Baltimore Catholic League

Here's a closer look at the Baltimore Catholic League's inaugural Hall of Fame class of 2011: Players Larry Harrison, Towson Catholic '75, center: Considered the first 'true' big man in the BCL, earning All-BCL tournament honors in 1974. Went on to play college ball at Wake Forest from 1975-79 and blocked nine shots in a game. He's also tied for 21st all-time at Wake with 631 career rebounds. Honored posthumously. Ron Holthaus, Archbishop Curley '75, guard: All-BCL pick as a senior after averaging 18.2 points.

For the past two seasons, Notre Dame men's basketball coach Mike Brey has had a first hand look at a quality basketball player from the Baltimore Catholic League, watching Mount St. Joseph graduate Eric Atkins develop into a starting point guard for his Fighting Irish. As the guest speaker at the second annual BCL Hall of Fame ceremony Thursday night, Brey praised the caliber of athletes to come out of the BCL and the leadership provided by BCL coaches of the past and present.

For the past two seasons, Notre Dame men's basketball coach Mike Brey has had a first hand look at a quality basketball player from the Baltimore Catholic League, watching Mount St. Joseph graduate Eric Atkins develop into a starting point guard for his Fighting Irish. As the guest speaker at the second annual BCL Hall of Fame ceremony Thursday night, Brey praised the caliber of athletes to come out of the BCL and the leadership provided by BCL coaches of the past and present.

Baltimore Catholic League commissioner Jack Degele said he's seen the five former players - Leon Dickerson (Cardinal Gibbons), Darryle Edwards (Calvert Hall), Darnell Harris (St. Frances Academy), Phil Lane (St. Maria Goretti) and Robbie O'Conor (Loyola Blakefield) - that will be inducted into the BCL Hall of Fame on Thursday evening at the Rolling Road Golf Country Club in Catonsville actually play for their respective teams. Degele also watched former Calvert Hall coach Mark Amatucci lead the Cardinals to the 1982 mythical national championship, knew former Cardinals Gibbons Athletic Director Larry Callahan and saw Barry Scroggins (Mount St. Joseph)

The Calvert Hall boys basketball team spent part of Monday at Loyola's gym, but the typical intensity that comes when the rivals are together was nowhere to be found. Instead, there was common ground. The usual competitive fire will resume Thursday when the teams meet in the Baltimore Catholic League quarterfinal round. But for Calvert Hall, Loyola and the six other BCL schools Monday, it was an invaluable chance to give back. All eight teams spent the day providing various community services, paired in two and working in conjunction with the Catholic Charities of Baltimore.

Baltimore Catholic League commissioner Jack Degele said he's seen the five former players - Leon Dickerson (Cardinal Gibbons), Darryle Edwards (Calvert Hall), Darnell Harris (St. Frances Academy), Phil Lane (St. Maria Goretti) and Robbie O'Conor (Loyola Blakefield) - that will be inducted into the BCL Hall of Fame on Thursday evening at the Rolling Road Golf Country Club in Catonsville actually play for their respective teams. Degele also watched former Calvert Hall coach Mark Amatucci lead the Cardinals to the 1982 mythical national championship, knew former Cardinals Gibbons Athletic Director Larry Callahan and saw Barry Scroggins (Mount St. Joseph)

Mount St. Joseph and St. Frances advanced with ease into the 37th Baltimore Catholic League championship game. The No. 2 Gaels, the tournament's top seed, routed Loyola, 52-32, in the first semifinal last night at Loyola College. The No. 8 Panthers, seeded second, pounded defending champion Towson Catholic, 84-65. The two teams, which have been invited to the 48th Alhambra Catholic Invitational tournament, will meet in the final tonight at 7. Sean Mosley scored a game-high 23 points as four other Panthers were in double figures.

VILLANOVA, Pa. - Villanova teammates Reggie Bryant and Derrick Snowden go on for hours, reviving a rivalry. Who was the most dynamic high school basketball player? Better yet, whose team was tops? Bryant, a former All-Metro performer at Calvert Hall, will bring up his dunk over Archbishop Spalding's Snowden, who was The Sun's Player of the Year for 1999-2000. Snowden will counter with the Cavaliers' two lopsided victories over the Cardinals before dropping his biggest bomb: the two Baltimore Catholic League titles that Spalding won. Conversation over?

For the past 25 years, it has consistently provided some of the best high school basketball in the Mid-Atlantic region. The Baltimore Catholic League Basketball Tournament has become a local tradition.The silver anniversary edition of the tournament opened with three first-round games last night at Goucher College and continues tomorrow with semifinals and concludes Monday with the championship game.And the cast of characters couldn't be much better."This league has been strong from the beginning," said Cardinal Gibbons coach Bryan Moorhouse, who has coached for 23 of the league's 25 seasons (22 as assistant to the late Ray Mullis at Gibbons)

Sophomore guard Phil Booth scored 10 of his team-high 19 points in the third quarter and added a last-minute blocked shot as No. 5 Mount St. Joseph fended off Archbishop Spalding, 54-49, in the Baltimore Catholic League semfinals at Stevenson University. Junior guard Kameron Williams added 13 points and Phil Lawrence provided 12 as the Gaels' balance offset a 29-point effort from Spalding senior guard Greg Brown. Mount St. Joseph improved to 26-6 on the season and will seek the program's fourth BCL championship Sunday.

