August 18th Odds and Ends

-News broke yesterday, the 17th, that Saint Joseph's incoming freshman CJ Aiken got the OK from the NCAA Clearinghouse, and will be able to suit up this year for the Hawks. Aiken is generally considered the "prize recruit" in the 2010 recruiting haul for the Hawks. Over the past several months, a number of people, primarily fans of rival schools, have questioned whether Aiken would be eligible to play this coming season. Those questions have now been answered, and Aiken will bring his athleticism (on display in this video) to SJU this year.

-Last week, I wrote about rising Indiana junior Michael Ramey. Ramey is scheduled to take an unofficial visit to Saint Joseph's, but no date has been set. I was able to find out some more about Ramey yesterday from Indianapolis Star sports reporter Kyle Neddenriep. Although Kyle was uncertain as to when Michael Ramey would make his unofficial visits to SJU, Wyoming, and William and Mary, he said that he was told that Ramey's college decision could come before his upcoming basketball season began. As for his game, Neddenriep said that Ramey's "range is unlimited" and "he can shoot from anywhere." In addition to his perimeter game, Neddenriep also noted that he demonstrated an improved mid-range game this summer. He also told me that Ramey is more athletic than he is given credit for, but needs some work in becoming a better defensive player.

-ESPN released their Atlantic 10 Summer Shootaround today. Clicking here will take you to the homepage. In their team capsule on the Hawks, the folks at ESPN had this to say:


Saint Joseph's: First the bad news for the Hawks: Leading scorers Darrin Govens and Garrett Williamson have graduated. Now the good news: C.J. Aiken, Daryus Quarles and Langston Galloway (who looked at LSU, Stanford and Oklahoma State before joining his uncle, Saint Joe's assistant coach Geoff Arnold) are on campus. The freshman trio forms one of the best recruiting classes Phil Martelli has had in years and ought to help the Hawks get out of their sub-.500 blues.

In their segment on best and worst case scenarios, they had this to say:

Best case: It all depends on the incoming class. C.J. Aiken, Daryus Quarles and Langston Galloway make up the best class Phil Martelli has had since, well, you know. If all three live up to their hype, St. Joe's could vastly improve on its recent slide into 20-loss territory.

Worst case: The incoming class takes a year to congeal (as so many do), and the talented youngsters aren't good enough to make up for the loss of leading scorers Darrin Govens and Garrett Williamson. Either way, St. Joe's should improve, but if this worst case plays out, that improvement won't have anyone recalling the 2003-04 Elite Eight run anytime soon.

Not the most insightful or detailed breakdown, but it's nice to hear what the national media has to say about the Hawks. One glaring flaw in their analysis is the mention of the Hawks tremendous three-player recruiting class. If it was a three-man class, it would be a very good one. ESPN forgot to mention two incoming freshmen, Ronald Roberts and Pat Swilling Jr. To be fair, both players did sign with SJU late in the recruiting process. Still, both will be major contributors on Hawk Hill from day one, and certainly deserve a mention.

Plymouth-Whitemarsh Takes State Title

Last night, at the Bryce Jordan Center at Penn State, the Plymouth-Whitemarsh Colonials defeated the Penn Wood Patriots 58-51 to take home the Pennsylvania AAAA title. The win avenged an overtime loss to Penn Wood in the District 1 Final at Villanova. The Colonials were led by senior forward CJ Aiken's 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots. Senior guard Whis Grant had yet another strong performance as well, dropping 17 points and really controlling the game's tempo. On the other side, Penn Wood got 15 points from both Aaron Brown and Tyree Johnson. Shawn Oakman, the junior center for Penn Wood, was held to only 4 points. He was not nearly the factor that he was when the teams met in the district final.

CJ Aiken's last high school game of his career was certainly one to remember. Plymouth-Whitemarsh trailed by 4 at the half and Aiken was kept relatively in check. He had the Colonials' first 4 points in the game on dunks, but was quiet after that, only hitting a pair of free throws. CJ was a force in the second half though, providing a number of highlight-reel plays. He had two blocks on Penn Wood's Aaron Brown as well as a put-back one-handed dunk that had the Plymouth-Whitemarsh faithful happy they traveled west to Happy Valley.

The first time the teams met, in the district final, the turning point was Aaron Brown's dunk that had Aiken running for cover. In this game, the turning point was a rejection of Brown by Aiken. Aaron's dunk attempt was swatted away by Aiken this time, and Plymouth-Whitemarsh didn't look back from there.

Brown did have a solid game for the Patriots still, especially in the first half. Aaron and Tyree Johnson sparked Penn Wood to an early lead, but it was closed to 30-26 at the half.

Saint Joseph's coaches Phil Martelli and Geoff Arnold were on hand for the game, as was Temple's Fran Dunphy. Both schools are recruiting Penn Wood's Aaron Brown. During the TV telecast, the announcers stated that Shawn Oakman was at Penn State a day early, on a visit for the Nittany Lions football team. Temple is also heavily recruiting Plymouth-Whitemarsh's junior forward Jaylen Bond, who was limited to only 5 points in this game after having a career game in the semi-finals with Pitt coach Jaime Dixon in the house.

