One down, two to go.

That's the task facing senior Malcolm Richardson (pictured) and Penn Wood, which has taken the circuitous route to a fifth-straight bid for the state tournament.

The Patriots, who topped Great Valley Friday, need two more victories in the playback stages of the District One Class AAAA bracket in order to lock up the district's ninth and final berth in next month's PIAA tournament. Next up is Tuesday's date at Council Rock South.

It's only natural to wonder if Penn Wood, which earned the ninth seed last season, is capable of doing it again. Here's how they pulled it off last season compared to this season:

2010-11 District One Playbacks
Round 1: vs. Pennridge (18-7)
Round 2: vs. Wissahickon (15-10)
Round 3: vs. North Penn (21-6) at neutral site

2011-12 District One Playbacks
Round 1: at Great Valley (19-6)
Round 2: at Council Rock North (19-6)
Round 3: vs. Pennsbury (18-7) or Cheltenham (16-9) at neutral site

If we learn anything from the year-to-year breakdown, it's this: Penn Wood will have had a more difficult road to take in order to win the ninth seed should this year's team pull it off. Why? Because their first two playbacks are on the road, as a result of being the No. 14 seed, and because their opponents have a better combined overall record than those of the 2010-11 team.

Said Penn Wood coach Clyde Jones (pictured): “I knew that group last year was anxious to play. This group, I tell them to bring with them all their gear they'll have to turn in. That way, they get the message that their next loss is their last. They respond, man."

The 2010-11 team featured Division I football recruit Shawn Oakman (Penn State), two-time All-Delco and Division I basketball commit Aaron Brown (West Virginia), and junior-college standout Darian Barnes (Harcum). This year's team has Richardson, a do-it-all senior headed to East Stroudsburg.

“We're just mixing-and-matching," Jones said. "I’m doing it with mirrors. Man, I played a 5-9 guy at the 4 (against Great Valley)."

Which would make Penn Wood's journey to states that much more satisfying, should the Patriots pull it off.

For a team accustomed to making the state semifinals (or better), Penn Wood's record might be viewed as a letdown.

But the Patriots, their youthful lineup and all, could stand to make some noise in the upcoming District One Class AAAA tournament ... and beyond.

Penn Wood (12-7), which will finish runner-up to Chester in the always competitive Del Val League, won the PIAA crown in 2009, lost the title game in 2010 and suffered an overtime defeat in the state semis in 2011. But these Patriots look far different than their counterparts from recent years. They don't have twin towers like Shawn Oakman and
Darian Barnes. They don't have an All-Delco point guard like Tyree Johnson, or an All-Delco power forward like Aaron Brown.

Instead, Penn Wood has Malcolm Richardson, pictured — one of the county's top scorers — and junior guards Jerry Price and Tyree Bynum. The Patriots' tallest player? Quardiar Sewell and Ali Sesay, who measure up to 6-2.

“District One basketball is unique because teams do their work. Coaches do their work," said Penn Wood coach Clyde Jones. "When you get to the playoffs, you know the other team has seen you at least a couple times. I’m expecting — I mean, we’re still making lineup changes — that we will be ready for districts.

"We’re not sure how far we can go. If we shoot well and defend, we can beat anybody. If we don’t, we’ll lose in the first round."

We'll know beginning Sunday, when the brackets are unveiled.

(Times staff photo / ROBERT J. GURECKI)

Penn Wood's Aaron Brown and Archbishop Carroll's Juan'ya Green have been nominated for the McDonald's All-America Game, which will be played next month in Chicago.

While the seniors face stiff odds to make the game, which pares down a list of 2,000 nominees to a 24-man game, it's still a considerable honor to be nominated in the first place.

Brown and Green are enjoying eerily similar senior seasons for their respective schools. The All-Delcos have been back and forth in the county's scoring-leader list. Green, who averages 21.3 points, holds a slight edge over Brown, who tosses in 21.1 per game.

Brown is a West Virginia commit. Green has signed on to play at Niagara.

For more on this, check out the boys basketball notebook in Friday's edition of the Daily Times.

In this reporter's opinion, it's never too early to talk about All-Delco.

So let's have it.

Send e-mails (cvito@delcotimes.com), Tweet me (@chrisvito) or reply to this blog post. Let me know who you think deserves consideration for the All-Delco boys basketball team. I have my own list, which will get scribbled on and re-written about 10 more times, but it's always fun to see what the readers think.

