National Power

The Willingboro Strikers girls' soccer club has continued to uphold its outstanding national reputation. Two years ago the group won the 16-and-under national title. Last year, competing in the 17-and-under division, the Strikers finished third in the national tournament. This season, the Strikers have qualified for the national semifinals during the 19-and-under championships to be held at the University of Richmond beginning Wednesday. The Strikers won five games in regional competition to earn the Region I title.

Friends' Central took no comfort in threatening but losing to national power St. Anthony (N.J.) in Sunday's Hakim Warrick/Philly.com/Rally Classic at Philadelphia University. Longtime St. Anthony coach Bob Hurley, who earned his 1,000th career victory on Wednesday, was likewise in poor spirits, even though his Friars, ranked No. 2 in the country by USA Today, rallied late for a 59-49 victory and improved to 18-0. Hurley was critical of the three-man officiating crew. After gaining win No. 1,002, the 39th-year coach said he would not return to the annual showcase next season.

Lower Merion's Jermaine Griffin looked at last night's game against St. Anthony of Jersey City as more than a tune-up for the District 1 boys' basketball playoffs. The forward looked at it as a chance to show the home folks what he could do on a the court. "I felt at home, it was so close to New York," the native of Queens said. "I was pumped. I was right around the corner. " Griffin scored 22 points, but it wasn't enough as St. Anthony beat the Aces, 83-67. Still, the 6-foot-3 junior, who is part of the "A Better Chance" program, which sends inner-city youths to schools in suburban districts, was happy with the team's performance.

Amir Maddred heard the story and simply smiled. The 6-foot-7 Camden senior was told that assistant coach Arthur Barclay and head coach Cetshwayo Byrd said that if there was a flaw in Maddred's game, it was that he was too nice on the court. "I get that a lot," Maddred said. Maddred is a reluctant potential star, one who prefers to blend in, although he can dominate a game and has. A recent instance came when Maddred totaled 23 points and 12 rebounds in a 53-49 win over Bishop Eustace.

The Glen Mills football program is going national. The Battling Bulls, who have compiled a 19-1 record the past two seasons, were having a tough time getting tri-state area teams to play them, so they have put together a torturous nonleague schedule. They will play games at national powerhouse Valdosta (Ga.) and Woodson High in Washington. "We've developed a tradition here at Glen Mills, and it was getting to the point where we were having a tough time getting games," Glen Mills coach Joe Ferrainola said yesterday.

Theresa Grentz played a lot of hunches in building the Rutgers women's basketball program from nothing to a national power. Grentz, 43, played another one yesterday, walking away from the Lady Knights' program after 19 years to take over as coach at the University of Illinois. "I think, as you get older, there are some things you have to do," Grentz said seated at a news conference in a room just 30 feet from the floor where she led Rutgers to a 434-148 record and a recently snapped string of nine straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

No one can question the competitiveness of the Germantown Academy girls' soccer team's nonleague schedule. The perennial Inter-Academic League power annually plays the best Southeastern Pennsylvania has to offer. Yesterday, Germantown Academy went a step further in facing the Pennington School, a national power from New Jersey. The Patriots put up a good fight before losing, 3-0, on their home field in Fort Washington. In the Red Raiders, the Patriots battled the nation's top team, at least according to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Adidas poll.

Carson Puriefoy is Bishop Eustace Prep's point guard. Usually, that's a big responsibility. The slick senior has to handle the basketball, control the tempo, and orchestrate the Crusaders' high-powered offense. On Thursday night, the job will involve all that and a lot more. "It's going to be tough, no doubt about it," Puriefoy said. "But I'm ready for it. We're all ready for it. " In perhaps the most anticipated game of the regular season in South Jersey, Bishop Eustace will host national power St. Anthony before what likely will be a capacity-plus crowd in the Crusaders' fieldhouse.

STORRS, Conn. - As Jim Calhoun stood in his office at Gampel Pavilion, waiting for his final news conference as Connecticut's basketball coach, Pat Calhoun turned to her husband and gave him one final piece of advice. "Don't change your mind," she said. Calhoun, who took over the Connecticut program 26 years ago, had stayed on through cancer and a recruiting scandal. He refused to retire after winning a third national championship in 2011 because he didn't want a new coach to serve his NCAA suspension.

GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Lehigh Mountain Hawks insist their work here isn't done. They're not ready to pack up and go home to Bethlehem, Pa., after pulling off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history by stunning national power and second-seeded Duke, 75-70, in its own backyard Friday night. The Mountain Hawks want to stick around a little longer. After his team's monumental upset, Lehigh coach Brett Reed asked his players in the locker room if they were satisfied and the collective response was no. The 15th-seeded Mountain Hawks, led by speedy guard C.J. McCollum, the nation's fifth-leading scorer, fully believed they could topple Duke - and they said so publicly before the game.