A number of links to recaps, video, and pictures from the game are below:

Inquirer Article by Rick O'Brien

Times Herald Article and Video from State Final

Chris Vito Article from Delco Times

The picture above of CJ Aiken's block on Aaron Brown is from the Times Herald article linked above.

Penn Wood and Plymouth-Whitemarsh Roll On

On Saturday afternoon, both Penn Wood and Plymouth-Whitemarsh won their respective games in the PIAA state playoffs, setting up a potential rematch of the Distict Finals.

Penn Wood defeated Scranton 66-55 in a 2:30 tilt in Bethlehem, PA. In attendance were Saint Joseph's head coach Phil Martelli as well as Temple head man Fran Dunphy. Both coaches were there to watch Penn Wood junior Aaron Brown, who did not disappoint in the winning effort. According to the article by Chris Vito linked below, Brown had 22 points and 9 rebounds. Scranton features a talented sophomore, Terry Turner, who was limited to only 9 points in the game, roughly 10 below his season average.

Also linked below is an article on the game by Pat Leonard. In the article, Leonard mentions that Martelli was there scouting the Scranton sophomore.

At Villanova, Plymouth-Whitemarsh got 22 points from CJ Aiken in a 54-46 win over Roman Catholic High School. Roman Catholic got 22 points from Roc Brookins, a senior guard headed to Tulane next year. An article on the game by Rick O'Brien is linked below.

With the wins, both teams advance to the state semi-finals. Penn Wood will play Liberty and Plymouth-Whitemarsh will take on North Allegheny, with both games taking place on Wednesday. With a win Wednesday, Penn Wood will get a chance to repeat as state champs. With a win, Plymouth-Whitemarsh will have a chance to redeem themselves for their district finals loss to Penn Wood.

Rick O'Brien Article on Plymouth-Whitemarsh Win

Chris Vito Article on Penn Wood Win

Pat Leonard Article on Penn Wood Win

Penn Wood- Plymouth Whitemarsh Recap

Friday night, for the second time in four days, I went over to Villanova to watch both Penn Wood and Plymouth-Whitemarsh, arguably the two best teams in all of Pennsylvania. Friday night's game, for the district title, is the game that people, myself included, have been waiting for all season long. There were stars on the court and a number of coaches in the stands. Saint Joseph's was represented with both Phil Martelli and Geoff Arnold in the stands. Temple's Fran Dunphy, Penn State's Ed DeChellis, and West Virginia assistant coach Billy Hahn were all among the nearly sell-out crowd.

The game, eventually won 54-49 in overtime by Penn Wood, was a tale of two halves, a number of sub-plots, and a great atmosphere. Going into the game, I was really interested in how the match-up down low between SJU commit CJ Aiken and Penn Wood junior center Shawn Oakman would go. In the first half, we saw very little of that match-up since Oakman went to the bench with two fouls only a few minutes into the first quarter. He sat out the rest of the half, which opened things up in the middle. At the half, CJ was well on his way to a double-double. On one particular sequence, he made a perfectly timed block on the defensive end, sprinted the court, and had an alley-oop way above the rim. It was my fourth time this season seeing Aiken play, and each time out, I am more and more impressed by his timing on the defensive end and his ability to catch anything thrown in his direction on the offensive side of the ball. Despite Oakman's benching, Plymouth-Whitemarsh only held a 5 point lead going into the break. Aiken had a great first half for PW and Tyree Johnson played very well for Penn Wood in half one. The play of the half, and probably the game came in the second quarter. With Penn Wood down just about double digits, Penn Wood junior wing Aaron Brown received the ball on the left elbow and took it hard to the rim, jamming it with home left-handed. After the jam, Brown ran down the court, arms motioning for the Penn Wood faithful to make some noise. They did, Brown took his game to another level, and Penn Wood went to the locker room only down 5.

While CJ Aiken was the most impressive player on the court in the first half, that award easily goes to Aaron Brown for the second half and over-time. Most of that is due to Aaron's great play, but it's also due to Plymouth-Whitemarsh's inability to get the ball to Aiken in the second half. I counted only two or three occasions all half where Aiken got a touch. Part of that is due to Oakman's presence, but it was almost like there was a reluctance by PW's guards to get the ball to their big-man. Jaylen Bond, the junior PW forward, really struggled in the second half, especially from the free throw line. I lost track, but according to the Philly.com article linked below, Bond shot 3-12 from the line, with the bulk of that coming in the second half. Aside from the momentum-changing dunk in the first half, Aaron Brown was quiet up until intermission. That changed in the fourth quarter, when he demanded the ball every time down the court. On one particular play, Brown took the ball hard to the basket and was fouled by Jaylen Bond. After hitting his first free throw, Brown took a step toward Bond and said to him, "You can't guard me. Ever." In this game, that was true. Brown absolutely took over, hitting crucial free throws in overtime for Penn Wood. In this game, he scored on a great variety of dunks, drives, pull-up jumpers, and free throws.

For the game, according to Philly.com, Brown finished with 20 points and 8 rebounds. For Plymouth-Whitemarsh, CJ Aiken had 10 points, 7 boards, and 6 blocks. Those numbers would have probably been a lot higher had CJ gotten more touches on the offensive end.

Both teams now advance to the state playoffs, which begin this coming week.

