City of Basketball Love

Rich Flanagan (@richflanagan33)
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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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Wissahickon’s Zach Reiner felt last season was something to build on. The 6-4 junior combo guard, who can also occasionally play the four spot, believes many players from the Trojans’ 10-12, 5-9 Suburban League One League American campaign earned valuable experience which they will carry over into the upcoming year

“I was one of the only two guys who played varsity the year before. It was good to see some sophomores and juniors at the time step up and create big roles for the team,” Reiner said.

Reiner is one of the leaders who returns from a Wissahickon team which went through a lot of growing pains in winning only five conference games after tallying 10 in 2014-15. The Trojans failed to reach the postseason and finished tied for second to last in the SOL American with Upper Moreland.

Still, Reiner feels with another year of development and cohesiveness better production will be put out on both ends. So does his head coach, Kyle Wilson.

“We graduated four seniors but a lot of the guys who graduated weren’t big points guys; they were more defensive guys,” Wilson said. “We have a lot of juniors who played as sophomores, and they’ll have another year of experience under their belt.”

Wilson added that there appears to be more skill with this year’s team on the offensive end but is hoping the scoring load will be evenly distributed on a nightly basis if they hope to accumulate more marquee wins similar to the 74-60 triumph they had over PIAA Class A runner-up Math, Civics & Sciences on Dec. 12.

“We have a lot of guys who can score so finding that chemistry and learning how to share the ball, that’s our thing,” Wilson said. “We need three guys scoring 15 [points.] We don’t need someone scoring 20 to 25. It’s the type of team we are.”

All things begin and end with Reiner and his backcourt mate, senior point guard Zach Gelman. Reiner is “our most consistent guy, but we need guys to support and play around him,” according to Wilson. Reiner has the ability to knock down shots, finish at the rim and score in bunches. The SOL All-League American Third Team selection consistently scored in double figures including a 15-point outing against Upper Moreland and 14-point game vs Cheltenham last season.

Reiner can distribute but Gelman is the one who makes the offense go and gets the team in position at both ends. As Wilson described, Gelman is “our floor general and always takes care of the rock,” and does a little bit of everything to help his team win.

Having Gelman facilitate the offense gives Reiner more of an opportunity to excel in the scoring department and he’s ecstatic to have the senior back alongside this season.

“He’s one of the most unselfish players I know. He’s a great floor general and knows our spots in the offense very well. He gives up the extra pass almost every, single time,” Reiner said.

Reiner and Gelman give Wilson two players he can rely on to carry the scoring load and leadership duties but there are other players waiting to make an impact for the Trojans. Chaz Owens (6-4), son of 12-year NBA pro Billy Owens, should provide an immediate boost because, as Reiner says, he “can shoot over people, get rebounds and he’s insanely athletic.” Owens showed some of his scoring ability with 13 points against Cheltenham on Feb. 4.

With not much size in the middle, the Trojans will play more of a four-guard offense in an attempt to spread out bigger teams. Max Rapoport (6-4), who Wilson says “shoots the ball well and finishes with both hands really well,” wingman Marlyn Johnson (6-2), who scored 13 in one of those two matchups with the Panthers, and forward Alex Tappen (6-3), a Virginia baseball commit, will keep opposing defenses honest with their shooting ability. Shane Ford (6-4) is another guy who figures to be in the mix for the Trojans.

Wilson isn’t too worried about his team’s ability to score the basketball but he knows his team will need to be disciplined when trying to stop the opposition from scoring.

“Defensively, we need to slide, shift and protect our rim,” Wilson said. “We don’t have a 6-8 guy so we need to be in position to take charges, stop penetration and not give teams multiple possessions.”

Wilson has played a lot of big games against SOL foes while at the helm of Wissahickon but the league he’ll be leading his team against will look a little different. In May, the SOL Realignment Committee restructured all three conferences, giving the National and Continental seven teams apiece and American eight. In the American, Wissahickon will be joined by newcomer Hatboro-Horsham but lost Norristown and Upper Merion, both of which moved to the PAC-10.

Wilson will miss playing against teams he’s viewed as rivals for years but understands schools have to do what is best for themselves.

“I played at Wissahickon [and] you hate losing longtime teams,” Wilson said. “We picked up Norristown as a non-league game but we lose one against Upper Merion, which is a local game. It’s tough but teams have to what they have to do, and schools’ athletic programs will miss them.”

Even though the SOL has been reshaped, Reiner knows the team’s goals remain the same and that starts with potentially winning their conference then hopefully progressing from there.

“Right now, we have a lot to work on but nothing can stop us from winning our conference,” he said. “I think we haven’t made state [playoffs] in four years so that’s definitely a goal for us, too.”