{"id":84646,"date":"2021-04-26T15:34:30","date_gmt":"2021-04-26T15:34:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandbox.web.rcn.net\/rcntv\/?p=84646"},"modified":"2023-04-12T19:24:35","modified_gmt":"2023-04-12T19:24:35","slug":"draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/draft\/","title":{"rendered":"My Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

The views expressed in this blog are<\/em> those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.<\/em><\/p>\n

Did you know there are many definitions of the word \u201cdraft\u201d?\u00a0 It\u2019s a preliminary version of a piece of writing; compulsory recruitment for military service; a beer drawn from a keg; a current of cool air in a room; and, finally, a group or individual selected from a larger group.\u00a0 As you may have surmised, I have been thinking about the word \u201cdraft\u201d a great deal the past week \u2013 the \u201cselection\u201d kind.<\/p>\n

My last blog was about Lafayette\u2019s<\/a> Natalie Kucowski being \u201cdraft\u201ded by the WNBA<\/a> as the 35th<\/sup> choice overall in the nation.\u00a0 This week on Thursday, all NFL<\/a> fans are aware that there will be an NFL \u201cdraft\u201d.\u00a0 Then, there is the NBA<\/a> \u201cdraft\u201d and the MLB<\/a> \u201cdraft\u201d.\u00a0 And as I sit here in my office with an open window, I feel a \u201cdraft\u201d (okay, I\u2019ve gone too far).<\/p>\n

I bring this up (again) because I think it must be both exciting and nerve-wracking to be a general manager and owner when it comes time for your team\u2019s draft.\u00a0 There are so many talented players to choose from and there will be plenty of criticism when you make your choices.\u00a0 You know, everybody has an opinion.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, I decided to make myself the General Manager of the Lehigh Valley High School basketball draft.\u00a0 There, obviously, is no such thing, but this is my blog and I can do what I want.\u00a0 If I had five picks to start my team from this year\u2019s crop of players that I had a chance to see<\/u><\/strong> this year, then here are my choices by position (in no particular order);<\/p>\n

CENTER \u2013 Christian Fermin \u2013 6\u20199\u201d Junior \u2013 Pocono Mountain West<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Every great team needs a center and a big one is even better. Christian had great numbers (17.5 points;\u00a012 rebounds; 6.8 blocks) and is being highly recruited by multiple Division I programs.<\/p>\n

FORWARD \u2013 Jevin Muniz \u2013 6\u201d3\u201d Senior \u2013 Executive Education Academy<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

1,512 career points says most of it, but not all.\u00a0 He was both the VIA and Morning Call player of the Year.\u00a0 Who am I to doubt those experts?\u00a0 He has my pick.<\/p>\n

FORWARD \u2013 Nick Coval \u2013 6\u20191\u201d Freshman \u2013 Parkland<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

I know he is not truly a forward, but he has such great range (41-3\u2019s at 42% in a shortened season); rebounds like a forward; passes like a guard; and was one of three MVPs in the EPC.\u00a0 Plus, he has such great basketball IQ that I figure I could play him anywhere.<\/p>\n

GUARD \u2013 Nate Ellis \u2013 5\u20199\u201d Junior – Allen<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Nate became a 1,000 point scorer this year, becoming only the second Allen player in history to accomplish that feat before being a senior (and this was a shortened season).\u00a0 He averaged 17.3 points a game.\u00a0 He led Allen to three titles in his three years.\u00a0 He, too, was an EPC MVP.<\/p>\n

GUARD \u2013 Tyson Thomas \u2013 6\u20191\u201d Junior \u2013 Central Catholic<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Another co-MVP in the EPC<\/a>, Tyson led his team to a PIAA<\/a> state championship title.\u00a0 He averaged 15.5 points a game, while running the Central offense.\u00a0 The ball was in his hands for the winning basket in the 41-40 state championship win over Hickory.<\/p>\n

I know there were other very talented players and I know there will be differing opinions about my choices, but I am the mythical GM here.\u00a0 Argue amongst yourself.\u00a0 Now, if I drank beer, I would go have a \u201cdraft\u201d.<\/p>\n

