Jim Charles is the High School Girls Basketball correspondent for DelawareSports.com. His articles appear below...
Hard Work Pays Off in Tiger Town
January 30, 2007
In CYM’s Varsity C Division (the most competitive division in the program), few teams have achieved as much as the St. Anthony’s Lady Tigers over the last several years. They were CYM runner-ups to St. Elizabeth for the 2003/2004 season. The next year, they defeated Holy Rosary at Archmere Academy to win the title outright. The ‘05/’06 campaign was a bit of a setback. Oh, they were still a tough, competitive team – and were capable of beating anyone on any given day – but, by season’s end compiled something in the neighborhood of a .500 record.
Well, the downturn in the team’s fortunes was destined
to be brief. The Lady Tigers bounced back this year to reclaim their familiar territory at the top of the CYM heap. As I write this, they sit on a 7 – 1 regular season record – in a four-way tie for first place. The renaissance in the team’s fortunes did not occur overnight, nor did it happen without a lot of hard work."Our recent success is due largely to execution, conditioning and plain old hard work", says long-time head coach, Dan DiFrancesco. "When you play a team
that has equal talent, the team that executes more proficiently, in most cases, will win. We are now acting as a team rather then as a group of individuals."Shooting guard and 8th grade co-captain, Maria Talarowski, echoes her coach’s sentiments on the team’s work ethic. "We know about the past accomplishments of the team, but we just play how we have to play and do our best. We don’t feel any pressure to live up to what happened before", she said,
referring to the team’s former glory. Maria noted that "Coach D", as he is often called, helps the girls individually and collectively. "He has taught me a lot. He’s helped me, personally, to set future goals."Basketball is by far the longest scholastic sports season. Open gyms often begin in October, and the last of the post-season tournaments don’t wrap up until late March. This particular season got off to a great start for St. Anthony’s as they participated in the
prestigious Archbishop Carroll Tournament of Champions along with 31 other area teams. They played in the toughest bracket and walked away with a second-place trophy. This was followed up with a third-place finish in another Pennsylvania tournament – Our Lady of Charity. Finally, the orange and black returned to Delaware with an impressive 4 – 1 record in the annual Turkey Shoot Tournament held at St. Elizabeth’s and St. Anthony’s Fournier Hall.DiFrancesco never met a playing opportunity – scrimmage or tournament game – that he didn’t like. And he believes strongly in seeking out the best teams to play, even if it means a bit more travel than the typical CYM team is used to. For lesser players, this can be a tiresome and draining experience. But, for true basketball players, this process only serves to accelerate their skill development and physical conditioning. But perhaps the greatest dividend is in mental toughness. As Coach D puts it, "Mentally, we have matured greatly over the season. There comes a time in a game when you have to handle playing tired. You have to fight through tired. You can't teach that in practice, you learn that in game experience."
Each year, St. Anthony’s plays host to a wonderful January tournament featuring both boys and girls
divisions. This year, the Lady Tigers made it to the Title Game against a strong and respected Immaculate Heart of Mary Team. IHM had actually beaten the Tigers in December, and so, was a most worthy finalist opponent. The game itself did not disappoint. By the time all the dust settled and all the smoke cleared, 106 points had been dropped by both teams combined! This sort of output would put many high school varsity matchups to shame. In the end, St. Anthony’s prevailed, 59 – 47, to claim the first-place trophy.And don’t think for a minute that this is a one-girl show. In the title game, 8th grader co-captain and starting forward, Krista Panella, pumped in 18 points, including an incredible 6-for-7 performance from the charity stripe. Her fellow co-captain starters, Judi Ramirez and Maria Talarowski contributed 14 points each. Twelve of Maria’s points came on 4 second half
three-pointers. Seventh grader, Monica Dawyot, regarded by many as one of the best man-on-man defenders in CYM, chipped in another 7 points.My last big CYM story was posted in November in the wake of the Turkey Shoot Tournament. At the time, I specifically noted four teams that I thought were legitimate contenders for this season’s CYM Title. Two of those teams are now in the current four-way first place tie (St. E’s and St. John the Beloved) mentioned earlier. Not a bad percent on my part. But, the one team I did not cite back in November was St. Anthony’s. I suppose I figured that they were not out of the woods yet from their performance in 2005/2006. In any case, I missed them. And that’s the fun in making calls. You don’t always get it right.
Look for St. Anthony’s – and all the other teams in contention – to make for a great playoff season!
Player Spotlight – Maria Talarowski
On how she got her start in the game: "I first got involved in basketball watching my brothers play. I went to my older brother’s games, and I figured basketball was a pretty good sport."
On her future in the game: "I want to continue to get better, play in high school, and maybe college. I want to get as far as I can."
On the chances of other C Division teams to vie for the title this year: "Any team could really make it to the Championship Game. You have to have the heart – you have to want it."
On the team’s approach to the Tiger Tourney Final against IHM: "Our worst game of the season was against them, so our approach to the game was different. When they beat us earlier, we were missing three of our players. We figured that we wanted revenge for the earlier game. We wanted to show them that we could beat them."
