Abington will face New Castle in a PIAA Class AAAA semifinal game at Chambersburg High School on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Check back for a complete game story.
By Mary Jane Souder & Scott Huff
It would have been easy to understand if Scott Brown had elected to walk away from basketball after he tore his Achilles his freshman year. After all, the injury has a recovery period of eight months to a year.
That was never a consideration.
“I love this game,” Abington’s senior captain said. “I was thinking about when I could get back out there. It made my love of the game stronger.
“I started thinking – what if it would be taken away because you never know when it could be your last game. I try to go out there like it’s my last game every time I step on the floor.”
The road back was not an easy one for Brown.
“Luckily, I got back just in time for the season to start, but it took me about a year to fully get back to what I was used to,” he said. “It was disappointing because I wanted to work with my teammates. I saw my teammates working, and I just wanted to be out there, getting better when they were getting better. It was hard for me to sit out and watch the game I love and not be able to help them out.”
There was no mistaking the impact the injury had on Brown’s sophomore season.
“He was still getting over it and didn’t have the confidence in that leg,” Grasty said. “He really struggled trying to get up and down the floor, just trying to get the confidence.
“He came to me and said, ‘Coach, I’m just going to give you everything I have,’ and he did.”
No one, it seems, is enjoying Abington’s remarkable postseason run more than Brown.
“Final four – if I could have seen this from the beginning, I would have signed up in a heartbeat,” he said after Saturday’s state quarterfinal win over Martin Luther King. “We’ve been working for this since the summertime – every day out on the courts. The ride is crazy.”
While Brown might not impress anyone with the numbers he puts up for his squad, he has made significant contributions.
“He’s not getting as much time as I know he would like to,” Grasty said. “We try and throw him in, but he never complains. He just comes out and he plays.
“He’s a kid you have to have in the program, and it’s awesome we have a player like that. I can’t say enough about Scott. He won’t score a bunch of points, but he gets in and does what he can do. He plays hard, and he picks his teammates up. He’ll just do whatever we need, and it’s great to have him.”
Grasty counts on his senior captain to communicate with the players on his behalf.
“He’s the one kid I text all the time to give the team messages, and he sends them out to the team,” he said. “He’s just a great captain. He’s an awesome kid.
“He leads us in everything. He gets practice started. He picks the guys up when they’re down.”
Talk to Brown, and it’s hard to tell what he enjoys more – the Ghosts’ remarkable postseason run or the camaraderie that exists on this year’s squad.
“We’re a close-knit team,” he said. “We all really like each other off the court, and when we’re in practice, we’re all just working on trying to get each other better so that we can win as a team.
“We’re not worried about individual stats. We’re all trying to get better to get wins to get as far as we can. That’s pretty much what motivates me. I want our team to keep winning, so I try and work hard and make our guys better. I’ll work and do whatever I can to try and contribute any way I can.”
According to Brown, there is a high level of accountability on this year’s squad.
“For the most part, our team takes everything upon themselves – they don’t blame each other,” he said. “We encourage each other and do whatever we need to do to win games.”
Brown will attend Lock Haven University next year where he hopes to make the team as a walk on.
“I’ve been talking to the coaches, and I’ve been telling the coaches, ‘This is a kid who will not complain. He will come to practice every day,’” Grasty said. “Hopefully, he will make the team as a walk on.
“He’s going to get his degree, and he’s going to be very successful.”
PIAA Quad-A Western Final
Tuesday – March 18, 2014
@ Chambersburg High School
(1-6) Abington Ghosts [25-5] vs. (7-1) New Castle Red Hurricanes [29-0]
Last Game: Abington advanced to the Western Final game with a 56-52 victory over [12-2] Martin Luther King. The Ghosts rallied from a 31-27 halftime deficit to capture the win. Anthony Lee played an excellent game for the Maroon and White and scored a game-high 19 points. Matt Penecale added 13 points for the winners, while Amir Hinton scored in twin digits with 11 points. New Castle advanced to the Western Final with a 57-55 victory over [7-3] Hampton. The Red Hurricanes rallied from a nine-point deficit in the second half to defeat Hampton for the fourth time this season. New Castle is the WPIAL champion and has won 49 consecutive WPIAL games. The Hurricanes were led to victory by Malik Hooker (Ohio State football recruit), Anthony Richards, and the Allen brothers – Drew and Stew.
State Playoff Resume: Abington opened PIAA Quad-A state playoff play with a 65-52 victory over [11-2] Emmaus. The Ghosts then defeated [3-1] York by a 59-53 margin, and followed with the 56-52 win over [12-2] Martin Luther King. New Castle opened PIAA Quad-A state playoff play with a 71-64 victory over [7-5] Bethel Park. The Hurricanes then defeated [7-4] North Allegheny by a 64-54 margin and followed with the 57-55 win over [7-3] Hampton.
Abington head coach Charles Grasty says: “New Castle really likes to get up and down the floor much like York and Martin Luther King played. They play full court man-to-man defense, and they want to play the game very fast and make you turn the ball over. They just want to try to outscore you and make the game very hectic. (Malik) Hooker (23 points per game) is only about 6-2, but he plays very big and dunks the ball. And (Anthony) Richards (13 ppg) is only 5-8 but can really shoot the 3’s. They score a lot of points (73 per game) and we are going to have to play smart and not turn the ball over. We will leave school around 10 am – it is a 137 miles from Abington to Chambersburg. The kids are really excited about the trip and playing in another big game.”
Winner Gets: The winner of this game will play for the PIAA Quad-A state championship game on Saturday at the Giant Center in Hershey against the winner of the [1-1] Chester vs. [12-1] La Salle game.
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