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The news came out this week that Bethlehem Catholic\u2019s<\/a> Taliyah Medina will transfer from Villanova to Lafayette College to play basketball this coming season. She was the 2020 Pennsylvania Player of the Year in 4A.\u00a0 Taliyah was All-State in both her sophomore and senior years, after being injured her junior season.\u00a0 Her teams won two state titles.\u00a0 I can\u2019t wait to see her in a Leopard uniform.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. So who will the Eagles<\/a> pick in the draft this week? They certainly need an outstanding wide receiver (Jeffery and Jackson are gone).\u00a0 I like Jalen Hurts at quarterback so I do not think there is a critical need there.\u00a0 The defense needs some shoring up.\u00a0 A solid linebacker would help.\u00a0 We\u2019ll find out this week.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        \n
      1. Many experts believe that three quarterbacks will be the first three players selected in the NFL draft on Thursday \u2013 Trevor Lawrence by Jacksonville<\/a>, Zach Wilson by the Jets<\/a>, and Justin Fields or Mac Jones by the 49ers<\/a>. The first non-QB will be TE Kyle Pitts or OL Penei Sewell.\u00a0 The most interesting part of the draft will be the trades that allow teams to move up the board.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
          \n
        1. When you throw a no-hitter for a team that has never had one in their 50+ years of existence, there are rewards. The San Diego Padres\u2019<\/a> pitcher, Joe Musgrove, did just that and in his hometown.\u00a0 He went to high school in San Diego.\u00a0 He now has been promised free beer for life at Point brewing and free sandwiches for life at two San Diego restaurants.\u00a0 The no-hitter also significantly helped his parents\u2019 coffee shop business located just outside San Diego.\u00a0 He\u2019ll probably get free drinks there.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
            \n
          1. Finally, on a personal note, I am writing this blog on Sunday, April 25. That happens to be my 75th<\/sup>\u00a0 I can\u2019t believe it either!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. Did you know there are many definitions of the word \u201cdraft\u201d?\u00a0 It\u2019s a preliminary version of a piece of writing; compulsory recruitment for military…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"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":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-behind-the-mic"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMy Draft - ATVN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"My Draft - ATVN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. Did you know there are many definitions of the word \u201cdraft\u201d?\u00a0 It\u2019s a preliminary version of a piece of writing; compulsory recruitment for military...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/draft\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ATVN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-26T15:34:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-04-12T19:24:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gary Laubach\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gary Laubach\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/draft\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/draft\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Gary Laubach\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee\"},\"headline\":\"My Draft\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-26T15:34:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-12T19:24:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/draft\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":898,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"Behind the Mic\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/draft\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/draft\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/draft\\\/\",\"name\":\"My Draft - ATVN\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-26T15:34:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-12T19:24:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/draft\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/\",\"name\":\"ATVN\",\"description\":\"Local Programming & Astound Digital Cable, Internet & Phone Services\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee\",\"name\":\"Gary Laubach\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"\\\/atvn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg\",\"url\":\"\\\/atvn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"\\\/atvn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Gary Laubach\"},\"description\":\"Gary began his broadcasting career with Twin County in 1972. Twin County eventually became C-TEC and then Astound Broadband. Gary is currently a Sports Broadcaster for Lafayette College.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/author\\\/rcntvgary\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"My Draft - ATVN","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"My Draft - ATVN","og_description":"The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. Did you know there are many definitions of the word \u201cdraft\u201d?\u00a0 It\u2019s a preliminary version of a piece of writing; compulsory recruitment for military...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/draft\/","og_site_name":"ATVN","article_published_time":"2021-04-26T15:34:30+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-04-12T19:24:35+00:00","author":"Gary Laubach","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gary Laubach","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/draft\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/draft\/"},"author":{"name":"Gary Laubach","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#\/schema\/person\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee"},"headline":"My Draft","datePublished":"2021-04-26T15:34:30+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-12T19:24:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/draft\/"},"wordCount":898,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["Behind the Mic"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/draft\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/draft\/","url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/draft\/","name":"My Draft - ATVN","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-04-26T15:34:30+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-12T19:24:35+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#\/schema\/person\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/draft\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/","name":"ATVN","description":"Local Programming & Astound Digital Cable, Internet & Phone Services","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#\/schema\/person\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee","name":"Gary Laubach","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"\/atvn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg","url":"\/atvn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg","contentUrl":"\/atvn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg","caption":"Gary Laubach"},"description":"Gary began his broadcasting career with Twin County in 1972. Twin County eventually became C-TEC and then Astound Broadband. Gary is currently a Sports Broadcaster for Lafayette College.","url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/author\/rcntvgary\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84646"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84646\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84649,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84646\/revisions\/84649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}