skip navigation

Prepping for Preps '16-17: Council Rock South

11/25/2016, 11:50am EST
By Michael Bullock

Austin Thomas (above) and Council Rock South are adjusting to new head coach Derek Wright. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Michael Bullock (@thebullp_n)
--

(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.)

~~~

New challenge? Unquestionably.

Yet when Derek Wright, a Council Rock lifer, went looking and eventually found his next basketball opportunity it just happened to be right down the street.

That’s right, Wright’s new gig was literally right down the street.

Signing on as Council Rock South’s head hoops coach over the summer — not more than a few weeks after concluding his 14th season fronting a highly successful Council Rock North program — Wright finds himself mentoring youngsters who just happen to live in the same area of the Bucks County district that he, in fact, grew up in.

Wright’s also directing practice sessions and shooting drills involving CR South kids he’s spent the past 14 seasons coaching against, so there is a sense of familiarity that’s made what could be a really delicate transition considerably smoother.

“These are still Council Rock kids,” Wright admitted. “I felt in my gut that I wanted a change and this was really the only way I felt comfortable doing it, was to be able to still coach Council Rock kids. I know a lot of them from them attending my camps over the years. I’ve known them since they were young.

“Obviously, we’ve competed against them the last couple years so, yeah, there’s some familiarity there,” Wright continued. “I was born and raised in Churchville, so I would have been a South student if the schools were split. So, in terms of the culture and the environment, there’s a lot of familiarity there.”

Yet even though Wright was familiar with many of CR South’s players and those same players were fully aware who he was when he first bounced into the gym a few months back to meet the Golden Hawks, there’s still a needed transition period.

Sure, Wright and his staff piloted CR North to more than 200 victories, four Suburban One championships, 11 District 1-AAAA playoff appearances and four trips to the state tournament. Those accomplishments have hardly been forgotten.

Not by those at CR North.

And not by those at CR South.

So, thus far, just a few days deep in preseason practice, everything’s been upbeat as Wright continues to prep his club for their season opener against Lower Moreland.

“It’s going great,” Wright said. “I couldn’t ask for anything more from a group of guys that are learning a lot of new things and getting to know a new coaching staff. They’ve been resilient and coachable and have had great attitudes. So, yeah, we’re excited.”

“Real excited,” senior guard Austin Thomas remarked in September during a break in the action at West Chester University’s Big 64. “He’s a real good guy and a real good coach. All of his workouts are really organized and structured.

“The offseason’s gone really well. I think we’re gonna have a good season ahead of us.”

While CR South fashioned a 7-15 record a season ago — a 5-9 mark in the Suburban One’s testy National Conference — the Golden Hawks graduated just two players from last year’s club and return potentially four starters to a senior-heavy bunch.

“They want to win. They want to have a great experience,” Wright admitted. “I hope that through this experience they gain the understanding that no coach, no referee, no outside figure is really going to have an influence on how they feel about their experience in the program. It’s going to come down to them.

“I hope they grasp that and understand that they have ownership in their experience and I think they’ll get that,” Wright added.

Since Wright and his coaching staff are just wrapping up the district-mandated tryout process and familiarizing themselves with even more players — Jim Vacca, Colin McCarthy and Ed Costello were Wright’s assistants at CR North as well — rosters and opening-night rotations and potential starting lineups remain vague.


Kevin Newbert (above) is another senior and three-year starter for the Hawks. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

What’s clear, however, is a handful of seniors likely will play integral roles for Wright’s first CR South edition. Everything else may need to wait until opening night.

“Austin Thomas and Alex Nordenholt are returning all-league players, so they’ve established themselves as respected players in the league,” Wright said. “Kevin Newbert is also going to be a three-year varsity player. We expect a lot out of him.

“And then two of our forwards got significant time last year, Ryan McNamee and Ryan Boyd, both got significant minutes. We’ll see how it plays out. We certainly have a long way to go. … But those guys have some familiarity with each other and have some experience and have succeeded at this level.”

Nordenholt, a 5-11 senior, led the Golden Hawks in scoring but also put up good numbers on the boards (4.0 rpg) and while finding teammates (3.0 apg). Thomas, an active 5-9 player who can handle both backcourt spots, was the only other CR South player to crack double digits (11.2 ppg) on a nightly basis.

While the 6-3 Newbert averaged 8.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg and 3.2 apg, Boyd (7.8 ppg) and McNamee (2.6 ppg) will provide much-needed size up front at 6-6 and 6-7.

Especially when the Golden Hawks collide with the sizable frontcourts that Suburban One National playmates such as Abington and Pennsbury will trot out there. Those are just several of the hammers that CR South will encounter in league play.

While 6-10 Indiana recruit Clifton Moore and his Hatboro-Horsham teammates could be on the opposite bench when the opening weekend comes to a close, nonleague dates with Parkland, Girard College and Pennridge definitely will follow.

“The league is really good this year — not just some of the better teams, but I think top to bottom there’s some really good teams — so as usual the Suburban One will test you,” Wright reiterated. “We wanted to make sure our guys are given the best tests to get the most out of their abilities this year.

“We’re gonna find out where we are real early, which is good,” Wright continued. “That’s what we like to do is get an idea of where you are early in the season and hope you’re peaking at the right time toward the end of January.”

Remember, too, that Wright and his staff are merely a few days into their first CR South training camp, so they’re still trying to get a fix on just what they have on hand.

“We’re not gonna set any outside expectations,” said Wright, the younger brother of Villanova head coach and fellow Council Rock alum Jay Wright. “I’m sure the kids will on their own and I’ll certainly allow them to do that. I don’t know what it’s going to look like, to be honest with you. At the end of every season, we like to be able to look back and say, ‘Did we get the most out of our abilities?’ That’ll be success for us.

“I know it’s a team that’s hungry for the playoffs and it’s been a really long time since they’ve been there, but I don’t want that to be the factor that determines whether or not they had a good season,” added Wright, referring to a CR South program that last reached districts in 2009 and went to states most recently the season before that.

“They may get the most out of their abilities and it might not be good enough for the playoffs, but it could be better than [that]. It could be a ride that they go on that they never even expected. We’re going to measure it by how we feel about our effort and attitude and see whether or not we deserve that kind of success.”

Even Thomas didn’t list any set objectives that he and his teammates may have been pondering earlier in the fall, choosing instead to concentrate on what they can control.

“We can score the ball, but defense is a major key for us,” said Thomas, who is getting recruiting interest from Muhlenberg, Gettysburg, and Marywood. “Coach Wright, he pounces on that. That’s his main goal. He says everything else will fall in place. Defend, rebound and unselfishness, with just those three things he thinks we can win.”

Since Wright has been prowling North’s hallways for so long — as a student, head coach and teacher — one growing yet obvious concern may be making sure he enters the right locker room on Dec. 16 when CR South pays its first visit to CR North.

Geez, Wright may even have some of his former CR North players in class that day or pass several of them between periods or see them in the cafeteria during lunch.

“Fourteen years as a head coach and played here and was an assistant coach for a couple years, so it’ll definitely be interesting,” Wright said with a chuckle. “I’ve just got to make sure I get my gear caught up with all the North gear that I have.

“I’ve just got to make sure I get enough South stuff to wear,” Wright added. “It’ll be exciting and I’ll be excited for the kids.”

The kids who live just down the street.


Recruiting News:

HS Coverage:

Tag(s): Home  Old HS  Michael Bullock  Boys HS  SOL Patriot (B)  Council Rock S.