Tribute Page
Steve Kane coached basketball at University City for 26 seasons, winning
346 games and one Public League championship. That crown
was claimed in 1995. Here is that story . . .
By Ted
Silary
Sometimes a guy reaches into his pocket and comes up with nothing but lint.
All he wants is enough change to satisfy SEPTA. But as he forgets about
his pants and scrambles from room to room, opening drawers and searching
under sofa cushions, all he can find are buttons and cracker crumbs.
As time marches on, and he's already late, he wonders whether he should
risk a flood of tears from his little sister and smash open her piggy bank.
She's no dummy. She hides it.
Anthony Harris, a 6-4 junior forward, is called "Chop" by his basketball
teammates at University City High because of his propensity for fouling in
practice.
The other Jaguars and coach Steve Kane could not call Harris "Chop" on
Saturday, though. He, um, well . . . he never made it to practice.
"My mom took us all to the movies Friday night," Harris said. "I was
going to stay at my grandmom's in West Philly, a short walk from school, but
it got so late, I just decided to go home (to North Philly).
"The next morning - my mom was already gone - I got up and . . . No money. I
spent it all at the movies."
By missing the workout, Harris knew he would be subjecting himself to the
wrath of Kane.
If Kane wanted to change the reason for Harris's nickname by chopping off
his head, so be it.
"I thought I was going to catch it," Harris said. "I thought he was going
to scream. But when I called him, surprisingly he was calm. It was like we
were sitting right next to each other, having a little conversation. I told
him why I missed. He was fine with it.
"He told me what we worked on in practice, and that I'd better be ready .
. . His response kind of shocked me."
Yesterday, at the Civic Center, the man with no cash turned in a money
performance.
Harris, a 6-4 junior forward, scored 12 points (all in the second half)
and swept 13 rebounds as U. City (22-2) edged Simon Gratz (24-3), 44-43, to
win its first Public League boys championship in the program's 22-season
history and complete the league's first boy-girl sweep since title games for
girls were instituted in 1970.
When the buzzer sounded, U. City's fans surged onto the court to mob the
players and Kane. Soon, the only boys coach in the school's history was
being hoisted.
"What emotion, being swept away by the kids from our school, and all my
former ballplayers; there must have been 50 of them," Kane said. "This win
is not just for these kids. It's for all the kids who have played for me,
and for the community. Mantua, 'The Bottom,' West Philly, Mill Creek . . . "
The subject then turned to how difficult the season had been.
Kane mentioned the Jaguars' regular-season game at Southern, which had to
be halted at halftime and finished the next day because of a shooting
incident.
His next reference was to his father-in-law, Sam Donis, who died early
this month.
With that, Steve Kane burst into tears. For the next 30 seconds, he
sobbed and heaved and sobbed some more as center Alfonso Wilson, who
contributed eight points and 12 boards, applied a comforting, all-enveloping
bear hug from behind with help from a female friend. A few feet away, Kane's
wife, Judy, also cried a river.
When Kane finally collected himself and looked up, his glasses were
pocked with teardrops.
"I know he was watching us," he said of his father-in-law. "I'm sorry
he's not here. He loved us. He always called after games to see how we were
doing. I'm so sorry he's not alive to see this."
Truth be told, Sam Donis's opinion undoubtedly would have matched the
majority's: The game was not a pretty sight, but at least it featured an
exciting finish.
The teams combined to shoot 25-for-85 (29 percent) from the floor,
including 7-for-28 (25 percent) from three-point range, and commit 32
turnovers despite a slow pace.
Keeping with the theme, Temple-bound swingman Rasheed Brokenborough
scored 14 points to finalize his career total at 1,784, third best in PL
history, but was held to one field goal.
continued right below . . .
