Rams face one of the top players in country
Over the past three decades, only nine teams in the WPIAL’s largest classification have won more games than Pine-Richland has this season. But history shows the next game will certainly be the toughest for Pine-Richland to win.
Pine-Richland has made it to the PIAA Class 6A championship game. The Rams take a 28-1 record into Saturday night’s contest against Reading (29-3) at Giant Center in Hershey. PineRichland will trek up the turnpike and try to buck Pennsylvania tradition.
Since the 1980s, it’s rare for WPIAL teams to win a championship in the PIAA’s largest classification. Although the WPIAL is the biggest of 12 districts in the state, the league has had a team in the championship game in the largest class only 14 times since 1980. And only four WPIAL teams have won — Uniontown in 1980, Ringgold in 1995, Penn Hills in 2004 and New Castle in 2014.
When it comes to the best in the biggest class, the beasts are usually in the east in this state. But that doesn’t mean PineRichland isn’t confident to pass a Reading test.
“We know the east looks down on the west. We’re fully aware of that,” said Pine-Richland coach Jeff Ackermann. “But we’ve gotten to the championship and we’re proud of where we’re from. We might not have 50 Division I college players in our area, but there are a lot of good teams and a lot of good coaches in the WPIAL who I think do a really good job. We make the most of what we have.
“I told our team when the brackets came out that we could do this. This is the year that there are a lot of really good teams, but no great team out there. Look at Reading’s scores. They’re not blowing people out.”
But in order to win a PIAA title, Pine-Richland will have to knock off a team that features one of the best players in the country. Lonnie Walker is a 6foot-5 guard-forward for Reading who is ranked the No. 18 senior in the country by Rivals.com. Walker has signed with the University of Miami.
Despite his lofty reputation, Walker is not a prolific scorer. He averages 17 points a game, but he had 35 in a semifinal win Tuesday against Archbishop Ryan. Walker’s performance came with Miami coach Jim Larranaga watching.
Pine-Richland would like to take a page out of Allderdice’s book last year when the Dragons beat Reading, 73-45, in the PIAA semifinals — and limited Walker to six points. But
such a low scoring output isn’t likely this time.
“I’ve been able to watch a little film on him and he’s just super athletic,” said Ackermann. “He’s big, he gets to the paint and his finishes are just amazing. It’s a tall task for sure.”
It’s possible that PineRichland’s Phil Jurkovec, a 6-foot-5 junior and supreme athlete, might get the call to guard Walker. It would be an interesting matchup. Jurkovec is ranked one of the top junior quarterbacks in the country in football and already has committed to Notre Dame. But he’s not too shabby in basketball, either, averaging 16 points and eight rebounds a game.
“Phil’s always up for a challenge,” Ackermann said.
One of Reading’s wins this year was 58-49 against Carlisle early in the season. Pine-Richland beat Carlisle in the PIAA semifinals.
Reading averages 71 points a game and the Knights are fairly balanced on offense. The only other player averaging in double figures is 6-5 senior guard Tyrone Nesby, who averages 15. Reading averages seven 3-pointers a game.
“We’re excited,” said Ackermann. “I thought when the brackets came out, I liked our chances. I knew getting Latrobe in the first [PIAA] game wasn’t going to be easy. I thought if we could get that one, we could make a run — and that’s what we’re doing.”
Class 3A
Sewickley Academy is one of three WPIAL teams to make it to Hershey, and the Panthers will take on Constitution for the Class 3A title at 2 p.m. Friday.
Constitution is a public school in the Philadelphia Public League that has turned into a perennial power in the small classifications. Constitution won 1A titles in 2012 and 2015, and the 2A championship in 2014.
“One thing I’m going to tell our guys is no one is going to give us a chance, and that’s OK,” said Sewickley Academy coach Win Palmer. “But if we’re going to play paralyzed and have no fun, then the trip’s not worth it. We have to be the aggressor.”
Constitution is led by 5-8 senior point guard Tamir Green, who had 28 points in the semifinals against Math, Civics and Sciences.
Palmer said his team will “have to live with some dunks against us,” but the Panthers aren’t lacking confidence.
“This is where I’ll draw on my experience of coaching in Washington, D.C.,” said Palmer. “When I coached there, we played a lot of teams like this. You have to play a certain style against them, which I think we are suited to play. You have to be aggressive because if we try to hold the ball, they’ll beat us by 80. So we have to be aggressive, but be smart when we’re aggressive.”