The day after winning the district title, Aaron Brown took in the Saint Joseph's - La Salle game at SJU along with his father and Penn Wood head coach Clyde Jones. It's clear that Brown is one of SJU's top targets in the junior class, and his performance Friday night should have all SJU fans hoping that he decides to come to Hawk Hill.

The link directly below from the Times Herald, gives a nice recap and video highlights from the game. Aaron Brown's dunk is in the video, and he is number 2 in blue.

The picture above of CJ Aiken is also from the Times Herald article.

Times Herald Video Highlights

Philly.com Recap of PW-PW Game

PIAA Semi-Finals Recap

Last night I made my way over to Villanova for the two 4A district semifinal games. While neither game was especially close or competitive, the stage is now set for a game that many people have been waiting for since December. At 9:00 on Friday night at Nova, Penn Wood and Plymouth-Whitemarsh will take the court for the district title. I have a write-up on some of the standout players in both games below. Keep in mind, while reading, that I don't keep stats myself at games. Some of the numbers may not be perfect, but most are from Philly.com articles that are linked below.

Penn Wood is loaded with Division 1 talent. This was my second time this week seeing them play, and it's amazing how roles on the team can change. When I saw Penn Wood beat Bensalem last Tuesday night, it was the Aaron Brown show. Brown was dominant while senior Hartford-bound guard Tyree Johnson had a rough outing. Last night it was Tyree Johnson and Shawn Oakman with the most impressive performances. Tyree had 15 points and more than half a dozen assists while really controlling the game's tempo. Penn Wood's size was just too much for Souderton. Shawn Oakman played as well as I've ever seen him play. What really impresses you about Oakman is his great feel around the basket and great hands. He is as physically imposing a force as you'll find in high school basketball, but he also possesses great hands that allow him to catch just about any ball in his direction. Shawn also showed good shooting touch on a jumper from the right wing. For the most part, his points will come in the paint, but that's not a bad thing. Someone with his size and feel around the bucket shouldn't worry about spending much time away from it.

When I looked at the box score linked below after the game last night, I shook my head when I saw Aaron Brown's line. He finished the game with 15 points and 9 rebounds, which is very solid. And he did that while playing the least impressive game I've seen from him this year. Early in the game, Aaron's jumper was not falling the way that it was last week. In the first quarter, he went up strong for a two-handed dunk, was hit, but the whistles remained silent. There was definitely some frustration evident in his demeanor the rest of the half. Penn Wood won the game going away and did not need anything more from Aaron last night. Despite it being an off game for Brown, he still showed some real flashes. He displayed his athleticism on a monster fast-break dunk. Aaron also buried a 3 in the 4th quarter from the right wing. Brown is one of SJU's top targets in the 2011 recruiting class. That was evident in assistant coach Geoff Arnold's presence in the crowd at Nova.

Game 2 featured top-seeded Plymouth-Whitemarsh and a talented West Chester Rustin team. Unfortunately for W.C. Rustin fans, this one was over shortly after it began. PW won the game going away, 79-47. PW's bigmen, senior CJ Aiken and junior Jaylen Bond, were too much for West Chester. Aiken had a triple-double (12 pts, 12 boards, and 12 blocks) in the win while Bond had 17 points and 17 boards. Aiken's uncanny ability to block shots was on full display last night. In the first quarter, West Chester players continued to drive the lane past Aiken, and time and again, their shots were swatted away. CJ's points were almost all right around the bucket on a flurry of acrobatic dunks and layups. On one particular play, Aiken followed up a Jaylen Bond miss and dunked the ball home with both arms elevated way above the rim. He is a human pogo stick around the basket. Aiken has the talent to be a real difference-maker on Hawk Hill. At first, it may be mostly on the defensive side of the ball, but CJ is not nearly as raw offensively as most high school bigs.

This was one of the best outings I've seen from junior Jaylen Bond. Bond has an interesting decision ahead of him. He could be an all-league player for 2 or 3 years in a conference like the A10 or work his way into a rotation on a Big East or ACC school. That is not a knock on Bond. Not in the least. He is an absolute force around the basket. While he is undersized for a college 4, standing around 6'6, he has the strength and athleticism to play that position in college. It would be an adjustment for him to play the 4 in the Big East due to his height. Can Jaylen turn into a college 3? Possibly. What I saw last night, however, was a player who is a force around the basket. Temple is recruiting Bond hard, and he would be a great get for Fran Dunphy. On the flipside, a top program in the A10 is probably a great fit for Bond. He is an incredible talent who impressed me again last night.

Plymouth-Whitemarsh's bigs get all the attention, but, as I've said before on here, Whis Grant is very underrated in the area. Whis, along with the other PW guards, is a terrific on-ball defender. He also plays a terrific floor game, which was evident again last night. I don't know what schools are looking at Grant, but he looks like a player that should have a terrific career at the right program. I'm really interested and curious to see where Whis plays his college ball next year.

I am planning on attending the title game Friday night, so check back here for a recap on Saturday.

Penn Wood Recap from Philly.com

Delco Times Article on Plymouth-Whitemarsh Win

Picture above of Penn Wood's Shawn Oakman from Rick O'Brien's article linked above.