Coach Steve Kane
SEASON BY SEASON
League / Overall
1974: 4-9
1975: 7-6
1976: 7-7
1977: 7-8
1978: 5-10
1979: 8-7
1980: 10-5 / 16-9
1981: 3-13
1982: 8-5
1983: 3-5
1984: 7-6
1985: 6-7
1986: 12-1 / 26-2
1987: 9-4 / 18-8
1988: 10-3 / 17-7
1989: 5-8 / 8-13
1990: 6-7 / 10-10
1991: 5-4 / 11-9
1992: 6-5 / 12-7
1993: 8-3 / 13-7
(Overall determined to be
232-146 after 1993 season)
1994: 10-1 / 20-2
1995: 11-0 / 22-2
1996: 14-1 / 18-4
1997: 11-5 / 17-9
1998: 12-1 / 19-6
1999: 10-3 / 18-6
TOTAL RECORD
26 Seasons, 1974-99
League - 205-134
Overall -
346-175
PLAYOFF BREAKDOWN
Appearances
Ended in . . .
Quarterfinals (4)
1980, 1992, 1993, 1999
Semifinals (3)
1994,
1998, 1997
Finals (2)
1986, 1995
TOP 15 PL
SCORERS
Rasheed Brokenborough
1995
28.5
Rasheed Brokenborough
1993
25.8
Thomas "Skimoe" Hinton
1989
24.3
Rasheed Brokenborough
1994
24.0
Rondell Turner
1992
23.8
Anwar "Fis" Blagmon
1996
23.2
Sylvester "Bam" Westcott
1997
21.8
James Glass
1987
21.3
Sam "Wobbles" White
1975
20.8
Joey "Showboat" Adams
1977
20.5
Vincent "Butter" Smalls
1986
20.5
Anthony "Chop" Harris
1996
20.4
Rudy Barnes
1976
19.9
Ray Arrington
1980
19.1
Marcus Rosser
1999
18.3
-
STARTERS FOR PL CHAMPS
1995
Rasheed Brokenborough
Anthony "Chop" Harris
Anwar "Fis" Blagmon
Michael Tucker
Alfonso Wilson
"I never did that in my
life," he claimed.
Said Kane: "If you told me we'd win with Rasheed getting one field goal,
I would have said, 'You . . . are . . . crazy!' "
Crazy would be the way to describe the final moments. You also might want
to mix in amazing along with a pinch of
controversial and scary.
With 31.7 seconds remaining, Gratz found itself in deep trouble as star
point guard Terrell Stokes fouled out and
Brokenborough converted a one-and- one to give U. City a 43-39 lead.
Guard Jarret Kearse, a sophomore substitute, removed some of the panic by
burying a turnaround, off-balance,
left-wing "three" at 0:20. After Brokenborough inbounded to Anwar Blagmon,
deep sub Terrance Smith flicked away
the ball and Kearse gained possession on the floor in a scramble.
Tweet! Though Kearse did a remarkable job of remaining stationary, he was
called for traveling after being jostled by
the diving Brokenborough.
The call was greeted by the tossing of two thickly padded folding chairs
onto the court from behind Gratz's bench. A
four-minute delay followed as security guards, joined by at least 15
policemen, moved into position all around the court.
At 8.9, Brokenborough was fouled and made the first for a 44-42 lead.
When he missed the second, Harris tracked
down the rebound. But the ball was dislodged and recovered by Smith, who was
fouled.
What a scenario. Smith had been on the floor for less than a minute. He
had not yet taken any kind of shot. Previously,
he had not seen game action since Feb. 9.
Somehow, Smith summoned the brass to sink the front end of the
one-and-one.
Job half-done. Time for No. 2 . . .
Clang. The ball hit the right side of the rim and bounced left. Forward
Erik Hood outleaped Wilson about 8 feet away,
planted his feet, spun and lifted.
By the time he released the ball, his hand was no more than 4 feet from
the hoop.
The ball hit once on the near side of the rim. It hit twice on the far
side. It dropped . . . Not into the net.
"I don't know how that shot didn't go in," Gratz coach Bill Ellerbee
said. "They must have put some kind of vibrator
on the rim."
Said Harris: "That scared me. It was a wide-open shot. I wanted to go
over and try to block it, but I didn't want to risk
a foul."
Except for Kane, the most emotional Jaguar had to be Brokenborough, a
four- year varsity performer.
He had not played well. He had persevered and triumphed.
