Basketball
Favorite team: Trailblazers
Favorite memory competing in sports: My first dunk in 8th grade
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: Hitting a backboard 3 from the top of the key on senior night
Music on mobile device: Lil Uzi Vert/ A Boogie
Future plans: Play collegiate basketball and pursue a degree in accounting
Words to live by: “Practice how you play”
One goal before turning 30: Own my own car and apartment/house
One thing people don’t know about me: I like math
By Ed Morrone
If you’ve come looking for shock and disbelief over where the Cheltenham boys’ basketball team finds itself presently, still playing in the second week of March, then Brandon Scott has some bad news for you.
Yes, it is indeed true that the Panthers lost arguably their most talented player, Zahree Harrison, to a torn ACL in the season’s very first game. Naturally, many outside the Cheltenham walls doubted the team could embark on a deep run in both the district and state playoffs without him, but to hear Scott tell it, the team, while heartbroken for Harrison to witness his senior season wiped out, never stopped believing in each other.
The results have been truly remarkable: a 25-4 overall record, an unblemished 14-0 SOL American Conference mark, four win streaks of five games or more and a runner-up finish in the Class 6A District One playoffs. The Panthers may have fallen to Methacton in that final, but they aren’t finished yet.
Following a 57-56 win over Easton in the first round of the PIAA playoffs on Saturday, Cheltenham was scheduled to play a second round contest against Mount Lebanon, four victories away from a state title. That game and the entire state tournament have been put on hold for at least two weeks due to the coronavirus threat, but whatever the final outcome, it’s been a remarkably successful season for the Panthers.
They made it happen without Harrison, thanks in large part due to outstanding leadership, both from head coach Patrick Fleury and his staff, as well as rock solid guidance from the senior class, spearheaded by Scott, one of the most experienced and respected seniors in the program.
“Coach (Fleury) told us even before the injury that we were going to face some challenges, we just didn’t know what that was going to look like,” Scott said. “It hurt all of us, not being able to play with our brother, but it’s not like Zahree isn’t there. He’s on the bench every game, helping us out however he can. We knew we were going to face adversity, so it was just next man up.”
Watching Harrison go down was gutting for Scott, as the two have been best friends since sixth grade. But the show must go on, and the last thing Harrison would have wanted was for his team to wither without him; if anything, he’d want them to rally around the obstacle, which is exactly what the Panthers have done.
“It hasn’t surprised any of us,” Scott said of the team’s improbable season. “Once we knew Zahree was done for good, his dad came and talked to us. The most important thing he told us was, ‘You’re a great team with Zahree, and without him you’re still a great team.’ That impacted us a lot.
“One of the biggest things that has kept us together is that these seniors have been playing with each other since we were little kids. Because we’re so tightly-knit, we never got into it with each other. We stuck together, through the good and bad.”
Scott has not risen to be Cheltenham’s leading scorer, or even its second or third. Scott can score the ball, averaging around seven points per game, but he is more known as the team’s do-it-all Swiss Army Knife. The 6-foot-1 guard/forward, who also averages 5.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game, is the Panthers’ defensive specialist, often guarding the opposition’s best player, regardless of position. Fleury compared his role to Andre Iguodala’s on those championship-winning Golden State teams; he may not be the most talented player on the roster, but he is the adhesive that binds things together.
Make no mistake about it: The Panthers would not be where they are without Scott’s versatile arsenal.
“He has always been the most consummate, consistent player for us,” Fleury said. “Brandon is a very important player for us because he always draws the toughest defensive assignment. He plays inside out, can switch one through five and oftentimes is a secondary point guard. He scores in double digits sometimes, but if not, he’ll get you games where he has nine rebounds and five assists, or gets steals and takes charges. He’s also our go-to guy in transition. Brandon is a selfless leader who does whatever he has to in order to win. He always has been focused on team success over the individual, and that is a huge reason why we have been so successful.”
Fleury explained that Scott’s personality is perfectly suited for this team’s identity in that he is a very prideful player, taking everything he does in practice or in games seriously. Fleury also said that Scott is respected by everyone in the Cheltenham community and not just members of the basketball program.
“He does a lot of the things right that make people successful,” Fleury said. “Whether he’s giving up his body or his time to help his teammates, Brandon is just one of those kids that any program would be lucky to have.”
Another immeasurable intangible Scott has brought to this team is his relationship with sophomore guard Justin Moore. Scott has tried to take the younger player under his wing, and Fleury said the relationship they have built has been noticeable off the court. On the court, Moore has emerged as Cheltenham’s second-leading scorer (behind Rider-bound Jaelen McGlone), posting 15.4 points and 5.1 assists per game.
“Justin has really stepped up for us,” Scott said. “His confidence has been building ever since he joined us as a freshman.”
And how does Scott view his own role within the team?
“Defensive captain, someone who is always talking even when nobody else is,” he said. “I make sure everyone is in their spots, and I just try to be a hustle guy. I’m there on offense if needed, but just an all-around guy who keeps the team together if things aren’t going well. I’m going to rally those guys and be a calm and cool voice for them, just constantly talking to and encouraging them. I want to be a leader on and off the court. I’m always checking on the guys to see how they’re doing, telling them I love them and that they are my brothers.”
Scott’s role was even more critical in the state playoffs, as he is the only player on the roster with more than one PIAA game under his belt. At this time of year, talent can carry you, but so can experience, and Scott has both.
“It would mean the world to me,” Scott said of the prospect of delivering a state championship banner to Cheltenham. “I’ve been in this school district since I was in fourth grade. Just to give back to the program and win its first state championship in school history, it would mean the world to me and the other seniors to leave that as our legacy.”
As far as his future plans, Scott knows he has some decisions to make, but he’s holding off until after the season ends. When the time comes, he is hoping to have some options as far as college and basketball are concerned. Fleury said a couple of Division III programs continue to look at Scott, who said he would like to go to school as local as possible. Wherever he ends up, Scott wants to pursue a degree in accounting, simply because he has always been enamored with math and numbers.
But those are matters for another day. For now, Scott is focused on cherishing every second he has remaining with his band of brothers. In addition to knowing Harrison since sixth grade, Scott said he’s known McGlone since fifth grade, and has been playing with current teammates Travis Coleman, Sean Emfinger and Dave Pope long before any of them reached high school.
As for Harrison’s spirits as Cheltenham tackles the challenge of a state title run, Scott maintains that his best friend, who will play his college ball at Saint Francis, has remained just as integral part of the team as he would if he was out there with his teammates on the floor.
“It shows a lot of character on his part,” Scott said. “I know he’s hurting, but he also knows the best thing for our team is to be there to encourage us, which is just amazing on his part. I mean, put yourself in his shoes. It could go other ways for any person, whether that’s getting depressed or just withdrawing. But he’s right there with us, having fun on the bench. It’s been awesome.”
Regardless of where Scott ends up, he knows he’s unlikely to ever find a group of guys like this current one. Which is fine, because it just makes their bond and memories together even more everlasting.
“It’s meant everything to me, having all these different personalities by my side through this journey,” Scott said. “We became such a family in a short amount of time. That’s the aspect that sticks out to me most: family doesn’t just mean your immediate family at home. It’s these guys who I saw on a day-to-day basis, and we will share that bond for life. That’s going to be very important to me, especially as I grow up.
“The bond we have as teammates, you just can’t get that anywhere else. Everything else, it just won’t be the same.”
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