The reigning Daily Times Player of the Year Aaron Brown, pictured, certainly made his impact felt last weekend with his Penn Wood teammates at the Brandon Jennings Invitational.

Only a few ground rules here:
1. Keep it clean.
2. Don't disrespect other players to strengthen your case.
3. Remember that only six make the cut, so give me your best half-dozen.

Have fun with it.

At one point this month, Penn Wood owned a 2-5 record. The Patriots, District One's Class AAAA defending champion, were down in the dumps following a loss at the hands of league rival Chester.

Maybe all the Patriots needed was a trip nearly 900 miles from home.

Penn Wood thrashed Crenshaw (Calif.), 84-62, in a game that was never all that close at the Brandon Jennings Invitational, in Milwaukee, Wis. That makes five wins in a row for the Patriots (7-5), who appear to have righted the ship.

So is the Patriots' switch flipped?

Aaron Brown, the reigning Daily Times Player of the Year, earned MVP honors Saturday with a 21-point, 13-rebound effort. Shawn Oakman, who had missed a couple with a sprained ankle, scored five points in his return. And Darian Barnes, who had been invisible in the scoring column of late, went off for 19 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks.

Something else to consider: junior point guard Malcolm Richardson, who had strung together consecutive 25-point games, only put down eight against Crenshaw. The fact is, with everyone else scoring, his role wasn't as essential. That's what happens when everything is clicking on all cylinders.

Things were going so well for Penn Wood, even reserve point guard Jerry Price tossed in 14 points.

Lost in the shuffle of it all was the tournament - the Brandon Jennings Invitational. The Milwaukee Bucks star spent time with all of the teams, stayed for all of the games and allowed the players to attend Saturday's Bucks-Grizzlies game.

"It was an awesome event," said Penn Wood coach Clyde Jones.

Yeah, especially when your team has gotten its groove back.

Here are a couple photos from Thursday night's Chester/Penn Wood game, which the host Clippers won, 71-65. (All work by Daily Times photographer Bob Gurecki):

Chester All-Delco Mo Nelson picks the ball from Penn Wood's Jerry Price en route to the rim. Nelson's bucket closed the Clippers' deficit to 16-15 just before the end of the first quarter.

Chester's Richard Grandbury swats a Penn Wood shot attempt in the third quarter, during which Grandbury made blocks on back-to-back possessions.

Chester's Tavaune Griffin tries to pass around a pair of Penn Wood defenders, reigning Daily Times' Player of the Year Aaron Brown, left, among them.

Entering Thursday night's games, here's how my stat book shook out:

1. Juan'ya Green, Arch. Carroll ... 22.1 ppg
2. Aaron Brown, Penn Wood ... 22.0 ppg
3. Jordan Tucker, Academy Park ... 20.4 ppg
4. Shawn Church, Ridley ... 18.3 ppg
5. Ian Campbell, Penncrest ... 17.3 ppg
6. Jordan Sbraccia, Delco Christian ... 17.1 ppg
7t. Erikk Wright, Chester ... 16.0 ppg
7t. Taylor Wright, Episcopal Acad. ... 16.0 ppg
9. Omar Randall, Strath Haven ... 15.4 ppg
10. Steffon Poole, Glen Mills ... 14.8 ppg

More to come next week, when I unveil the county's top 25 scorers in the first installment of the boys basketball notebook.

Thursday night is the night.

Longtime titan of the Del Val League Chester and the two-time reigning champ Penn Wood go to battle Thursday in the first installment of the rivalry. Both enter the game at opposite ends of the spectrum.

Penn Wood (2-4) has taken its act on the road, playing teams from Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and New York over the holidays. The two-time PIAA Class AAAA finalists are relying heavily upon reigning Daily Times Player of the Year Aaron Brown, pictured, who is averaging 22.0 points per game. Brown, a West Virginia commit, isn't getting much help elsewhere. Malcolm Richardson averages 6.8 points and Darian Barnes is tallying 5.5.

Chester (6-1), meanwhile, is off to a hot start after finishing last season in a disappointing fashion - in the first round of states. Erikk Wright (pictured) and Lamon Church are dominating the post, averaging 16.0 and 14.4 points per game, respectively. All-Delco Maurice Nelson and forward Rondae Jefferson also are pulling their weight for the Clippers.

Outsiders may think this is Penn Wood's game to lose. But I'm telling you now that Thursday night's meeting will be closer than expected.

Should be a fun one.

Now, it's official.

