Reed knows title game foe all too well
Franklin Regional facing Imohotep Charter in 5A
When Jesse Reed was a senior at Greensburg Central Catholic in 2011, his team lost to Monessen in the WPIAL championship, came back to beat Monessen in the PIAA semifinals and then lost to powerhouse Imhotep Charter in the state championship game.
“I still see Imhotep in my nightmares every once in a while,” Reed said with a laugh.
Now Reed is hoping he doesn’t have to re-live the nightmare as a coach.
Reed is in his third season as Franklin Regional’s coach, and the Panthers’ postseason is, coincidentally, going the same way as Reed’s final season at Greensburg Central Catholic. Franklin Regional lost in the WPIAL Class 5A final to Moon but came back and beat Moon in the PIAA semifinals to earn a trip to a state championship. Who is Franklin Regional’s opponent in Friday’s title game at the Giant Center in Hershey? None other than Imhotep Charter of Philadelphia.
Imhotep Charter is 28-3, has been ranked among the top 25 teams in the country this season by MaxPreps.com and features senior guard Ahmad Nowell, who is ranked the No. 37 senior in the country and has signed with NCAA national champion Connecticut.
Imhotep won the Philadelphia Public League title this year for the fourth consecutive time. The last team to win four Philly Public Leagues was West Philadelphia, which won five from 1974-78 and featured legendary Gene Banks on a few of those teams.
Imhotep is going for a third consecutive state title and 10th since 2009. One of those state championships came in 2011 when the team crushed Reed and Greensburg Central, 67-34.
Given Imhotep Charter’s pedigree, Franklin Regional (27-3) is obviously an underdog in this game.
“But that helps you play free,” Reed said. “We know we’re going against a powerhouse. Nobody thinks we can stay in the game, so let’s see what we can do. Maybe hit some shots early, bring up the intensity, kind of get up in them a little big and maybe catch them off guard. You try to get things rolling early, and you never know what can happen.”
Repeats on the agenda
Only eight WPIAL boys basketball teams have ever won back-to-back state titles.
Boys preview
That number could grow by two Thursday.
Imani Christian (18-10) and Lincoln Park (27-3) will both try to win their second consecutive state titles. Imani Christian plays Berlin Brothersvalley (28-2) at 2 p.m. in the Class 1A final. It is a rematch of last year’s championship.
Lincoln Park, meanwhile, takes on Archbishop Carroll (21-8), a Philadelphia Catholic League team, for the 4A championship at 8.
You would think the Imani game could be high scoring. Imani averages 66 points a game and has Nate Brazil, who scored 48 points in Monday’s semifinal win against Bishop Carroll.
But Berlin Brothersvalley averages 77 points a game and loves to shoot the 3pointer. The team takes an average of 28 3-pointers a game and makes 10.1 Senior guard Pace Prosser, a 6-foot-2 senior guard, has more than 2,000 career points, is averaging 25.9 this season and has made 102 3-pointers. Craig Jarvis, another 6-2 senior guard, also has 102 3-pointers and is averaging 21.5.
For Lincoln Park, it will face a team that is extremely young. In a semifinal win against Scranton Prep, Archbishop Carroll freshman Munir Greig scored 20 points, sophomore Ian Williams 17, freshman Darrell Davis 12 and sophomore Nasir Ralls 11.
Third time for Quips
Aliquippa (25-5) is in a state championship game for the third consecutive year and will play Holy Cross (243) for the Class 2A title Friday at 2 p.m.
Aliquippa is only the fourth team from the WPIAL to make a state final three consecutive years. The others were Midland (four times from 1973- 76), Duquesne (1992-94) and Sto-Rox (200204). But Aliquippa lost in the title game the past two seasons. Only two teams have lost three consecutive championships — Mercer (1962-64) and Laurel Valley (1969-71).