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West Chester Team Camp Notebook: Sat., June 10

06/10/2017, 11:15pm EDT
By Josh Verlin & Ari Rosenfeld

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin) &
Ari Rosenfeld (@ARosenfeldDVHR)
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WEST CHESTER, Pa. -- June is team camp month, and West Chester’s got it underway this weekend with a 25-team affair lasting the course of three days.

Here’s a notebook from the middle day of action, with a decidedly Del-Val feel:

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Michael Smith (above) and Chester are adjusting quickly to new head coach Keith Taylor. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Chester, Taylor adjusting quickly to each other

It’s no surprise that Keith Taylor wouldn’t take much time to assume control of the Chester program, just about three weeks after he was named the head coach of the Clippers.

After all, Taylor is a 1987 graduate of the storied program and scored over 1,000 points while wearing its uniform, and has stayed a close watcher of the Clippers -- even after the 13-year assistant was passed over for the job when Larry Yarbray was hired back in 2008 to replace his boss, Fred Pickett.

“I’m part of the community, I was part of the program before...so it made it a little easier, it wasn’t like someone coming from outside of the city to coach the team,” Taylor said. “So they knew me and I know them. I still attended the games.

“It made the transition and adjustment a lot easier,” he added. “Nothing [was] really difficult, just adjusting to getting back into the game of basketball.”

Taylor made his first appearance on the sidelines in charge of Chester on Saturday, and his debut was a positive one, 54-40 over C.B. West.

“They’re much better off than I thought,” Taylor said. “We still have a long way to go. The past coaches have done a good job with these guys, they’ve done a real good job, but hey, it’s time to move on now, work on different things, that’s it.”

It’s not like Yarbray wasn’t successful in his nine years at Chester. He went 214-53 (.801), with two state championship and four district titles under his belt; last year, the Clippers went 22-7, losing in the quarterfinals of both the District 1 and PIAA 5A playoffs.

But the district said it was time for a change, to the surprise of many in the Chester community, not to mention those on the team.

“Everybody was surprised,” junior guard Michael Smith said, “but like I was telling [my teammates], it’s a big season coming up, we’ve got to move on, we’ve got to get in the gym and work, get ready to come for next season.”

Along with Brian Randolph, a 6-3 rising senior guard, the 5-11 Smith will be counted on to be this team’s leaders; they combined for 25 points in the win over C.B. West.

This summer, he’s running with Philly Pride on the Under Armour 16U circuit, which has given him an idea of what it’s like to go up against high-level talent on a regular basis, as well as some tips on what to improve upon now that he’ll be an upperclassman on arguably the most storied program around.

“I’ve got to be a better leader on the court, take control, so I’m focusing on that more, taking control of my team,” he said. “Just talking more.”

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Jones trying to flip the switch at Chichester

After failing on spot shy of the district playoffs in 2016, and with several key pieces returning, it was assumed that Chichester would once again vie for a district bid in 2017. Instead, the Eagles struggled to a six-win year, after which head coach Buzzy Wood stepped down following four seasons.

Even though quite a few starters are back from last year, including a pair of promising seniors, new head coach Clyde Jones has to clean the losing cobwebs out of the Eagles’ collective attics.

He had plenty of things to point out after his team lost its opening two games of the weekend.

“For example, you’ll have a kid who’s supposed to run to a certain spot on the floor, and expecting that if they’re in front of the ball, they would get it,“ he said. “You have a kid who maybe won’t run simply because he thinks a teammate is going to shoot the ball.

“So there’s no trust in each other, yet...having that lack of trust, that tells me that kid believes something bad is going to happen,” he continued. “If a kid says, ‘I didn’t run because I knew that was going to happen,’ at the time, he knew [his teammate] was going to shoot it.”

Jones previously had quite successful stints at Harriton and Penn Wood, where he spent 11 seasons before leaving for Girard College HS last year. Though Girard had a successful year, making it to the PIAA Class A championship game, Jones resigned his position in April, citing “difference of philosophy” between himself and the school’s administration in regards to “building the program.”

So now he’s right back in the Del-Val League, where he’ll get to go up against Penn Wood and the rest of the six-team conference, including Chester and Academy Park, which handed his Eagles a 36-31 loss in their opening game at West Chester.

“That’s the biggest upside of it is that I’m familiar with the league and a few of the guys here,” he said. “But just coming here to these guys, I know they’re hungry, and we’re going to try to find our way with them.”

The biggest weapon Jones has at his disposal is undoubtedly 6-4 rising senior wing Da’Quan Granberry, one of the leading scorers in the district last year at over 24 ppg. But though the super-athletic guard has the ability to go off, he’s still an inconsistent presence on the ball who also needs some refinement on the floor.

“If I can have him coming off screens or handing off the ball, running off staggers, that should open up his game a little bit,” Jones said. “For him, it’s mostly decision-making and taking care of his ball-handling...once we get that done, sky’s the limit for him. If he averages 24 this year, it’s going to be because we’re winning.”

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Ajiri Johnson (above) had a double-double to start the day, including knocking down a 3-pointer. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Quick Hits
-- Impressive morning for Bonner-Prendergast, especially 2018 PF Ajiri Johnson, who’s really starting to expand his repertoire. The 6-8 forward went for 15 points and 11 rebounds in a 50-32 win over Garnet Valley to begin the day, demonstrating a much-improved faceup game that included a pretty smooth 3-pointer and another mid-range jumper, and he was just off on two or three others. Perhaps the most athletic player in his class in the area, Johnson gets to the rim from the foul line in one fluid stride, and he uses that ability to get up and down the floor in the blink of an eye. He’s still working on planning some pre-July visits, but mentioned that Delaware, Lafayette and Rider were three schools working hard to get him on campus.

-- Playing without 6-foot-6 wing and high-major target Jack Clark, Cheltenham nonetheless showed that it’ll be a force to be reckoned with in the Suburban One League’s American Division next season. In the latter two of three consecutive wins at West Chester, it was primarily the rising senior backcourt of Ahmad Bickley and Rodney Carson who picked up the slack in Clark’s absence. Bickley, a 5-foot-9 point guard who’s hearing from several area Division II schools, scored 10 and 13 points in the two games, but it was his tremendous court vision that really stood out, as the diminutive floor general dropped a number of slick dimes. Carson, a long and athletic off guard who plays on the Under Armour circuit with Philly Pride, posted 16 and 12 points and brought great energy on both ends of the floor. Rising junior man Kiyn Healey also looks ready to contribute this year, and with Clark in the fold, the SOL-American title just might run through Cheltenham. But division rivals P-W and Abington (new to the American this year) will have a lot to say about that.

-- Episcopal Academy rising sophomore Jack Fitzpatrick delivered a win for the Churchmen in their opener, knocking down a 3-pointer with three seconds left in a 39-37 defeat of Central Bucks West. That came after Bucks rising junior Jack Muhlearn had a steal and open-court layup to put his team ahead in the final 20 seconds. Both point guards are new to their starting roles, but it’s one they’re both taking to well; they’re both strong on-ball presences who play at a good tempo, move the ball well (and move well without it) and can knock down open shots.

-- In a 54-40 win over C.B. West, Chester got a really nice run from 2018 forward Khalir Blackstrom, who entered the game late in the first half and immediately made an impact with a layup, three-point play and block; the 6-4 post finished the game with nine points, five rebounds and a pair of rejections. Blackstrom wasn’t on the Clippers’ roster last year as he dealt with a health situation; now cleared to play, he looks like he’ll be a nice piece for Taylor and Co. up front. C.B. West was paced in the game by 2018 SF Collin MacAdams, who had 15 points and four rebounds.


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