La Salle backed up its No. 3 spot in the Under Armour national rankings by defeating fifth-ranked Garden City (N.Y.), 7-4, in a nonleague boys' lacrosse game Saturday. Garden City, ranked No. 1 at the end of the 2012 season, saw its 24-game winning streak halted with the home loss. Matt Rambo led La Salle with two goals and two assists. Goaltender Nick Hresko stopped seven shots. "He was off the charts," La Salle coach Bill Leahy said of Hresko. "He made some big saves. " In other action: Sean Tornetta scored five goals for Perkiomen Valley in an 8-6 victory at Methacton.

Few teams in South Jersey have played better basketball in the last month than Camden and Camden Catholic. Someone's momentum was bound to take at least a temporary hit when the teams met Thursday in Olympic National play. Give this round to Camden. The Panthers avenged a loss from earlier in the season, beating visiting Camden Catholic, 65-58. Since losing to national power St. Anthony on Dec. 30, Camden is 10-3. Amir Maddred, who scored 22 points, has reached double figures in all 13 games.

CHIP KELLY'S offensive schemes are predicated on deception. He is a master of misdirection. Is he ever. Kelly apparently parlayed a return to coach the Oregon Ducks into a prime coaching slot in the NFL. Always the Eagles' top choice, 10 days ago Kelly left three teams with the impression that he might never leave Eugene, where he built an also-ran into a national power using a frenetic, if flawed, scheme. Certainly, the Eagles, having just rid themselves of an overpaid, autocratic offensive wunderkind, did not initially offer Kelly enough money or power to entice him to leave his cozy nest hole.

Amir Maddred heard the theory and simply smiled. The 6-foot-7 Camden senior was told that assistant coach Arthur Barclay and head coach Cetshwayo Byrd said that if there were a flaw in Maddred's game, it was that he was too nice on the court. "I get that a lot," Maddred said. Maddred is a reluctant potential star, one who prefers to blend in, although he can dominate a game and has. A recent instance came when Maddred totaled 23 points and 12 rebounds in a 53-49 win over Bishop Eustace.

Amir Maddred heard the story and simply smiled. The 6-foot-7 Camden senior was told that assistant coach Arthur Barclay and head coach Cetshwayo Byrd said that if there was a flaw in Maddred's game, it was that he was too nice on the court. "I get that a lot," Maddred said. Maddred is a reluctant potential star, one who prefers to blend in, although he can dominate a game and has. A recent instance came when Maddred totaled 23 points and 12 rebounds in a 53-49 win over Bishop Eustace.

A SON of Depression-era Oklahoma, Darrell Royal came to Texas to take over a sleeping giant of a football program. Over 20 years, his folksy approach to sports and life, his inventive wishbone offense and a victory in the "Game of the Century" - where a U.S. president declared his team national champion - made him an icon of college football. Royal, who won two national championships and turned the Longhorns' program into a national power, died early Wednesday at age 88 of complications from cardiovascular disease, school spokesman Bill Little said.

STORRS, Conn. - As Jim Calhoun stood in his office at Gampel Pavilion, waiting for his final news conference as Connecticut's basketball coach, Pat Calhoun turned to her husband and gave him one final piece of advice. "Don't change your mind," she said. Calhoun, who took over the Connecticut program 26 years ago, had stayed on through cancer and a recruiting scandal. He refused to retire after winning a third national championship in 2011 because he didn't want a new coach to serve his NCAA suspension.

GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Lehigh Mountain Hawks insist their work here isn't done. They're not ready to pack up and go home to Bethlehem, Pa., after pulling off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history by stunning national power and second-seeded Duke, 75-70, in its own backyard Friday night. The Mountain Hawks want to stick around a little longer. After his team's monumental upset, Lehigh coach Brett Reed asked his players in the locker room if they were satisfied and the collective response was no. The 15th-seeded Mountain Hawks, led by speedy guard C.J. McCollum, the nation's fifth-leading scorer, fully believed they could topple Duke - and they said so publicly before the game.

Carson Puriefoy is Bishop Eustace Prep's point guard. Usually, that's a big responsibility. The slick senior has to handle the basketball, control the tempo, and orchestrate the Crusaders' high-powered offense. On Thursday night, the job will involve all that and a lot more. "It's going to be tough, no doubt about it," Puriefoy said. "But I'm ready for it. We're all ready for it. " In perhaps the most anticipated game of the regular season in South Jersey, Bishop Eustace will host national power St. Anthony in front of what likely will be a capacity-plus crowd in the Crusaders' fieldhouse.

Carson Puriefoy is Bishop Eustace Prep's point guard. Usually, that's a big responsibility. The slick senior has to handle the basketball, control the tempo, and orchestrate the Crusaders' high-powered offense. On Thursday night, the job will involve all that and a lot more. "It's going to be tough, no doubt about it," Puriefoy said. "But I'm ready for it. We're all ready for it. " In perhaps the most anticipated game of the regular season in South Jersey, Bishop Eustace will host national power St. Anthony before what likely will be a capacity-plus crowd in the Crusaders' fieldhouse.