On her unique three-point shooting proficiency: "I have a half-court in my back yard where I work on it a lot. I also get to practice a little early which gives me a chance to work on my shot even more."
On her role models: "I look up to my family. I watch basketball on TV. I look at the good shooters and good point guards. I like Dwyane Wade and the way he shoots. Still, my mom and my brothers are my biggest role models."
Jim Charles
----------------------------------------------
The Greatest Coach in Delaware
January 19, 2007
He’s
known as "The Legend", and more commonly, "JB." You won’t see his name
in USA Today or even the News Journal. His given name is Jim Blunt and
he’s been coaching in CYM since the late 60s/early 70s – no one is sure
exactly when he got his first team. Ask JB how long he’s been coaching,
and he’ll answer, "A hundred years." Maybe to him, it seems that
long, but for a community starving for role models with character and
unassailable values, his 35+ years of volunteer coaching somehow isn’t
enough.
JB currently coaches 7th and 8th grade girls basketball at St. Matthew’s Parish in Woodcrest – a position he’s held for many years. In the past, he’s coached various levels of boys basketball, track and cross country, and, if memory serves, he’s even dabbled in volleyball. The result is that a great many young people in the Wilmington area have benefited from his knowledge of sports and from simply being around him.
Widely known as the loudest coach in CYM (and that’s going some), JB’s style may strike strangers unfamiliar with him as harsh or even cruel and overbearing to the kids in his charge. The reality is he’s just loud. There’s no berating. No insulting. He uses his voice to guide his team along during a game and to keep them focused on the task at hand. He often uses humor to keep things from getting too serious. Case in point, in a recent game, with his team up 15 points, he was playfully riding one of his girls who was shooting free throws. "Okay now, you gotta make this one!!" cut through the customary silence that always precedes foul shots at this age level.
In terms of actual coaching ability and knowledge of the sport, it’s hard to find anyone better. He always gets the most from his teams. And he does this with a careful blend of by-the-book instruction in fundamentals mixed with an innovative and aggressive game strategy. His teams are always fun to watch, even on the odd occasions when they lose. And that’s the mark of a great coach.
Another demonstration of JB’s greatness is the devotion still seen from former players of his. Every home game is attended by various girls who have played for JB in past seasons, and they all – to a girl – greet him with a big hug.
Over the years, JB has battled many opponents, but probably none so formidable and daunting as his off-court battle with diabetes. The disease has manifested itself over the last couple of decades in the typical ways it does – circulation problems in the feet, vision deterioration, and so on. Over the last two winter seasons, The Legend has been largely confined to a wheelchair. And, in a private moment, he confided in me that the ravages of the disease are very challenging to him. However, it’s his ongoing involvement in young peoples’ lives, through coaching, that gives him strength and purpose. As he gives so much to the kids, they – without knowing it – give back so much to him.
I’ve used my soapbox to spout off about my problems with some area coaches and how they’ve gotten too big for their britches. I thought it only fair to show that I just as easily can see the good in people – yes, even with coaches – too. When it comes to Jim Blunt, I cannot possibly hold back my praise. If the world had more men and women like him, it would be a much better place.
Jim Charles
-----------------------------------------------
Khadijah Rushdan Becomes All-Time Leading Scorer
January 16, 2007
Khadijah Rushdan has now become the all-time leading girls scorer in Delaware girls basketball history. It wasn’t an easy feat to be sure. To put it into perspective, a player playing five years would have to average something like 17 points per game for all five years. So, Rushdan deserves to be acknowledged for her accomplishment. She won’t have long to celebrate the achievement as Elena Delle Donne is in hot pursuit of the crown herself. Sitting on 2,060 points, and being only a junior, it’s simply a matter of time – and probably not very much time at that. Once Elena passes Mills and Rushdan, I suspect that the all-time top three scoring list will stabilize for several years. There just doesn’t seem to be anyone else in the wings with 2000 point potential.
In all of this, the person seemingly with the short end of the stick would appear to be Kristin Mills. Despite her impending, irreversible fall from gold to silver to bronze – all in short order – her status as the state’s premier all-time female athlete is forever secure. Her participation on Caravel Academy’s boys varsity baseball and football teams would, alone, be enough to seal the deal. In fact, her only State Championship was with the baseball team! For good measure, though, Kristin played on the varsity volleyball team too – and was recognized on various all-state teams in that sport. According to Bear area folklore, when she asked her father if she could tryout for the boys ice hockey team, dad put his foot down. A line had to be drawn somewhere!
So, until Khadijah masters the knuckle curve or Elena starts kicking her field goals in addition to shooting them, Kristin will reign as the greatest all-around female athlete in Delaware history.
Athletics aside, Kristin Mills always carried herself with class and distinction – traits that she still has in abundance as head coach for the Lady Bucs. It would be well that our present day basketball stars would emulate these attributes.
As everyone falls over each other, and rightly so, for Elena Delle Donne and Khadijah Rushdan, let’s all take a minute to remember the lady who set the bar that the two current standouts have spent a combined nine years reaching for.
Jim Charles