Chester High junior Rondae Jefferson was named PIAA Class AAAA Player of the Year, by vote of the state's sportswriters.

Three other players also were honored.

Jefferson, the Daily Times Player of the Year who averaged 12.1 points, 9.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 2.7 blocked shots and 2.5 steals, helped Chester (32-0) last month win its second consecutive state crown and eighth overall.

I caught up with Jefferson as he heard the news.

"I'm so hyped right now. I'm about to pop," he said. "It means a lot. I don't even know what to say."

Chester's Larry Yarbray was named the Class AAAA Coach of the Year.

Chester's Darius Robinson, a junior, and Erikk Wright, a senior, made the all-state second team in Class AAAA, while Archbishop Carroll's Yosef Yacob, a junior, made the all-state second team in Class AAA.

Here's how the Class AAAA and AAA all-state teams look:

CLASS AAAA
FIRST TEAM
Rondae Jefferson, Chester, 6-7, jr, 12.1 ppg
B.J. Johnson, Lower Merion, 6-5, jr, 15.8 ppg
Haiishen McIntyre, Harrisburg, 6-2, sr, 24.2 ppg
Devin Thomas, Central Dauphin, 6-9, sr, 23.8 ppg
Geno Thorpe, Shaler, 6-3, jr, 21.4 ppg
Steve Vasturia, St. Joseph's Prep, jr, 21.8 ppg
SECOND TEAM
Nolan Cressler, Plum, 6-3, sr, 25.7 ppg
Shep Garner, Roman Catholic, 6-2, so, 15.9 ppg
Miles Overton, St. Joseph's Prep, 6-4, jr, 15.0 ppg
Jordan Reed, Wissahickon, 6-3, sr, 23.7 ppg
Darryl Reynolds, Lower Merion, 6-7, sr, 10.6 ppg
Darius Robinson, Chester, 6-1, jr, 11.8 ppg, pictured
Erikk Wright, Chester, 6-4, sr, 11.4 ppg
THIRD TEAM
Greg Bobal, Emmaus, 6-3, sr, 11.5 ppg
Quindell Brice, Pocono Mountain West, 6-4, sr, 16.2 ppg
Malik Draper, Scranton, 6-4, sr, 15.3 ppg
Nate Snodgrass, Butler, 6-0, sr, 21.3 ppg
Jahad Thomas, Williamsport, 6-2, jr, 14.5 ppg
Sheldon Zablotny, Erie Cathedral Prep, 5-11, jr, 17.4 ppg
Mike Zangari, Red Land, 6-10, sr, 21.4 ppg

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Rondae Jefferson, Chester
COACH OF THE YEAR: Larry Yarbray, Chester


CLASS AAA
FIRST TEAM
John Davis, Neumann-Goretti, 6-4, jr, 12.9 ppg
Donovon Jack, Berks Catholic, 6-9, sr, 17.0 ppg
Brendan Kilpatrick, Malvern Prep, 6-5, sr, 15.8 ppg
Micah Mason, Highlands, 6-2, sr, 28.7 ppg
Ja'Quan Newton, Neumann-Goretti, 6-3, so, 15.8 ppg
Maurice Watson, Boys Latin Charter, 5-10, sr, 21.8 ppg
SECOND TEAM
Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman, Allentown Central Catholic, 6-4, so, 17.7 ppg
Andrew Andreychik, Danville, 6-0, sr, 23.0 ppg
Jaymon Mason, General McLane, 6-2, jr, 18.4 ppg
Jamal Nwaniemeka, Conwell-Egan, 6-2, sr, 21.8 ppg
Derrick Stewart, Neumann-Goretti, 6-5, sr, 8.7 ppg
Devin Wilson, Montour, 6-4, jr, 10.0 ppg
Yosef Yacob, Archbishop Carroll, 6-0, jr, 14.6 ppg
THIRD TEAM
Shawn Anderson, New Castle, 6-3, jr, 18.8 ppg
Dwight Andrews, Johnstown, 6-5, sr, 18.7 ppg
Charles Cooper, Octorara, 6-1, sr, 17.3 ppg
Ted Hinnenkamp, York Suburban, 6-6, sr, 21.0 ppg
Marquis Marshall, Berks Catholic, 6-4, sr, 15.4 ppg
J.C. Show, Abington Heights, 6-2, so, 17.1 ppg
Cornell Yarde, Schuylkill Valley, 6-2, sr, 21.2 ppg

