![\"S1\"](\"\/atvn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/S1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nOBSERVATION #1: I would NOT categorize Nazareth\u2019s championship as a \u201cmajor upset.\u201d<\/em> Furthermore, Nazareth had won three of its five games in the previous week\u2019s tournament, and the underclassmen (Johan Dotson, Kevin Wagner) look much more comfortable playing against the other top teams in the area over this past weekend.\u00a0 Both Dotson and Wagner exhibited great skill during the regular season and seemed like they would emerge as standout players in the area\u2026and that time came on Sunday with impressive showings in both their semifinal and final contests.\u00a0 Parkland will still clearly be the team to beat this winter, but the Eagles will not be sneaking up on any teams next season.<\/p>\n It was a good tournament for all the Allentown teams.\u00a0 Central Catholic also had an impressive showing in advancing to the tourney\u2019s last contest (a fact that also should not be a surprise\u2014if you read my blog on the Vikings last month, that is).\u00a0 The Vikings are mixing some returning players with new talent.\u00a0 Dieruff had a nice showing and recorded an impressive win over Reading.\u00a0 Although Allen didn\u2019t make the final two games, they did feature a number of returning players and had some impressive moments this past weekend and look to be among the top EPC teams again in the coming months.<\/p>\n OBSERVATION #2:\u00a0 Bethlehem Catholic will be better this season.<\/em> OBSERVATION #3:\u00a0 The Return of the \u201cBig Bangers\u201d<\/em> One of the players who fit this bill was Whitehall\u2019s Logan McKinley.\u00a0<\/p>\n Against Del Val Charter and Hempfield, McKinley was constantly contested, hooked and bumped around by his opposing big men, but held his own and gave a shove-or-two in return.\u00a0 Just as impressively he showed excellent footwork and good fundamentals in providing solid offense for his Zephyrs.\u00a0 In fact, even when he was on this bench, it was Eric Johnson coming in and exhibiting some nice inside moves.\u00a0 Whitehall graduated nearly its entire team from last year, but if they can get quality minutes from their big men to go along with rising sophomore Mikey Esquilian, the Zephs could be right back in the district playoff hunt again this winter.<\/p>\n OBSERVATION #4:\u00a0 Defense is still important.<\/em> The Hurricanes were in a tied ballgame with their tournament future up for grabs and found themselves on defense at the end of their game.\u00a0 When the team came over to its huddle during the timeout, it was the players who wanted Amir to guard CB West\u2019s top player with the game on the line.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no question the Hurricanes have some big-time offensive weapons returning for the 2015-16 season and will once again be among the area\u2019s elite teams, but it always good to recognize the top defensive players, as they don\u2019t always seem to get the publicity that the top offensive players do.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t forget, you can see more great summertime basketball.\u00a0 Coming up next week will be the 26th<\/sup> Annual Catasauqua Tournament of Champions to be held at the Catty Playground once again this season.\u00a0 RCN-TV will once again broadcast the title game on Thursday, July 30th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s always a little unusual that the hottest time of the year usually coincides with a sport most closely associated with the winter sports season.\u00a0 However, July is a time when there\u2019s a number of basketball tournaments played in both the Washington, DC and Pennsylvania areas. I had the chance this weekend to check out…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"Yoast SEO Relevanssi index exclude","inline_featured_image":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured","category-sports","category-the-sportstalk-shop"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nThis was quite the topic of conversation on Sunday as the Blue Eagles dispatched the defending Eastern Pennsylvania Conference & District XI champs\u2014and the favorites to win this tournament\u2014before going on to defeating Central Catholic in the final.\u00a0 Anyone who watched Nazareth during the final weeks of last winter\u2019s season\u2014and I had the chance to see them four times\u2014could tell you that this team was maturing\u2026and building confidence\u2026as a unit.\u00a0 Yes, a look at the box scores of their last two meetings with the Trojans indicates Parkland blow-outs.\u00a0 However, Nazareth had to overcome a couple key injuries, had athletes playing varsity for the first time ever, and had to play guys out of position\u2026and still put together a very impressive run to first qualify, then to advance deep, in the District XI playoffs.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nI doubt teams will be able to beat up on the Golden Hawks again this season.\u00a0 While they didn\u2019t make it to the semifinals, I was impressed by the confidence\u2014offensively\u2014I saw among the Becahi players.\u00a0 They were matched up against some strong competition this weekend, and constantly attacked the basket and acted aggressively in both passing and taking shot attempts.\u00a0 I think they still have to work on their defense and develop a little more consistency overall, but after a very disappointing season, I think the future is very bright for the Hawks as they embark on a new era under new Head Coach Ray Barbosa.<\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n
\nThere is no way to unequivocally say that what one sees over the summer will translate into the winter, indoor season.\u00a0 However, for a couple days, I was impressed by several big men who seem to play \u201cOld School\u201d and demand the basketball\u2014then knew what to do with it when they got it.\u00a0 The game has evolved so that guards and small forwards are usually the go-to players, but a few centers really seemed to battle and work hard in the paint this past weekend.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nWhile stressing defense is always a key to winning teams, the defensive efforts sometimes wane during the summer leagues\u2014especially on a weekend as hot as it was this year.\u00a0 However, I have to give a shout-out to Liberty\u2019s Amir Griffin.<\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n