Shank's versatility lifts Neumann-Goretti

IT'S A GOOD THING jaw-drops don't qualify as major injuries.

Otherwise, numerous rescue workers would have been rushing to La Salle High a shade after 7 o'clock Thursday night.

What happened? Billy Shank drove. Yes, he drove!

The 5-10, 155-pound Shank is a senior wing guard for Ss. Neumann-Goretti's again-mighty basketball team and in his previous seasons, seemingly, all he did was stand behind the arc and mad-bomb a bunch of treys.

But his first move in this one was, well, an actual move. He got the ball on the left wing and went hard to the hoop. The flip shot did not connect. No sweat. It's the thought that counts.

"I'm a new player. I'm not the old Billy Shank anymore," he said. "I play point guard in outside ball, and that's what I'll play in college. I would be doing that here, but Hanif Sutton isn't really a wing shooter, so he has to be on the point.

"I spent the whole summer getting better with my moves and improving my handle, so I can go around guys when necessary."

His slightly delayed summer, make that.

While driving - a car, not on the court - Shank was involved in an accident last May. He broke his right (shooting) wrist and the injury prevented him vaulting full blast into summertime hoops activities until late June/early July.

The pain is long gone, however, and Shank, now wearing No. 0 because he loves Gilbert Arenas, is feeling chipper.

As the Saints romped, 82-53, in a Catholic League contest that was their second and La Salle's opener, Shank scored 17 points. Two of his field goals were actually regulars. And that means his other four were treys.

Hey, complete transformations take time.

"With Lamin no longer around," he said, referring to Lamin Fulton, the lone senior starter on last year's squad and now at St. Peter's, "I felt I had to become a different player. So I'm trying to drive and be more aggressive; play like Lamin did.

Watching Shank can sometimes be downright fascinating. He'll stand on the wing, take a pass from Sutton or someone else and, damn, before folks even realize he has caught the ball, it's halfway to the hoop. To merely say he has a quick release is to feel downright stupid.

"Getting things to that stage . . . Takes a lot of work," he said, simply.

La Salle's student rooters noticed Shank right away. And then, in the second quarter, after he connected on a trey from almost in front of the scorers' table, Shank was soon hearing shouts of "Shoot! . . . Shoot! . . . Shoot!" when he again got the ball in Threeball Land.

So, what'd he do? Drove for what turned out to be a three-point play, and he basically curled in the layup off his hip.

"I heard them," Shank said, laughing. "I enjoy that stuff with fans. It means they're noticing you. I mean, that's the only way you can be singled out, right? Do something they notice.

"When we were playing up in New York [recent tournament in Binghamton], some of those people were yelling at me. They thought I was just a long shooter there, too. Proved 'em wrong."

Shank, who went 4-for-4 from distance, was hardly alone among the heroes as N-G extended its CL winning streak, counting regular games and playoffs, to 56.

Soph guard Ja'Quan Newton darted and dashed to 23 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals. Derrick Stewart, who's committed to Rider, totaled 12 points and nine boards. John Davis mixed 11 and eight. Sutton, an all-time defender, was his usually smothery self, even though he had to miss a decent chunk of time with a bloody nose.

La Salle, which often thrives from behind the arc, hit only six treys in 26 attempts. Plus, it was crushed on the glass, 36-17 (and N-G grabbed 21 of the first 29).

Shank, who lives on Cedar Street near York, in Kensington, has heard from Division I Mount St. Mary's and D-IIs such as St. Rose and Assumption.

"I don't mind at all how I'm used at Neumann," he said. "I love this place and playing with all these guys. But I am a point guard."

And those extra skills are becoming more and more visible.