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Maurice Watson, Boys Latin Charter
COACH OF THE YEAR: Adam Kaufman, Montour

(Times staff photos / ERIC HARTLINE)

Chester coach Larry Yarbray (pictured, with Rondae Jefferson) said he's known Steve 'Bird' Powell for what seems like forever, their relationship renewed in the four seasons Yarbray has served as the man in charge of the Clippers.

"We've always been in contact, with summer leagues and whatnot," Yarbray said of Powell, a Chester native and the coach of District Three's J.P. McCaskey. "He's a good dude from the East side of the city, where my father's from."

Powell, a link to Chester's past, and Yarbray, a link to Chester's present, will collide Saturday in the opening round of the PIAA Class AAAA tournament. The game at 3 p.m. tips off at Norristown High School.

Chester defeated McCaskey, 71-61, in the second game of the Clippers' season -- their 17th in the last 19 tries against the Red Tornado.

“This is their championship, this is their measuring stick," Yarbray said of McCaskey's second crack at the Clippers, who are ranked fourth nationally. "That was our second game of the season. From that point, things change. People settle into the games and settle into their roles. This should be an interesting game."

For more on Powell, pick up Friday's Daily Times. And I'll have a preview of the game in Saturday's paper, too.

(Times staff photo / ROBERT J. GURECKI)

The day after Chester's big win over Lower Merion, in the District One Class AAAA championship game, here's another glimpse of the action through the lens of Daily Times staff photographer Robert J. Gurecki:


Chester's Darius Robinson drives the lane for a second-quarter layup.


Chester's Rondae Jefferson draws a blocking foul against Lower Merion's Justin McFadden.


Lower Merion's Yohanny Dalembert goes up for a shot contested by Chester forwards Rondae Jefferson and Erikk Wright.


Chester's Shanier Cottman takes a bit of his district-championship medal.


Chester coach Larry Yarbray puts a district-title medal around the neck of Rondae Jefferson.


Chester's Erikk Wright puts on display the Clippers' district-championship trophy.

Chester did it again.

The top-seeded Clippers used a superb outing from Rondae Jefferson to defeat second-seeded Lower Merion, 61-53, Friday night to claim the District One Class AAAA championship -- the program's 21st district crown.

The Daily Times sports staff was in full force at the game, with Matt Smith giving us a recap of what coach Larry Yarbray's reserves -- like Shanier Cottman, pictured -- mean to the success of the Clippers (27-0), who have won 53 straight games.

Meanwhile, columnist Jack McCaffery details just how dominant Chester's defense was, in limiting Lower Merion to 53 points, holding its leading scorer, B.J. Johnson, to 2-for-15 shooting, and forcing the Aces into 23 turnovers.

And then there was Jefferson, who was all over the map. The junior forward/point guard had 13 points, 21 rebounds, six assists, four steals and three blocked shots in 32 minutes. He was exceptional when the Clippers needed him most.

#####

Chester (27-0) will face J.P. McCaskey (22-7), District 3's seventh seed, in the first round of the PIAA Class AAAA tournament, which begins Saturday, March 10. The Clippers should have footage of their familiar foe, a team they schedule annually. Chester defeated McCaskey, 71-61, on the road Dec. 13.

Tickets to the game will be available at Chester High's athletic office Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, from 3 to 7 p.m. each night.

(Times staff photo / ROBERT J. GURECKI)

Here's what I know about the recruitment of Rondae Jefferson: A lot of teams have come calling. Here's what I don't know about the recruitment of Jefferson: Everything else.

