Andre Gillette

The Philadelphia Catholic League held their Championship Games at the famed Palestra on Monday night.  The Roman Catholic vs. Neumann-Goretti game that everyone anticipated last season, occurred this time around. 

Unfortunately, Roman was without their star point guard in the showdown.  On the girls side, Archbishop Wood was out for revenge against Archbishop Carroll.  CAA Insider was on hand to take in the action.  Here is a look at some of the standout players.

Scores

Neumann-Gorretti 86  Roman Catholic 53 (Boys)
Archbishop Carroll 35 Archbishop Wood 22 (Girls)

Boys Final

Neumann-Goretti

Tyreek Duran (2010, 6-1 PG)
Playing alongside much heralded Tony Chennault, Tyreek doesn't garner much attention.  The speedy guard is among the city's best kept secrets.  With more performances like he put together in the Catholic League Title Game, that'll quickly change.  Tyreek is explosive off the dribble and can change directions on a dime.  He's a fantastic finisher with good body control.  He attacked the goal time and time again in this contest.  Tyreek can drive with either hand.  He scored on a pair of scoop shots, including one after freeing himself with a pretty spin move.  He hit a floater in the lane as well.  His dominant first half included a few fine drive and dish plays.  Tyreek had it going on from the perimeter too.  He buried several three pointers and showed a smooth stroke on his shot.  He finished off the game with a pretty finger roll shot and later converted on four free throws attempts.  Tyreek grabbed a few boards and steals too.  With Chennault held in check, Tyreek really stepped up and shined.  A few more performances like this 26 point outing and he'll be a household name as well. 

Andre "Scooter" Gillette (2009, 6-8 PF) Committed to Niagara
The balance on this Neumann team was just so evident in this game.  Scooter and Daniel Stewart (see below) played well on the inside for the Saints.  Scooter flashed his athletic ability early on with a follow up dunk, and another dunk after a nice pass and a blocked shot.  He was a real force on the boards on both ends of the court.  He converted a putback with a foul, for an old fashioned three point play.  Scooter had a few other lay-ups after his guard broke down the defense and dished off.  He ran the floor well and made a terrific adjustment in traffic on one play.  Scooter was quiet with his back to the basket though.  With his athletic ability, quickness and great hands, he can be a fantastic MAAC player.  The production hasn't always been there when we've seen him in the past.  If he plays with this energy and effort every game, he'll have a fine college career.  By our count, Scooter finished with a fine all around 14 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks.

Daniel Stewart (2010, 6-6 SF)
This lanky athletic forward was fantastic as well.  Daniel was a beast on the glass, on both ends of the floor.  He converted on a putback with a foul for a three point play.  He had several more athletic finishes, including another three point play and an alley oop.  Daniel was terrific in transition.  The face up forward could benefit by showing some more wings skills or a back to the basket game.  Daniel is a very productive player though.  In this one, he scored 16 points.

Mustafa Jones (2010, 6-0 PG)
Mustafa didn't play as well, as in the game we saw earlier in the year.  He hit a three pointer.  He struggled to finish when he got into the lane though.  Mustafa mixed in a steal too.

Derrick Stewart (2012, 6-5 SF)
This lanky youngster has a similar build to his older brother.  Derrick showed his fine athletic ability with a couple blocked shots.  He missed inside on one of his few attempts.  He appears to have a bright future ahead of him.

Roman Catholic

Rakeem Brookins (2010, 5-11 PG/SG)
With All American Maalik Wayns out, Rakeem had to carry the load again.  He got off to a terrific start as he attacked off the dribble and hit some jumpers.  He had a nice pass after attacking early on.  Rakeem is quick off the dribble and drove to the left time and time again.  He normally has a good pull up game, but after a strong start his shot stopped falling.  Playing in the lead guard spot, he turned the ball over quite often and forced some shots.  He needs to learn how to rely on his teammates more and get them more involved in the game.  He's capable of doing that, but Rakeem seems to look for his shot first.  In his defense, his teammates didn't exactly step their games up either when given the opportunity to do so.  If he decides to play the point guard spot at the next level, Rakeem will need to distribute the ball more.  He's certainly shown the ability to do so at times.  One thing to really love about Rakeem though is his aggressiveness and determination.  He continued to keep trying to make plays and make things happen.  Late in the game, Rakeem was actually moved off the ball.  He's clearly more comfortable in that role alongside Maalik.  Even after the move, his shot still wouldn't fall though.  Rakeem did lead the way for Roman with 24 points in the loss (just 8 of 30 from the field and 2 of 9 from three).   

Andre Horne (2012, 6-3 SG/SF)
This talented freshman put together a nice game.  He's a smooth ball handler who glides through the lane.  Andre hit an impressive fall away jumper early on.  That was one of the few plays he made in a quiet first half though.  Andre missed a lay-up, a couple jumpers and had a few turnovers too.  He stepped his game up in the second half though.  Andre was terrific getting into the lane.  He drove left and finished with a foul on one play, but missed the free throw.  He finished after several other drives and converted on a runner too.  Andre threw a nice pass after attacking on one play. He also nailed a pull up free throw line jumper.  He does need to extend his range out further.  Andre had a nice game, but Roman really needed even more from him to stay in this game.  He finished with a solid 15 points in the contest.

Koron Reed (2009, 6-7 PF)
Koron made a couple nice plays on the inside.  He banked home one shot after receiving a pass and converted on another play in a similar fashion.  The strong forward pulled down some rebounds too. 

Girls Game

Archbishop Carroll

Hollie Mershon (2009 5-10 SG/SF) Committed to Drexel
The Wood defense was designed to take away the Shields sisters.  That allowed Hollie plenty of opporunities to step up.  In the first half, she buried a pair of three pointers.  She has a smooth shot, but not the quickest release.  After missing a few others from deep, she started to attack a little more.  Hollie has pretty good quickness.  She had an impressive spin move and finish on one drive.  She missed a pair of pull up free throw line jumpers and should've looked for that shot or drove to the hoop more.  Hollie has good size for a guard and pulled down several boards.  She adds some nice passing skills to her arsenal.  She struggled from the line at the end as she converted just 3 of 6 free throws.  Hollie was solid in the victory and lead the Patriots with 11 points in the victory.

Erin Shields (2010 5-6 SG) Committed to St. Joe's
This undersized shooting guard can really shoot it from deep.  Unfortunately, Erin was held in check in this contest.  She scored just 4 points the victory.  Her defensive pressure was a key in the victory though and Erin came up with 3 steals.

Archbishop Wood

Ashley Robinson (2009 6-3 PF) Committed to St. Joe's
Ashley was the lone bright spot for Wood in this game.  The future St. Joe's Hawk looks like a big time prospect.  She has an impressive combination of athletic ability, quickness and size.  Ashley can score in the post or drive from the perimeter.  She showed a little of everything as she banked home a shot, drove and finished and hit a face up post jumper.  She drew a foul after a pretty spin move.  Ashley has great hands and pulled down numerous boards on both ends of the court.  While she showed great all around ability, she could finish better.  Ashley's quickness is a strength, but at the same time it seemed like she played too fast.  She also has an array of moves, but doesn't appear to have a good sense of when is the best time to utilize which move.  Ashley is still quite the talent though and will have a bright future on Hawk Hill.  She finished with 13 points and 18 rebounds in the loss.