Andy’s Take

Hyperbole or not, sometimes the second night of the season can often be one of the most consequential eveings that the entire slate can possibly offer. And sure enough, the situation that was scheduled to take shape in Mount Joy late on Saturday night just so happened to fit snuggly into that very same category. […]

In a way, it’s funny. Well, maybe funny isn’t exactly the most apropos word to use, but it certainly was ironic. For as much promise and anticipation that 2021-22 high school basketball season brings with it, it’s simply impossible to overlook the overarching desire and hope from everyone involved that this year we finally have […]

  Ed note: For several years Andy and Dell do a preseason look at the LL. The Tradition continues. Although the LL has very talented guards, the “bigs” got some love as well. The show features a quick look at the 5 Sections, breaking down some teams and expectations, and looking at some teams on […]

(Games played at West Reading Playground)   Tuesday June 29 Garden Spot vs Berks Catholic: 7:15 pm Garden Spot vs Exeter: 8:20pm   Thursday July 1 Garden Spot vs Warwick: 6:20pm  Garden Spot vs Governor Mifflin: 7:15pm   Tuesday July 6 Garden Spot vs Cedar Crest: 6:20pm (Court 1) Garden Spot vs Berks Catholic: 7:15pm […]

(Games played at West Reading Playground)   Wednesday June 30 Warwick vs Cedar Crest: 7:15pm  Warwick vs Wilson: 8:10pm   Thursday July 1 Warwick vs Exeter: 5:25pm  Warwick vs Garden Spot: 6:20pm   Tuesday July 13 Warwick vs Wilson: 6:20pm (Court 1) Warwick vs Berks Catholic: 7:15pm (Court 1)   Wednesday July 14 Warwick vs […]

(Games played at West Reading Playground)   Wednesday June 23 Cedar Crest vs Wilson: 7:15pm Cedar Crest vs Exeter: 8:10pm   Wednesday June 30 Cedar Crest vs Berks Catholic: 6:20pm Cedar Crest vs Warwick: 7:15pm   Tuesday July 6 Cedar Crest vs Governor Mifflin: 5:25pm (Court 1) Cedar Crest vs Garden Spot: 6:20pm (Court 1) […]

(Games played at West Reading Playground)   Monday June 21 Ephrata vs Oley Valley: 7:15pm Ephrata vs Tulpehocken: 8:10pm   Thursday July 8 Ephrata vs Daniel Boone: 6:20pm (Court 2) Ephrata vs Conrad Weiser: 7:15pm (Court 2)   Wednesday July 14 Ephrata vs Wyomissing: 6:20pm (Court 2) Ephrata vs Twin Valley: 7:15pm (Court 2)   […]

Foreword written by Mike Drago of the Reading Eagle…   Rahsool Diggins earned All-State recognition as both a sophomore and junior, but he changed his game for his senior season at Archbishop Wood. Knowing he’d be playing point guard at the University of Connecticut he prepared himself by playing that role for the Vikings. Diggins’ […]

Foreword written by Mike Gross of LNP…   Archbishop Ryan’s Aaron Lemon-Warren was leading the powerful Philadelphia Catholic League in scoring in the 2019-20 season when a broken foot shut him down for the year. Ryan started this season two weeks after everyone else in the PCL due to a COVID-19 shutdown, and the PCL […]

Foreword written by Mike Gross of LNP…   It was far from a normal boys’ basketball season for Neumann-Goretti, one of Pennsylvania’s most successful programs. The Saints, who have won nine state championships since 2009, went 4-6 with no postseason in 2020-21, thanks to a combination of pandemic-related issues and the use, acknowledged by the […]

Foreword written by Mike Gross of LNP…   “The only thing on my bucket list that I really want,’’ Loyalsock boys’ basketball coach Ron Insinger told the Williamsport Sun-Gazette last month, was a state championship. Insinger’s Lancers got him there a few days later, defeating Brookville 75-53 for the PIAA Class 3A championship and completing […]

Foreword written by Mike Gross of LNP….   No Pennsylvania high school basketball team had a better year than Class AA state champion Sacred Heart, a truth reflected in voting for the Pennsylvania Sportswriters’ all-state team. Jake DiMichele, a 6-3 junior swingman for the Chargers, is the AA player of the year, which goes to […]

Foreword written by Mike Gross of LNP….   Berlin Brothersvalley, a small public high school in Somerset County, accomplished about all it could in boys’ basketball the past two years without winning a state championship. The Mountaineers went a combined 55-3, and were stopped short of the big prize by COVID-19 halting the PIAA tournament […]

Foreword written by Mike Gross of LNP…   High honors have gotten routine and redundant for Germantown Academy basketball star Jordan Longino. Longino, a 6-4 senior guard bound for Villanova, is the Non-PIAA Player of the Year, which goes to the leading vote-getter for the Pennsylvania Sportswriters’ Non-PIAA all-state team, announced Sunday. Longino was Class […]

For as strange of a year that the 2020-21 Lancaster-Lebanon League Boys’ high school basketball season was, any semblance of normalcy—no matter how brief it may have been—was always a welcomed sign. From players suiting up in masks, to teams literally having to live by the mantra of “taking one day at a time” in […]