Off The Boards by Jack Scheuer – January 1st Edition

In Penn’s opener last year against George Mason, Ryan Betley scored the Quakers first points of the game, then went down with a ruptured Patella Tendon in his left knee.  The injury ended the  season for the 6-5 junior from Downingtown West High School, who had averaged 14 points per game (ppg)  the previous year when he started in 32 games.  Betley then went through a grueling rehab period which included six weeks on crutches. Fortunately for Penn, the second-team all-Ivy selection appears to be fully recovered, which is great news for a team that will definitely be in the battle with Harvard and Yale for the league title. So far he has averaged 14 points, 5.5 rebounds , and provided noticeable leadership for the 7 – 4  Quakers. So welcome back Ryan Betley, and here’s a wish from “Boards” for a Happy , and especially, a Healthy New Year. 

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Syracuse has a very promising freshman in 6-1 guard Joe Girard III, from Glens Falls, H.S. in Western  N.Y. In his five years at the school, he scored over 4,000 points, breaking the state record formerly held by Jimmer Fredette.  He recently gained a starting role for the Orange, and is putting up 11 points a game, including 35 for 37 from the foul line.

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Trivia Time : Who holds the NBA record for making the most field goals in a game without a miss? Answer at the end of the column.  

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I realize it’s a basketball column, but there are many baseball fans out there, and this is so ridiculous , it has to be mentioned.  The Minnesota Twins recently signed catcher Alex Avila to a one-year contract for 4.25 million. In 63 games last season, Avila hit .207 with  nine homers and 24 rbi’s . Just imagine if he had hit .250. J.T. Realmuto might get part of the ownership.

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Big day at the Palestra on Saturday: At 2 P.M. the Iowa McCaffery’s, with coach Fran and his player-sons Connor and Patrick, meet the Penn State locals: Lamar Stevens, Mike Watkins, Izaiah Brockington, John Harrar, and Seth Lundy. Iowa is ranked # 23, Penn state is at # 21. Then, at 7, Penn meets its close friends from Princeton. Should be Good Hoops at the best basketball building in the country.

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This and That : Josh Sharkey, a 5-10 senior guard at Samford, currently leads the country in assists and steals. He is a Archbishop Carroll grad….The locals are going to see a couple of All-Americans this week: Tomorrow night La  Salle (5 straight wins) hosts Dayton with Obi Toppin, then on Saturday, ever- improving Villanova visits Marquette and Markus Howard, who leads  the country in scoring at 26 ppg…..Explorers coach Ashley Howard has been getting good results from his 8-man rotation….St Joe’s Ryan Daly leads the City 6 in scoring at 20 per game. He also lead the Hawks in assists and rebounds…..How great was Bill Bradley? The Princeton Hall of Famer is still the Ivy League’s all-time leading scorer (2,503 points) despite playing only three seasons. Next at 2,333, is Cornell four-year player Matt Morgan….More up-coming: St. Joe’s is at Richmond tomorrow night, while on Friday it’s Temple at Tulsa, and Drexel hosts Delaware.

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Answer to Trivia Time: Who else but Wilton Norman Chamberlain, who had a perfect 18-for-18 in a game against Baltimore on February 24, 1967.
Happy New Year to all!


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