Penn Wood and Plymouth Whitemarsh to Face Off for the District Friday

The match-up that players and fans (Plymouth-Whitemarsh fans last night were chanting "We want Penn Wood" in the first half) have been awaiting all season long will finally take place on Friday night at Villanova. Both Penn Wood and Plymouth-Whitemarsh cruised to easy victories last night in the district semi-finals. There was no drama. No need for a late rally. After giving up some early easy buckets, Penn Wood tightened things up defensively and continued to feed the ball to junior center Shawn Oakman en route to victory over Souderton. In the night's second game, Plymouth-Whitemarsh never allowed West Chester Rustin to even feel like they belonged on the same court. SJU commit CJ Aiken notched a triple-double with 12 points, 12 boards, and 12 blocks while junior forward Jaylen Bond also had a monster game and double-double. Senior guard Whis Grant also had another impressive outing. I will have a more detailed recap up on the site later today.

PIAA 4A Final Four Set

And then there were four. Plymouth-Whitemarsh, Penn Wood, Souderton, and West Chester Rustin all won last night to punch their tickets to the PIAA semi-finals, to be held Tuesday night at Villanova. Plymouth-Whitemarsh defeated Penncrest in a low-scoring affair, 39-22. Senior SJU-bound bigman CJ Aiken was held to 7 points while junior forward Jaylen Bond had ten. The Colonials will face W.C. Rustin on Tuesday night, since they took out Pennsbury last night.

On the other side of the bracket, Penn Wood took a two point halftime lead into the locker room and exploded in the second half to beat Neshaminy 74-52. Sophomore Ryan Arcidiacono led Neshaminy with 19 points, most of which came in the first half. Aaron Brown once again led Penn Wood, scoring 20 of his 26 points in the second half. Penn Wood will take on Souderton Tuesday night. Souderton defeated Chester last night behind 19 points from AJ Picard. Chester got 15 points from talented sophomore Erikk Wright in the losing effort.

I will be on hand on Tuesday for the semi-final games, so check back here Wednesday night for a recap.

Penn Wood and Plymouth-Whitemarsh Roll; Friends Central Beats ANC

The Pennsylvania Boy's Basketball playoffs got underway today. In the AAAA bracket, the number one and two seeds cruised into the second round. Plymouth-Whitemarsh, the number one overall seed, blew out West Chester East 70-28. According to Philly.com, PW got 20 points from senior bigman CJ AIken and a triple-double (16 points, 11 boards, 10 blocks) from junior forward Jaylen Bond. PW will play the winner of tomorrow's Spring Ford- Upper Dublin game on Tuesday night at PW in the second round.

Penn Wood, the overall number two seed, pummeled Oxford 80-36 at home earlier tonight. According to Philly.com, Dequan Parker paced the Patriots with a career-high of 20 points. Junior Hawk target Aaron Brown had 17 points. Penn Wood center Shawn Oakman, another SJU target, had 8 points and 11 rebounds in the victory. Penn Wood plays Bensalem at home on Tuesday evening in the second round.

The sophomore class in Philadelphia has three elite level recruits in Friends Central's Amile Jefferson, Academy of the New Church's Savon Goodman, and Westtown's Daniel Ochefu. Two of those sophomores met this afternoon when Friends Central and Academy of the New Church took the court. Amile Jefferson's Friends Central team got the best of ANC despite trailing 14-3 at the end of the first quarter. Friends Central got 14 points from junior guard Devin Coleman and super-soph Amile Jefferson. Both players are receiving recruiting interest from the Hawks. Savon Goodman, as he has all season long, paced ANC. He was the game's high-point man with 16 points. Malcolm Gilbert had 4 points for ANC and elite-level 2011 center Roc Christmas was limited to 6 points.

Links to the Philly.com scores are below:

Friends Central beats ANC

Plymouth-Whitemarsh Pounds West Chester East

Penn Wood Beats Oxford

Bond and Aiken Continue to Power Plymouth-Whitemarsh

The Plymouth-Whitemarsh Colonials, now ranked 18th nationally by MaxPreps, improved to 20-1 last night with a 77-52 win over Cheltenham. The Colonials only have one game remaining, against a Springfield team that they already beat this year by 32 points. PW has continued to get stellar play from their frontcourt of CJ Aiken and Jaylen Bond. While these two players get most of the national attention, guards Whis Grant and Brandon Dixon are also integral to their success. In last night's win over Cheltenham, Aiken dropped 34 points, pulled down 17 rebounds, and had 4 blocks, according to Philly.com. Junior forward Jaylen Bond also contributed 24 points. On Monday night, in a win over Norristown, Aiken notched a triple-double with 14 points, 16 rebounds, and 11 blocked shots. Video from Monday's win, courtesy of the Times Herald Online.

PW-Norristown Game Highlights

And here is an article from the Times Herald on last night's win against Cheltenham:

PW-Cheltenham Game Summary

Photo Above of CJ Aiken also courtesy of the Times Herald

Week in Review

My last update on here was Saturday, and quite a bit has happened between then and now. This is my effort of getting you (and me) back up to date.

