blistering 57% from the field, largely spearheaded by the 25-point effort put forth by 6’3 senior guard, Jake DiMichele, the reigning 2A state player of the year.
Constitution meanwhile was no slouch. Suffice to say, the leadership possessed by the Generals 5’11 powerfully-built senior floor general, Lamar Glover, made him a strong and viable candidate for getting some love on this year’s all-state ballot in his own right. That is to say that a 20-point outing in the state final certainly can’t hurt the matter either which Glover did indeed finish with by the time the afternoon was over with. Ironically though, that earned him the bronze medal in terms of scoring in this one behind not just the aforementioned DiMichele, but his own teammate too, Jacob Beccles, as the latter of Constitution’s 5’11 senior guards finished the day with a sensational 29-point bucketing to aid in the Generals’ collective cause.
3A
So, while the 2A game provided history, so too did the 3A game, albeit in an entirely different manner. In this one, the Devon Prep Tide was able to claim their first state title in history as the all-boys Philadelphia Catholic League school claimed their first state title with a 76-58 win over Aliquippa, a team that was trying to become just the fifth group in history to claim both the football and boys’ basketball state crowns in the same academic year. Make no mistake about it though. Aliquippia will be back given their youth, something best evidenced by the fact that the silver medalists graduate just one senior who played significant minutes for them on Saturday afternoon, Nick Good, meaning that the Quips will probably be making future stops back to the state finals in the very near future.
Anyhow, back to the champs.
In terms of scoring, shooting over 50% (52% exactly) certainly helps the cause. Not only that, but the Tide featured all five starters who would score in double figures, highlighted by junior guard, Luke Orchard, the son of Villanova softball head coach Bridget Orchard, who poured in a game-high 17 points that featured a personal 3-4 mark from beyond the arc. And for a little bit of local flavor, the Tide were seen competing in the Spooky Nook Summer League this past year, along with a vanquishing of a very game effort put forth by Columbia in the second round of the state playoffs as Devon Prep was able to erase a 38-28 halftime deficit en route to a 76-73 triumph over the Crimson Tide. Not sure if we can rightfully claim Devon Prep as one of our own, but we’ll certainly try 😉
4A
Mercy. The Rolls Royce just keeps on humming right along doesn’t it? Yep, for the ninth time in school history, the Neumann-Goretti Saints are sitting pretty on the top of their respective classification thanks to a rock-solid 93-68 defeat of previously unbeaten 29-0 Quaker Valley from the WPIAL. Of course, the fireworks in the night cap on Thursday night started before the game itself as the Kentucky Wildcats rolled out the big guns for this one with head coach John Calipari and assistants Chin Coleman and Orlando Antigua also in house on recruiting duties as countless photo-ops were seen taking place before the game even got underway.
As far as what the Big Blue Nation brain trust saw, they were obviously so moved by the performance put on by Quaker Valley senior guard, Adou Thiero, that they then followed up his 18-point performance against N-G with an in-house visit over the weekend to the son of one of Cal’s former players during his time at Memphis by awarding Theiro with a scholarship offer.
But in this game, the Catholic League champs were simply unstoppable.
Shooting an absolutely bonkers 64% from the field, the Saints looked like perhaps the best team on display at Hershey all weekend. Behind a well-rounded effort of six Neumann-Goretti players scoring in double figures, game-high honors would be bestowed upon senior guard, Aamir Hurst, who finished the evening with a 20-point night of work. And as is usually the case with N-G’s runs to the state title game, this one too would wind it’s way through the Lancaster-Lebanon League as the Saints were able to blitz ELCO in the first round of the tournament with a 74-42 victory over the Raiders, but not before ELCO senior forward Luke Williams had something to say about it as the Raiders’ big man turned in a performance for the ages with a 27-point outing against the eventual state champs, an achievement that came complete with Neumann-Goretti’s Twitter account officially labeling him a “ very bad man,” a true sign of respect and proof that real definitely recognizes real.
5A
“Whoa baby.” That’s the phrase I found myself uttering both internally and externally in watching Imhotep play up and close and personal on Friday night. If you watch enough basketball, you can just “tell” when fellas look the part and are true dudes. And oh yeah, Imhotep Charter has plenty of those guys on the roster too who could reasonably suit up on a major conference floor near you tomorrow night and not flinch. Of course those prevailing thoughts were largely highlighted of course by the #16 ranked player in the junior class per 24/7 Sports, 5-star Justin Edwards, as the 6’7 forward put on a show for all in attendance, including new Maryland head coach Kevin Willard who was on just his third day on the Terps’ job.
