Flanked by his parents, Peter and Vicki Scrivano, Central Bucks East senior Skylar Scrivano accepted a certificate recognizing his nomination to the elite 2010 McDonald's All-American Basketball Team at a special news conference on Friday, Feb. 19. To view additional photos, visit the School Events and Signings gallery in the Photo Gallery.
DOYLESTOWN – Skylar Scrivano excels on the court and in the classroom.
For his efforts, the Central Bucks East senior has been nominated to the prestigious 2010 McDonald’s All-American High School Basketball Team.
“Skylar really is an example of what we want our students to be,” East Principal Abe Lucabaugh said. “He’s so well-rounded. He conducts himself (well) in class.
“He’s a kind person, he’s hard working, he’s involved, he’s aware – not only of what’s going on inside the building but also outside the building. He just has an overall maturity and sense of responsibility, and he carries himself with a lot of class.“We’re proud to have him as a student at East, and we’re proud that he has been able to impact his sport and his peers here in such a positive way.”
Surrounded by his family, his coach and school administrators, Scrivano was recognized at a special news conference on Friday when he was presented a certificate recognizing his accomplishment by Ron Gentile, manager of the Doylestown and Plumstead McDonald's.
“I got the call with the news a few weeks ago before one of our games,” he said. “It’s awesome. It was some of the best news I’ve heard in a long time. It’s really an honor.
“It means I’ve reaped some benefits for my work. Now that I’ve been recognized for this, I can do more – I can just keep pushing harder and harder.”
Scrivano, who measures in at 6-9, patrolled the paint for the Patriots this season.
“For us, he was a defensive stopper,” East coach Chris Huber said. “He really sucked up all the defensive rebounds. He blocked shots, changed shots.
“He really allowed our other guys to be more aggressive because he could erase mistakes with his shot blocking ability and even just with the intimidation factor being back there – guys would be a little reluctant to take it to him.”
The senior center was the Patriots’ second leading scorer.
“He continually developed and got better and expanded his game – he could even shoot a three-pointer,” Huber said. “He was a lot more versatile this year as the season went on.
“We could depend on him to score inside as well as loosen up the defense with some outside shots.”According to Huber, basketball is just part of the equation where Scrivano is concerned.
“Skylar has been a class act since the day he walked in here,” the Patriots’ coach said. “He has worked his butt off for the three years he’s been here and well beyond that 12 months of the year. We just love the opportunity to get the recognition for our individual player as well as our team.”
Teammate and close friend Grant Menard acknowledged Scrivano’s contributions.
“I’ve been playing with him for six years now, and every year he’s always the one to pick you up, no matter if you were on the bench or off the bench,” Menard said. “He works hard for everything, and he never gives up.
“If he does fail at something, he’ll keep trying and trying until he perfects it, not only in academics but on the court. He’s trying to get that A-plus on the court every day.”
Scrivano has been playing basketball since he was in second grade. He came by his love of the sport honestly. His father, Peter, played basketball, and his brother Royce also pursued the sport until giving it up in favor of track.
He was a member of the varsity at Holicong in eighth and ninth grades, and when he was in ninth grade, Scrivano joined the AAU circuit. Initially, he played for several local teams but, more recently, he has been playing for the Hunting Park Warriors.
“I always really enjoyed basketball, but I started loving it even more the last two years just because I could see myself progressing,” Scrivano said. “I like working off the court almost more because I like to see myself improve.
“That little incentive makes me like basketball even more.”
Scrivano jumped rope to help his leaping ability, and more recently, he began lifting weights.
“I have been lifting light weights, which is why I’m not as husky as other people,” he said. “I just work on being long and strong.”
Scrivano, who aspires to play high Division One level basketball, suffered a setback last summer when he was injured during a tournament in Syracuse in late June.
“I was at practice, and I went up for a regular routine dunk, and I felt a pop in my groin and lower left abdomen,” he said. “It turns out I tore muscles and ligaments on the left side of my abdomen, so I couldn’t do anything.
“It was really almost depressing because I couldn’t do anything to get better like I wanted to.”
The injury sidelined Scrivano the remainder of the summer, and the setback made the possibility of spending a year in prep school after graduation a viable option.
Scrivano actually considered the possibility of transferring to Germantown Academy for two years as opposed to finishing his final year at East. He also was contacted by the coach from the Hun School and was offered the possibility of two years as a senior reclassified there as well.
“I liked that idea, but I had the option to finish my high school career here with the academics being just as good, if not better, and it was so close to home,” he said.
Now that his final high school season at East is completed, Scrivano is revisiting the possibility of spending a year at prep school with the Hun School at the top of his list.
Still, this is not an easy decision for Scrivano, an honors student who boasts a GPA of more than 4.2. He is a member of the National Honor Society and the National Spanish Honor Society.
“It took a lot of getting used to,” Scrivano said of the idea of attending prep school. “It’s kind of tough to set myself back another year.
“But now that I realize I can take courses there that are just my level, I think the payback will be really nice when I get into college and get what I want to get into.”
What Scrivano wants to ‘get into’ is simple.
“I want to play high Division I basketball, and God willing, if I could be good enough to play professionally here or in Europe,” he said.
For now, Scrivano is much too busy mapping out his immediate future to look that far down the road.
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