On Sunday, Plymouth-Whitemarsh suffered their first loss of the season, falling to Danny Hurley's Saint Benedict's squad 52-50. Despite the loss, Plymouth-Whitemarsh made their debut in the national top 25, according to Prepnation.com. PW checks in at number 25 on that list, which is quite an accomplishment for Jim Donofrio's team, led by frontcourt stars CJ Aiken and Jaylen Bond. The Colonials bounced back on Tuesday night, defeating Upper Dublin by 13 points. Friday evening, the Colonials have a rematch with Norristown at home.

On Tuesday, Penn Wood got their 13th win in a row, demolishing Chichester 88-49. Penn Wood was, once again, paced by Saint Joseph's recruiting target Aaron Brown and his 22 points. Penn Wood then defeated rival Chester earlier this evening by a final score of 57-40. Aaron Brown had 27 points to once again lead the way for Penn Wood.

UMass picked up an important commitment earlier this week, when Maryland senior point guard Daryl Traynham decided to play his college ball for the Minutemen. Traynham is a quick, tiny (5'8) point guard who is well regarded by the recruiting sites, and ranked 110th in the senior class by Rivals.com. Derek Kellog has done a nice job recruiting at UMass, but that has yet to really translate to wins. Traynham could be a part of that change.

Earlier in the week, I came across this video of current Louisville freshman Mike Marra dunking in a game last year for Northfield Mount Herman. It's a 30 second, slow-mo clip of Marra throwing down an impressive dunk. Well worth the 30 seconds it takes to watch.


Mike Marra Dunk

Aiken Has Another Double-Double; Newbill Fills it Up

CJ Aiken and Jaylen Bond led Plymouth-Whitemarsh to their 8th straight win earlier this evening. Aiken had 22 points and 14 rebounds while junior Jaylen Bond led PW with 23 points. The Colonials are now 8-0.

In the past roughly 24 hours, Strawberry Mansion senior DJ Newbill had two stat-stuffing performances. Mansion ran all over Bodine today, with Newbill notching a triple-double. His 19 points, 10 boards, 10 assists, and 5 steals paced Mansion in the blowout. If that performance sounds impressive, check this out. 19 points, 10 rebounds, 5 steals, and 5 assists in the first half of yesterday's win over Hope Charter. Newbill finished that game with 37 points. Talented sophomore Khyree Wooten had 13 points and 10 rebounds as well for Mansion in the win.

Aiken and Bond Power Plymouth-Whitemarsh by Academy of the New Church

Hawk Hill Hardwood was on hand for one of the most anticipated high school basketball games of the early 2009-2010 season last night. Plymouth Whitemarsh used lots of ball pressure and big-time performances from Jaylen Bond and CJ Aiken to beat ANC 57-46 at Gwynedd Mercy College. Today we will look at the performances of Plymouth Whitemarsh's CJ Aiken, Jaylen Bond, and Whis Grant. All three had impressive performances in front of a packed house that included a number of college coaches. Hawk head man Phil Martelli was in the stands for the game, along with Rutgers head coach Fred Hill, ex-Penn coach Glen Miller, and La Salle head coach Dr. John Giannini.

CJ Aiken- Going into the game, CJ knew that he was going to have his hands full against a frontcourt that starts a 6'11 center, a 6'9 power forward, and a 6'5 small forward. CJ set the tone for the game early, on a beautiful alley-oop way above the rim. CJ dunked his way to a game-high 21 points and MVP honors for the Colonials. The word used to describe Aiken for the past couple years has been upside, and that word still is fitting. That being said, Aiken demonstrated a level of toughness and intensity that I haven't seen from him in the past. There were a number of jaw-dropping plays during the course of the game that showcased his unbelievable athletic ability. Aiken plays above the rim, and that was no difference in this game. In addition to the athletic ability, CJ has terrific hands, catching everything thrown in his general direction throughout the game. In the final minutes, when ANC pressed the Colonials, CJ was used on the inbounds passes to help break the press. High school bigmen are prone to turnovers, but that was not an issue in this game. CJ also had a number of beautiful assists during the game. PW won the game by double-digits, but it was much closer than that early in the 4th quarter. Aiken battled foul trouble in the second half, and ANC made their comeback with CJ on the bench, which is a telling fact. Aiken is headed to Hawk Hill next year. Head coach Phil Martelli had to be impressed with what he saw from his future frontcourt player.

Jaylen Bond- Bond (pictured above) showed again tonight why he is being courted by a number of Big East schools. The 6'7 Bond had 12 points for the Colonials and pulled down a number of important rebounds. Bond did have his hands full with ANC's Savon Goodman, who I will be writing about tomorrow. In the opening frame, Bond had a dunk that displayed his athleticism. On a fast break, Bond got the ball only a couple feet from the hoop, caught it, and in the same motion, went under and over the rim with an electrifying jam. Bond, like Aiken, gets off the floor in a hurry. Jaylen plays in the post for Plymouth-Whitemarsh. If he wants to play at the Big East level, he will probably have to move out to the wing. While he didn't demonstrate that ability tonight, it is something that he will have time to continue to work on. I doubt there was a college coach in the house last night that doesn't want Jaylen on their team in two years.