A Chester junior and one of the nation's top recruits for the Class of 2013, Jefferson has told me he has made no decisions – not even narrowing down the list of schools that have offered. And if he has, Jefferson isn't telling anybody.

I asked Jefferson Friday night, following Chester's 81-31 thumping of Norristown, a few questions about the process:

Who has offered a scholarship?
Jefferson: “I don’t even know. I’ve got a couple offers. I can’t think of them right now. My head’s spinning right now.”

Not even one name?
Jefferson: “I don’t want to say somebody and leave somebody out.”

Temple could join the Big East. What does that mean to you?
Jefferson: “I mean, the Big East is fine. I like the Big East. It doesn’t really matter to me. I don’t think about that.”

Chester coach Larry Yarbray told me another school threw its hat into Jefferson's ring.

“(There's) too many right now. Ohio State called me (Friday),” Yarbray said. :He’ll have more (offers) moving into next year, if we continue to win and he keeps playing like he is, plays good on the (summer) circuit, works on his weaknesses, all of that.”

Jefferson's recruitment seems to be one of those wait-and-see things. So you better find a cozy spot on the couch. This could take awhile.

(Times staff photo / ERIC HARTLINE)

Something about Rondae Jefferson's game Tuesday night looked unfamiliar.

He shared the ball (six assists). He rebounded well (four boards, two offensive). He played sound defensively (three steals). But the junior combo guard, ranked 19th nationally at his position for the Class of 2013, was cold from the floor.

Jefferson shot 1-for-4 from the field, 1-for-6 from the free-throw line and finished with three points in Chester's 59-31 pasting of Methacton in Tuesday's second round of the District One Class AAAA tournament.

Afterward, Jefferson said he felt "a little sore in my legs. It's nothing. I'm 100 percent." His coach told a different story.

"He wasn't feeling well tonight. He's the type of dude who's not going to tell you that," said Chester coach Larry Yarbray. "I could tell he wasn't well. He was the last one out of the locker room. He's the type who's going to play no matter what. If he's not scoring, he's going to rebound and play defense. Next game, maybe he'll make a few shots for us. But 75 percent of Rondae Jefferson is still better than most high school players.

Even while failing to make a difference in the scoring column, Jefferson led the Clippers in assists. And when Chester made only one bucket in the opening six minutes of the third quarter, he had a pair of helpers to start the fourth ... including a spot-on bounce pass into Erikk Wright's breadbasket to finish off a baseline drive.

"He finds ways to help, always," Wright said of Jefferson. "That's the kind of player he is." Added Jefferson: "I don't know. I just try to come out and play my game. It ended up being a pass-first kind of night."

Top-seeded Chester (24-0), which qualified for the PIAA tournament, hosts No. 9 Norristown Friday in a district quarterfinal.

(Times staff photo / ERIC HARTLINE)

The first one is in the books.

While we have to wait until Feb. 2 for the rematch, Chester's 69-43 dismantling of Penn Wood had a few wrinkles. Firstly, it wasn't nearly as bad as the final score would indicate. But there's much more to the game than just the final score. Have a look:

OBSERVATIONS
****Chester officials gave me a reason for why junior Rondae Jefferson (pictured, above) missed last Thursday night's game against Interboro. "He was dehydrated. He went to the hospital," I was told. Well, Jefferson didn't waste any more time. He's averaging 11 points in the three games since his return.
****Jefferson brought the crowd to its feet on three straight trips up the floor, with electric dunks. None was better than the one served up by Darius Robinson (pictured, left).
****Penn Wood's gym, always cramped, was especially tight with The Comcast Network's camera scaffolding - at midcourt and in the Southeast corner.
****Villanova coach Jay Wright, after noticing his likeness was on live television, winked into the camera. A rare night in which Jay was not livid.
****In case you didn't notice, Chester had new uniforms. I heard UnderArmour sent a shipment of the new gear - which included socks, shoes and everything they could slap their logo on - arrived just in time for Tuesday's game.
****After Tymier Butler swatted Penn Wood shots on successive possessions, a Chester fan exclaimed, "Not in our house. Wait, and not in your house either."
****How deep is Chester's varsity roster? At one point in the JV game that preceded the varsity tilt, a fan asked former Chester coach Fred Pickett why sophomore forward Diamonte Reason, who scored all 14 points in the JV Clips' 14-0 third-quarter swing, wasn't on varsity. Pickett's reply? "There's no room," he said.


