Five things learned from the back-to-back high school basketball tournaments

FROM KEITH GROLLER

Still getting Cedar out of the system after spending nine out of 12 nights at Cedar Beach for high school basketball tournament action and other festivities in the past two weeks.

Here's a short list of what we learned from the Stellar and SportsFest tournaments:

1. This has the potential to be the best Freedom team we've seen in a long, long time -- if not ever. I know it's July. I know that Freedom is one of the few Lehigh Valley Conference members never to win a league title going back to the East Penn Conference and I was 15 years old the last time the Patriots won a district crown (1976). So, I know it's wise to not get carried away.

But, wow, I was impressed with how Freedom (led by SportsFest tourney MVP Jarrod Dilts seen below) Jarrod Dilts has looked these past two weekends, especially on Sunday in how they weren't challenged by Liberty, Central Catholic or Allen en route to the SportsFest A-town Throwdown title. A lot seems to change at Freedom between July and December, but if Joe Stellato can keep this group intact and focused, the Patriots will be a top contender come winter time.

2. There will not be a clearcut favorite in the Lehigh Valley Conference. If you look at the summer league standings in the previous post I think it's fair to say that the top six teams this summer all have a chance to be league champs this coming season. All of those teams have had their moments in the past two weeks. There's little doubt that the league is going to be more competitive this winter. Last year, Allen and Liberty pretty much left the summer as the clearcut favorites with Nazareth and Easton just a tick behind. So, it was no surprise that those four were the dominant teams in the winter with Liberty winning the league title and losing to Allen in the district final. This year, I'd say there's very little difference between Emmaus, Freedom, Allen, Liberty, Easton and Central Catholic with Parkland, Whitehall and Northampton also looking much improved and not far behind.

And remember that in this last tournament, Parkland was without Rob Dvoracek, CCHS was missing Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman, Freedom didn't have Joe Lococo and Whitehall didn't have Nick Melosky. Not everybody was at full strength.

At the moment, you'd have to say Becahi, Dieruff and Nazareth need the most work, and I have no doubt they will be much better in the winter than they are now, making the LVC even more interesting.

3. Allen kids never forget where they came from. Once you're a member of the Allen basketball family, you're always a member. I was very much impressed to see Jalen Cannon, Branden Harrington, Darnell Braswell, among others, down at Cedar Beach supporting their former team and ex-teammates. I know some people may be tired of hearing me say good things about Doug Snyder, but I simply refer to him as "The Man" because no one working today in Lehigh Valley sports-- and there are plenty of good people all over the place -- have been able to build not just a quality program, but a basketball family. And family that instills pride and sets a standard of excellence that everyone wants to follow, even after their Allen playing days are through. D.J. Brown, by the way, has taken the mantle and looks to me to be the next great Canary leader.

4. Salisbury could be a top contender in the Colonial League. So much depends on what happens with Lloyd Irons, who may or may not have eligibility left. It was believed that Lloyd, a key figure in the Falcons run to the District 11 2A title last March, had no eligibility remaining after transferring from Philadelphia in September of 2010. He definitely has a year of schooling remaining and there's a lot of murkiness with his academic/athletic history. Irons moved from New York City to Philly and now lives with his brother and sister-in-law in Salisbury Twp. The District 11 will hear his case. His status should be cleared up before the start of the school year. "The tournaments in the summer were gracious enough to allow him to play with us until his status is determined," Salisbury coach Jason Weaver said. "He's a great kid and if he's allowed to play, I am sure he could get some college looks because he can definitely play at the next level. And he adds so much to our team."

5. The summer tournaments again were entertaining and both have earned their place on our local sports calendar. I know a rivalry will always exist between the two groups running the back-to-back events, but both have carved their own niche and do an excellent job. Both staffs work their butts off for these tournaments and can be proud of how they turned out.

I used to worry that two tournaments were going to be too much, but now I'd be disappointed if either ever folded up. They offer different styles, different teams and really a different atmosphere. But the bottom line is that both enhance the quality of the local basketball and sports community.

Is either event perfect? I could nitpick and find a few things here and there that could be improved for each. And no, for the record, I am not talking getting rid of the Stellar girls. Remembering what I was like as a teenage boy, I would have gotten a big kick out of getting to pose for a picture with pretty girls at a post-tournament awards ceremony. Heck, I think most guys -- young, middle-age and old -- get a kick out of posing with pretty girls. I don't get what all of the fuss is about. I wonder if the same people griping about the Stellar girls are just as concerned about what's on TV all day and night. You can't watch any sporting event without advertisements for male enhancement products, for example.

Do these same people shudder in disbelief at some of the more provocative dance team performances almost every high school has at halftime of their basketball games?

Hey, if you're looking for trouble, you can find it just about anywhere. Even on channels like ABC Family there are plenty of sitcoms which offer sexual situations as punchlines.

There's plenty that's wrong with our modern culture and attitudes, I agree. When the Jersey Shore is one of our most popular shows, you have to worry that we're headed to the gutter as a society.

But thinking that basketball players, coaches and referees posing for pictures with the Stellar girls are somehow corrupting anybody's morals is a definite reach and much more about taking shots at certain people than anything else.

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