City of Basketball Love

Teddy Bailey (@TheTeddyBailey)
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(Ed. Note: This article is part of CoBL's "Prepping for Preps," our series of articles previewing area high school teams for the 2015-16 season. For the complete list of schools previewed so far, click here)

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A year removed from its first Central League championship since the 2007-2008 season, Ridley now finds itself in a bit of an unfamiliar position; the hunted.

In a league that has seen Lower Merion employ its dynasty over the years, will be the first team other than the Aces to defend its league title since Upper Darby’s Ridley championship in 2011.

The Green Raiders are fresh off a season that included a trip to the District 1 Class AAAA Semifinals and an appearance to the state playoffs before bowing out to La Salle in the first round of the state tournament.

“That’s what is the concern for us,” Ridley head coach Mike Snyder said of playing as the hunted. “Our kids have to understand that they’re in a little different position coming into this season. Now, you’re the ex-champ and everyone wants to prove things against you. It’ll be a different mentality knowing that there aren’t going to be any easy games. We're going to get every team’s best effort. It’s totally a different feel for us."

Snyder has the luxury of returning three starters from last season, including Central League MVP Brett Foster. Foster, a 5-foot-11 senior point guard, averaged 16.3 points per game in last year’s campaign. The speedy guard joins fellow classmates Julian Wing and Ryan Bollinger in a solidified Green Raider backcourt.

“They have a lot of experience so they’re coming in this year ahead of the game,” Snyder said. “They’ve all been through a lot of games. Hopefully they don’t worry about being nervous or making mistakes and just go out and play.”

While all three returning starters are listed as guards, they carry very different attributes. Foster is a point guard that prides himself on driving to the basket and hitting pull-up jumpers. Bollinger, who averaged 8.0 ppg last year, is seen as the Green Raiders’ 3-point specialist. The 6-foot-1 guard drilled 56 triples a season ago, good for fifth in Delaware County. Wing (8.9 pph), meanwhile, uses his 6-foot-2 frame to work a little inside along with being able to shoot over defenders.

While Ridley returns three key scorers, they will also try to replace a trio of contributors from last year’s campaign. Ameer Staggs, a 6-foot-2 guard, highlights the departures. Staggs averaged 12.3 ppg and was the Green Raiders’ second-leading scorer.

Snyder will also miss the services of 6-foot guard Nick Czechowicz and 6-foot-2 forward Justin Dawson. Last year’s team was seen as undersized, but that did not stop Ridley from making a run towards the District 1 title.

“At the end of the year, I think we started playing with a little more confidence,” Snyder said. “Hopefully we’ll come into the start of the year with more confidence and chemistry.”

Replacing the frontcourt will be Snyder’s largest challenge as the Green Raiders look to defend their league championship.

“What we’re hoping is that we get kids that come in and play hard. They have to understand that you have to play hard to win games. Some kids just don’t understand that right away. As we’re moving forward, our new players had experience in the summer so it’s not like they haven’t played for us.”

Six-foot-one guard Liam Thompson returns for his junior season as he will see much more playing time in the rotation. As far as the frontcourt goes, 6-foot-4 senior center Mike Patterson and 6-foot-2 junior forward Jimmy Bramwell will be called upon to replace the likes of Staggs.

“Jimmy Bramwell didn’t play on varsity last season, but he’s a great outside shooter and a big-man,” Wing said. “He can dominate down low for us. Mike Patterson will definitely be in the rotation for us. Liam Thompson is a fantastic outside shooter. They should be great down low, and I’ll be down there too. I like to push them in practice.”

Ridley will be heavily challenged in its non-league season as well as Central League play. The Green Raiders will travel to Downingtown West and face Penn commit Ryan Betley and Cornell commit Josh Warren to cap a home-and-home series. Last year, Ridley defeated the Whippets 59-45 at home.

Snyder has also scheduled District 11’s Liberty HS and a very experienced Glen Mills squad.

“We have a tough schedule this year,” Snyder said. “There’s not going to be many easy games for us. All around, our schedule is difficult and the Central League always has multiple teams in the state tournament.”

Ridley’s biggest competition in the league will come from Lower Merion, Conestoga and an array of teams that return starters.

The Aces return K.J. Helton, Jeremy Horn and Eli Needle as well as some fresh faces. Conestoga brings back a trio of seniors in Daryl Caldwell, Andrew Larkin and M.J. Lezanic, among others. Garnet Valley will see Delaware County’s ninth-leading scorer return in point guard Andrew Louden, and many other schools are primed to take a shot at the defending champions.  

“Lower Merion did win the league a lot,” Foster said. “When we lost to them in the title game as a freshman, I wondered what it would be like to beat a school like that. Now we have the confidence and the drive that we can go back-to-back.”

As far as playing as the hunted goes, Foster and his team are trying to blur out everything that happened a year ago; the school showing overpowering support, Staggs’ game-winning layup to stun Conestoga in the District semifinals, or even playing in Temple’s Liacouras Center. According to Foster, it’s a new year.

“We just don’t want to think about it,” Foster continued. “None of us are thinking about last year’s Central League title and what we were able to do last season. That’s what is going to get us in trouble, it’s all about this season. Everything we did last year, we’re expecting to do the same.”

“We’re going to set our goals a little higher this year and try to defend our league title,” Snyder said. “We want to make it back to States, and hopefully our guys understand that it’s not going to be an easy path. What we did last year is not going to have an effect on the floor this year.”

The path starts on December 5th against Liberty before Ridley return to Folsom for its quest to repeat as Central League champions. Strath Haven will certainly not be the last team to put the bullseye on the Green Raiders.