Pennridge senior Zach Muredda surpassed the 1,000-point milestone in Pennridge’s win at Neshaminy last Wednesday.
By Mike Prince
For Suburban One Sports
Last week just might have been the most memorable week of Zach Muredda’s basketball career.
After helping his team clinch the Suburban One Continental Conference outright for the first time in school history less than a week earlier, the Pennridge senior point guard followed that with several huge individual achievements.
Muredda became only the fifth player in Pennridge school history to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau in a 54-39 win over host Neshaminy last Wednesday, scoring 18 points, including a three-pointer in the fourth quarter to reach the milestone. Soon after, the 6-foot, 180-pounder verbally committed to play basketball at Ursinus College.
“Zach came in our program as a freshman and was a starter halfway through the season,” Pennridge coach Dean Behrens said. “He put a lot of time and effort into the program, and he’s one of the main reasons we’ve won so many games over the last four years.
“I know he’s won more games at Pennridge than any other player in school history and he helped us to win a share of the league last year and then outright this year. He spends countless hours shooting the ball, and I know he loves the game.”
Muredda scored 18 points in the win at Neshaminy, and as of Saturday night, now sits with 1,026 career points. Tim Abruzzo, the last Pennridge player to reach the 1,000-point mark, graduated in 2012 with 1,152 points, a current school record.
Muredda, who also considered Scranton, Juniata and DeSales University, is looking to keep increasing his point total during what he hopes to be a long and successful playoff run for the Rams.
“I guess right now, this accomplishment would rank number-one for me, but the real goal is to go far in districts and get to states and win some playoff games there,” the 17-year-old Muredda said. “But it meant a lot me (reaching 1,000 points). So many people told me it’s rare to happen and that not many people do it, so it was pretty cool when I hit the three-pointer and they stopped the game for me. The experience was pretty cool.”
Neshaminy coach Jerry Devine did a classy job in honoring Muredda, stopping the game for the Pennridge player who was congratulated by his teammates, coaches and family, including his parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. Devine also gave Muredda the game ball to take home.
“I really appreciate what Jerry (Devine) and Neshaminy did for Zach,” Behrens said.
Pennridge also honored Muredda at home the following night before the Rams’ final SOL game against Quakertown.
“For me as a coach, it’s very exciting to see one of my players who I’ve seen play since they were in seventh grade,” Behrens said. “You never imagine a kid in seventh grade being a 1,000-point scorer, but I know how hard Zach has worked on his game and this is just icing on the cake. I know he wants to win a playoff game after we were bounced out early next year, and I know he wants to be on a team that wins some playoff games.”
Muredda has averaged roughly 15 points per game this season. He leads the Rams in assists, he’s second in rebounding and he defends with the best of them. Despite playing point guard, he is often the one crashing the board for rebounds.
“Zach is able to do something from every facet for us,” Behrens said. “He sees the floor extremely well, he doesn’t take breaks defensively and he takes on any challenge for us and doesn’t have any qualms about it. He does a good job of keeping everyone involved and getting other people the ball.”
Muredda said that Behrens has allowed him to play “freely” with the ball, helping his in-game confidence.
“It depends on the night, but if I’m missing my shots, I’ll try to get to the rack and finish,” Muredda said. “Coach Behrens lets you play loosely and free-flowing, and he has really helped me a lot.”
Regarding his decision to attend Ursinus, Muredda credits the school’s coaching staff as the main reason for choosing the local college, while also mentioning that he knows a few members of the team from playing basketball against them, and believes that it was be a fun opportunity for him when the time comes.
For now, Muredda can reflect on a special personal achievement, put it behind him and use his basketball skills towards reaching a couple more goals before finishing his high school career.
“We’re focused on the playoffs and we really want to make a run this year,” Muredda said.
- Log in to post comments
