TJ Lonergan shares his perspective on the upcoming district playoffs.
By: T.J. Lonergan
As the PIAA District 1 playoffs are less then a week away, here are my thoughts on the past season for some and the new season that is about to begin for others.
The Sleepers
Because of the strength of both the SOL National and SOL Continental conferences this season, many of the teams from these conferences find themselves spread out throughout the bracket. Most of the time, their seed does not truly represent the strength of their team, and with this year having the 9th playoff seed in contention for a state berth allows for the very realistic possibility of multiple lower seeds, especially from the SOL, making it to the PIAA Class AAAA State Tournament in March. This year the SOL was able to get four of the top ten seeds, with Cheltenham getting the #1 seed, CR-South getting the #2, Upper Dublin getting the #6 seed, and North Penn coming in at #9. But I believe there will be at least three or four more teams that could make a significant run to the State Tournament and possibly to the District Title game from the SOL.
- Abington (#13): I think Abington has a very good shot to make a deep run in this year’s tournament. Not many teams can match the Ghosts’ quickness and athleticism at the guard position and they have some nice posts inside. With the way the brackets have fallen, don’t fall asleep on this Abington team, which – despite the loss of Michael Harris for the season to an injury - I believe should return to the state tournament and could possibly make a deep run in the district playoffs.
- CB West (#15): West has a very solid team. The Bucks are balanced, with very good and experienced guards in their backcourt and aggressive and big posts inside. Their only problem is that CR-South is in their near future. The first round match up against Garnet Valley should be favorable for them: 1) they are bigger inside as well as having their guards match up well with their guards (which is Garnet Valley’s strength) and 2) they are playing a doubleheader with their fourth-seeded boys team on Friday night at home (that gym is going to be rockin’ in Doylestown). But seeing CR-South potentially in the second round shouldn’t discourage the Lady Bucks. If they were to lose, they should have a very good chance to win the ninth place seed from District One.
- CB South (#19): There are very few 19th seeded teams that you could say have a good shot of playing a few games in the District Tournament, but this year South should go farther then most people expect. Going to Great Valley won’t be an easy game but is a winnable game for a Lady Titans team that has the potential to shoot the lights out on anyone. From there, they have Spring-Ford, which some would argue is the best team in the District and a team that the Lady Titans lost to back in December by almost 40 at Spring-Ford. I can’t imagine them having another shellacking like that one (it was very close in the first half), but even if they were to lose that game, they are another team that could make a deep run through the ninth place bracket with a potential rematch of CB West vs. CB South looming in the possible distant future. Don’t count the Lady Titans out! But then again I am a little biased since I am a proud alumni.
- CB East (#12): The Lady Patriots come in having won their last seven games in a row and winning the SOL Continental Conference. They have a tough matchup against Conestoga in the 1st round, but the potential for a Mount-East game in the second could be the best game of the second round. Don’t look for Coach Lonergan to count his chickens before they hatch though - the Lady Patriots will look to take one game at a time and hopefully move slowly though the District Tournament, keeping to their tradition of success in the tournament over the last decade.
- CR-North (#24):A program that has been the standard bearer in District One has fallen on a tough year. With probably the hardest schedule in District One, the Lady Indians have battle the best in the area. Don’t expect a repeat of the 18-point drubbing just a few weeks ago by North Penn. It won’t be an easy game by any stretch for North, but with the addition of starter Megan Cunningham back from injury and the tradition of success they have had in the district playoffs, you can never count out a North team that has the potential of shocking some people this Saturday.
Giving Credit
You have to give credit where credit is due. The successful teams seem to always hog the attention, but there are other teams that need to get a nice pat on the back for the work that they accomplished this season. Upper Merion came in third in the SOL American dominated by Cheltenham and Upper Dublin by beating usually very competitive Plymouth-Whitemarsh and Norristown teams, and the Vikings are now seeded fourth in the District 1 3A tournament. Coming off of an 11-13 season and second round exit in the 3A District 1 Tournament last season, look for Coach Tom Schurtz and the Lady Vikings to make a run in this years District 1 3A tournament and possibly even the PIAA 3A State Tournament.
Coach Donna Nicholson from Pennsbury also deserves a lot of credit this season. She is not use to seeing her Pennsbury Lady Falcons at the bottom of the SOL National Conference. It was not too long ago when Pennsbury was the dominant force along with CR-North in the SOL National and making trips to the PIAA State Tournament, and it looks as if they are on their way back to the top. Making the program’s first District One playoff appearance since 2006, look for the Lady Falcons to possibly make a surprising run in this year’s District One playoffs because of where they have fallen in the seedings. With a young core group of players returning next year, look for Pennsbury to reclaim its place at the top of the SOL National Conference.
