Thanks to our continued partnership with Univest Financial, SuburbanOneSports.com will once again recognize a male and female featured athlete each week. The recognition is given to seniors of high character who are students in good standing that have made significant contributions to their teams or who have overcome adversity. Selections are based on nominations received from coaches, athletic directors and administrators.
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Female Athlete (Week of Feb. 14, 2023)
Jaden Wan was on the fast track to living out her dream of playing collegiate basketball. The then Council Rock North sophomore was doing it all, averaging 16 points and 9.8 rebounds while shooting 51.6 percent from the floor when – in the sixth game of the COVID shortened season – she went down with an injury in her team’s game against Neshaminy. It marked the end of a brilliant season, but so impressive was Wan in five games that she earned first team All-SOL Patriot honors. Fast forward to her senior year, and the 5-10 forward is back on the court with a surgically repaired knee and a new perspective on a sport she loves. “Coming from the sideline perspective especially, I really gained an appreciation for being a positive role model. It has added a lot to how I look at my game and how I help the team. I think I’ve really grown as a player and a person.”
There is not a trace of anger or even frustration when Wan talks about an experience that - for the past two years - has been a case of now she’s playing, now she’s not. It a would have broken some and certainly soured others on the sport. “It’s very, very unfortunate,” North coach Jack Kelly said. “It really stings to think about what could have been, but I think what we learn is – life is filled with adversity, and Jaden never allowed her injuries to define her. She just kept working her way back. Last year, after she got hurt again, it would have been easy for her to give up on things, but she never did. She came to practice every single day, she worked at rehab throughout the summer, and she got herself back in a position to be a contributor this year. She’s had a fantastic senior season for us.”
Instead of lamenting her time off the court, Wan used it to pursue and receive certification as an EMT. “I eventually want to become a physician and be an orthopedic surgeon and specialize in sports medicine, so I think this whole experience drove me towards my future,” said Wan, a National Merit Commended Student with a GPA of 4.464. “Having that experience and being able to empathize with others and become that great physician that others can look to is a big takeaway from my experience.”
After a successful freshman year that saw Wan average 12 points a game, she went down in a collision in Rock North’s game at Neshaminy on Feb. 9, 2021. The injury – a dislocated knee and a high-grade partial tear of the medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) - also included cartilage damage, but after eight weeks of physical therapy, Wan returned to the court for her AAU season. “I had a full AAU season – everything was going super well,” Wan said. “But then in October open gyms, it just popped right out. It happened the second time, and it was more severe than the first time. After going back to my orthopedic surgeon, they warned me that there was a high chance – I think it’s 50 percent of re-dislocation, so that was the risk. The choice was playing through my junior season or having surgery right then and there, so I chose to do physical therapy again, but eventually, it happened in games a couple more times.”
In Rock North’s non-league game at Gwynedd Mercy, Wan went down and was helped off the court. “I just said – I’m having surgery because it wasn’t worth it,” Wan said. “That was just giving up my last year of AAU and then being able to play my senior season. It really was a long journey. Going through surgery and after surgery not being able to walk on it super well, sitting on my bed trying to do my stretches – that really was the low point I would say, but I knew there was so much ahead of me.” Wan returned to the starting lineup this winter and played in all 22 games. She gave us a presence of scoring on the inside, but she also expanded her game to be more apt to score on the perimeter as well,” Kelly said. “She’s improved her shooting. I think the other thing that’s underrated about her is she’s really a good rebounder, especially offensively. She kept the ball alive for us a lot. On top of that is just her leadership. Our players really looked up to her. She’s a calming presence – she never gets too high, she never gets too low. She’s very receptive to feedback. She’s constantly communicating, and she brings kind of a quiet leadership. She goes about her business and never lets up working to be her best on a daily basis. She’s a tremendous role model for our younger players especially.”