"When I was getting ready for ninth grade, all people told me was, 'Don't
go to U. City. They ain't got any players,' " he
said. "It was, 'Gratz and FLC, they're the teams. You won't win a
championship at U. City.'
"It took me four years, but I got one. If you can only get one, this is
the best time, in your last year. I can't tell you
how happy I am."
TITLE TIDBITS
U. City's only previous title game appearance had been a 66-64 loss to
Southern in 1986 . . . Bill Ellerbee: "We didn't
execute well. We were hoping to hang around and steal it at the end." . . .
In a Dec. 15 non-league game, Gratz beat U.
City, 56-55. "We won by one when it counted," Rasheed Brokenborough said . .
. Steve Kane: "I woke up at 4 o'clock
in the morning still not knowing what (primary) defense we were going to
play. When I saw (guard) Michael Tucker, I
asked him, 'What should we use? ' He said, '100.' That's man-to-man
fullcourt. We went with it. Shows how much
oaching I did."
This story was written in 1994 when
Rasheed Brokenborough, only a junior,
reached 1,000 career points . . .
By Ted Silary
Rasheed Brokenborough's dreams were as big as his pending accomplishment.
He was going to snatch a rebound, dribble the length of the floor,
explode upward into a dunk while absorbing contact,
then shuffle to the foul line and hit nothing but cotton.
Brokenborough, a 6-4, 185-pound junior - yes, junior - small forward,
yesterday became the first player in University
City's 21-season basketball history to reach 1,000 career points.
The magic moment occurred two minutes and 28 seconds into the first
quarter of the Jaguars' 78-59 Public League
Division A-D triumph at Olney.
The lefthanded Brokenborough, who has turned getting close to the basket
into an art form, maneuvered into the lane,
flipped in a 6-foot jump hook - he learned the move from teammate Tariek
Stinson - then braced himself for poundings
on the back from his teammates and coach Steve Kane.
The points were his second and third. No. 1 had come 51 seconds earlier
on the first of two free throws. By game's
end, he owned 27 points on 9-for-16 (one three-pointer) shooting from the
field and 8-for-15 from the line, along with
13 rebounds, 10 assists and five steals. Just so you know, he routinely
covers the opposition's top offensive threat.
Brokenborough had hoped to hit the milestone last Friday in a home game
against John Bartram. Last Tuesday, Kane
made sure that Rasheed would fall short of 1,000 in a game at Edward Bok.
Alas, the Bartram game was postponed.
"It would have been better at home, but that's OK," Brokenborough said.
''About a dozen U. City kids made it to the
game. Mr. Kane is going to get the art teacher to paint me a black and
yellow ball with the details."
Although Brokenborough once scored "60-something" points in a middle
school game for Pepper, in Southwest
Philadelphia, his high school success has surprised him.
"That is a pretty big accomplishment for a guy who couldn't even shoot
the ball when he started playing," he said. "I
used to score everything inside. No jump shots at all. I could barely
dribble, either."
Brokenborough learned to shoot jumpers under the tutelage of James
Wright, who directs the Mantua Community
enter, at 34th and Haverford streets. He also worked out constantly with
neighborhood buddies Craig Wise (Central,
Canisius), Marvin Stinson (Dobbins; Gloucester County College, in New
Jersey), Tariek's brother, and Bill Sheed
(U. City, Treasure Valley JC, in Ontario, Ore.)
"If you'd ask Mr. Wright, he'd say he didn't do anything to help me. I
know better," Brokenborough said. "Mr. Kane
has helped me a lot, too. He gave me a lot of confidence by making me a
starter in ninth grade. My mom (Barbara)
kept pumping me up. I kept saying I never thought it would happen. She kept
saying it would.
"When I started playing, I saw the game as all scoring for me. Now I look
to get my teammates started early. My
points are going to come. It works out nice. I like it when my teammates are
happy."
Kane, who has coached the Jaguars since the beginning, is the president
of the Rasheed Brokenborough Fan Club.
"Forget the basketball," he said. "What a beautiful kid. You ask the
people around our school. Nobody has anything
bad to say about this guy."