Point System
I am sure by now I sound like a broken record complaining about the point system yet again, but I think this year it is even more evident that something needs to be done to help correct the slight errors the point system is producing.
Norristown getting robbed of a District 1 Playoff Appearance:
Yes, Norristown may not have any signature wins on its schedule that would justify a spot in this year’s playoffs, but for Plymouth Whitemarsh to get in over Norristown (PW was #32, Norristown #33) is just wrong. Norristown beat the sub-.500 Plymouth Whitemarsh squad three times throughout the season, with the most recent win coming last Friday in the regular season finale for both squads in which Norristown beat Plymouth Whitemarsh by 30. Yes, I said 30 points. Something should be put in place to allow the committee, consisting of two coaches from each conference in District Onw, to flip these two teams at their discretion.
More Points Should Be Given To Conference Games and Conference Winners:
North Penn was seeded above SOL Continental Conference Champion CB East, which won the conference by two games. Chester won the Del-Val Conference over Interboro and Chichester (both made the tournament) by two games and did not get into the District One Tournament. Haverford, the Central League Champion, is seeded lower then both Upper Darby and Lower Merion, two teams they beat to win the Central League Championship. Abington went 12-2 in the SOL National, but there are 11 teams that separate the Ghosts from and the SOL National Champion CR-South. Downingtown-East beat Avon Grove twice during the regular season and lost in the Ches-Mont Championship game to Downingtown-West (Avon Grove didn’t make the final four), but now Downingtown-East will have to travel to Avon Grove for their first round game. Now I am not saying that North Penn is a bad team or that they are worse then CB East, that Chester deserved to get in since they had a sub-.500 record, or that Abington, Downingtown-East and Haverford are heads above the teams in front of them, not at all. I actually believe North Penn to be deserving of a higher seed than they did end up receiving, but that is neither here nor there. The point I am trying to make is that teams focus a lot more on their conference opponents than they do their non-conference ones, and either more points should be given to the conference champions or more points given to conference games to help balance out this discrepancy.
Teams From the Same Conference Should Not Play Each Other In the First Round:
It is hard enough to beat certain teams once or even twice, but to try and beat them a third time - well, statistics are not on your side. It is not as prevalent as it usually is in this year’s tournament, with Downingtown-East vs. Avon Grove being the only conference first round game, but usually there are a few games that pit conference foes against one another in the first round, and in my opinion, that just seems cruel. There should be a rule that allows for a switching of spots (moving down, not up) to avoid this from happening, helping to ensure that right out of the gate you don’t have to play someone you are familiar with and allowing for the conference to see different faces.
Potential Match-Ups To Watch For (2nd Round)
Cheltenham (#1) vs. Downingtown-East (#17):
This match-up pits the two most successful girls’ basketball coaches in the Philadelphia area against each other. Between them, they own 15 District One 4A Championships and 7 PIAA 4A State Championships. A meeting usually reserved for the championship game or at least the semi-finals, Cheltenham has had another signature regular season, going 21-1 and capturing their fourth consecutive SOL American Championship as well as another #1 Seed in the District One Playoffs. On the other side, Downingtown-East has taken a step back this season, going 15-9 and losing to intra-district rival Downingtown-West in the Ches-Mont League Championship. Look for Cheltenham to run away with this one, but to see a match-up of two dominant programs over the last two decades, this easily is a rare gift for basketball fans this early in the playoffs.
CR-South (#2) vs. CB West (#15):
A rematch of a game played earlier in January, but don’t expect it to be as much of a cakewalk this time around for CR-South. The Lady Bucks have stated numerous times that they played one of their worst games of the season against CR-South back in January, so expect CB West to give the Lady Hawks everything they’ve got to try to take down the last undefeated team in District One and get back to the PIAA State Tournament for the first time since 2000.
Downingtown-West (#4) vs. Abington (#13):
This year’s Abington squad is on a mission. After bowing out early in last years District One tournament to North Penn in the first round, the Lady Ghosts won’t be looking to go just one round, but instead try to recreate their magical run to the district title in 2010. Downingtown-West has a very prestigious history, one consisting of 5 PIAA 4A State Championships, numerous trips to the State Tournament, and a reputation recently of giant killer, bringing down higher ranked opponents during the District Tournament when the pundits have counted them out. Don’t expect the Lady Whippets to go down without a fight, but ultimately I think Abington’s speed at the guard position in Peal and Rawls and their size inside will power them in the quarterfinals and the State Tournament.
Mount St. Joseph (#5) vs. Central Bucks East (#12):
Another match-up of two of the most dominant programs over the last decade in District 1. This would also be the first meeting between good friends Coach John Miller from the Mount and Coach Tom Lonergan from CB East, a friendship that was started in the Catholic League before both coaches came to District 1. In more recent years, Miller’s Magic have been the more successful of the two programs, capturing numerous Catholic Academies League Championships, last years District One 4A Championship as well as one when they were in 3A, and a PIAA 3A State Championship in 2008. But don’t count out Lonergan’s Lady Patriots who are coming off winning their sixth consecutive SOL Continental championship. This one would be way to close to call, pitting CB East’s height against the Mount’s strong guard play.
