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Ever wonder what happened to those talented, rising stars from the local high school scene? Many are a short ride up Broad Street, playing for a Philadelphia Big 5 school, while others have ventured as far west as Kansas.
One such Midwest adventurer headed to the University of Kansas ‐ home of the defending NCAA champions. Rookie Markieff Morris logged 29 minutes in a Nov. 16 71-56 victory over Missouri-Kansas City. The Prep Charter grad, who won two Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class AA titles during his high school years, tallied seven points, 15 rebounds and two blocks. Twin brother Marcus, also at the school and a Prep Charter standout, played eight minutes and finished with two points and three rebounds.
Closer to home, the twin’s former teammate Rodney Green returned to the La Salle Explorers starting lineup Nov. 15 in a contest against Morgan State, where the junior guard scored 15 points, three rebounds and four steals.
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Staying in Philly, South Philadelphia High product Ramon Moore is no longer watching his Temple Owls from the bench as the red-shirt freshman is averaging 21 minutes a night for his 2-1 squad. In the Nov. 15 70-65 victory over the College of Charleston, the 6-foot-4 guard recorded a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. Temple entered the year as the defending Atlantic 10 champs.
In upstate New York, Neumann-Goretti grad D.J. Rivera is fitting right in at Binghamton University after transferring from St. Joe’s following the 2007-08 season. The junior led all scorers with 28 points and 10 rebounds in his Bearcats 80-62 win over Mansfield. The total set a new school mark of a Bearcat player in a debut.
Earl Pettis, also from Neumann-Goretti, started back-to-back games for the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights at guard and averaged six points and four rebounds.
Staying in the Big East Conference at Syracuse University, sophomore Rick Jackson finished with three blocks and nine rebounds as his Orange opened the O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic Nov. 16 with an 85-51 victory over Le Moyne. Fellow Neumann-Goretti grad Scoop Jardine didn’t play in the contest.
Rhode Island University freshman guard Jamal Wilson, also of Neumann-Goretti, got his first taste of college ball Nov. 7 when his team defeated Rhode Island College, 109-69. In 14 minutes of action, the athlete tallied six points, six rebounds and three assists.
