High School basketball season begins with tournament at Muhlenberg

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/ FROM KEITH GROLLER The start of the high school boys basketball season is still seven weeks away with the first official date of practice being Friday, Nov. 16. The first playing date is three weeks later on Dec. 7. But on Saturday, many area teams will be revving it up for Muhlenberg College's fourth annual Fall Shootout. Games begin at 8:30 in the morning and continue throughout the day with the final games tipping off 12 hours later at 8:30 p.m. Each of theteams is guaranteed three games. The local teams involved include Emmaus, Allen, Parkland, Bethlehem Catholic, Dieruff, Quakertown, Pen Argyl, Stroudsburg, Freedom and Nazareth. Last summer, Dieruff won the Stellar Summer League, Freedom won the Stellar Construction "Catch A Rising Star" Showcase and Parkland won the SportsFest crown. The 32-team field, however, features plenty of quality outsiders including Paul VI of Virginia, ranked No. 9 in the nation by USA Today; and Rutgers Prep, featuring the top sophomore class in New Jersey according to NJhoops. The Patrick School, formerly called St. Pat's of Elizabeth, N.J., is in the tournament. That's the powerful program, formerly coached by Kevin Boyle, that won five New Jersey Tournament of Champions titles and produced future NBA players such as Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver's Al Harrington and Houston's Samuel Dalembert. Kentucky freshman star Michael Kidd-Gilchrist also attended St. Patrick as well as North Carolina guard Dexter Strickland. This year's team features three Division I recruits in DeAndre Bembry, Isaiah Lewis and Chris Regus. Gill St. Bernard's of New Jersey is also coming to Muhlenberg, featuring Florida Atlantic recruit Chris Jenkins and Northwestern recruit Jared Sina. GSB's Austin Colbert is considered one of the top power forwards in the country and Tuys Battle is the top-ranked freshman in New Jersey. All in all, a lot of high school basketball talent will be on display. Fans can get an all-day pass for $5. The event is a fundraiser for the Muhlenberg College men's basketball program. We'll have more in the print editions of The Morning Call on Friday.