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Prepping for Preps '16-17: Downingtown West

10/07/2016, 10:00am EDT
By Jeff Griffith

George Gordon (above) is ready to take his turn as a featured scorer for Downingtown West. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Jeff Griffith (@Jeff_Griffith21)
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(Ed. Note: This story is part of CoBL’s “Prepping for Preps” series, which will take a look at many of the top high school programs in the region as part of our 2016-17 season preview coverage. The complete list of schools previewed so far can be found here.)

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After a dominant season skidded to a disappointing and surprising halt last year, the Downingtown West basketball program was left looking for answers. The loss of three high-profile seniors didn’t help, as Ryan Betley (Penn), Josh Warren (Cornell), and Dom Guerrera (West Chester) graduated and moved on to the collegiate level.

Along with them, head coach Jason Ritter, who led the Whippets to back-to-back Ches-Mont championship games and district playoff appearances, left the team to focus on his young family.

Safe to say, things in West’s Wagner Gymnasium look much different now than they have over the last three years.

That certainly doesn’t mean they have to look much worse; new head coach Stuart Ross and a solid group of upperclassmen--led by senior guard Matt Carson and senior forward George Gordon--will do whatever they can to make sure of that.

While seniors like Carson and Gordon have played at the varsity level before, other upperclassmen will be getting their first taste of real varsity playing time. While it will be up to the experienced players to lead the way, Ross recognizes the importance of a team mentality entering this season.

“It’s going to be more of a team approach,” said Ross, who formerly coached at Penn State Brandywine and, most recently, Collegium Charter. “We definitely have plenty of talented guys, guys like Matt Carson, George Gordon, Greg Barton, some of those guys that are looking to step up and take some of the scoring load off, take the place of some of the big scorers we had last year. We’re going to take more of a team approach, be sound defensively...hopefully the rest of the team will take care of itself.”

The loss of senior guard Pat Kennedy to a season-ending ACL injury certainly depletes the experience level of the Whippets’ backcourt, as Carson and Wayne Anderson are the team’s only guard with legitimate varsity play. According to Ross, Kennedy will be a key vocal leader on the team despite being sidelined for his senior season.


Matt Carson (above) and the Whippet backcourt will have to adjust for the loss of senior Pat Kennedy to a torn ACL. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Carson hopes that himself and the other varsity veterans can make an impact on those with less experience, and use their leadership to make up for that discrepancy.

“Definitely (want to be) a leader, definitely help the younger guys out because we only have three guys that played varsity last year,” Carson said. “Definitely show them the ropes and hopefully make them better.”

“We’ve got to play together, the three of us have to step up and help the younger guys,” he added.

As for Gordon, the 6-foot-7 forward has been playing at the varsity level to some degree since his sophomore year, and will be the biggest inside scoring threat to replace the Whippets’ strong inside-out play from Warren over the last three seasons.

Gordon, who has multiple Division II looks from the likes of Lock Haven and West Chester, as well as high-academic D-III interest from Franklin & Marshall, received high praise from his new head coach.

“(We expect him) to be a dominant low-post threat, be able to step out and knock down some (shots),” Ross said. “He’s got to take on some of that scoring load.”

As for the new faces, forwards like 6-5 junior Greg Barton and 6-8 junior Stuart McAvoy can help Gordon down low, specifically on the defensive end.

In terms of the backcourt, with the losses of Kennedy and Anderson, it will be the likes of seniors Matt White and Chuck Lewis as well as junior Davis Reardon who will be the main supporting guards alongside Carson.

The most notable new face, Ross, brings a new coaching and playing style that he has already begun implementing with his new team and players since his hiring at the end of the 2015-16 school year.

“We want to be very effective and efficient, we want to let our defense feed our offense and get out in transition,” he said. “Defensively, we’re going to be sound in our rotations and our positioning on the floor. With this team having so much size, we’ve got to be very sound on the glass, we’ve got to win the rebounding battle night in and night out.

If the many variables entering this season can be worked out, and Downingtown West’s inexperienced yet talented team can gel together under their new coaching staff, there’s certainly reason to believe the Whippets can compete in the Chesmont league and in District one.

“Redemption,” said Carson. “Get back to Coatesville, try to win a league title, see how far we can go in districts. Hopefully I can lead my team there, I’m excited.“


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