A couple days after a premature report hit the Web, announcing his college destination, Penn Wood's Aaron Brown has his mind made up: He's headed to West Virginia University.

Brown had kicked around a number of notable Division I offers, before the Daily Times' reigning Player of the Year decided upon the Mountaineers. His second choice: Temple. The other schools that had a shot to land the rising senior: Saint Joseph's, Florida and Rutgers.

When asked about West Virginia's recent pedigree of landing the nation's best players, Brown said it meant "a lot to me."

"It means that if they're the best, you're going to have to be the best to play with them," said Brown, a 6-5, 205-pound guard-forward (who plays like he's at least three inches taller.) "It means that I'm going to have to be at my best to play there."

Brown said he thinks he's one of "Coach Huggy's type of players," referring to West Virginia coach Bobby Huggins.

The decision wasn't without strife, however. Brown said he really considered Temple before choosing WVU. Temple coach Fran Dunphy was a fixture at Penn Wood's games throughout the District One and PIAA Class AAAA playoffs. Huggins - by this reporter's count - was seen at only one.

"It was a toss-up," said Clyde Jones, Brown's coach at Penn Wood. "I think the challenge of being away from home and playing in the Big East Conference did it for him. He wanted to be close to home because of the support of his family and playing for one of the best coaches (Dunphy) in the area, but I think the personal challenge Coach Huggins' extended to Aaron outweighed all of that."

For more on Brown's college choice, pick up Tuesday's edition of the Daily Times.

Penn Wood's Aaron Brown, a rising senior, is not headed to West Virginia University. At least not yet.

The reigning Daily Times' boys basketball Player of the Year still considers the school among his top college destinations. But, according to his high school coach, Brown has not given any college a commitment.

A report published Saturday spread across the Web quicker than wild-fire, declaring that Brown had given West Virginia a verbal commitment. Penn Wood coach Clyde Jones confirmed to the Daily Times moments ago that the report is "a rumor" and that it "is untrue. Aaron has not committed to West Virginia."

Jones said he got the word directly from Brown's family, so you know it's coming from a qualified source.

A 6-5, 205-pound combo guard, Brown has offers from West Virginia, Temple, Saint Joseph's, Maryland, Drexel, La Salle, Rice and Richmond. It's believed Brown has narrowed the field to two suitors and that a decision could be coming soon. But, as was written above, he hasn't done so just yet.

An all-everything (all-state, all-league, all-county) during his junior year, Brown ranked second in Delco with 18.7 points per game, while also averaging 6.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.4 steals and shooting 55 percent from the floor. He helped Penn Wood crack the USA Today top 25 poll twice while advancing it to the PIAA Class AAAA championship game in back-to-back seasons. (The Patriots won it all in 2008, but fell to Plymouth Whitemarsh in 2009.)

As you can see, the posts onGettin' Schooled have been few and far between since Brown's Patriots lost at State College back in the spring. But stay close to the blog for the latest on high school news and notes over the summer. The posts will be more frequent, I can assure you.

Penn Wood's magical run ended Saturday night in a 58-51 loss to Plymouth Whitemarsh.

The Patriots, who hadn't lost to a team from Pennsylvania all season, hadn't lost a game in general since Dec. 23. Here's what some of them - and two P-W players had to say about the game:

PENN WOOD GUARD DEQUAN PELZER
On his final game at Penn Wood: “Playing with Aaron Brown, Shawn Oakman, Tyree, Will (Brown) – this is my second family. They're like my family. They all know that. We all know that. We all were working for each other.”
On the offense: “What were we – 7-for-37? We just couldn't shoot. Our offense just wasn't there. It happens.”
On going 93 days without a loss: “I don't even know what to make of that. I can't say what that means to me. Maybe down the road, I can talk about that.”

PENN WOOD POINT GUARD TYREE JOHNSON
On the offense: “Tonight, our offense wasn't there and they pulled out the victory because of it.”
On returning to the state final: “Just making it here was great. If we had won, it would've been better. But we didn't win. And I'm not mad at the loss.”

PENN WOOD CENTER SHAWN OAKMAN
On the game: “We lost, but it doesn't erase the history we made.”
On the offense: “We didn't get into another rhythm. We didn't have any rhythm the whole game.”
On Plymouth Whitemarsh: “They kept their heads when they were up. They didn't yell at each other or nothing. They knew – they believed – they were going to win. They knew they were the better team.”
“I'm ready for next season.