Whis Grant- While Aiken and Bond get most of the attention and notoriety for the Colonials, Grants plays a vital role for the team. In fact, it was the guard play from the Colonials last night that led to the win. Grant is the engine behind that backcourt. The 6 foot senior applied terrific ball pressure all evening, resulting in a number of turnovers for the ANC guards. Despite struggling from the free throw line, Whis was the third double-digit scorer for the Colonials, scoring 11 points. Grant is quick, strong, and plays very tough defense. Aiken and Bond are the big names for the Colonials, but without Whis, it is unlikely the two would put up the numbers they do. Whis did a great job feeding his bigs last night, both in the post and above the rim.

Plymouth-Whitemarsh is a tremendously talented team led by the three players above. Tomorrow we will look at Academy of the New Church's Savon Goodman, Roc Christmas, and Malcolm Gilbert.

Photo courtesy of Scout.com

Jameer Nelson Classic Gets Underway Today

The sixth-annual Jameer Nelson Classic will tip-off later today, marking a start to four great days of high school hoops in the greater Philadelphia area. The tournament features a number of players with bright college futures ahead of them. One of the players, Plymouth-Whitemarsh's CJ Aiken, will be suiting up for Jameer's alma mater, Saint Joseph's, next fall. Jameer's younger brother, Chester guard Maurice Nelson, is another of the top-level talents playing in the showcase. Below is a list of some of the highlight games.

Saturday at Widener College:

1:00- Strawberry Mansion vs. Girard College- Strawberry Mansion stars one of the best unsigned seniors in the area in 6'4 guard DJ Newbill. Girard College lives and dies with the success of junior guard, and Pitt Panther commit, John Johnson.

4:30- Archbishop Carroll vs. Bartram- This game features two of the best guards in the Philadelphia area in Carroll's Juan'ya Green and Bartram's Tyrone Garland. Garland is an ACC-bound senior, headed to Virginia Tech next year. Green, on the other hand, is a junior who has yet to make a college decision. Many of the Philadelphia schools, including Saint Joseph's, have exhibited interest in the 6'3 shooting guard

6:15- Friends' Central vs. Life Center Academy- This game features two players considered elite talents in their respective recruiting classes. Life Center Academy, out of Burlington, New Jersey, stars Syracuse-bound college-ready senior guard Dion Waiters. Friends' Central has plenty of D1 talent, with sophomore forward Amile Jefferson being the most well-known name on a national level. Rivals.com has Jefferson as the number 5 player nationally in his class. Another player to keep an eye on on Friends' Central is junior guard Devin Coleman.

8:00- Plymouth-Whitemarsh vs. Chester- As the younger brother of Jameer Nelson, Maurice Nelson inherently has great expectations placed upon him. The 6'1 guard for the Chester Clippers doesn't seem to let that bother him though. Maurice, who recently stated that his dream is to play for the Saint Joseph's Hawks, is coming off a 38-point outburst earlier this week. The Clippers are always one of the best in the state, and they face a Plymouth-Whitemarsh team tonight with one of the best frontcourts in the area. That frontcourt features SJU-bound 6'9 senior CJ Aiken as well as hotly-recruited junior Jaylen Bond. The nightcap to the Saturday games is sure to be a great one.

Monday at Widener University:

6:00-Penn Wood vs. Academy of the New Church- When I looked at the schedule for the tournament, this is one of the two or three games that stood out most to me. Academy of the New Church features a frontcourt that many actually consider one of the elite in all of America. 6'11 junior Malcolm Gilbert, 6'9 junior Roc Christmas, and 6'6 sophomore Savon Goodman have size and athleticism usually reserved for college rosters. They will be tested tonight by a Penn Wood team that has some size and athleticism of their own. Penn Wood throws junior multi-sport standout Shawn Oakman at you in the post. Small forward Aaron Brown is coming off a monster effort at the City of Palms Tournament that garnered him national praise from the likes of recruiting sites Rivals.com, Scout.com, and ESPN.com. The 6'5 Brown and the 6'8 Oakman are both receiving recruiting interest from the Hawks, along with numerous other programs.

8:00- Chester vs. Bartram- A chance to see Mo Nelson and Tyrone Garland go head-to-head.

Wednesday at Gwynned Mercy College:

6:15- Academy of the New Church vs. Plymouth-Whitemarsh- A battle between the two best frontcourts in the area. Bond and Aiken for PW against Gilbert, Christmas, and Goodman for ANC. Hawk Hill Hardwood will be on hand for this match-up. A detailed recap will be on the site on Thursday.


Check back in here throughout the week for updates on these games and more. It's a great week of Holiday Hoops in Philadelphia.

Plymouth-Whitemarsh Cruises to Easy Win; Myles Davis Picks Up Pitt Offer

Plymouth-Whitemarsh began their 2009-2010 campaign last night with an 82-39 shellacking of Central Bucks South. 2010 Hawk commit CJ Aiken had 14 points in the winning effort. The game was practically over before it began. At halftime, PW led 48-20. They play Neshaminy tonight in the championship game of the Rock the Rim Classic. Neshaminy features a sophomore guard with interest from the Hawks in Ryan Arcidiacono (pictured above). Ryan had 15 points for Neshaminy last night as they beat Conestoga 67-54.

