City of Basketball Love

Rich Flanagan (@RichFlanagan33)
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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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After suffering their tenth loss in their first twelve games last season, Delco Christian’s head coach Don Davis held a meeting with his team.

Having just lost to Bicentennial Athletic League rival Holy Ghost Prep 55-36 at the Pavilion on the campus of Villanova, Davis knew his team had to refocus and change the course of their season. That meeting was the turning point of the Delco Christian’s season.

Following that game, they won 12 of their final 16 games en route to a District 1 Class A title win over Jenkintown 50-41, their first district crown since 2006. Delco Christian (15-14) advanced to the PIAA Class A playoffs, scored an opening round victory over Paul Robeson before falling to Millersburg in the second round.

It was a strong finish to what looked to be a disappointing season, and Davis attributes his team’s turnaround to their meeting after that loss to Holy Ghost.

“We weren’t a seasoned team. There’s just some of that natural maturity that goes into sophomores and juniors,” Davis said, who is entering his fifth season at Delco Christian. “We reset expectations, and the team bought in. A lot of it was a recommitment on defense, and clarification on who our offense was going to run through. When it’s clear, most of them are willing to accept it and buy into it.”

Senior combo guard Wyatt Harkins agreed that that meeting set the tone for what he and his teammates were able to accomplish.

“After that, everyone bought in. Everything started to click. We took it game by game, and tried to maximize it,” Harkins said. “[Winning the district title] was a surreal feeling at first. A lot of the guys grew up playing together. Being there after all the years of playing together was a surreal feeling.”

Davis, who has compiled a 55-51 record at Delco Christian, said the run to the District title was “very rewarding when we look at how we got there” and luckily he has all of his starters, including Harkins, back who helped spur their run in the second half of the season.

Harkins, who has played point guard the last three seasons, will be making the transition to shooting guard. Davis said Harkins, a co-captain, is “one of the best leaders” and has “really expanded his game with speed and strength.” Davis expects Harkins to bring “a lot of offensive firepower” at the shooting guard position.

Joining Harkins with be senior Grant Fischer, the other co-captain, and junior Devin Hill. Fischer, like Harkins, is going through a transition year. Having been the team’s center, Fischer will be transition “from a back to the basket [player] going to a perimeter player,” according to Davis. Davis described Fischer as the “best rebounder on our team” and said he has “a ton of potential and a lot of upside,” which could be a factor into why “25 schools are waiting for tape on him” including East Stroudsburg, Indiana University of Pa. and St. Francis (Pa.). 

Hill was the team’s leading scorer last year and put up several high-scoring outputs including a season-high 30-point performance vs Faith Christian Academy last season. While known primarily as a scorer, Davis said “people don’t realize [Hill is] an incredible passer” and he “really gets other guys involved offensively.” Hill could step into the point guard role as Harkins moves over to the two-guard spot.

Delco Christian is a senior laden squad, and have several players who have been playing together “since second grade,” according to Harkins. Senior Jalen Johns will move to the center position as Fischer looks to expand his game outside. Davis hopes Johns can “defend the paint, rebound and score around the basket.” 

Fellow senior Nazim Tremmell-Wells has the “biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever coached” and is a “difference maker defensively,” as Davis described. Tremmell-Wells is the catalyst of Delco Christian’s defense, and will be looked upon to “disrupt the other team’s scorers.” The last senior, Bryce Shook, comes into the season having not played his sophomore and junior year due to two separate knee injuries. Davis said Shook “always has been an X-factor for this group” and “brings versatility and an added dimension to our team.”

Joining the seniors will be a junior class led by Jake Allen, T.J. Tann and Jordan Parks. Davis said Allen is a “very good defender and shooter from perimeter.” Coming into last year, Tann had not played since middle school and “needed a year to develop,” according to Davis. Tann is expected to compete for time at point guard this season. Parks, as Davis called him, is the “total package” because he “brings it both offensively and defensively every night.” Look for Parks to have a big season.

Davis will look to also get some production from sophomores Dante Felice, Tyler Penley and Tyler Smith. Missing from the Delco Christian roster this season are Danny Browne and Nathan Reese, both of whom have transferred. Browne, who transferred to Bishop Shanahan, had 20 points in the District 1A championship game.

Davis is hoping his team’s run to the district title last season was just the first step toward reaching their next major goal of success in the state playoffs.

“We’ve structured our schedule to make a deep run in the playoffs. A goal of ours is to play in the state finals in Hershey,” Davis said. “Some of the teams we’ve put on our schedule are to prepare us. I feel like we have a group that can be in the conversation. We’re putting ourselves on a path that will [give us] an opportunity to prepare ourselves for a deep run in the PIAA state playoffs.”

Harkins seconded his coach’s aspirations for the team.

"Honestly, right now I would like us to win a state championship and win 1A. That’s my goal as a player, and as a team, it’s our goal,” Harkins said. “We expect to get back to that District 1A championship game. We want to win our league as well in the BAL.”

Delco Christian certainly has not done itself any favors as it looks to repeat as district champ and potentially make the state playoffs. They open their season at home vs Dock Mennonite on December 9. They will face Jenkintown on January 9 in a rematch of the District 1A title game. They will travel to Holy Ghost on January 25, and they will also play defending PIAA Class A state champion Constitution on January 29. During the first weekend in February, they will travel to Quincy, Ill. to take part in the Superfan Shootout against Quincy Notre Dame and Pittsfield High School.