City League basketball championship preview: Obama boys, girls hope to end Allderdice’s reign

Obama Academy had City League heavyweight Allderdice on the ropes on Jan. 14, as the Eagles held a five-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.

When the teams met again 2½ weeks later, Obama went blow for blow with the Dragons once again, this time trailing by five points with just four minutes to go.

But on both occasions, it was Allderdice, not Obama, which closed strong and eventually landed the knockout punch, and in turn continued its dominance against the Eagles and the City League as a whole.

As they say, to be the champ you have got to beat the champ, and on Sunday the Eagles will try to be the one to end Allderdice’s long City League reign.

For the third season in a row, No. 1 Allderdice (14-9) will take on No. 2 Obama Academy (11-8) in the championship at 2 p.m. at Duquesne University’s UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. Allderdice beat Obama to take home the title in 2023 and 2024, and has won three consecutive City League titles overall, while Obama is aiming to win its first title since beating Allderdice in the 2020 final.

“We’ve been talking about the road to Duquesne all season,” Obama coach Naron Jackson said. “We’ve been working on things, just trying to get prepared for Sunday. We’ve been talking about Sunday since November. We’re where we think we should be, but we have to execute to get that win.”

Beating Allderdice would be a big deal. Not only have the Dragons won three consecutive titles and 12 in the past 15 years, but they have gone unbeaten in City League regular-season play eight years in a row and have not lost a game to a City League foe (minus a COVID-related forfeit in the 2021 playoffs) since that finals loss to Obama five seasons ago.

Jackson is well aware of Allderdice’s dominance, as the Dragons have beaten Obama in each of the past 11 meetings.

“It’s just the togetherness and how hard they play,” Jackson said when asked what makes Allderdice such a difficult matchup. “Coach [Devin] Crummie, kudos to him, because when you watch them play you can tell how well coached they are.”

And while it has been a while since Obama has found itself in the win column against Allderdice, the Eagles have come close in each of the past three matchups. Allderdice captured a 44-37 win in last year’s final and edged Obama by scores of 43-39 and 46-38 this season.

“They have the pieces,” Allderdice coach Devin Crummie said. “We’ve been fortunate to get past them, but we have to get back to watching film and trying to take away some of the things that they do. They’re a good team, and every time we play them it’s a good challenge. They’re well coached, tough. You have got to stop Naron [Jackson II] and also combat their height. We look forward to the challenge.”

The game features two of the top players in the City League in Jackson II and Allderdice’s Lukas Stead. Jackson II is a 6-foot-1 junior point guard averaging 18 points per game, while Stead is a 6-3 junior forward averaging 17 points and 9 rebounds a game.

Crummie has raved about Jackson, who pumped in 26 points in a 65-45 semifinal win against Carrick, and tallied 16 and 17 points against Allderdice in the two regular-season meetings.

“He’s a fairly tall guard, and he’s a strong player, as well,” Crummie said. “You can tell that he’s worked to develop his game. He doesn’t get pushed around. He’s strong, but also quick. He handles the ball well, he’s a good shooter, and being the son of a coach and former Division I player, he has a really good basketball IQ. If you add those into an algorithm, you come out with a good player.”

Stead, also a standout tight end-linebacker in football who has an FBS offer, has been a double-double machine. He’s also one of three Dragons averaging double-digits in the scoring department, the others being senior guards Asher Schwartz (11.9) and Trey Schachter (10.4). Schachter is an excellent perimeter shooter who last week committed to Division I Green Bay. The Dragons have won seven in a row, a run that started with a triumph against Chartiers Valley, one of the WPIAL’s strongest teams.

Obama does not have a senior on its roster. The Eagles start four juniors and one sophomore. Junior guard Elijah Rawlings has given the Eagles a good secondary scorer, while 6-4 junior forward Zion Conner and 6-4 sophomore forward Sheikh Long help give them a little bit of a height advantage in this game.

“These guys are so loose, it’s scary,” Jackson said. “I’ve never had a group like this. I’ve never even seen them argue with each other. Usually my teams are feisty, but these guys whisper stuff to one another. That’s their language. I’m the yeller, and they’re the calm ones.”

Girls

While the Allderdice boys are seeking a four-peat, the Allderdice girls are looking to win their second title in a row. And, just like the boys, the Dragons will need to get by Obama to do it.

Allderdice (18-5), the No. 1 seed, will meet No. 2 Obama (10-10) in the championship game for the fourth year in a row. Allderdice grabbed the title last season after Obama won back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023. The teams will square off at noon Sunday at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.

While these teams have played in many tight contests over the years, the two previous meetings this season saw Allderdice walk away with lopsided wins of 72-34 and 78-42. 

So, how does a team that dropped those previous matchups by margins of 38 and 36 points not only play with Allderdice, but also pull off the upset?

“Watching film,” Obama coach Monique McCoy said. “Film doesn’t lie. We need to try to correct some of the mistakes we made in those first two games that we had. We’ve been working at it. Our goal is to get to the championship, play hard and be successful. That happens with preparation, regardless of who we play. We just keep on chipping away.”

Beating Allderdice will be a tall task. This is a red-hot Dragons team that has won 14 consecutive games. They have won all 11 of their games against City League foes, their average margin of victory being a staggering 49.1 points.

But despite the two routs of Obama in the regular season and the 62-39 win against the Eagles in last year’s final, Allderdice coach Ellen Guillard views this game as being anything but a layup.

“Of course, it’s Obama,” Guillard said. “They’ve been dominating for how many years? Monique has put together an awesome program. You can’t sleep on someone you’re playing for a third time. It’s a difficult matchup. Taylor [Phillips], she’s a very good scorer, and when she gets hot, she can make a lot of 3s in bunches. They have some younger guards who are trying to prove themselves. You can’t overlook anyone. I don’t know how people do that. We’re going to Duquesne and playing on a big stage. That’s a big deal.”

Phillips is a 5-7 senior guard and two-time City League champ who has been a mainstay in the Obama lineup for four seasons. Phillips leads all City League players in scoring at 22 points per game, but was limited to 11 and 19 points in the previous two matchups with Allderdice.

“She’s one determined young lady,” McCoy said. “She kind of has that ‘Mamba Mentality’ like Kobe. If you tell her she can’t do something, she’s going to do her hardest to show that she can.”

Allderdice features a three-headed monster at the guard position in junior Bailey White and sophomores Peyton Lynch and Rhyan Sledge, all of whom average in double-figures scoring. Sledge is a transfer from Oakland Catholic and the sister of Imani Christian star RJ Sledge. Like Phillips, White can fill up the hoop quickly and often. She averages 21 points a game, and went off for 33 in the most recent meeting with Obama. But White was even better in last year’s title game when she drilled seven 3-pointers and poured in 34 points in what was a mercy-rule win.

“She’s gone from freshman year, having to be one of the lone ball-handlers, to where she is now,” Guillard said. “Her confidence has grown tremendously. She doesn’t give up, and she’s relentless on defense.”

Both teams rolled to semifinal wins. Allderdice blitzed Carrick by scoring the game’s first 29 points before going on to claim a 70-14 win, while Obama raced to a 31-0 lead on its way to an 85-10 win against Brashear. White led Allderdice with 29 points, and Phillips scored 22 to lead Obama.