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Prepping for Preps '16-17: Holy Ghost Prep

12/09/2016, 10:15am EST
By Graham Foley

Holy Ghost Prep has to replace the talent of do-everything Jack Coolahan (above) from last year's District championship squad. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Graham Foley (@graham_foley3)
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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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Tony Chapman has been around high school basketball for a while.

Entering his 39th season of coaching, his presence as the head coach at Holy Ghost Prep in Bensalem is well known to the community. Senior guard John McCrane, a returning starter from last season, knows this firsthand.

“I’ve been coming to his basketball camps in the summer since I was five years old,” McCrane said. “Pretty much everyone that I went to grade school with knew who he was, so for me it was kind of a big deal as a freshman and then making the varsity team as a sophomore being able to say that I was playing for Tony Chapman.”

With nearly four decades of experience, Chapman has seen that having the most talented team is not what is important. Having the right kids, however, is crucial.

“I think our tradition helps,” Chapman said. “I think we get good talent and I think the kids coming in are familiar with our program, the way we play, and that’s a head start already.

“It’s not that hard. Either they buy in or not and every year we seem to find at least five kids that are going to buy in and be successful with it.”

As this year’s Holy Ghost team gets set to start its season, Chapman is hoping his players can buy into his system well enough to have another successful year and possibly repeat as District 1 champions.

The biggest hurdle for Holy Ghost will be getting over the graduation of Jack Coolahan, the team’s best player and leader from last season. Coolahan was the team’s go-to guy who could consistently score and lead the team.

A 6-foot-4 wing, Coolahan is now at Babson, where he’s a reserve on the No. 2 D-III hoops team in the country.

“When everything fell apart, he was still putting up 17 to 22 points a game so it was that offense that he provided for us,” McCrane said. “Coolahan’s leadership got us there.”

Coolahan led Holy Ghost to a 20-10 season last year and a win in the District 1 AAA Championship over Bicentennial Athletic League foe Lower Moreland.

The Firebirds started off 6-0 and according to McCrane, the successful start gave the guys confidence to take on any team and play well.

After losing a player of Coolahan’s stature, Chapman says he often sees teams endure a slump the following year. In order to build on last year’s successes and avoid that possible let down, Holy Ghost will have to be led by the team’s core group of returning starters made up of seniors Crane, Mike McFadden and Aidan Bauer.

McFadden, a 6-3 shooting guard, will look to be a vocal leader and a force up front. Bauer (5-11) and McCrane (6-2) will work together in the backcourt to put up points and control the pace of the game.

According to McCrane, it will be up to McFadden, Bauer, and himself to step up together and replace Coolahan as leaders as well as major offensive producers.

“It has been and will continue to be important for us to lead the guys to where we need to be because we were in those games for that kind of team bonding for how we got there last year,” McCrane said. “So I think it will be important for us to lead the guys to where we were last year in order to win this year.”

While Holy Ghost’s roster is dominated by seniors, some young guns are also expected to step up this season. Junior guard Jack Elliot, according to McCrane, can be a big scorer for the Firebirds this year. Sophomore guard Greg Sylvester, a 5-11 transfer player Archbishop Ryan High School, will also be featured often as a point guard.

According to McFadden, Sylvester caught Chapman’s eye for his ability to play the point guard position well and provide stability for the team.

“The good thing about him is he’s a really true point guard,” McFadden said. “He’s almost like a Chapman dream player. He can set up plays, he can bring up the ball, he can play defense so Coach really likes him.”

Another player expected to make a splash this season is sophomore forward/center Ryan Staropoli. According to McFadden, his freshman to sophomore transition has gone well as Staropoli has bulked up and has worked hard to develop his outside shot. He has been playing “really well” and should help the Firebirds under the basket.

A challenge looming for Holy Ghost is its transition this season from Class AAA to Class 5A in the new classification system. The Firebirds will now be facing some of the toughest teams in the region like Chester and Upper Merion when the playoffs arrive instead of the smaller schools they took on last year.

This, however, is not a concern according to McFadden. He believes his team will be able to play with anyone as their style will be able to slow down the game and establish their own pace.

“It’ll be a nice challenge for us,’ McFadden said. “But we’re not really worried about. Because of our style we can play with a lot of teams. The only thing we have to worry about right now is being physical and being a lot tougher on the boards.”

As Chapman gets set for yet another basketball season, he knows this year’s team is not the most talented he has ever coached. However, when it comes to a Chapman team, chemistry is key. A five man group that gets along and is led by a few great athletes, according to Chapman’s experience, can and will come together. Luckily for him, these kids fit the bill.

“It’s a good group to coach,” Chapman said. “We don't have personality problems. I don't have kids fighting me with what we’re asking of them. I think it’s only a matter of time before we gel as a team. It’s our responsibility as coaches to get these guys to the point where they can function best as a team and if we can do that, we’ll be fine.”


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