t's been a couple of days now and I think the Cedar Beach withdrawal is starting to kick in. After my annual eight days in 11 stretch at Cedar Beach (with some rain-related side trips to Parkland and Muhlenberg thrown in), I needed two days to decompress, do some other things and get the basketball out of my system.
Before I look ahead to the winter and give you a list of my top 10 coming out of the Stellar/SportsFest weekends, I want to thank both staffs for making those eight days among my favorites of the entire year.
Some people really get into the rivalry between the tournaments and the formats and the personalities involved, but I've got to say that I spend a lot of time with both staffs over these eight nights each summer and there are a lot of terrific people who work hard to make these tournaments happen.
Frankly, I have a good time with both of them and admire the work that goes into pulling this stuff off, especially when the rain comes and everything is uprooted to a different location. If I had a youngster who was interested in running his or her own business one day, I'd want them to come down to Cedar Beach and see how these staffs pull off these tournaments because there's a tremendous amount of teamwork in play both weekends.
The fans, the refs, the teams, the media just show up, but there is a lot of preparation that goes on and these staffs pull it off seamlessly.
I enjoy everyone, people like Tommy Malone, Bob Wootsick, Jay Radio, John Hrebik, Toomey Anderson, Randy Atiyeh, Matt Zwetolitz and the list goes on and on.
But a special shout-out to the guys who I work mostly close with -- Bob Trinkle and Andy McGeehin.
The tournaments wouldn't be the same without these two. They both have a lot on their plate and yet, they handle their jobs with efficiency and grace. Trinkle may be a little louder than McGeehin, but both are fun to be around and keep me laughing as well as typing up score after score after score both weekends. They are the best at what they do and I greatly appreciate their help.
Thanks to everyone on both staffs for a good time, as well as a lot of good hoops.
Now, on to the top 10 area winners coming out of the Stellar/SportsFest weekends:
1. Parkland -The Trojans are the only ones to win a tournament championship and showed at equal rest what they could do against quality teams on Sunday. Nick Rindock, Justin Zajko and Jimmy Hahn are going to be the leaders, but this team possesses more depth than in the past and if the big guys like Nick Selvaggi and Alex Mitton keep producing, there's no reason why this team can't make it two District 11 4A titles in a row.
2. Central Catholic - The one disappointment is that we never got to see Parkland and CCHS play on either weekend, but maybe that's good because it heightens the anticipation for when they play next winter. That game will be at Rockne Hall and it should be a dandy. The Vikings made it to the semis of both tournaments without Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman and didn't have Jean Lee Baez Saturday or Sunday this past weekend. Impressive team that seems to have all the pieces in place for a run at Hershey.
3. Allen -- The Canaries got to Sunday in both tournaments and might have gone a little deeper if they were at full strength. Instead they were missing some key guys. The key here is that Doug Snyder has a much better group of kids who will not cause distractions. There's going to be a gap between Parkland, CCHS and the rest of the Lehigh Valley Conference. But Allen belongs in the mix of potential LVC division winners and district title contenders.
4. Bethlehem Catholic -- Like Allen, the Golden Hawks got to Sunday both weekends and while they didn't last until late Sunday afternoon you can see that this team was not content with just getting to the district final and the state playoffs last year. This is a team with talent, especially Freddie Simmons who should be among the area's top scorers. The Golden Hawks used to be a clearcut choice at No. 4 in a division that includes Liberty, Freedom and Easton. Right now, they might be the favorite to win the East next winter.
5. Salisbury -- When they had the legion baseball players available and everyone intact, the Falcons showed that they might be the best team in the Colonial League this coming winter. This team is loaded with athleticism, toughness and experience. Notre Dame with Vincent Eze and Wilson with Phil Pierfy will also be major factors in the Colonial South next winter, but Salisbury might be the best team.
6. Pocono Mountain West -- The Panthers remind me of a song by country singer Toby Keith. They're not as good as they once were, but they're as good once as they ever were. Which means I don't think the 2013-14 West team will be as consistently good as some of Brad Pensyl's most recent teams, including the 2011-12 district champs. However, they can beat anyone in the area on a given night thanks to the ability of Joe Wiggins.
7. Pius X -- The Royals were not in the SportsFest tournament, so they get this rating based on their strong showing in the Stellar. I believe the Royals have some special talent (Ewing, Marburty etc) and if they can stay focused through their independent schedule -- not easy to do since being in a league gives you something more immediate and tangible to compete for -- they have an opportunity to win districts and perhaps advance a round or two, or maybe even three or four, in the state tournament.
8. Liberty -- The defending Lehigh Valley Conference champs are going to be a little off the radar screen this coming winter because of Parkland and CCHS, but there's lots of talent here. Deshawn Oyeniyi may be the most consistent double-double guy in the area. The Hurricanes were still around on Sunday of both tournaments and I think they will be around again come playoff time next February and March.
9. Southern Lehigh -- It's clear that of all the new coaches in the area, Ben Tannous inherited the best situation and will have the smoothest transition. The Spartans showed enough ability both weekends to indicate that they will be a factor in the Colonial League in the coming season. Bangor, Notre Dame, Salisbury and Wilson may still rank as the CL favorites, but I don't think Solehi will have to sweat out qualifying for districts.
10. Emmaus -- Back-to-back JV titles may not mean as much for the 2013-14 season as it does for 2014-15 for the Green Hornets, but clearly there's talent in the pipeline here. The Kachelries brothers in particular bode well for this program's future. The LVC West division will be loaded next winter with Central Catholic, Allen and an improved Dieruff team all formidable. But certainly the future is bright for this program.
If I was to extend this list to 12, I'd probably include Freedom and Lehighton. Hard to get a read on the Patriots without Nigel Long this weekend and the Indians are clearly better than they used to be. However, at some point, they need to learn how to close out games. Until that happens, it's SOL -- Same old Lehighton.
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