PIAA State AA Championship Preview
By
Gregory Goettner
AA State Championship:
Who:
Aliquippa (District 7) vs. Prep Charter (District 12)
When:
2:00pm; Saturday, March 24th, 2007
Where:
Bryce Jordan Center, Penn State University
How
they got here:
Prep Charter’s road to PSU
included victories over:
-
Trinity 46-45
-
Lower Moreland 56-44
-
York Catholic 65-57
-
Imhotep Charter 61-48
Aliquippa’s road to PSU
included victories over:
-
Smethport 83-35
-
Fairview 81-62
-
Beaver Falls 86-63
-
Jeanette 69-48
Earlier this year:
Both teams met at York College
on January 22nd. Aliquippa defeated Prep Charter 78-70 Aliquippa was
led by junior Jonathan Baldwin. Baldwin scored a game high 27 points. New
Mexico State University signee Herb Pope scored 12 points, 8 rebounds,
and 6 assist. For Prep Charter the Morris brothers combined for 41 points
(Marcus – 22 points, Markieff 19 points).
Injury notes:
Prep Charter’s third leading scorer sophomore Jesse Morgan
did not play.
Match
ups:
Back
Court:
Prep
Charter: Parrish Grant (sophomore), Jesse Morgan
(sophomore), Kevin Radford (senior)
Aliquippa:
D’Mar Jeter (senior), Patrick Pettis (senior)
While Prep Charter guards are
better offensively, the Aliquippa guards play excellent defense and will look to
pressure the younger Husky guards. When these two teams matched up earlier this
season both Jeter and Pettis caused many turnovers which helped lead them to
victories.
Front Court:
Prep Charter:
Marcus Morris (senior), Markieff Morris (senior)
Aliquippa:
Antonio Reddic (senior), Herb Pope (senior), Jonathan Baldwin
(junior)
Both front courts have
unbelievable talent. Three players have already committed to play Division One
ball; Markieff Morris (Memphis), Marcus Morris (Memphis), Herb
Pope (New Mexico State). The match up of the Morris brothers vs.
Pope/Baldwin is second to none; all four players are capable of taking over a
game at any time. The X-factor in the front court could be Antonio Reddic.
Reddic at 6’3 can play either guard or forward and has tremendous athletic
ability. During their first match Reddic’s performance was over looked by
Baldwin, but Reddic wasn’t too bad himself as he went for a quiet 18.
Bench:
Prep Charter:
Ferguson Myrick (sophomore), Tyree “Chuck” Harris
(sophomore), John Brown (sophomore)
Aliquippa:
Terry Patrick (sophomore), Brandon Lindsey (senior), Tyler Jeter
(junior)
Prep Charter has a slight edge
on the bench. Both Myrick and Harris are potential Division One prospects. If
the Morris brothers get in foul trouble look for both Myrick and Harris to pick
up big time minutes.
Keys to win:
Prep Charter:
-
We know Marcus and Markieff are going
to score, who will emerge as the Huskies third scorer?
-
Must be able to break the Quips full
court pressure
-
Can’t let the game turn into a track
meet, Aliquippa can run with the best of them
-
Morris brothers must be in the whole
game; can’t afford either them to get into foul trouble.
Aliquippa:
-
Get the ball in Baldwin and Pope’s
hands
-
Stay focused throughout the game; Pope
and the bunch can get rattled
-
Jump out to an early lead; I believe a
closer game gives Prep Charter the advantage.
-
Similar to Prep Charter; Aliquippa
needs their big guys in all game (Pope/Baldwin)
The Pick:
Prep Charter
by 2; I think this will be the best game of the weekend.
Earlier this year Aliquippa didn’t see the real Prep Charter and caught them off
guard. As long as the Huskies keep it close going into the fourth quarter, I
believe the Huskies will prevail. The Huskies have been battled tested
throughout the play offs and have proven they can win the close game. Look for
the Morris brothers to cap off their high school careers as the first District
12 team to win back to back state championships.
If
you have any questions or comments contact Greg at
greg@metrohoops.com
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