PENN WOOD COACH CLYDE JONES
On the silver lining: “We worked to put this program on the map … so there are a whole lot of positives.”
On P-W's defense: “This one was a blast from the past, if you want to say that. We got back to doing some things that we hadn't done in awhile and I'd like to say Plymouth Whitemarsh had a lot to do with that. They played a great defensive game. Most of our shots were challenged. We didn't get many clean looks at all. We didn't do a good job of running our sets to get those clean looks, either. They worked and challenged us on every shot. They challenged us on passes. They challenged us on catches. And we didn't execute. We were out of character.”

PENN WOOD FORWARD AARON BROWN
On his coach's message: “He told us we had a great year and that not many teams get to the championship two times in a row. That in itself is an accomplishment. We had many accomplishments in these two years. I think we're just thankful for all of these accomplishments. I wouldn't want to play with anybody else.”

P-W GUARD WHIS GRANT
On winning Round 2: “States is so much bigger than districts so I can't imagine how they are feeling. I would be devastated to lose. States is definitely a bigger stage.”
On getting revenge: “It gave us more momentum, more fuel to keep going at them. They took something from us last time.”

P-W CENTER C.J. AIKEN
On getting revenge: “We felt we were the better team. At Villanova, we felt we gave them a gift and we didn't want that feeling again.”

(Photos by Daily Times photographer Eric Hartline. Norristown Times-Herald staff writers Tom Kerrane and Dennis Way contributed to this post.)

C'mon - did you expect anything less?

You knew Penn Wood was this good before the season even began. You knew Penn Wood had the potential to repeat, the Division I prospects to compete, the players to steal a win or two from some of the nation's best programs.

Perhaps the only surprise that came from Wednesday's 70-51 win over Liberty was that leading scorer Aaron Brown, who averages 20 points per game, was limited to eight. Still, the Patriots cruised past the Hurricanes in a PIAA Class AAAA semifinal and into Saturday's championship game against ... Plymouth-Whitemarsh.

Surprised?

Shouldn't be. This was the matchup of fate, one that seemed predestined in the first weeks of the 2009-10 season, with both teams gaining national acclaim and regional hype. But, hey --- we have some days ahead to talk about Plymouth Whitemarsh. How about we stick with the PW from Delaware County?

En route to making consecutive appearances in the PIAA title game, the Patriots did what they do best - run up the score. The Hurricanes made the Pats kick the tires a couple times in the first quarter, leading 8-4 and making the District One champs think otherwise about a repeat.

Then, it happened.

Penn Wood went on a 17-0 burst on the way to a 40-19 halftime lead. The rest is history. Tyree Johnson scored 19 points, Dequan Pelzer tossed in 14 and Shawn Oakman dropped in 12 (and some thunderous dunks) for the Patriots.

See you in State College.

Friday night, Penn Wood put the finishing touches on its first District One Class AAAA championship in 18 years ... and the Daily Times was all over it. (Game story and column can be found here.)

The Times was on the baseline, too, with staff photographer Bob Gurecki nabbing some shots of the action:
Penn Wood reserve forward Jeff Kyem pulls down a rebound in front of Plymouth-Whitemarsh's C.J. Aiken in the first half.

Shawn Oakman (center) embraces Aaron Brown (left) and Will Brown (right) in the moments following the Patriots' upset of the Colonials.

Reserve guard Jerry Price (No. 1) rushes to the court after the buzzer to meet Will Brown and Aaron Brown (back) following the Patriots' first district championship victory since 1992.

AROUND THE STATE
In a major upset, Reading dispatched Hempfield, 54-46, Saturday in the District Three Class AAAA title game. Hempfield, the top seed, had gone 27-0 en route to the title game.

What that does is make Penn Wood's road to a repeat as state champion a little more bumpy, with Reading winning and going to the West side of the PIAA bracket. The weekend is long, so let's see how the rest of the bracket shakes out before we reach any conclusions.

AROUND THE COUNTY
In the District One Class AAAA seventh-place game. Penncrest toppled Chester, 56-53, at West Chester East High School. The Lions' Rodney Duncan went off for 31 points, a career high. The Clippers trailed by 10 with two minutes to go before closing the gap. According to Penncrest coach Mike Doyle, Duncan's point tally is the best for any Lion in more than eight years.

Penn Wood junior Aaron Brown needed only 10 points Thursday to notch a career milestone.

Mission accomplished.

