If you ask people around Pittsburgh to name one of the greatest City League basketball teams ever, one team from the modern era is going to come up quickly.

The 2007 Schenley Spartans. And they should.

DeJuan Blair. D.J. Kennedy. DeAndre Kane. Greg Blair. Jamaal “Onion” Bryant.

That team was ridiculous.

They finished 29-3, won the PIAA Class AAAA state championship and climbed as high as No. 11 in the country in the USA Today rankings. They beat national power DeMatha and defeated Chester twice. Their only two actual losses came against Lincoln of New York and Lake Howell of Florida, teams that won championships themselves.

Schenley deserves every bit of love it receives.

But there is another City League team that I don’t think gets talked about enough when we have these conversations.

The 1991 Perry Commodores.

And I’ve always thought about one hypothetical: What if the 1991 Perry team could have played the 2007 Schenley team?

Man. I would have paid to see that.

 

People Forget How Loaded Perry Was

Maybe it’s because 1991 was so long ago. Maybe it’s because none of Perry’s stars became an NBA name like DeJuan Blair.

But don’t confuse being less remembered with being less talented. That Perry team was loaded.

Will Macon was a 6-foot-7 blue-chip player who was ranked among the top 50 high school players in the country.

Malik Hightower was another blue-chip recruit and one of the most explosive athletes Pittsburgh basketball has produced. He was so athletic that he beat future Michigan Fab Five stars Chris Webber and Jimmy King in the dunk contest at the Roundball Classic.

Then you had Eddie Benton. And if you know Pittsburgh basketball, you know exactly how good Eddie was.

Benton eventually starred at Vermont and became the school’s all-time leading scorer. Macon went to DePaul, where he averaged a double-double as a senior. Hightower went to Marshall and scored more than 1,000 college points.

So when people talk about the college and professional talent on that 2007 Schenley team, understand something: Perry had dudes too.

 

And Perry Was Deep

It wasn’t just three players.

Perry’s starting five included Macon, Hightower, Randy Young, Dwayne Coleman and James Billingslae. Then Eddie Benton was coming off the bench.

Think about that.

A player who would eventually become Vermont’s all-time leading scorer wasn’t even starting.

The Commodores also had Taili Thompson, Ali Thrower, Abu Whitaker, Geoff Moorer, Kevin Hunt and John Wilkins.

Former Perry coach Charles Franklin created an environment where practices were battles. Players from that team have talked about how the competition in practice helped prepare them for close games because nobody was allowed to become comfortable.

That’s the kind of depth that would have made a matchup with Schenley fascinating.

 

But 2007 Schenley Was Different

Now let’s be clear. I’m not taking anything away from Schenley. That team has a legitimate argument as one of the greatest teams Western Pennsylvania has ever produced.

DeJuan Blair was an absolute monster. Blair controlled games physically in a way very few high school players could. He was Pennsylvania’s state player of the year, went to Pitt, became an All-American and eventually spent years in the NBA.

But Schenley wasn’t DeJuan Blair and four other guys.

That’s what made them special.

D.J. Kennedy became a standout at St. John’s and played professionally. DeAndre Kane eventually became an All-Big 12 player at Iowa State. Greg Blair played Division I football at Cincinnati. And Onion Bryant was the engine at point guard, controlling the basketball, defending and getting everybody where they needed to be.

Four Schenley players averaged between 13 and 17 points. There wasn’t one guy you could concentrate on stopping.

 

Now Give Me the Matchups

This is where it gets fun.

Who guards Will Macon? Who deals with Malik Hightower in transition? How does Perry handle Blair around the rim and on the glass? Who controls tempo? How does Onion deal with Perry’s size and athleticism on the perimeter? What happens when D.J. Kennedy and DeAndre Kane start attacking?

And maybe the biggest question: Which team’s depth eventually wears down the other?

That’s what makes this matchup so intriguing to me. These weren’t teams built around one superstar.

Both had legitimate players everywhere.

 

Perry Had Already Proven It Against Great Competition

Perry didn’t cruise through some weak road to Hershey.

One of the defining games of its season came against Blackhawk in the PIAA Western final at Fitzgerald Field House. That Blackhawk team featured Dante Calabria, one of the greatest players in WPIAL history and a future North Carolina Tar Heel.

Calabria scored 35. Perry still found a way.

With Perry trailing in the fourth quarter, Eddie Benton came into the game and knocked down four 3-pointers in about five minutes.

Perry survived and advanced. Then the Commodores beat Pottstown 67-61 for the state championship.

Macon finished the championship game with 17 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. Perry finished 27-3 and as Pennsylvania state champions.

That wasn’t hype. That was a great basketball team.

 

Schenley Proved It Nationally

The argument for Schenley is just as strong. The Spartans weren’t only beating Pittsburgh teams.

They beat DeMatha Catholic, 85-74, when DeMatha was ranked nationally and had four Division I recruits.

They beat Chester twice. They played Lincoln from New York and Lake Howell from Florida. They were nationally ranked themselves. Then they went through the PIAA tournament and beat Chester 78-71 for the Class AAAA championship.

That resume speaks for itself.

 

Two Different Eras of City League Basketball

This is also why I would have loved this matchup. You’re talking about two different generations.

The early-’90s City League was physical. You weren’t getting anything easy. There was talent throughout Pittsburgh, and you had to be mentally and physically tough every night.

By 2007, basketball had changed. Players were bigger, more athletic, playing more AAU basketball and getting more national exposure.

Schenley represented that evolution perfectly.

So this wouldn’t just be Perry against Schenley. It would almost be one era of Pittsburgh basketball against another.

 

Who Wins?

I don’t know. And that’s what makes it fun.

I’m not writing this to disrespect Schenley or say Perry definitely would have beaten them.

Schenley was special.

I’ve seen enough basketball to understand how difficult dealing with DeJuan Blair alone would have been, and when you surround him with Kennedy, Kane, Greg Blair and Onion, that’s a serious problem.

But I’m also not automatically handing Schenley that game.

Not against that Perry team. Not with Will Macon. Not with Malik Hightower. Not with Eddie Benton. Not with Perry’s size, athleticism, experience and depth.

People remember 2007 Schenley.

I just want people to remember 1991 Perry the same way.

Because if somehow we could put those two teams on the same court, in their primes, with a packed Fitzgerald Field House watching?

That’s one Pittsburgh basketball game I wish I could have seen.

1991 Perry vs. 2007 Schenley.

Who you got?