Two Tigers Make NCAA Tournament

By Albert Coqueran

Remember White Plains High School basketball stars R’Shad James (pictured left) and Sean Kilpatrick (second from left) when they won the Harry Jefferson Classic in 2007 and then led the Tigers to the Section 1 AA Championship game.

Now, James and Kilpatrick are headed to the NCAA Tournament as members of Division I college basketball programs. James is a junior playing for Iona College. The Iona Gaels (25-7) earned a number 14 seed and First Four Bid in the 68-team selection for the 2012 NCAA Tournament. The Gaels will play Brigham Young University (25-8) on, Tuesday, March 13, with the winner playing number three seed Marquette University (25-7), on Thursday, March 15 in the Western Regionals, in Louisville, Kentucky.

Kilpatrick is a starting guard for the University of Cincinnati. The Bearcats (24-10) are the number six seed in the Eastern Regionals and will play the number 11 seed University of Texas (20-13), on Friday, March 16, in Nashville, Tennessee.

One has to wonder what Harry Jefferson Classic namesake, Harry Jefferson (second from right), a long time educator and former coach at WPHS and former WPHS Athletic Director Nick Panero (right) are thinking of these young men at this time. But one thing is certain: the City of White Plains is proud of them.