Game action photos will be posted on Thursday night and may be viewed by visiting the photo gallery at the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
CONSHOHOCKEN – Ryan Arcidiacano isn’t easily impressed.
After all, as a member of the PA Playaz AAU squad that finished sixth in the nation, the Neshaminy freshman had played with and against some of the best young players in the country. And his St. Andrew’s CYO squad that won the state title also included some special talent.
Still, Arcidiacano admits, none of that could compare to playing with his Bucks County all-star squad that advanced to Wednesday night’s title game of the Albert C. Donofrio Tournament against the I-3 All-Stars.
“Oh my god, it’s a big difference playing against freshmen in AAU compared to all these sophomores, juniors and seniors that play at a really high level,” Arcidiacano said. “It was just amazing to play against all the great players.
“Many are going D-1. Three of our five starters are going Division One. It was great competition to play with and against them.”
Council Rock North freshman Arron Goodman echoed those sentiments.
““I just thought it was unbelievable compared to AAU,” the Bucks County all-star said. “I thought the AAU guys were fast, but they were a lot faster.
“We’re going to see a lot of them on TV next year, we can say we played with them.”
Bucks County – in its first trip ever to the title game – came out on the short end of a 106-90 score to the I-3 All-Stars, but this was an experience to savor for everyone who took the court for the title game of the storied tournament in front of a standing room crowd at the Fellowship House.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Princeton-bound Central Bucks South senior Will Barrett. “We were talking about that the whole tournament – making the finals, and we’re the first Bucks County team ever to do it.
“Even though we didn’t win it, we made history and had a lot of fun getting here.”
The Bucks County roster was filled with SOL players, including Neshaminy’s Arcidiacano, Pennsbury’s Dalton Pepper, Eddie DiRugeris and Jesse Krasna, CB South’s Barrett and Greg Johnston, Central Bucks West’s Joe Dilullo and Council Rock North’s Andrew Stress and Goodman.
Norristown’s Khalif Wyatt, Sheldon Mayer and Jarell Gardner as well as Plymouth Whitemarsh’s Jalen Bond were key members of the I-3 championship squad.
Wyatt and Pepper walked away with tournament MVP honors. Barrett, DiRugeris and Bond joined Wyatt and Pepper on the all-tournament team. DiRugeris received the Little Big Man Award.
“Playing in these types of tournaments – the up and down game, it’s just like playing in college with a shot clock,” Barrett said. “Playing with great players like Dalton (Pepper) and Eddie (DiRugeris) is a lot of fun.”
While many were surprised to see Bucks County in the title game, Pepper, the 2009 Pa. Player of the Year, wasn't one of them."I thought we had a chance," he said. "The ball bounced our way a couple of times, and I thought we had a real good chance of winning it.
"It was a great experience just playing with all these guys. In an atmosphere like this playing for a championship - it was fun."
Pepper had a whole lot to do with his team earning a spot in the tournament final. The Falcons' star followed his 39-point effort of the preceding night with a dazzling 45-point performance in Wednesday’s title game, and the West Virginia-bound star made it look effortless.
“Scoring 45 points – that’s incredible,” Bucks County coach Jim Kenny said. “He’s an amazing kid.
“He’s going to do things in the Big East next year at West Virginia. I know they’re waiting for him. I have friends down there that just can’t wait for him to come.”
Kenny admitted this team’s historic trip to the tournament final was an unforgettable experience.
“It’s one of the most pleasurable experiences I have ever had as a coach,” he said. “I coached my three sons at the Donofrio – they started out as ball boys and worked all the way up to playing, and all three of them played in college.
“These kids are like family. They get along so well together. We laughed, we had fun, and we had such a good time. It’s a shame it has to end.”Making the experience especially unique for Kenny was the diverse ages of his players.
“We had two freshmen on the team for the first time ever,” the veteran coach said of Goodman and Arcidiacano. “It was nice. They learned from these guys, and they’re going to benefit from it immensely. I think it put Bucks County on the map and showed we could play with anybody.”
According to Stress, this was basketball at a new level.
“These guys are on such a high level,” the Rock North junior said. “You kind of expect it’s going to be fast, but you don’t realize how much faster the pace is going to be, and the physicality – it’s just like a blur.
“This was a chance to watch everybody that was prime time from Bucks County. It’s pretty exciting to see them close out their high school careers and enjoy something we get to do again next year.”
For Bond, who played a major role in PW’s run to the state semifinals, being part of Wednesday’s championship and earning all-tournament honors put the finishing touches on quite a season.
What will the sophomore standout do for an encore?
“Hopefully get a championship for my school and come back here next year and win another championship,” he said.
At least one player was already looking forward to next year’s tournament.
“It’s the 50th anniversary next year, so hopefully we can do something special again,” Arcidiacano. “It’s going to be tough with all the players we’re losing, but it was fun playing with Dalton, Will, Jesse, Ed and everyone. It was just a good time.”
- Log in to post comments
0