Methacton (#8) vs. North Penn (#9):
After finishing the regular season in convincing fashion, winning 11 out of their last 12 games by an average of 27 points, the Maidens will be on a mission to get back to the state tournament without having to fight for their lives in the 9th place bracket. I think North Penn runs away with this one, and this win could set up a big run for the Maidens in the District Tournament as well as what should be a highly anticipated potential rematch with Cheltenham in the quarterfinals, this time at Cheltenham.
Coach of the Year
This was a hard choice for me at this point in the season, but if I had to make a decision on who to give this award to tomorrow, there is no doubt in my mind it would go to Central Bucks West coach Terry Rakowsky. He has taken a program that was once the dominant program in Central Bucks throughout the 1990s but became an afterthought moving into the 2000s with the rise in dominance of CB East and the creation of CB South and made it relevant again. West has not only become a force to be reckoned with again in Central Bucks but also within the SOL and District One. Two convincing wins over intra-district rival CB South and the closest games CB West has played against other intra-district rival CB East in a decade was the turning point for me. Slowly building the program after taking over after an 0-22 season in 2008-09, Rakowsky has steadily made girls basketball relevant again in Doylestown. And don’t look for CB West to return to the bottom of the SOL any time soon. They may lose some talent next year but will be bringing back some very talented younger players. Finishing third in the very competitive SOL Continental this season was only the beginning, look for the Lady Bucks to make a run towards the program’s first PIAA State Playoff appearance since 2000.
Player of the Year
This was also a hard decision between Alex Wheatley and Ciara ‘CC’ Andrews, but in my opinion Alex Wheatley is the Player of the Year so far from the SOL. Last year, I gave it to CC Andrews, but after helping to produce a 22-0 regular season record, the program’s first SOL championship, the program’s highest District One playoff seeding (#2 Seed), recording her 1,000th rebound to go along with her 1,000 points and counting, and signing to play at Princeton University next year, it seemed to be a no brainer. She has been dominant in every game she has played in so far this season, and I am sure that that will not change as the District One playoffs begin and the CR-South Lady Hawks try to capture their program’s first District One championship.
My Picks for the District One Playoffs
*Remember high school girls basketball is the epitome of volatility, and no pick that I choose is a lock, meaning that I would not be surprised with a number of early upsets. But for now, I am calling it like I see it.
1st Round Winners:
Cheltenham (#1) over PW (#32), CR-South (#2) over Interboro (#31), Spring-Ford (#3) over Chichester (#30), Downingtown-West (#4) over William Tennent (#29), Mt. St. Joseph (#5) over Radnor (#28), Upper Dublin (#6) over Sun Valley (#27), Upper Darby (#7) over Pennsbury (#26), Methacton (#8) over Ridley (#25), North Penn (#9) over CR-North (#24), Boyertown (#23) over Lower Merion (#10), Haverford (#11) over Unionville (#22), CB East (#12) over Conestoga (#21), Abington (#13) over West Chester Rustin (#20), CB South (#19) over Great Valley (#14), CB West (#15) over Garnet Valley(#18), Downingtown-East (#17) over Avon Grove (#16)
2nd Round Winners:
Cheltenham (#1) over Downingtown-East (#17), North Penn (#9) over Methacton (#8), Abington (#13) over Downingtown-West (#4), Mt. St. Joseph (#5) over CB East (#12), CR-South (#2) over CB West (#15), Upper Darby (#7) over Boyertown (#23), Spring-Ford (#3) over CB South (#19), Upper Dublin (#6) over Haverford (#11)
Quarterfinals Winners:
North Penn (#9) over Cheltenham (#1), Mt. St. Joseph (#5) over Abington (#13), CR-South (#2) over Upper Darby (#7), Spring-Ford (#3) over Upper Dublin (#6)
Semi-Finals Winners:
Mt. St. Joseph (#5) over North Penn (#9), CR-South (#2) over Spring-Ford (#3)
Championship:
CR-South (#2) over Mt. St. Joseph (#5)
9th Place PIAA State Playoff Winner:
CB East (#12) over CB West (#15)
Power Rankings
1) Council Rock-South (2nd Seed)
2) Cheltenham (1st seed)
3) Spring-Ford (3rd seed)
4) Upper Dublin (6th seed)
5) Mount St. Joseph (5th seed)
6) CB East (12th seed)
7) North Penn (9th seed)
8) Abington (13th seed)
9) Downingtown-West (4th seed)
10) CB West (15th seed)
- Log in to post comments