One of the Hawks' 2011 targets, Myles Davis, picked up an offer from a Big East school this week, according to Rivals.com. Myles Davis, a 6 foot guard from Saint Peter's Prep, added an offer to his collection when the Pitt Panthers jumped officially into the mix. The Panthers already have a verbal commitment from John Johnson in the 2011 class. Johnson is a guard from Philadelphia's Girard College that the Hawks recruited heavily. Myles Davis has been on Hawk Hill for an unofficial visit already, and was courtside with teammate Ronald Roberts (bound for Saint John's) for the season opener against Drexel.

Photo courtesy of Phillyhoops

Holy War Recap; Odds and Ends

Again, apologies for the lack of content up here lately. Sometimes other things pop up that make blog updates fall a bit lower on the list of priorities.

Before going into the game, just a quick thought. How nice was it to have Bill Raftery (pictured to the left) on the play-by-play last night? In my opinion, he's the best in the business.

The Hawks played a hard-fought game last night against Big 5 rival Villanova at a sold-out Palestra. The Hawks fell to the Cats 97-89 in a high-scoring affair. In his postgame comments, Hawk coach Phil Martelli said, "Not all losses are losing experiences," and that quote does a lot to sum up the game. While the Hawks did not win, and winning is the ultimate goal, there were a number of positives to take out of the game.

The strengths and weaknesses of this team were apparent to all last night. Guard play, in the form of Darrin Govens and freshmen Tay Jones and Justin Crosgile was a strength. Govens had 19 points, while Jones and Crosgile contributed 16 and 12 respectively. It was one of Govens' best games in his four years on Hawk Hill. What Hawk fans saw out of freshmen Crosgile and Jones, especially in the second half, is hopefully a sign of things to come. Junior forward Idris Hilliard had a monster game, putting up 22 points and 7 rebounds. While guard play was a strength, the frontcourt, aside from Hilliard, was a glaring weakness. Todd O'Brien and Bryant Irwin combined for only 4 points and 9 rebounds in 37 total minutes. The Hawk frontcourt was without freshman forward Carl Baptiste, who was unable to go due to injury

Next year, the Hawks will be receiving help in the frontcourt in the form of Plymouth-Whitemarsh senior CJ Aiken. I should have an article up on Aiken in the coming day or two.

Dick Jerardi's article from today's Daily News is linked below. There is post-game video of Jay Wright, Tayor King, and Phil Martelli on the page as well.



Jerardi Article on the Holy War.



After the Hawks game ended last night, I flipped over to the Kentucky-UConn game. We keep hearing about how good John Wall is. Guess what? He's better than you thought.

Hawks Begin 2009-2010 Campaign with a Win; Some Visitors in the House

Saint Joseph's began their 2009-2010 campaign with an overtime win over Bruiser Flint's Drexel Dragons. The Hawks, who trailed by double digits about halfway through the second half, got a clutch 3 pointer from Darrin Govens and a game-tying shot from Garrett Williamson in the final seconds of the game. The Hawks won the game 77-67 behind 23 points from Govens. Idris Hilliard also had an impressive outing, finishing with 16 points and 7 rebounds. The boxscore from ESPN is linked below:

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=293172603

Hawk Hill Hardwood will have a more complete recap of the game tomorrow. Hawk fans got a nice glimpse into the future as Carl Jones (pictured above)scored 13 points in his collegiate debut. We will look at that among other things tomorrow.

I did want a quick update tonight concerning some visitors in the house for the opening game at the Michael J Hagan Arena.

Daryus Quarles and CJ Aiken, who have both signed their National Letters of Intent, were seated behind the Hawk bench. Another familiar face was seated courtside as well. That was Saint Peter's Prep's Ronald Roberts, who was on Hawk Hill for at least the third time this fall. Roberts was not the only Saint Peter's Prep player in the house, as he brought 2011 big-time guard Myles Davis down with him. Davis is likely the Hawks top guard target in the 2011 class. Another name of interest in the 2011 class was in the house, and that was 6'11 Academy of the New Church center Malcolm Gilbert. Maurice Nelson was also in attendance.

Tay Jones picture courtesy of SJUHawks.com

A-10 Reloads in the Class of 2010

The A-10, more than probably any other conference in the country, struggles to shed the "mid-major" label. Not that there is anything inherently bad with the label, but with it comes certain limitations. With it also comes the assumption that the level of talent is significantly lower than the Big 6- the ACC, SEC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 10, and Big East. Nobody is going to confuse the A10 with the ACC or Big East, but there is plenty of talent to go around in the A10. That talent level is also on the rise as we continue in the early signing period.

The Hawks have officially signed 6'3 shooting guard Langston Galloway. He checks in at 120 on the Rivals top 150. Scout has him ranked as the #36 shooting guard in his class. ESPN also ranks Galloway highly.

Scout has also reported that 6'6 small forward Daryus Quarles has signed his Letter of Intent. Quarles received a nice little bit of publicity from the website today when Evan Daniels had this to say about him when asked which mid-major signing had the best chance of becoming a league player of the year:

"I’m going to go off the map a little with this pick, but I’m going with Darius Quarles. The 6-foot-7 long, athletic hybrid forward can do a variety of things on both ends of the court. When we saw him this past summer his jump shot seemed to look better every time out and he was a key member of the super talented Team Final squad."

Scout ranks Quarles as #30 small forward in the class of 2010 and Rivals recently had him in their top 150.