Brown scored 14 to lead the Patriots past Glen Mills, 73-49, in a win that clinched Penn Wood's undefeated season in the Del Val League portion of their schedule. Brown joined the 1,000-point club in the win. Shawn Oakman and Tyree Johnson, the reigning Daily Times Player of the Year, joined Brown as the team's leading scorers -- all having scored 14 apiece. A senior, Johnson also eclipsed the 1,000-point mark this year.

For those who don't know about Brown, you need to see the kid play. The 6-5 forward thrives on the wing. His jumpshot works well in his game, but he's at his best when he can get to the rim on his dribble-drive attack. He's even worked on his 3-point shot, too.

Brown emerged as a legitimate threat for the Patriots late last season in their district- and state-playoff runs en route to the PIAA Class AAAA championship. In the state semifinal victory against Mt. Lebanon, his worth really shone through when he shot 10-for-10 from the floor. This season, he has ranked within the county's top-five scorers from the first game of the year.

And scoring his 1,000th career point is only the latest milestone on Brown's resume.

What's that old parable? It has something to do with a tree falling in the woods... Anyway, a high-school boys basketball game started Saturday and ended Sunday. It didn't go to overtime. And it certainly wasn't televised, so there weren't any television timeouts.

So why did Archbishop Carroll's nonleague game against Mount Lebanon require two calendar days to complete? It's the fault of showcase tournaments, creating glossy games that have more to do with feeding bodies through turnstiles than with maintaining the well-being of the student-athletes involved in the game.

Maybe it's just this reporter's opinion, but it seems absurd that a high school game be started - and finished - so late in the night. Maybe the players actually enjoy a break from the monotony of 3:45 and 7:30 p.m. starts. Maybe the fans enjoy taking in a game that requires a few coffee trips to prevent snoring while watching.

I don't. I'm old school that way. It's a shame Carroll's Juan'ya Green, pictured, one of the county's finest scoring guards, posted 26 points and made 15 of his 17 shots from the free-throw line ... and nobody probably saw it. It's a shame All-Delco D.J. Irving scored 16 points and added five steals and four assists for Archbishop Carroll ... and nobody read about it in the newspaper.

#######################

In games that started (and ended) Sunday:
Penn Wood 86, South Philadelphia 48: The Patriots absolutely pummeled their Public League foes in a game at Villanova's Pavilion. Four scorers hit for double figures, including All-Delco Tyree Johnson and forward Aaron Brown.

Parkland 61, Chester 59 (OT): The Clippers lost for the third time in five games and their second straight, in an overtime game at Parkland. Erikk Wright, a sophomore forward who scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, continues to emerge as a formidable player in the paint.

Despite what the subject line reads, this post is going to be about breaking down the box score from Thursday's Del Val League game, which went Penn Wood's way, 73-40.

The Patriots beat down the Bulls in every way imaginable. They shot 45 percent (30-for-66) while holding the Mills to 27 percent (12-for-44). They forced the Mills into 27 turnovers while committing only 11 of their own. They had an assist (15) for every other bucket. They outrebounded the Bulls, 33-26. And they killed the Bulls from long range, hitting 8 of their 20 shots from 3-point land.

"There's a bulls-eye on us, so every time we step on the court, we have to be ready to go get it," said Penn Wood point guard (and reigning Daily Times Player of the Year) Tyree Johnson. "I don't care who it is. i don't care if we're playing against girl scouts. If they step on the floor of this jawn, they have to be ready to play us."

The fact is, the Patriots are. Always have been. They pushed the ball up the floor, determined the pace of the game while killing any blow Glen Mills tried to accrue. They seemed every bit of the defending PIAA Class AAAA champions. And, until someone takes that from them, they will be.

Aaron Brown, pictured, and Will Brown had 17 apiece to lead the Patriots.

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EXTRA BOUNCES
---It was good to see former Glen Mills coach Craig Mellinger out and about at Harrison Athletic Center. I didn't talk to him too much, but he said he's enjoying spending more time with his two high-school-aged children than he used to.

---I don't like putting together 'Best of...' lists, unless it's the end of the season. But if I had to pick the best places in Delco to watch a boys basketball game, I'd put Glen Mills at or near the top. Whether they're ahead or down (by a lot, as was the case Thursday) the crowd is into it, the music is blaring and the place is jumping. Chester's at the top, too. And I'd say a distant third from those two obvious choices is Penncrest. There are so many good vantage points there.