QUOTABLES
"We know, to beat them, we have to take care of all our details. We gave up 21 offensive rebounds. … There’s no way for us to (win). We don’t score enough to counter that. We had 17 rebounds for the game. I saw my stats. You don’t rebound, you’re not going to beat them."
---Penn Wood coach Clyde Jones

“We’ve been coming out (slowly) the last couple games. That means we’ve got to get better. We’ve got some work."
---Chester senior Erikk Wright of his 14-0 team

“It feels real good to blow them out like that. They’re the only team people come to see when we play and all that."
---Chester senior Richard Granberry, pictured

“In our league you’ve got to beat Penn Wood and Glen Mills. … Any team can beat any team, but we don’t want to be that team."
---Chester coach Larry Yarbray

FACES IN THE CROWD
For a game that permitted only 400 into the building, the usual suspects were there. Chester All-Delcos Maurice Nelson and Lamon Church from the 2010-11 PIAA Class AAAA championship team, were in the building. Penn Wood's Dequan Pelzer, from the 2008-09 PIAA title team, was there, as well. Villanova's Jay Wright, and Seton Hall assistant coach Shaheen Holloway also made a showing.

(Times staff photos / ROBERT J. GURECKI)

Chester's ascent in the national rankings continues.

The Clippers (9-0), fresh off a win in Virginia over the weekend, took a two-spot bump to No. 8 in the latest ESPN/POWERADE Fab 50 poll, which was released Tuesday. Coach Larry Yarbray's crew topped Landstown (Va.) Saturday in Newport News, Va., to extend their two-season winning streak to 36 games.

Last week, Chester came in at No. 10 in the same poll.

As I pointed out last week, this appears to be Chester's highest national ranking since the conclusion of the 2007-08 season, when the Clippers polished off the year with a PIAA Class AAAA crown and the No. 3 slot in USA Today's Super 25 poll.

The Clippers play four games this week. Here's a look at Chester's next few opponents:
***Tuesday: at Academy Park (Del Val League opener)
***Thursday: vs. Interboro (Chester's first game at the Clip Joint in three weeks)
***Saturday: vs. Aquinas Institute (N.Y.), at Erie, Pa. (first of two games at the MLK Showcase at Erie East H.S.)
***Sunday: vs. Erie Central Tech, at Erie, Pa.

A source close to Penn Wood informed the Daily Times Friday that Comcast is in discussions with the high school to televise the Patriots' home meeting with nationally ranked Chester Jan. 17.

A call to Comcast late Friday was not immediately returned.

To make room for cameras at Penn Wood's tiny gym (which houses 400 fans on a good day), it's believed -- according to the source -- that Comcast would assemble scaffolding to elevate its cameras above floor level. The source, who expects tickets to the game to be sold in advance, also said "people would be turned away at the door" because "there's simply not enough room" at Penn Wood.

Chester coach Larry Yarbray said he hasn't heard anything about the supposed pact between Comcast and Penn Wood to televise the game against his Clippers, who are ranked 10th this week by ESPN/POWERADE's Fab 50.

"Hey, anything's possible around here, but do they have room for TV cameras in there?" said Yarbray, when reached in Newport News, Va., where Chester will play Saturday in the 7-Cities Roundball Classic. "It might be best if they do it in Chester.

"But I don't know anything about that. You're bringing something to my attention. Hey, if that's what they're talking about doing, game on."

If I hear anything further, I'll be sure to provide the updates. So stay tuned. (No pun intended.)

Though their numbers are a smidge off, ESPN has moved Chester into the top 10 of its national boys basketball poll.