The final expected signing for the Hawks during the early signing period is 6'9 bigman CJ Aiken from Pennsylvania's Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School. Aiken is ranked by Rivals as the overall number 73 player in his class. Scout has him as the #30 power forward in his class.

Again, once official word comes in on Aiken it will be posted here. And once another source reports on Quarles, we will inform you of that here.

As impressive as the Hawks 2010 recruiting haul appears, two other A10 programs have cracked many top 25 lists nationally. Those programs are Dayton and Xavier, which should not come as a surprise to anyone that follows the A10.

The biggest signing in the A10 so far belongs to the Dayton Flyers, who locked up top 50 guard Juwan Staten (pictured above) in February of 2008 and managed to hold off other suitors along the way. Staten is a guard that, without question, could have played nearly anywhere in the country. Dayton fans are thrilled that he chose to stay close to home and play for the Flyers. Joining Staten are Rivals top 150 shooting guard Brandon Spearman, guard Jesse Berry, and small forward Ralph Hill. The Dayton class is currently ranked in the top 25 nationally by Rivals.com.

Not to be outdone by the Flyers, the Xavier Musketeers also bring in a recruiting class that most schools, regardless of conference affiliation, would love to have. All four of Xavier's signed recruits are ranked nationally by Rivals in their top 150. While Dayton's class is guard-heavy, Xavier has loaded up in the frontcourt. Xavier's two biggest signings are forwards Jordan Latham and Justin Martin. Martin had interest and offers from Louisville, Michigan State, Cincinatti, and others when he chose the X men. Jordan Latham wasn't without his share of Big 10 and Pac 10 interest either. Joining these two are power forward Griffin McKenzie and wing Jay Canty. Both Scout and Rivals give Xavier a mention in their top 25 lists.

Xavier, Dayton, and the Hawks are all bringing significant talent into the conference next year. Temple has two impact players signed as well in guard Aaron Brown and power forward Anthony Lee. While the A10 is likely to maintain the hard-to-shed mid-major moniker, the level of talent in the conference moving forward is unquestionable.

Juwan Staten picture from Rivals

Signing Day is Here- Langston Galloway to SJU

As I posted yesterday, Wednesday was the first day of the early signing period for high school seniors. In the picture above, you can see Langston Galloway signing his Letter of Intent for Saint Joseph's, which is one of the biggest in recent memory. Scout.com is reporting that Daryus Quarles, the 6'6 small forward from Paulsboro, New Jersey has also signed his Letter of Intent for the Hawks. As of now, I have not received any other word on Quarles or any on CJ Aiken. As that information trickles in, it will be posted here.

In somewhat related news, Long Island wing JJ Moore has signed a Letter of Intent with the Pitt Panthers today. Moore was a main target of the Saint John Redmen. With Moore signed at Pitt and Devon Collier to Oregon State, this could cause the Redmen to put more pressure on Hawk target Ronald Roberts. As information on this front becomes public, it will be up here for you as well.


Thanks to Phillyhoops on the Hawk Hoop Club for the picture above.

I'm Back- Some Odds and Ends

After about a week away (and for good reason...Sonoma is beautiful)I'm back with a few minor updates and a look at some upcoming articles.

The last update dealt with Ronald Roberts and the recruiting situation at Saint John's. It still appears that Roberts is down to the two SJU's and nothing new has emerged since his visit to Saint John's last weekend. The Red Storm were looking at a number of forwards in the senior class, and one of those players has taken his name off the board. Saint Anthony's forward Devon Collier (pictured above) gave a verbal commitment to Craig Robinson and Oregon State this past week. JJ Moore, who visited Saint John's with Roberts last weekend, appears as if he could make his mind up in the coming week or two. I made the bold claim last week that a Roberts decision could be coming shortly. The Early Signing Period is fast approaching and we will know then if Roberts decides to be a fall or spring signing.

Speaking of the Early Signing Period, we are only four days away from the first day of the period. During this time, seniors are able to officially sign their Letters of Intent and make their commitments binding. The Hawks are slated to receive commitments from seniors CJ Aiken, Langston Galloway, and Daryus Quarles. Hawk Hill Hardwood will update you when their LOI's are signed.

The 2009-2010 season is now less than a week away, so things will begin to pick up here. In the middle of this week, we will provide you with a detailed look at the Hawks' first opponent this year, Bruiser Flint's Drexel Dragons.

I am also working on something else for the blog that would likely appear later this week or early next. I don't want to reveal too much about it since the details are still being ironed out, but it would be something unique to Hawk Hill Hardwood and a fun read.

More From NBE Blog-SJU Names of Interest

In what is becoming a common entry on here, Jeff Borzello of NBE has more pertinent info for Hawk fans concerning 2010 and 2011 recruiting targets of the Hawks.

Juan'ya Green, Derrick Randall, and CJ Aiken (pictured above) are all discussed on the blog. The blog also lists the Hawks as having offered Justin Crosgile's former teammate at DePaul Catholic, Wally Sajimi. He is a class of 2011 5'11 lead guard with claimed offers from the Hawks, Rider, and Iona. He is receiving interest from the local Big East schools and others like Baylor and Wisconsin.

Check it out.

NBE Updates from IS8.