Scott huff highlights North Penn, William Tennent & Norristown in his first weekly notebook.
By Scott Huff
The birth of the John Conrad era of North Pennbasketball will begin on Tuesday night when the Knights travell to Wissahickon for their 2011-12 season opener.
“The tradition of North Penn athletics is both daunting and exciting at the same time,” said Conrad, who coached eight seasons at Lower Moreland prior to his selection as head coach of the Knights. “The size of the school – the size of the program – is something that will take some adjustment.”
The resume that Conrad brought with him to North Penn was impressive. In his eight seasons with the Class AA Lions of the Bicentennial League, Conrad racked up 143 wins and just 58 losses. Lower Moreland was the District One Class AA champion three times during his tenure, and he was selected coach of the year in the BAL three times.
Last season under coach Ron Hassler the Knights were 21-6 – co-champions of the Suburban One League Continental Conference - and earned a trip to the PIAA Quad-A state tournament. But graduation claimed all the key performers from the squad with the exception of seniors Wes Brooks and Javi Alvarino.
“We have some obstacles to overcome in terms of experience and size,” said Conrad as the Knights have only one player that measures 6-foot 3-inches or over on the entire varsity roster. “I have been out scouting teams, and it seems like every team is going to have at least one big player.”
Brooks may not have the size at 5-foot, 11-inches – but the guard does have the experience.
“Wes has a high basketball IQ,” said Conrad. “We are going to have to rely on him running the offense and making sure that we get a good possession and a good shot.”
Last season – under Hassler – the Knights were sometimes a painfully patient team on the offensive end of the court and played zone defense almost exclusively.
This season – under Conrad – North Penn will be a team that looks to run on the offensive end and will play a lot of man-to-man on the defensive end of the floor.
“With Coach Conrad, we will run the break a little and play the game a little faster,” said Brooks, who will run the Knight offense this season. “He wants us to drive to the basket, penetrate more, and if the shot isn’t there kick it out. It seems like we are going to be able to more of our own thing.
“On defense, we will be playing more man than zone,” added Brooks. “It is just a different style than I am used to in high school. We have a lot of new guys, and things are really coming together. We want to be competitive with teams like Souderton and Central Bucks East.”
“I want the players to be able to feel comfortable taking a good shot if it is there to take,” said Conrad. “We work hard on reading a defense and reacting to what the defense is giving us. And we will continue to work hard on man-to-man defense.”
The 2011-2012 North Penn Knights will have both a new coach and a new philosophy this season – and it will all begin on Tuesday night.
Great Expectations for William Tennent
There is a feeling that something special is about to happen for the Panther basketball team this season.
“I expect us to be competitive in our league schedule this season,” said William Tennent head coach Robert Mulville. “We have good leadership on this team, and we will continue to make progress as the season goes on.”
The leadership factor for the Panthers will come from senior captains Mike Wasserleben and Jack Rauchut. Wasserleben is a 5-foot, 10-inch point guard, while Rauchut is a 6-foot, 4-inch forward who was selected as a second team all-conference player last year.
“Mike is the consummate point guard who knows everything about the offense and is going to be a great coach some day,” said Mulville. “And Jack started on the varsity as a freshman and has been a starter the last three seasons. He does a great job of making the young players feel accepted as part of the varsity.”
One of those young players is much talked about 6-8 freshman Horace Spencer. Spencer – who has already secured a starting role for Tennent - may have tremendous size for a scholastic basketball player, but the fact remains that he is just 14 years old.
“Horace is doing a great job of adjusting to playing varsity basketball,” said Mulville. “He is a player that is always willing to learn, and with experience, he is going to be an excellent basketball player.”
William Tennent – which finished 1-13 a season ago in the Suburban One National Conference – opens its conference schedule this Friday at Council Rock North. North is the two-time defending conference champion.
“Nothing like jumping right into the fire,” said Mulville. “It will be a very tough test for us. But we will be ready.”
Who Are Those Guys?
Norristown has a tradition of basketball excellence, but the Eagles will enter this season with a huge question mark due to a lack of varsity experience.
“We have very few players with any real varsity experience,” said Norristown head coach Michael Evans. “This is the least experienced team we have coming back of almost any team that I can remember. We have three seniors on this team, but they only have had limited varsity playing time.”
The Eagles hope to get leadership from their trio of captains. Senior guard Samir Bey is one captain, while juniors Bernard Gordon and Jahbri Hargrove are the other two captains.
“This is a team that is going to have to seek out its own identity,” said Evans. “We really don’t know what we have right now, and everything is still up in the air. The league (SOL American Conference) is wide open, and it is too early to tell who is going to be really good.”
Don’t count the young and inexperienced Eagles out.
Philadelphia Coaches vs. Cancer High School Classic at Cheltenham
Area basketball fans won’t want to miss the Philadelphia Coaches vs. Cancer High School Classic at Cheltenham High School on Saturday, Dec. 17. The full day of basketball – with proceeds to be donated to Coaches vs. Cancer - will begin at 1:30 p.m. with a game pitting La Salle against Plymouth Whitemarsh. At 3 p.m., the Mathematics, Civics and Sciences Charter School of Philadelphia will face Chester. At 4:30 p.m., Boys Latin will take on defending National Conference champion Council Rock North. The day of basketball will close with Cheltenham facing neighboring rival Abington at 6 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students with identification.
Suburban One League Hoop Openers
Friday – December 16, 2011
SOL Continental Conference
Central Bucks East Patriots @ North Penn Knights
Pennridge Rams @ Central Bucks South Titans
Souderton Big Red @ Central Bucks West Bucks
Quakertown Panthers @ Hatboro-Horsham Hatters
SOL National Conference
Abington Ghosts @ Neshaminy Redskins
Truman Tigers @ Council Rock South Golden Hawks
William Tennent Panthers @ Council Rock North Indians
Pennsbury Falcons @ Bensalem Owls
SOL American Conference
Cheltenham Panthers @ Upper Dublin Flying Cardinals
Upper Merion Vikings @ Norristown Eagles
Wissahickon Trojans @ Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials
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