The Clippers (8-0, not 9-0) extended their two-season winning streak to 34 games (not 35) with a win over Christ the King (N.Y.) New Year's Day. That elevated Chester coach Larry Yarbray's team into the No. 10 slot, up from No. 14 in the previous week's rankings.

It's believed that this is Chester's first top-10 poll position of any kind since March 2008, when the Clippers finished No. 3 in the USA Today Super 25 after winning the PIAA Class AAAA title.

Kudos to my colleague Matt Chandik (@MattChandik, for those of you on Twitter), who saw the updated rankings before I did. (Hey, the kid's digital first. What can I say?)

####

In other Chester news: The Clippers' opponent Saturday in the 7-Cities Roundball Classic, in Newport News, Va., has changed. Chester will play Landstown (Va.), instead of Kellam (Va.)

Let's be honest: There was way too much going on Sunday to squeeze into one story.

That's the reality of any Chester High game, but when it's nationally ranked Chester against New York City's Christ the King, which opened the year ranked nationally ... well, there's a bounty of tidbits from the game. (And, oh by the way, Chester won 65-53 in the Villa Classic.)

Here's further coverage of the game:
OBSERVATIONS
****Here's how you know Chester coach Larry Yarbray is doing something right. The Clippers, who have won 34 games in a row, sold out Widener University's Schwartz Center for an 8 p.m. tipoff ... on New Year's Day ... with ticket prices at $20 a head for all fans, regardless of age. Quite a feat.
****Chester's Kareem Robinson is usually cool, calm and collect ... but not to the point where he's chatting with his coach while maintaining a dribble ... while the game is ongoing, with a defender on his hip. It was a savvy play only the veteran point guard could have pulled off.
****After the game, Chester assistant coach Keddy Harris marched up the tunnel toward the Clippers' locker room, shouting, "19? 19?" Clearly, Harris was bewildered by the 19 free throws the Clippers missed. Had they shot better than 20-for-39 from the foul line, they could have used the fourth quarter to coast rather than play high-tempo ball.
****Elsewhere at the Villa Classic, one-time Villanova commit Savon Goodman (from Constitution High, of the Philadelphia Public League) dropped 46 points in an 80-72 win over Cardoza (N.Y.)

QUOTABLE
“He just started talking to me, and usually I’m the one to start the talking. But it was the New Year. I was tired, so maybe I was quiet a little bit. I was just chilling, but I guess I was locking him up so he started talking. He made that one shot and he got in my face."
--Chester's Kareem Robinson (13 points, two steals, two assists), of Christ the King's Isaiah Lewis. Robinson drew an offensive foul against Lewis on one possession and, on CTK's next trip up the floor, Lewis clapped in Robinson's face after making a bucket and got a technical foul.

FACES IN THE CROWD
****Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson: 2009 Chester All-Delco, a Temple junior forward and the brother of Rondae Jefferson.
****Fran Dunphy: Temple coach who likely was scouting Rondae Jefferson and, in the earlier game at Widener, Amile Jefferson of Friends Central.
****Ronell Williams (linebacker at West Chester) and Laquan Robinson (defensive back at Widener), who graduated from Chester in 2010.
****Hajj Turner: George Washington University assistant coach.
****Maurice Nelson (Harcum) and Lamon Church (Kutztown): Chester All-Delcos from the 2011 PIAA Class AAAA title team.

##

Be sure to check out YesgodTV's highlights from Chester's game, which can be seen here.

One final note: if you like the photos above, it was taken by a member of the New York Post staff. Be sure to check out their photo page from Sunday's game.

Doors are about to be opened for Rondae Jefferson. That's assuming they haven't been opened already.

The junior, a 6-foot-7, 210-pound small forward, plays at Chester - the reigning PIAA Class AAAA champion poised for a repeat. Jefferson spent the summer playing for the United States Developmental National Team, reserved for the country's top 27 U-16 players. Jefferson has a page at ESPN.com dedicated to him. And -- oh, by the way -- ESPN, Scout.com and Rivals.com all rate him as a four-star-or-better college recruit.