Brokenborough's name is already known to Division I coaches. And he
intends to capitalize on his opportunity. In
tandem with senior guard Fred Warrick, another neighbor who stars at Edward
Bok Tech, Brokenborough is
receiving private tutoring for the Scholastic Aptitude Test.
"In ninth grade, I didn't realize how important good grades are," he
said. "But I've doing well ever since. I'm going
to take the SAT in March."
This story about guard Thomas "Skimoe"
Hinton and his foul-shooting duels
with Coach Kane was written in 1989 . . .
By Ted Silary
Thomas "Skimoe" Hinton is one of the more proficient free-throw shooters
in Public League basketball history.
Yet, he is only 82.353 percent as good as someone within his own school,
University City.
His coach, Steve Kane.
"Skimoe's not the best foul shooter in UC's (16-year) history. I am,"
crowed Kane, 50. "All the kids know it. They
all test me.
"Every year, we have a contest on the first day of practice. I made 34 in
a row about seven or eight years ago and
that's still the record. This year, I made it to 33. The 34th was down and
in, then came out. Skimoe's best for all
season is 28. He's got two more days (at practice) to beat me."
But perhaps not the will.
When Hinton was asked yesterday whether he expects to erase Kane's mark,
he responded, "I doubt it."
One must understand, however, that the question was posed after U. City
had been swamped, 73-50, by host Ben
Franklin and after Hinton, a 5-8, 160-pound senior wing guard, had failed to
sink a free throw for the first time all
season.
Not that opportunities were abundant. Hinton, who had 12 points, 4
assists and 3 steals, did not step to the line until
1:50 remained. After executing three miniknee bends and one really deep knee
bend, Hinton missed a one-and- one.
He was fouled while scoring a layup on the Jaguars' next possession, but
again the free throw missed.
"First time I missed two in a row all season," Hinton moaned. "I don't
think that. I know that."
Hinton has missed only 26 free throws all season, so who could challenge
the assertion? He has converted 175 of
201 chances in 20 games, which figures to 87.1 percent.
"Sure, some other Public League guys probably shot close to 90 percent
through the years, " Kane said, "but how
many shot the amount Skimoe has? More than 200. That's a helluva lot of free
throws."
On Jan. 24, when Hinton scored a school-record 44 points in a loss to
William Penn, he was 22-for-26 from the
charity stripe.
"Their guys were saying, 'What's with you? You live on the line?' "
Hinton said. "They said, 'You pay the refs to
call fouls for you?'
"When I drive, I'm trying to score. But if I can't do that, I try to draw
a foul. Do both, actually. I can't explain why
so many go in. It's just confidence. That's all you need. For me, foul shots
are like a big guy's slam dunk. When I
make them over and over, it gets me going."
Though Hinton does not have particularly quick feet, he has perfected a
hip-hop style of dribbling that enables
him to penetrate zones and force defenders to jump too soon. Often yesterday
he appeared to be jostled while
shooting, but whistles were not forthcoming.
"If I'm not getting calls in the first and second quarters," Hinton said,
''I can tell it's not going to be my day."
The ultimate bad day of Skimoe Hinton's life, with respect to basketball,
was Feb. 8, 1988, when he found that
a poor academic performance would cancel the remainder of his season.
U. City was 17-3 at the time, ranked fourth in the city. Oblivion
followed, because no one else could even
remotely replace Hinton, then a lead guard, as a ballhandler.
Said Hinton: "Mr. Kane said I sold the team out. The teachers said it.
The students said it, too. They were right.
I heard it every day after that. I didn't talk to any of my teammates the
rest of the year. I felt so bad. They'd try
to talk to me, but I couldn't say anything back. That experience stuck with
me all through the summer. It made
me come back hungrier. I had to prove a point.
"Schoolwork isn't that hard. Teachers have always said I'm lazy. My
mother (Ida) does everything for me.
When I got to high school, I didn't know much about responsibility. I'm
learning more and more about it."
Kane gladly will second that.
"He has matured a lot as a person," Kane said. "He showed me how much
just the other day at the Markward
Club luncheon. He was the first U. City player to ever write out a speech.