Truth be told, the highlight reel started rolling early on as the long and lean dynamo cocked the ball back behind his head while flying gracefully through the air before finishing things off with thunderous one-handed slam within the first few minutes, effectively letting both New Castle and everyone else know that this Panthers’ crew was an entirely different animal than most everyone had yet to see this year. And if you’re wondering, this too would ultimately result in another victor shooting at least 50% from the field as the Panthers from Philly would vanquish the Hurricanes by a 54-39 final decision, effectively making it five straight seasons in which Imhotep has yet to be defeated while playing in the PIAA state tourney.
6A
The grand finale, eh? In terms of quality of high school basketball, sorry, but you’re not going to find anything that rivals the Philadelphia Catholic League, folks. Sure enough, in the 6A game, we were fortunate enough to bear witness to a makeshift PCL game of sorts, but this time in the state final.
Making their second straight trip back to this very game following their double overtime loss last year to Reading, Archbishop Wood made good on making it back to the final game of the season, ironically thanks in part to staving off a miraculous comeback bid by the aforementioned Red Knights in the second round of the state tournament a few weeks back.
Their opponent of course was also very familiar with these surroundings seeing as how it would be Roman Catholic who would eventually emerge from the other side of the bracket. Frankly, it was sight for sore eyes to see the mighty Cahillites back in the big school title game for the first time since the 2018 season, a time when Roman Catholic essentially served as a proverbial feeding tube up to State College for Pat Chambers and his staff at Penn State during his tenure given the likes of Shep Garner, Tony Carr, Lamar Stevens, and Seth Lundy to name just a few.
In this outing though, the “Broad Street Bullies” lived up to their namesake with a quintessential 77-65 victory over Wood that seemed to define Philly basketball to its very core. Sure, while they got up and down the floor with lightning-quick speed, the exceptionally high motor that was on display and possessed by the #2-rated player in the state and future Cincinnati Bearcat, Daniel Skillings, was a sight to behold for Roman. All game long, Skillings cleaned up Roman’s loose change in and around the cup en route to a remarkable 31-point outing behind a 14-26 shooting performance.
For Wood, the future appears to be just as bright for the Vikings as well considering that they will be bringing back what seems to be arguably one of the best underclassmen in the entire state, Jalil Bethea, as the Wood rangy sophomore guard showed of his litany of skills and high-flying abilities by culminating the evening by bucketing a 15-point outing, good enough for second place within the Wood lineup behind Justin Moore as the soon-to-be Drexel Dragon finished off his high school career with a 21-point game in the state championship.
Odds & Ends
It’s no secret, but attendance is down and it’s been trending. Surely having no District 3 teams participate in the state finals weekend for the first time in a long time certainly didn’t help matters. But let’s be honest, short of a systemic change that doesn’t appear to be coming any time soon (perhaps ever), this is the model we got. So, would changing the site of championship weekend continuously help in the matter, provided of course that the PIAA would be able to find willing and able bodies to host wherever they pleased? To some degree, yes, but I don’t suspect it’s the silver bullet. Given how large Pennsylvania itself is and how may large metropolitan areas exist in literally every corner of the state (Philly, Pittsburgh, Erie, Scranton etc), you’re not going to have a universal agreement on where to go consistently. It’s not like this is Minnesota where a huge swath of the population lives within one central area. We tried Penn State before and it seemed to go over like a lead balloon. Sure, the location is technically the best we got, but the Bryce Jordan Center is far too big for its own good when it’s clear that the appetite for high school basketball statewide just simply isn’t there to where fans will gleefully flock no matter where it may be.
Personally, one avenue (albeit a pipe dream) that seems somewhat attractive is to do what other states do- stagger the boys’ and girls’ tournaments to where one finishes one week and the other finishes the next week and have the latter rounds held in one central area. Think of this…Send the final 48 teams (Elite Eight of 1A-6A) into this area (south/central PA) as an example for the quarterfinal thru final rounds of the state tournament and play it over the course of Thursday-Saturday with games being all throughout the day. Is it “fair” to stack games back-to-back-to-back with the highest of stakes being the most ideal over the span of three consecutive days for the teams that are fortunate enough make it there? No. Is it absolutely illogical though? Also no. Would it provide a more, I don’t know, “festive” atmosphere akin to that of the NCAA Final Four with everyone being in one locale? For sure.
