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Prepping for Preps '16-17: Coatesville

11/28/2016, 3:30pm EST
By Jeff Griffith

Coatesville's Chuck Moore (above) has to replace a big group of seniors from last year's Ches-Mont championship squad. (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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Not too long ago, Chuck Moore was feeling relatively usnure about his incoming team. 

The Plymouth-Whitemarsh grad and Vanderbilt Commodore standout had a great team at Coatesville last season. Led by seniors like Rome Boyer, Jordan Young, Justus Martinez, Trent Hugan and more, the Red Raiders went 20-1 in the regular season, took home the Ches-Mont title and earned the top seed in District 1 Class AAAA.

Despite exiting the postseason earlier than they may have planned – the Red Raiders fell in the second round of districts to Central Bucks East and the first round of playbacks against Hatboro-Horsham – they still exceeded outside expectations and brought home some hardware. 

Now, it’s November 2016, and the bulk of that senior-heavy team is no longer around. They’re off to schools like Gwynedd-Mercy (Boyer) and Old Dominion (Young, football) to pursue athletics at the next level.

In their absence, the dust has begun to settle to reveal a talented, new-look team that has garnered high expectations from Moore with the season right around the corner.

“A few months ago, I was a bit hesitant,” Moore said regarding his team’s upcoming season. “But the progress we’ve made up to this point has been very promising. I have a young team, but talented...they have bought into me already, following the success of guys in previous years and especially last year, which kind of set the bar.” 

At Coatesville in 2016-17, success will have to begin with senior Kamau Brickus and junior Tyrel Bladen.

Brickus handled a solid amount of playing time at the point guard position and eventually held the starting position heading into some critical games late in the season as a junior.

His team will definitely be looking him to provide not only offensive spark on the court, but  leadership off the court as the only member of the senior class with major varsity experience.

After losing Boyer, who was nicknamed “Big Shot Rome” for being the steady hand in key situations, Brickus will be a similar go-to as the new senior leader.

“With Kamau’s leadership and experience, the ball will be in his hands a lot,” Moore said. “I don’t think Kamau is the greatest shooter, but because he plays so hard and believes in his game so much...he’s not afraid of the moment. That alone will be huge for him this year, he wants the ball in his hands.”

As for Bladen, the 6-foot-6 forward is the only returning big man with major minutes from a frontcourt that included Martinez and Young last year, and also included Amir Ealey in Bladen’s sophomore year.

But those two aren’t the only guys who have the green light from Moore. Behind the leadership of Brickus and Bladen – who have seen what it takes to make a team gel – Moore has several young guns who he feels are prepared to make their name known in a big way as underclassmen.

The most notable of those new faces is 5-foot-11 freshman guard Jhamir “Jig” Brickus, Kamau's cousin, who Moore believes will be one of his team’s biggest offensive forces with an innate ability to simply find ways to put the ball in the basket.

According to Moore, Brickus’ play on the court backs up his nickname.

“Little guard, under six-foot, but has a high IQ for the game,” Moore said. “He has a knack for scoring, which is the reason why as a freshman I think he’ll be a huge factor for us this year. A a freshman, I can trust him with the ball, in certain situations, in a couple of fall preseason games he’s finished games for me. I trust him a lot. If he continues to develop and mature...I think he’ll surprise a lot of people this year.”

Junior Hassan Young, another new face, has made “huge strides” in the eyes of is coaches, and will be a key piece as a shooting guard this season at 6-foot-1, in a backcourt with Brickus and Brickus as the point guards.

Also joining Bladen in the frontcourt after seeing minimal varsity minutes behind last year’s big men will be 6-foot-3 junior Joe Boulware, who Moore described with adjectives like “hard-working” and “relentless.”

Of course, while all the new talent is exciting for the Red Raiders, the biggest question will be making sure it fits together well.

But it’s not like Coatesville hasn’t done that before.

“The chemistry last year was the reason we won so many games,” Moore said. “This year’s team has that same mentality. The difference, you might be shocked to hear this, but I think this team is more talented."

“Any year, no matter what the team looks like, our goals every year are to be winning championships,” he added. "Any team that will be coached by me, that’s the mindset we will have.”

 


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