He was eloquent. He delivered it in
absolutely beautiful fashion. In terms of public speaking, not much is
expected out of the Public League kids.
But everybody congratulated him afterward for a speech well done."
Said Hinton: "I wrote it in my third-period class. I just wanted to say
something nice. It felt good to know I
made people proud, especially my mom and Mr. Kane."
Today or Monday at practice, if he approaches, say, 30 consecutive
free-throw conversions, Skimoe Hinton
will make Steve Kane sweat.
"He's the only one with a shot at me," Kane said. "The other guys have
such poor concentration, they can't
make any more than five or six in a row. Skimoe keeps saying, 'I'm going to
get you, Mr. Kane.' "
The coach then added, in a tough-guy voice, "Yeah? We'll see."
--
Recap of victory in
Public League championship game . . .
1995
At the Civic Center
University City 44, Gratz 43
Franchise swingman Rasheed Brokenborough went just 1-for-9
from the floor, but managed 14 points, eight rebounds and three
assists as the Jaguars won their first title in their 22nd season
and completed the first girl-boy sweep in PL title history.
Brokenborough finished with 1,774 career points, No. 3 in PL
history. Anthony "Chop" Harris (12 points, 13 rebounds) and Alfonso
Wilson (eight, 12) helped out. Gratz had a chance to tie in the
waning moments when Terrance "Fats" Smith was fouled. He made the
first free throw, then missed the second. Gratz's Erik Hood grabbed
the rebound and lofted a follow. The ball bounced tantalizingly on
the rim three times before dropping off to the side.
--
Below are the players who helped
Steve Kane claim 346 wins and one Public League
championship in 26 seasons as the coach at
University City. The year indicates the
player's final
season. Most
were seniors. Some transferred
and some were underclassmen
who did not play in the
following season.
Brian Cannon
1974
Carlton Martin
1974
David Baldwin
1974
David Lassiter
1974
Dino Hamilton
1974
Greg Wright
1974
Hal Housley
1974
Howard Anderson
1974
James Brown
1974
James Kennedy
1974
Leon Quick
1974
Mike Booker
1974
Mike Young
1974
Tony Lewis
1974
Anthony Mitchell
1975
John Cummings
1975
John Stokes
1975
Sam "Wobbles" White
1975
Carlton "C-9" Willis
1976
Dave Broadus
1976
Eric Wilder
1976
Frank Oliver
1976
Keith Jones
1976
Mark Brown
1976
Rudy Barnes
1976
Darryl Henry
1977
George Strand
1977
Gregory Coleman
1977
Joey "Showboat" Adams
1977
Kevin "Rock" McCray
1977
Mark Jeffers
1977
Michael Brown
1977
Roy Bryant
1977
Steven Carr
1977
Thomas House
1977
Calvin Johnson
1978
Darryl Waller
1978
George Gilyard
1978
James Moore
1978
Mike Seymour
1978
Roger Cooks
1978
Stefan Hall
1978
William Chavis
1978
Chris German
1979
Chuck Janerette
1979
Darrel Gaines
1979
Daryl Lloyd
1979
Jimmy Smith
1979
John DeLeon
1979
Sean Hook
1979
Bernard Duncan
1980
Chris Marieno
1980
Curtis Bryant
1980
Darnell Duncan
1980
Duane Ford
1980
Dwain Winkfield
1980
Gene McCleary
1980
Jeff Moore
1980
Jerome Broadus
1980
Lorenzo Douglas
1980
Owens
1980
Ray Arrington
1980
Anthony Osborne
1981
Fred Hunter
1981
Keith Hanton
1981
Morris Robinson
