Terrelle Pryor's "Triple Double" Leads His Hoops Team to the Hoop Dream.

2008|Sunday Feb. 24
Sports|Needle Reading: 34 29 10 6


WPIAL AA Boys' Championship: Pryor comes up with triple-double in title game
Leading Jeannette to an 82-68 win against Beaver Falls
From Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
By Mike White

Jeannette's Terrelle Pryor added another chapter to his storied high school career yesterday. Look at his statistics and you might think this book belongs under fiction.

• 39 points. Seriously.

• 24 rebounds. No kidding.

• 10 blocked shots. For real.

• 6 assists. Get out.

(Pryor had a double-double in the first half and almost had a triple-double with 17 points, 13 rebounds and 8 blocked shots.)

Hard to believe, but that was Pryor's statistical line in what has to be the greatest all-around performance in WPIAL championship history. Pryor led Jeannette to an 82-68 victory against Beaver Falls in the Class AA final at Duquesne University's Palumbo Center. This came against a team that had defeated Jeannette by 20 points early in the season.

Considering yesterday and past performances by Pryor, a 6-foot-6 senior, and it's quite clear why Jeannette's school colors are red and blue. Those also are Superman's colors, right?

"What can I say? He's the greatest high school athlete in the history of the state of Pennsylvania," said Jeannette coach Jim Nesser, who guided the Jayhawks to the first WPIAL basketball title in school history. "That's my opinion. But every big game, he plays big. That's what great players do. You're never going to see another athlete in the state like him."

Just when you think Pryor has gone to the top of the mountain in terms of memorable performances, he climbs to another summit. It happened in football and it keeps happening in basketball. He had 24 points, 24 rebounds, 8 blocks and 7 assists in a quarterfinal game last week.

When asked where this performance ranks with some of his best games, Pryor simply shrugged and said, "I don't know. It's just me being me. I'm just trying to make plays."

Pryor, who was 17 of 26 from the field, guaranteed a title for Jeannette a few weeks ago, and backed up his words. Jeannette junior guard Jordan Hall contributed 19 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter when Jeannette took control of the game. Junior guard-forward Todd Thomas led Beaver Falls with 25 points and seven rebounds.

Thomas and Pryor, AAU teammates last summer, jawed with each other often. Thomas, also a football-basketball standout, could do nothing but say great things about Pryor after the final.

"I could say he's like Kobe [Bryant], but I can't put him that high. Not yet," Thomas said.

"People say to me, 'Coach, can he play in the NBA? Can he play in college?'" Nesser said. "Well, what do you think? He can do whatever Terrelle Pryor wants to do."

Pryor certainly had his way with Beaver Falls (22-4), a team that tries to wear out opponents with its defense and deep bench. Pryor almost had a triple-double in the first half, with 17 points, 13 rebounds and 8 blocked shots. But Beaver Falls took a 35-32 lead to the locker room.

Mike White can be reached at mwhite@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1975.

THE COMPLETE FULL ARTICLE HERE AT THE POST-GAZETTE

TERRELLE PRYOR INCITES CROWD and HIS DUNK ON VIDEO HERE

Pam Panchak/Post-Gazette

Jeannette's Terrelle Pryor dunks for two
of his 39 points against Beaver Falls last night.

From the Mouth of the Needle...
Terrelle Pryor has now won 3 championships in this his senior season. Three down and one to go. That 'one' being the Pennsylvania State Championship coming up. So, yes Pryor will not be making his college decision for at least a few weeks. Pryor said he still needs time to visit Oregon. He has not had time with high school sports and school. His Football season was extended almost 6 weeks for the Regional playoffs and the state playoffs. He won championships in both of those playoffs. He then one day later joined his hoops team already in progress and now again won the regional championship and yes his team has been extended for another 2-3 weeks for the hoops state championship. Pryor has come under heavy unwarranted assault for not picking a school for saying he would announce then saying he still needed time. Well, when you are playing sports non-stop so as to excel and win and win and win, well guess what? You don't have time. You don't have time to fly all the way to oregon and back. Oh yeah and he attends school 5 days a week. We say, let this kid live and breath and enjoy being a kid. Let him enjoy leading and winning and being the best. Let him win his and enjoy his fourth championship in one year. Let him visit oregon, let him breathe and let him soak it all in. Let him wait another 3 weeks to announce that he will be attending Robert Morris University .