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Prepping for Preps: Haverford School (Pa.)

10/07/2015, 8:59am EDT
By Stephen Pianovich

Stephen Pianovich (@SPianovich)
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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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Bernie Rogers had a good idea of what his roster would look like when he took the job as head boys basketball coach at The Haverford School in May.

And it wasn’t a pretty scenario. The team’s talented trio of Division I was no more – gone from the school due to graduation or transfer, and a fourth starter graduated as well.

After 15 years at Archbishop Ryan, it’s the first year of a new opportunity for Rogers. And new opportunities are exactly what are in store for players on the Fords’ roster in the 2015-16 campaign.

“We don’t have many returning varsity points from last year,” Rogers said. “We’ll figure it out and I want to compete. We’ll figure out who can be good at what. It’s a little unsettling as a coach, but it’s probably exciting for the players that it’s pretty wide open and there are a lot of available minutes to be had.”

A large chunk of those minutes and points belonged to Levan Alston, Lamar Stevens and Cameron Reddish last season. Alston, the Fords leading scorer a year ago, is preparing for his first season at Temple. Stevens and Reddish, still in high school, both have high hopes for this season at Roman Catholic and Westtown School, respectively.

The Fords – who finished third in the Inter-Ac last season at 7-3 -- are also without their fourth-leading scorer from last season in 6-foot-4 Derek Mountain, now a tight end for Holy Cross.

With so much overturn, the expectations at The Haverford School are certainly watered down this season compared to years past. And in his first season on the sidelines, Rogers is much more concerned with building a foundation than wins and losses.

“From Day One, I want to build that work ethic, I want to build how we’re going to play,” he said. It’s about how good we can be with that and more about building that groundwork for future years.”

Rogers has not had too much of an opportunity to see his full team, either, as league rules limit what coaches and players can do before the season. However, he was able to watch some of his players in the summer and has a decent idea of who he has to work with.

Sophomore guards Kharon Randolph, Joe Dignazio and junior Josh Ridenhour along with big man Jack Marshall give Rogers what he called a “good nucleus.” All got minutes for Haverford last season, albeit in much smaller doses than what they’ll see this year.

Marshall is the lone senior of the bunch, and he and Randolph were the two most productive in terms of scoring last season, combining for a total 61 points, according to Ted Silary.

Alston, Reddish and Stevens combined for 1,412.

But there is plenty of opportunity for others to work in the Fords rotation, and Rogers said that he is going to give minutes to those who earn them.

“I think early you want to establish that playing hard is going to be a given,” he said. “Sharing the ball is going to be a given. You need your guys to really trust each other on the court. If those things become a given, then we can get down to X’s and O’s and scouting other teams and then figure out how to get better."

It’s going to be a rebuilding year at Haverford, and that’s OK with Rogers as long as the “building” part is emphasized. He wants to put his mark on the program, and he wants that program to be contending for Inter-AC titles again sooner than later.

“You want to be a solid program year in and year out,” Rogers said. “You want to always be able to compete for your league title, and I think you want the kids to have a great experience. I want to play fast, play hard and play together.”


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