1981
Reggie James
1981
Tony Alston
1981
Carlton Corprew
1982
Derek Schwartz
1982
Elliott Hudson
1982
Hubie Hendricks
1982
Maurice Jones
1982
Mike Kirkland
1982
Nate Boyd
1982
Prentiss Johnson
1982
Steve Briggs
1982
Will Anderson
1982
Bennie Bland
1983
Drew Meredith
1983
Earl Rainey
1983
Henry
1983
Jerome Jackson
1983
Jordan Deal
1983
Michael Taylor
1983
Otis Thompson
1983
Ryan
1983
Darren Bryant
1984
John Jefferson
1984
Leroy Johnson
1984
Michael Keith
1984
Sam Prioleau
1984
Terance Johnson
1984
Tom Wilson
1984
Anthony "Juice" Williams
1985
Brent Patrick
1985
Kim Artis
1985
Lawrence Stokes
1985
Paul Hall
1985
Richard Harley
1985
Steve Ward
1985
Anthony Knox
1986
Anthony Reese
1986
Dan Wilson
1986
David Scott
1986
Derek Gregg
1986
Eric Kegler
1986
Heath Williams
1986
Vincent "Butter" Smalls
1986
Allen McDonald
1987
Bob Morgan
1987
Donald Martin
1987
Earl Patterson
1987
James Glass
1987
Jesse Hambright
1987
John McIntosh
1987
Laray Moore
1987
Len Farlow
1987
Michael Gilbert
1987
Reggie Quinn
1987
Wilbert Pena
1987
Corey Shinholster
1988
David Fuller
1988
Dewitt Miller
1988
Guy Cliett
1988
Kwame King
1988
Ricardo Crosling
1988
Robert Hart
1988
Robert Hughes
1988
Vernon West
1988
Vincent "Ham Head" Mason
1988
Zach Williams
1988
Chris Nelson
1989
Ivard Latham
1989
Jerry Williams
1989
Leroy Royster
1989
Thomas "Skimoe" Hinton
1989
Anthony Workman
1990
Chris Wilson
1990
Dion Kent
1990
Jeff Whitfield
1990
Marlon Thomas
1990
Nate Byrd
1990
Reggie Marant
1990
Sam Sessoms
1990
Aubrey Miller
1991
Billy Nole
1991
Calvin "Snap" Jeffers
1991
Derrick Williams
1991
DiAndre Summerville
1991
Durand Norfleet
1991
Lewis
1991
Mark English
1991
Mike Whitfield
1991
Randall Pressley
1991
Ronald Williford
1991
Bill Sheed
1992
Glenn Thomas
1992
Irvin Vaughn
1992
james Benson
1992
James Sanders
1992
Jerry McBeth
1992
Rondell Turner
1992
Troy Johnson
1992
Darryl Jones
1993
Dwayne Surratt
1993
Hank Williams
1993
Jim Henderson
1993
Johnny Butler
1993
Sekou Clark
1993
Damon Montague
1994
Jermaine Joyner
1994
Larry Strand
1994
Maurice Warwick
1994
Ray Charles
1994
Reginal Barnes
1994
Shaheed Sanders
1994
Shawn "Boo" Cherry
1994
Tariek Stinson
1994
Terrance Farlow
1994
Alfonso Wilson
1995
Johnny Glover
1995
Lamar Edge
1995
Lutwine Washington
1995
Michael Tucker
1995
Rasheed Brokenborough
1995
Ronnie Russell
1995
Steve Fuller
1995
Anthony "Chop" Harris
1996
Anwar "Fis" Blagmon
1996
David Purdie
1996
Mustafa Bryant
1996
Reubon Joyner
1996
Rhisheen Jackson
1996
Andre Dorsey
1997
Don Juan Clark
1997
Ed Giddings
1997
Hanif Dawson
1997
James Gaymon
1997
Mensah Preston
1997
Moustapha Faye
1997
Neamoubi Mickle
1997
Sylvester "Bam" Westcott
1997
Duron Stays
1998
George Hoggard
1998
Greg Wright
1998
Jermaine Connelly
1998
Laron Joyner
1998
Melvin "Beef" Young
1998
Rahien Smith
1998
Rahsaan Woods
1998
Cobey Williams
1999
Derek Boykin
1999
Edwin Brooks
1999
Hakim Warrick
1999
Jamal Braxton
1999
Jamal Treadwell
1999
Jermaine Bennerman
1999
Justin Huckel
1999
Kennard Sears
1999
Kevin Carter
1999
Maliek "Squeaky" Sanders
1999
Marcus Rosser
1999
Raheem Johnson
1999
Rhasheed Peterson
1999
--