If you want to keep it here locally, we already have the Farmshow, Hersheypark Arena, and Giant Center, all of which have hosted the state finals before, at our disposal. If the Bears are playing at home on Friday night, okay cool, just move to one of the local high schools, or use the schools themselves right from the jump if you had to. Shoot, Cumberland Valley is now going to host the football championships starting this year and they already have a better gym than St. Peter’s does. Either way, you can’t convince me that you wouldn’t be able to draw more crowds than you currently are (regardless of where in the state you decided to pull this grand experiment off, Philadelphia for example) if you gave everyone the opportunity to watch any quarterfinal round game and beyond from the 1A-6A bracket of their personal choosing if they weren’t all located within easy driving distance of one another. I mean, you probably know some folks right now personally who would gladly jump at the chance to take a day or two off of work if that option were on the table, or even make a roadtrip out of it. However, if that master plan wouldn’t move the needle at all though, well, then again, the appetite just simply isn’t there and high school basketball in this state just has a massive identity crisis on its hands at that point that may be beyond repair quite frankly.
As far as the private/public debate, you know that ain’t ever going away. Candidly though, and perhaps it’s just me reading the tea leaves more so than before, but the vocalness has now gone from beyond social media and into the postgame media gathering, something that seems new. Case in point, you had the head coaches from three different schools in this weekend’s boys’ games be rather vocal that something needed to change regarding the current operating model. Everyone has their ideas on fixing that problem so there’s no need to hash those out in this space, but it does seem that the temperature continues to be raised with each passing year. Take that for what you will, but that kind of friction can’t reasonably last over a great length of time before a day of reckoning ultimately becomes reality. Maybe those ground swells have already started however given the earlier point and fans now starting to voice their opinion by way of their wallets as a means to be vocal for trying (perhaps unknowingly) to ignite a change in their own unique way. Hit ‘em where it hurts if you will.
Either way, maybe it’s just simply time to acknowledge the elephant in the room and accept that Philadelphia basketball and its surrounding areas is just far better than anyone else can reasonably compete and keep up with around the state? I mean, at some point that year-round, sport-specific hyper focus must account for something, yes? Consider this…Of the dozen guys’ teams that made it to the state finals this weekend, half of them came to Hershey by way of either the Philadelphia Public and/or Catholic League. When you add in the girls, that number suddenly jumps to 11 of 24 teams, and 12 of 24 if you count District 1’s Plymouth Whitemarsh, a remarkable squad that finished off a sensational 34-0 season on Saturday night against Mount Lebanon. Those numbers can’t be a mistake over the course of three weeks within a dozen tournaments across two different genders. There’s a “there” there. Yet in the interest of transparency, it should be noted that there were also 9 of 24 teams that came to Giant Center from the WPIAL. Within those head-to-head matchups specifically however, Philly ended up getting the better of Pittsburgh by a 6-1 final tally.
Now I know that will probably come off as an indictment against other places, but some facts just seem true beyond a reasonable doubt. Maybe it’s possible that Philly just does the roundball better than everyone else, just like Pittsburgh and the WPIAL maybe does football better, District 3 does field hockey and volleyball (especially boys) better, and District 1 can largely run roughshod over everyone else in lacrosse. A simpleton’s approach I’m sure, yes, but maybe everyone just has their specific niche and that’s the long and short of it?
But if you’re like me, you’ll probably soon come to grips with the fact that the high school basketball season has ended and while you may have your own personal sentiments and feelings about the state of the union at large, you’ll want early December to come back sooner rather than later despite whatever warts folks may feel exist. So here’s my little parting gift to you…..
During each game played at Giant Center, free tickets to the Turkey Hill Experience located in Columbia were handed out to fans in the stands. In my own quirky way, I took the liberty to note where each recipient happened to be from based on their rooting interest. For the most part, everyone seemed to be from an area “somewhat” close to Columbia all things being considered. However, the grand finale was saved for the penultimate game as fans from Mount Lebanon were awarded with the opportunity to come back east with said tickets. Simply put, I’m sure the opportunity to milk “The Virtual Cow” will make that four-hour, one-way drive totally worth it 😉
Until next year……
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