To read the remainder of Wan’s story, please click on the following link: https://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/jaden-wan-00105122
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Feb. 14, 2023)
The answer is “The Answer.” Although we are a generation removed from 11-time All-Star Allen Iverson’s career, CB East senior point guard Joey Giordano considers the former Sixers star, who won Rookie of the Year in 1997 and MVP in 2001 and played his last NBA game in 2010, his favorite all-time player. “That would make sense,” said his coach Erik Henrysen. “He’s tough as nails. He’s kind of an old-school kind of a player in that way. He will never tell you that he’s injured. He’ll run through a wall for you. He is one of those guys icing his knees on his off days.”
A season ago, Giordano’s role was smaller but clearly defined. He came off the bench, playing about 10 minutes per game, and he was like the Energizer Bunny for a team that reached districts. “It was a significant role,” said Henrysen. “When he came in the game, he gave us a spark.” Not willing to rest on those laurels, Giordano saw the opportunity to step into the role of the lead guard. “I wasn’t the scorer, which I understood, but they needed me for certain things, like playing that tough defense and creating that spark," said Gioardano, who has an expanded role for an East team that captured the SOL Colonial Division title and has surpassed the 20-win mark in the regular season. The Patriots are also top-four seed in the district field.
“I accepted my role coming into the year, and that’s what makes teams win,” said Giordano. “This year, we have that spark player coming off the bench, just like I was last year. That’s what completes a team. You can’t just have all scorers. You need everybody. I knew that I was going to have to step up this year and go into my new role. I actually stopped playing AAU just so that I could work on my skills. I had to work on my shot. I was doing that like 2-3 times a week. I was trying to work on my ballhandling. I did really work hard this offseason.” This came as no shock to the coaching staff. “He’s just all basketball,” said Henrysen. “He really works his tail off. I really can’t remember all but a handful of times during the offseason when he missed a workout. He not only puts the work in, but he puts the extra work in, and that’s throughout the year.”
A case in point was the 5-10 Giordano meeting assistant coach Jimmy Katasak, the same coach he worked with all summer on shooting, after what he felt was an off game from the floor. “He didn’t feel comfortable with the way he played, so he met one of my assistant coaches before school just to get some shots up,” said Henrysen. “He’s just a hardworking, hard-nosed kind of kid.” And, lo and behold, the extra work paid off. He turned around to hit a buzzer beater to quell a Pennsbury comeback and give East the important win. Not counting summer league, it was his first career buzzer-beater. But beyond the big shot, Henrysen was quick to point out that Giordano has the knack for making the big play at the right time. “He kind of does whatever we ask and finds a way of coming through in those moments,” said Henrysen. “Sometimes it’s a steal. Sometimes it’s a drive. Sometimes it’s just a matter of finding somebody else. He just plays the game the right way. When there are openings, he takes advantage of them and it doesn’t always have to be for him.”
Additionally, Giordano displays the kind of natural leadership skills that can’t be taught. “Joey is just a huge piece of our entire program,” said Henrysen. “He’s kind of an example of what we want our entire program to be. He’s selfless. He’s a leader. He’s one of our captains. He’s all effort, and he’s just super coachable. He always just looks you in the eye and says ‘OK’ to whatever you need him to do. He seems to be the center of our entertainment. Even last year, when we traveled, Joey’s room always seemed to be the room where all of our guys just kind of gathered. I think he just has that in him. Everybody wants to be around him, and he always seems to be the center of the fun.”
Giordano brings the same energy to the school community, as he is a member of the National Honor Society and helps to lead the student cheering section during football season. He is active in Athletes Helping Athletes and also East’s annual Coaches vs. Cancer event. With a course load of honors and AP classes, including two this semester, he boasts a GPA of 3.89. “It extends beyond the court,” said Henrysen. “He’s great in the classroom. His teachers love him. His peers admire him. He gets along with everybody. He’s just a great kid.”
To read the remainder of Giordano’s story, please click on the following link: https://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/joey-giordano-00105127
- Log in to post comments
