Jarrad Saffren highlights the top contenders in the American, Souderton & North Penn in the Continental and Truman in the National in the first of periodic notebooks.
By Jarrad Saffren
Three teams look capable of contending for American title
The Suburban One League American Conference has three stallions.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (4-0, 1-0 SOL), Hatboro-Horsham (3-1, 2-0 SOL) and Cheltenham (3-1, 1-0 SOL) are 10-2 overall and 4-0 in SOL American play.
The other five teams are 3-14 and 0-4.
The two challengers—Hatboro-Horsham and Cheltenham—look capable of usurping three-time defending league champion PW.
Hatboro-Horsham beat two league opponents—Springfield-Montco and Upper Moreland—by 40 and 26, respectively. The Hatters have arguably the league’s two best players: Seniors Jay Davis and Clifton Moore.
Davis—a fearless 6-foot-2 guard—is averaging 24 points per game. Moore—a skilled 6-foot-10 forward—is averaging 20.7 points. He also has two double-doubles.
“I expected big things from them. They are living up to expectations,” Hatboro-Horsham coach Ed Enoch said. “They are our key returners. So it’s important for them to play well while other kids fit into roles. They’ve taken pressure off everybody else.”
Cheltenham’s three wins—against Central, Newark and Springfield-Montco—came by 22, nine and 20, respectively.
They are also led by an American MVP contender: Senior forward Trevonn Pitts. Pitts averaged 17.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in the 10th Annual Cheltenham Tipoff Tournament, which the Panthers won.
Cheltenham lost every other starter from its 16-7 2015-16 team. But juniors Jack Clarke and Ahmad Bickley are stepping up in extended roles.
Clarke—who sprouted from 6-foot-2 to 6-foot-6 over the summer—averaged 15.5 points and 12 rebounds in the tipoff tournament. He also scored 14 points in Cheltenham’s win over Springfield-Montco on Dec. 16.
Bickley had 10 points, nine assists and four steals in that win.
“I came in looking to rebuild the program, and when you rebuild a program, you shouldn’t have to rebuild your team per se,” Cheltenham’s fourth-year coach John Timms said. “The Jack Clarkes, the Ahmad Bickleys, who are now juniors, they didn’t play (significant) varsity minutes last year, but we believe they are varsity ready.”
PW is still king, though, until someone knocks it off. The Colonials have beaten four tough teams—Coatesville, Bishop Shanahan, Wissahickon and Constitution—by a combined 17 points, a 4.25 average.
PW lost most of its 2015-16 rotation, including four All-SOL American players.
Three potential new standouts played leading roles in the first week.
Junior guard Ahmin Williams led comeback wins in PW’s first two games.
Junior guard Ish Horn scored 20 points in PW’s league opener Dec. 16.
“Ish is very talented,” PW coach Jim Donofrio said. “He’s capable of doing that every night if he clears his head.”
Senior guard Cheo Houston hit a game-winning, buzzer-beating three to beat Constitution on Dec. 17.
The Colonials are still figuring out their identity. They have won half-court games and up-and-down games. But they are winning while they figure it out, a scary thought for rivals.
These three teams will battle for the 2016-17 American title. The one with the best record against the other two will probably finish first.
Souderton, North Penn look strong in first week
The Suburban One League Continental Conference still has no favorites.
But Souderton and North Penn look the best after one week.
Souderton—a perennial playoff team that slipped to 7-15 in 2015-16—looks back, under first-year coach Tim Brown.
Souderton beat Central Bucks East and Methacton over the weekend, improving to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in SOL Continental play.
The CB East win was especially impressive. The Patriots were 3-1 going into the game and looked like a Continental favorite. Souderton won by 14.
“If we can maintain the energy and intensity we had in that game, we’ll win a lot more,” Souderton coach Tim Brown said.
Senior guard Mike Bealer leads a balanced scoring attack, averaging 15.6 points.
Five other Indians players—Matt Cartwright, Trevor Watts, Jake Groller, Noah Horas and DJ Landis—have scored in double figures at least once.
North Penn looks even more impressive.
The Knights are 3-1 and 1-0. They opened league play with a 13-point win over Central Bucks West on Dec. 16.
North Penn can win with offense and defense. It dropped 64 points on Upper Perkiomen on Dec. 10. It held CB West to 35 points.
North Penn—like PW—has multiple players capable of carrying a team. Three led opening-week wins.
Football standouts Reece Udinski and Ricky Johns led the Knights to that first league win, in their first extended basketball minutes of 2016-17. Both scored 15 points.
Senior center David Guiliani led North Penn to two wins in the Upper Moreland Tip-Off Tournament on Dec. 9-10. Guiliani scored 33 points in two games, 14 in the first, 19 in the second.
“We believe we have 10-12 varsity basketball players,” North Penn coach John Conrad said. “We can win a lot of different ways with a lot of different guys.”
Harry S. Truman seniors lead hot start
Harry S. Truman quietly started 3-0. The Tigers did not play the toughest schedule. But they won convincingly.
Truman beat Interboro 75-39, Bristol 65-54 and Plumstead Christian 54-47.
Senior Danell Snelling is averaging 20 points per game. He scored 20 against Interboro and 24 against Plumstead Christian.
“Danell is a three-year starter. So I expected this from him,” Truman coach Byron Conover said. “But his basketball IQ has gotten 200-percent better. He’s not forcing as many shots.”
Senior Kelechi Ogbonna scored 34 points in the Tigers’ first two games, leading them with 19 versus Bristol.
“Kelechi is playing his role,” Conover said.
Another senior—ZJ Jackson—put up a double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds) versus Interboro.
Still another—Rasheid Newkirk—buried a three-pointer with 15 seconds left to send the Plumstead Christian game to overtime.
“The seniors have put the work in since March, when we started,” Conover said. “And they have stepped up.”
Truman opens SOL National play Tuesday night against Council Rock South. The Tigers may come back to Earth in a tough league.
But for now, the Tigers, and the seniors leading them, look strong.
SOL Top 10
1 Abington
2 Plymouth Whitemarsh
3 Pennsbury
4 Council Rock South
5 Hatboro-Horsham
6 Cheltenham
7 North Penn
8 Neshaminy
9 Bensalem
10 Souderton
About the Author