Recruiting for Greg Brown   waxed and waned through the seasons. While playing AAU with Maryland 3D, the Archbishop Spalding senior received a good bit of Division I interest. During the high school season, recruiting “kind of died down” for Brown. And then after the Cavaliers' 2011-12 campaign ended, interest in the 6-foot-1½, 185-pound combo guard picked up again. Through all the ups and downs of recruiting, one school made clear its interest in Brown and never wavered in its persistence.

Things weren't looking good for the Mount St. Joseph basketball team in Sunday's 41st Baltimore Catholic League title game. Against defending champion John Carroll, a poor first half had the Gaels frustrated and down by nine points. Standout junior guard Kameron Williams already had three fouls at the break and the Patriots' zone defense had the Gaels shooting 33 percent from the field and getting to the foul line just once. Already disappointed with the way the team played in losing to the Patriots in last weekend's Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference title game, Mount St. Joseph coach Pat Clatchey opened up his bag of tricks at the halftime break.

Sophomore guard Phil Booth scored 10 of his team-high 19 points in the third quarter and added a last-minute blocked shot as No. 5 Mount St. Joseph fended off Archbishop Spalding, 54-49, in the Baltimore Catholic League semfinals at Stevenson University. Junior guard Kameron Williams added 13 points and Phil Lawrence provided 12 as the Gaels' balance offset a 29-point effort from Spalding senior guard Greg Brown. Mount St. Joseph improved to 26-6 on the season and will seek the program's fourth BCL championship Sunday.

Mark Karcher's hiatus from local high school basketball is coming to an end. Starting this fall, Karcher will lead the varsity boys program at Bluford Drew Jemison STEM Academy. The former St. Frances coach's first-year program is located on the old Walbrook campus in West Baltimore. Karcher, who said in November that his departure from St. Frances was a “forced resignation,” has some familiarity with the Bluford system. Karcher's son attends the school's East Baltimore campus, and one of his former Panthers assistants - Marcus Wise - is the boys JV coach.

The 41st annual Baltimore Catholic League tournament will take place at Stevenson University, making the move from its recent home, Loyola University. The tournament begins on Feb. 24 with quarterfinal-round play and runs through the championship game on Feb. 26. Quarterfinal-round games will start at 3:30 p.m., Feb. 24, followed by semifinal games at 5 and 7 p.m., Feb. 25, with the championship game slated for 1 p.m. Feb. 26. All the games will take place at the school's new athletic complex located on Owings Mills Blvd.

No. 3 St. Frances (2-0) at No. 2 Mount St. Joseph (6-0) When: Friday, 7 p.m. Coaches: Nick Myles, St. Frances; Pat Clatchey, Mount St. Joseph PLAYERS TO WATCH St. Frances: Daquan Cook, Sr., PG; Tevon Saddler, Jr., G; Josh Forney, Sr., C. Mount St. Joseph: Kameron Williams, Jr., G; Phil Booth, So. G; Phil Lawrence, Sr., F. OUTLOOK The early showdown will provide a good...

Long-time Baltimore Catholic League basketball coaches William Wells of St. Frances and Cokey Robertson of St. Maria Goretti announced they will step down after this season. Wells, 62, has been at St. Frances for 28 seasons and has compiled a 377-180 record in 20 varsity seasons. He confirmed that assistant coach and former Panthers star Mark Karcher will take over as head coach. Wells said he would still help out with the team. Robertson, 69, will retire from coaching after 40 years as a head coach, 34 at Goretti (he also coached at Westminster and Thomas Johnson)

Mark Karcher's hiatus from local high school basketball is coming to an end. Starting this fall, Karcher will lead the varsity boys program at Bluford Drew Jemison STEM Academy. The former St. Frances coach's first-year program is located on the old Walbrook campus in West Baltimore. Karcher, who said in November that his departure from St. Frances was a “forced resignation,” has some familiarity with the Bluford system. Karcher's son attends the school's East Baltimore campus, and one of his former Panthers assistants - Marcus Wise - is the boys JV coach.

[ Editor's Note: As we debuted the fall, our regular Coachspeak blog will catch up with the men and women who lead some of the area's top high school teams throughout the area. Folowing is the first Coachspeak of the winter season.]   When approached by the new Baltimore Catholic League historian with the question of how many wins he has, Mount St. Joseph basketball coach Pat Clatchey was stumped. In his 20 th season at his alma mater, Clatchey is proud of the fact the Gaels have enjoyed 14 straight 20-win seasons and the team is on its way to a 15 th straight with a 5-0 start this season.  The consistent excellence has become a trademark with the Mount St. Joseph program under Clatchey's watch, a tenure that includes six regular-season BCL championships, three tournament titles and four Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference crowns.  When he's not coaching the Gaels or helping run basketball camps, Clatchey enjoys spending time with his wife, Melanie, and their sons, Clark, 14, and Connor, 10.  Playing tennis and ping pong, and watching his sons play baseball are some of his favorite activities.  As this week's Coachspeak guest, we asked Clatchey five questions about the upcoming season, his coaching philosophies and how the game has changed in his years as a coach.

The first day of practice for the St. Frances boys basketball team on Wednesday had a much different feel than expected. Coach Mark Karcher, a 1997 alum who is regarded as one of the finest players to ever come out of Baltimore, resigned suddenly Saturday after three seasons, leaving the school to announce on Wednesday morning that assistant coach Nick Myles has taken over the duties. Karcher, who turns 33 later this month, leaves his alma mater appreciating the time he spent coaching there, but also disappointed.