Among the schools that have offered him a scholarship: La Salle, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Saint Joseph's, Temple and Villanova. Among the schools that have interest: Well, there are too many to list.

Does this faze Jefferson at all?

"Not really," he said this week. "Actually, no, not at all. I don't worry about any of that. I just play basketball."

"He's got everybody and his mother looking at him," said Chester coach Larry Yarbray, of Jefferson. "He's got to keep working. At times, it's because he's a naturally gifted ballplayer, he can turn it on and off when he wants to."

We'll see if Jefferson has it turned on tonight, when Chester goes against Christ the King (N.Y.) in a meeting of teams that opened the season among the nationally ranked.

Check back here for a score update and a quick recap following the game, a 7:45 start at Widener.

UPDATE (11:26 p.m.):
Chester 65, Christ the King 53
Rondae Jefferson had 18 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocked shots for the Clippers (8-0), who used an 11-3 spurt to close the third quarter and create distance between them and their opponents from New York City.

Kareem Robinson had 13 points, buoyed by a pair of 3-pointers, to go with two steals and two assists for Chester. Richard Granberry (eight points, four rebounds), Shanier Cottman (six boards, four steals) and Darius Robinson (nine points) also provided the Clippers a boost.

At the Daily Times' All-Delco banquet in June, at which his NBA All-Star half-brother was delivering the keynote speech, Maurice Nelson wore a look of resentment.

Maybe it was because Nelson was uncertain that he'd ever return to the banquet for a second year.

Nelson was a student in limbo. A junior athletically and academically (though he'd already spent four years in high school), Nelson lobbied for an extra year of PIAA eligibility this week ... and received it.

The Chester shooting guard traveled to District One's office in Norristown Wednesday - with his mother, Chester athletic director Randy Legette, former Clippers coach Fred Pickett and current coach Larry Yarbray - to make his case in an official hearing.

Nelson became the second Chester boys basketball player in the last four years to appeal for and receive another year of eligibility. Russell Johnson finished his career at Chester in 2007-08, when the Clippers went on to win a PIAA Class AAAA title.

Now Nelson, with one more year to go, has a chance to make it back to the All-Delco banquet. Though it doesn't get much more special than being celebrated as an All-Delco with your half-brother, Jameer Nelson, addressing the rest of the county's top athletes in the same night.

For more on Nelson's hearing, check out Friday's Daily Times.

Just like that, Chester's season was over.

With the flick of Troy Hockaday's right wrist (pictured), La Salle took its first lead of the game Sunday - with four seconds to go - and topped Chester, 42-41, in an opening-round contest in the PIAA Class AAAA bracket. The Clippers suffered their first, first-round exit from states since 2004.

Hockaday, who was wildly inconsistent, shot 4-for-14 in the contest. Three of those buckets, resulting in 8 of his 13 points, came in the final 4:33 of the game. Hockaday almost single-handedly whittled away Chester's nine-point lead.

Here's what some had to say afterward:
SENIOR FORWARD RONELL WILLIAMS
"It's a life-learning experience. I just have to prepare for the future and prevent this from happening again. ... They're going to be back next year. Chester's going to be back."

SENIOR GUARD LAQUAN ROBINSON
“What I'll remember about this year is the young guys, and playing for them. Hopefully they can have a better season than we had."

JUNIOR GUARD MAURICE NELSON
“I tried to get the ball up the court as fast as possible and I saw Laquan, so I got it to him. And he got off a good shot. He just missed it. It hurts more than a normal loss.

“(Hockaday) wasn't making those shots. He was taking it to the basket the whole game. He just made a good shot there at the end.

“We talked about that, getting back here. It's a young team, that's all. We took our bumps and bruises all season. It was a roller coaster. We have to play some summer league games, some AAU ball, get back in the gym and get over this."

COACH LARRY YARBRAY
“I wasn't surprised with (Hockaday's) shot. I'm just surprised it went in.