Here's an up-close look at the Chester/Penn Wood game:
Early in the second quarter and with the game's outcome still in doubt, Penn Wood junior forward Aaron Brown (pictured) was whistled for a technical foul. The call was questionable, causing spectators and reporters, alike, to scratch their heads.

Brown is not an overly aggressive player. And players from both sides were jawing. Turns out he was whistled for running into his teammate, Shawn Oakman, which had to have been perceived as a sign of boasting, because there was no blatant contact between players from opposing teams.

"They all talk (trash) and any kind of bump would be seen as a form of aggression," Penn Wood coach Clyde Jones said. "Aaron is always emotional. But I know his emotions are going to lead to production."

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BY THE NUMBERS
10-11: Chester's proficiency at the free-throw line, a 91-percent clip.
19-34: Penn Wood's proficiency at the free-throw line, a 55-percent clip.
37-21: Penn Wood's rebounding advantage.
1: Technical foul, against Penn Wood's Aaron Brown.
3:28: Time it took Chester to get on the board.
4: Points scored by Will Brown during a dynamic second-quarter play. He hit a 3-pointer from the right side of the arc and, after sustaining a foul by Chester's Laquan Robinson, made the subsequent free throw.

#################


The arrangement to bring the first meeting of the season between these two Pennsylvania titans to Saint Joseph's University was the product of internal connections. Penn Wood alumnus Rap Curry, also the Patriots' athletic director, played a fruitful college career on Hawk Hill. So did Jameer Nelson, whose younger brother, Maurice Nelson, plays for Chester.

The younger Nelson, who had 17 points, was playing on the floor of Hagan Arena - formerly the Fieldhouse - for the first time in his life. And hanging about the court, in the rafters, is a banner bearing his brother's No. 14 and his likeness.

"I didn't even look up there today," Mo Nelson said. "I have in the past. Not today."

PHOTO BY DAILY TIMES' PHOTOGRAPHER BOB GURECKI

No one told Penn Wood that defending its PIAA Class AAAA championship was going to be easy. They're not even into the Del Val League portion of their schedule but the Patriots are fighting an uphill battle.

Coach Clyde Jones (pictured) and the Patriots went 1-3 this week at the City of Palms Classic, an exclusive, invite-only basketball tournament held in Fort Myers, Fla. Only the best of the best make it there. That's why the Pats got the call this offseason.

Among their losses were defeats at the hands of Paterson Catholic (N.J.) and Westchester (Calif.), both ranked within the top 50 in the nation by ESPN/Rise Magazine. The Patriots also lost to St. Frances (Md.) Wednesday.

Here's how Jones sizes up Penn Wood's performance down south:
On his level of frustration after these games were:
“Well, (Wednesday) we lost on a last-second shot to St. Frances. Against Paterson Catholic, we were up 20 and we turned over the ball late. Shawn (Oakman), Darian (Barnes) and Dequan (Pelzer) all fouled out. And (Tuesday), against Westchester, we tied it late and had another turnover. It's really been turnovers in late minutes that have hurt us.”

On accepting these losses because of who they were against:
“No losses are acceptable for me. But it's something the kids needed to experience. It's a measuring stick for us. It'll help us when we play teams back home. We were a turnover away from beating Westchester, the No. 6 team in the country (according to ESPN/Rise Magazine). And we were taking apart Paterson Catholic, another nationally ranked team, for three quarters. It's probably the best three quarters I've seen us play since I've been at Penn Wood. I feel for the kids because they deserved to win one of these games. They deserve them.”


On the play of junior forward Aaron Brown (pictured), who averaged 20.3 points and 7 rebounds in four games:
“He hit a wall (Wednesday), but he's really made it known that he's become a big-time recruit and a big-time player. The last two games, teams have seen what he can do. And it's not just Aaron. With Shawn, we've had coaches ask us why he isn't a top-10 Division I recruit. In Will Brown, you're starting to see what he can do when he comes out of his shell.”

On what he heard from college coaches while there:
“Tom Crean from Indiana told me he hasn't see a team play this well together in a long time. He also said it was encouraging to see kids interacting with each other and pushing each other the way our guys do. I also heard from coaches at Auburn, who saw our game against Paterson Catholic, that we were one of the best functioning high school teams in the country. The people running the tournament told us our kids were the most well-mannered, well-behaved team that's ever come through. That all means a lot to me, because when you're a coach, you're a lifelong learner. And it shows that our kids can learn, too.”

Penn Wood (3-3) returns to action Monday against Academy of the New Church at Widener.