and BRAD RUNCO
SCHOOL: Allderdice.
WHO ARE THEY? Senior guards and two of the top basketball players in the City League.
THE PAST WEEK: Runco (6 feet 2, 180 pounds) scored 31 points in an 80-60 victory Friday against Westinghouse, and Robinson added 26. Robinson (6-2, 195) had 21 and Runco 14 in a 59-46 victory Tuesday against Carrick.
EXACTLY THE SAME: Allderdice has a 17-4 record and, strangely enough, Runco and Robinson have scored 355 points apiece, good for a 16.9 average.
TWO FOR 1,000: It's not often Allderdice gets a player with 1,000 career points. Robinson already has 1,258 points while Runco needs 32 to reach 1,000.
"It's been one of my goals this year," Runco said.
Robinson said: "I know not too many people have scored 1,000. It really hasn't hit me yet. I probably won't realize how unusual having two for 1,000 is until a couple years down the line."
LONG-TIME TEAMMATES: Runco, a Highland Park resident, and Robinson, a Point Breeze resident, have been playing together since they were in fifth grade. That's when they played on a team based in Homewood.
All the games together pays off.
"We have a good feel for each other since we've been playing together so long," Runco said.
Robinson said: "It helps because he knows what I'm thinking. Other times, I know what he's thinking."
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN: Robinson and Runco have been on Allderdice's varsity since their freshman years. Two other freshmen who played for Allderdice that year were Amir Johnson and Ryann Bradford, who are now stars at Quaker Valley. If Johnson and Bradford had stayed at Allderdice, who knows how good the Dragons would have been.
"Of course I think about what could've been. I think about it every time I go onto the court," Robinson said. "But if we would've all stayed together, I don't know if we would've developed as much individually."
THE FUTURE: Robinson already has signed with Stony Brook, a Division I school in Long Island. Runco is undecided on a college, but Carnegie Mellon, Rochester, New York University, Case Western Reserve and Washington & Jefferson are showing interest in him. He has 3.8 grade point average, and West Point and Dartmouth also contacted him recently.
-- By Mike White
ANDREA WALKER
SCHOOL: West Allegheny.
WHO IS SHE? A 6-foot-4 center on the girls' basketball team and an Ohio State University recruit.
Alyssa Cwanger, Post-GazetteAllderdice High School's Marcus Robinson, left and Brad Runco.
Andrea WalkerTHE PAST WEEK:
Walker scored 11 points Monday in a 50-41 loss at Beaver and 27 Thursday in a 64-55 victory against Blackhawk.
She is averaging 17.3 points, 10 rebounds, 5 blocked shots, 2 assists and 2 steals per game for the Indians (11-11, 5-8), who will play their season finale tonight against Montour at home.
CAREER: A senior, Walker has started for three years and has scored 1,099 points.
SHE'S LOVIN' IT: Earlier this week, it was announced that Walker had been nominated for the prestigious McDonald's All-American high school team. Hundreds of players around the country are nominated, and the number of players chosen will be cut to 24. Those selected will compete in the fifth annual McDonald's game March 31 at San Diego State University.
BIG AND BETTER: Though the same height as last season, Walker has grown as a player, according to West Allegheny coach Beth Bayly.
"Her mental toughness in games has improved," Bayly said. "She's also learned to make a couple of extra moves to free herself from double teams. And she runs the floor pretty well."
LITTLE SISTER STARTS: As a sophomore, Walker played alongside sister Natalie, then a 6-0 senior and a current sophomore at American University. Now one of Andrea's younger siblings, Michelle, a 6-1 freshman, is starting in the frontcourt with her.
"We work well together," Andrea Walker said. "Each of us can anticipate what the other is going to do."
ATHLETIC FAMILY: Sports and size are trademarks of the Walker family. Father Chris stands 6-8 and grew up playing soccer in Jamaica. Mother Sharon goes 6-0.
There are the three sisters, of course. And Michelle's twin, Michael, is a 6-0 member of the boys' freshman basketball team.
Andrea also competes in track, specializing in the discus and shot put. She is the school record-holder in the discus.
FUTURE: Andrea Walker, who has a 3.9 grade point average, signed a letter of intent in November with Ohio State. Pitt, Penn State and Xavier were the other finalists.
-- By Rick Shrum
First Published: February 9, 2006, 5:00 a.m.