“We had a lot of youth, and with it comes a lot of problems. You're trying to get them to play your style. Most of them are used to playing an AAU style. As far as their knowledge, we had to put a lot of time in to get them to understand. When we execute, good things happen. We get layups, uncontested layups. We get jumpers. When they play for their self, that's a problem. They just want to stand around, not set your screen or play good team defense or help out on the backside or do this or that. It's one- or two-minute breakdowns at the wrong time."

########

The Clippers graduate only two seniors from their 16-11 team - Laquan Robinson (pictured) and Ronell Williams. They played six sophomores and five freshmen this year. So, like Yarbray and Nelson said, Chester will be back next winter.

There's something about Chester freshman Rondae Jefferson that looks awfully familiar.

He's agile and quick, hits the boards hard and can score from anywhere inside the 3-point line. Sound familiar? It sounds like a description of Jefferson's older brother, Rahlir, who was an All-Delco last season.

The elder Jefferson, enjoying a strong freshman season with 17th-ranked Temple, said his younger brother has the potential to be better than him

“He's playing well. He hit a couple of jumpers,” Rahlir Jefferson said, after the Clippers' 57-40 loss to Penn Wood last Thursday. “He's still getting used to the movement in his leg, from when he was injured. Once that gets healed, he'll be good. He'll be better than me. I'm the big brother. I know. I just watch. I can see it.”

“He tells me that sometimes,” said Rondae Jefferson. “I don't know. His work ethic is better than mine, but I just give all of my heart every chance I get. I just twisted my ankle before the game. All I could do was lace up the sneakers and give it my all.”

Rondae Jefferson is averaging five points per game for the Clippers, playing in only three of their games because of a preseason leg injury. Already, Chester coach Larry Yarbray can see similarities in the brothers' play.

“At this stage, as far as talent with him being a freshman, he's got more than what Rahlir had,” Yarbray said. “Rahlir's work ethic got better over the years once his confidence got up. In terms of confidence, Rondae already has that.

“He says stuff like, 'Coach, I'm going to get you a foul shot.' I trust his abilities to a certain extent. If you saw it, in the heat of the battle tonight, he pulled the whole team together. He's a leader. He believes in himself already. Not a lot of guys have that, which is amazing because some of them have played for three years. If he hadn't gone down in the beginning of the year, those (seven) losses we have, we might only have three of them.”

Here's a closer look at Penn Wood's 57-40 win over Chester Thursday:

***LAUGH IT OFF. Clippers forward Ronnell Williams experienced the joy and ire of coach Larry Yarbray in one trip to the free throw line. When the sophomore banked in a foul shot, Yarbray laughed and smiled at his young big man. And when Williams clanked the next one, Yarbray screamed at him to get down the floor and defend.

***COLLEGE ROLL CALL. Three members of the nationally-ranked Temple Owls' rotation were at the Clip Joint. Chester All-Delco Rahlir Jefferson sat beside former Clippers coach Fred Pickett, while Scootie Randall and Ramone Moore (Jefferson's teammates with the No. 19 Owls) were seated in the row in front of him.

***1,000 POINT CLUB, PART I. Before the game, Chester honored Maurice Nelson, who scored his career 1,000th point Tuesday in a road game at Interboro. But Tyree Johnson got the best of Nelson. Johnson, who scored his 1,000th point in an earlier meeting with Chester, had the better game this time around, too. ...And he did so less than 24 hours after making his college commitment.

***SUPER 7 DISCUSSION. Speaking of Pickett, the longtime Clippers coach asked me why Chester had slipped to No. 4 in the latest Daily Times' Super 7. After giving my explanation, Pickett walked away. He wanted nothing of it. But he's a good sport. He came back a minute later, smiling. (Like any good coach, he knows not to take sports too seriously. That's the key.)

***1,000 POINT CLUB, PART II. One of Darby Township's finest was a referee Thursday. Derick Loury, who scored 1,137 points in his career with the Eagles, worked the game at the Clip Joint.

(Note: PHOTOS BY DAILY TIMES STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER BOB GURECKI. Check delcotimes.com Friday for video from the game.)