City of Basketball Love

Matt Chandik (@MattChandik)
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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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It’d be selling Paul Girone short to say that he’s left a sizable imprint on the Great Valley basketball program.

He’s bounced back and forth within the school for the better part of 30 years, coaching everywhere from ninth grade to boys’ and girls’ varsity. In his first tour as boys’ coach from 1985-1991, Girone guided the Patriots to a pair of state berths. In 2005, he took over the girls’ program and won 113 games in six years, including four PIAA tournament berths.

Yet despite all of that, Girone freely admits that this is as much fun as he’s ever had.

“It’s been two of the most fun years that I’ve ever had while coaching,” Girone said.

This year, he’ll have a lot of fun figuring out a way to retool Great Valley’s lineup. Alex Capitano is the headliner for the Patriots. The 6-4 guard/forward started as a freshman for the Ches-Mont Final Four team. He’s a potential Division I prospect, a great shooter who’s nearly automatic from the free throw line, and he’ll be tasked with running the show on a team that graduated eight seniors.

Because there’s nobody else with starting experience on the team.

“We’ll play him all over the court,” Girone said. “He was a nice player for us last year and it’s quite a feat for a freshman to start on varsity. He plays year round and he’s gotten bigger and better. He can make everyone around him better and we’ll need him to have a big year.”

It’s odd to look at Capitano as the old man of the team, but that’s the way it goes for the Patriots. He knows that more is expected of him. Last year, he wasn’t tasked with handling the ball a ton, but now, he’ll be asked to change his style a little bit.

“It’s a lot different. I need to go in with a point guard’s mentality,” Capitano said. “I wasn’t handling the ball as much last year because I was more of a three, but I worked on my handle, penetrating and kicking to open shooters this summer with my Jersey Shore Warriors AAU team. I’m a taller guard, so I had to really work on staying low on my dribbles. If I get high, my moves aren’t as effective.”

There’s the tangible aspect of change that will be measured by box score statistics, but Capitano is also fully aware that his role changes elsewhere. The experience of playing in the Ches-Mont Final Four and the PIAA District One tournament helped him, and it’s something he needs to pass on to his teammates.

“All eight of last year’s seniors taught me everything about varsity basketball,” Capitano said. “The experience helped a lot and I think I can help our younger guys. Our goal is to get back to the Ches-Mont Final Four and I think we can surprise a lot of people. I’m not nervous, but I’m more excited about being a leader to be showing and helping the other guys.”

Great Valley will go as far as Capitano takes it, but the Patriots might struggle to play 1-v-5. There will be some senior leadership in that starting lineup, led by Robert Greiss and J.J. Long. Geiss was the Patriots’ starting quarterback in the fall and his athleticism translates over to basketball, too. He’s a big, physical presence who can get to the basket, and Girone is optimistic that Geiss can boost the team’s brute physicality. Long is a 6-4 forward/center who has vastly improved from a year ago, especially on the offensive end. He’ll be relied upon to control the paint.

Matt Porecca, Nate Graeff and Liam Ward highlight the Patriots’ junior class. Porecca is a smaller point-guard type who can handle the rock with ease and get to the basket. Graeff is a 6-2, 225-pound bruiser who plays linebacker on the football field. He’ll play next to Long, meaning that you better be tough if you want to take the ball to the hoop against Great Valley. Ward is the set shooter of the group. He can get hot in a hurry, especially if given time and space, and he’ll look to stretch defenses out.

“It’s going to be a very interesting team to coach,” Girone said. “I don’t know who our best defender is, though, and that’s something we’ll find out during preseason practice. We work on offense all year in the offseason, whereas the defensive side is where we’re going to have to grow tremendously. I’d say we’ll spend about 75 percent of our practice time on it.”

When Girone needs a spark off the bench, there’s a good chance that he’ll look for Philip Wellener. Girone loves the sophomore’s athleticism and ability to get to the basket on the break. He’s got to work on his shooting, but Wellener is a burner that will keep defenses on their heels. Another sophomore, Gavin Frankenheimer, is a 6-2 shooter who can play a multitude of positions.

If those young guys come together and grow up quickly, look out for the Patriots.

“I guess rebuilding is a good way to put it, but these are kids who have played a lot of basketball,” Girone said. “It’s rebuilding from a sense of getting varsity experience, but not rebuilding as far as skill goes. We’ve got the experience outside of the varsity level to be competitive.”

If history is any indicator, Girone will have the Patriots ready to compete from Day One.