A look at local headlines tells you everything you need to know about how most public school districts feel about charter schools. It's not a rosy relationship.
When the Administrative Education Charter announced the start of a collegiate athletics program in the summer of 2018, the immediate reaction was scathing, with the Freedom vying for a transfer star in men's basketball and a very public announcement before the Raptors played a game. A District 11 public hearing was held. Jevin Muniz is headed to a new school in East Allentown.
Whether announced or not, most public schools have decided not to play in the Executives, and teams from across the Lehigh Valley and beyond will join the program, coached by Allen High School legend Ray Barbosa. They forced us to play the schedule.
More than five years and five Executive District Championships later, the snub public schools have given the Executive Boys program has done little to soften it.
Pocono Mountain East and Pocono Mountain West, which make up the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, are the only teams scheduled to play the Raptors, including Palmerton, Notre Dame Green Pond, Saucon Valley, Moravian Academy and Penn. All but one of those matches took place, with Argil playing against the Executive. They played in the district playoffs and were not scheduled to play.
However, the organization Hoop Group is not very interested in politics. They are always interested in the most interesting matchups they can find in the Lehigh Valley Hoop Group Showcase and love putting the region's best teams on the card.
In a nutshell, this is how the matchup between Parkland and Executive became one of the featured attractions at this year's Lehigh Valley Hoop Group Showcase, held Sunday at Parkland.
The Trojans-Raptors battle is the third of four games on the schedule, with an expected tip-off at 3:20 p.m.
Games begin at noon with Perkiomen vs. Blair Academy, followed by PIAA power Imhotep taking on Maryland Mount Zion at 1:40 p.m. Then, after Parkland Executive at 3:20 p.m., Phelps will take on Patrick School (formerly St. Pat's) in the nightcap at 5 p.m.
This is the 27th year the event has been held, highlighting star-studded teams from across the Philadelphia-New York corridor, as well as some local standouts.
This year's four-game card began on February 4, 1996, when St. Patrick's of Elizabeth, New Jersey, featuring All-American Shaheen Holloway, defeated Whitehall 61-6 in front of 4,500 fans at Lehigh's Stabler Arena. It will be held to commemorate the 28th anniversary of the first game, which they defeated at 58. . Its first showcase was called the Converse Delaware River Hoop Challenge.
Eventually, the name changed and so did the venue. Held in Parkland since 2000, the Trojans have always played in the hoops his group's showcase, as the Parkland gym is the host venue.
But the matchup might not have been more anticipated, considering senior Nick Koval just set a school scoring record and the Trojans have yet to lose an EPC game. The Executive's reputation as one of the best teams in the region and state in Class 3A is joined by a local matchup feature that will be the highlight of the day.
Barbosa and Parkland coach Eddie Ohlson are longtime friends and summer basketball teammates.
Last summer, they joined forces to help Ohlson Landscaping win a tournament title in Catasacqua. It happened just a few weeks after both teams went head-to-head for the Summer League championship. Parkland won 43-36.
Barbosa and Ohlsson are looking forward to seeing how their teams play against each other, and Hoops Group officials are equally excited. They hold showcase events all over the country, but this one has something special.
“I think our local fans are always excited to see Nick Koval play,” said Brian Petruzzelli, senior director of recruiting for Hoop Group. They may have a strong team.” “But we also have national-level players.”
Petruzzelli cited St. John's commit Jaden Glover, Union-bound Ahmad Nowell from Imhotep University and Perkiomen School's Macon Emory from Delaware as some of the players to watch.
“There's a lot of really talented kids on these teams nationally, and given how the game of basketball is played today, the common theme is the 6-foot-8, 6-foot-8, who can step, It’s about developing a 6-foot-9 kid who can shoot outside and can play inside,” Petruzzelli said. “It's amazing how skilled some of these kids are. One of them is Will Riley from Phelps, who can play anywhere and jump out of the gym. He's from Canada and is very skilled. He has a special talent. He is a junior and Villanova has listed him as one of their priority recruits.”
Steve Keller, Hoop Group general manager and owner of the National Recruiting Report, said he and Hoop Group President Rob Kennedy have been in the area since the first event in 1996 and have many of human resources have come to the area. The same fans we saw decades ago.
“It's always a pleasure to come to the Allentown area. You get great hospitality and the people of Parkland are great,” Keller said. “Rob and I talked about how it's a place where people just come to watch the games, even if they're not interested in cheering. Every year, we help one or two kids who someday play in the NBA. We see old-school people who come because they're going to see us. They just want to watch good basketball.”
The Hoop Group highlighted the sports calendar between the NFL Conference Championship Game and the Super Bowl. The showcase has only been canceled twice since 1996, in 2016 due to a huge snowstorm and in 2021 due to the pandemic.
Some of the many stars who participated in the hoops group event included Jerry McNamara, Danny Hurley, Al Harrington, Tim Thomas, Luol Deng, Charlie Villanueva, JR, and Smith.
Tickets can be purchased in advance online at register.hoopgroup.com/site/register/…
Pregame ceremony before ACCHS vs. Allen game
Although this season has been one of the most challenging for the traditionally strong Allen men's basketball program, Athletic Director Randy Atiye continues to devise initiatives that put the spotlight on the school and team.
A ceremony commemorating Black History Month will be held Friday night prior to the Canaries-Allentown Central Catholic game. The late Elmo and Stonewall Jackson will be honored as Allen's first black varsity players. The school's Black Student Union will read pregame speeches, and members of Jackson will be in attendance to receive a proclamation from Allentown Mayor Matt Turk.
Allen High School great Darnell Braswell is in his fourth season in charge of the Canaries program. Braswell is the first black basketball coach in school history, following in the footsteps of coaching legends J. Barney Crum, J. Milo Sewards, John Donmoyer and Doug Snyder.
player of the week
Colin Boyle “Notre Dame”
Playing for his father, who has over 500 wins in his career, can be a little intimidating. It can also be difficult playing in the shadow of his brother, who is the school's all-time leading scorer.
But Notre Dame and Green Pond senior Colin Boyle is proud of his father and brother's accomplishments and is looking to establish himself as a Crusader.
He was the catalyst for a team that went 18-2 overall and 16-0 in the Colonial League, and while he wasn't as prolific a scorer as his older brother Brendan, he did score 12 points per game, leading all other teams. I'm doing my job. needs.
In Wednesday night's game against Saucon Valley, Boyle scored just eight points as the Panthers focused their defense to stop him. Still, he had four assists, two steals, and two blocks.
It was a different kind of game for him, who scored 23 points against Northwestern Lehigh and 18 points against Bangor, marking his father Pat's 500th career win.
Boyle scored 28 points in Notre Dame's win over Saucon Valley in December, so it was no surprise that Panthers coach Brett Snyder put him in the center of the defense.
“Coach Snyder had a good game plan and tried to keep the ball out of Colin's hands,” coach Pat Boyle said. “Honestly, I thought Colin showed why he’s one of the best players in the area tonight with how he dealt with them with his face guard. When guys started moving without the ball, he got shots taken by other players. Colin didn't get shots in the first quarter, but he didn't get frustrated. He We found another way to help us. We have a strong team and Colin has a lot of options. He made the right decisions with those options.”
