City of Basketball Love

Tyler Sandora (@tyler_sandora)
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When you watch West Catholic’s starters take the floor before a game, you can’t help but notice the size of their front line.

The Burrs’ three starting forwards are 6-foot-5, 6-6, and 6-7.

What you don’t realize, though, is that those three are a sophomore and two freshman.

Naadhir Wood, Zaakir Williamson, and Jerome Brewer are big, young pieces for both the tallest team in the Catholic League, and also the most inexperienced.

Besides the three starting front court members, the Burrs have three players who come off of the bench that are 6-7 and taller, and none of them are seniors.

Only six players who scored in any of West Catholic’s games a year ago are back on this year’s team. Despite their inexperience and age, West Catholic will still have about a 12-man rotation this year.

“We are very young, and even our older guys are inexperienced,” second-year head coach Jason Hasson said. “We have a lot of new guys and a lot of young guys, so it’s going to be a steep learning curve. These guys really want to work, practices have been great. They really want to compete, and really the sky's the limit for this group, despite their age and inexperience.

“We’re very deep too, so we need to get everybody minutes, and everybody shots, and guys that are defensive guys, get them in there and accept their role,” he continued. “It’s a work in progress, but we have a good group of guys. Everyone accepts where they are and they are all working to get better.”

Last year, West Catholic finished with a 3-10 record in the Catholic League, and 5-19 overall. However, the Burrs lost seven games by five points or less in the area’s most competitive high school league.

This isn’t the first time Hasson has had to deal with a roster overturn like this. A year after winning the Non-Public A state championship with Pope John (N.J.) High School in 2015, Hasson started four sophomores. Hasson knows what it takes to coach a team with those standards, he led the Lions to a 25 win season that year.

“I’ve had some success as a coach, so I think that they respect that i know how to push buttons and I know what to do,” Hasson said. “We are so deep that we compete for minutes everyday, It’s a good problem to have because it forces everyone to compete at a high level everyday.”

One of this year’s starters is Naadhir Wood. A 6-8 sophomore with a long frame and good touch under the basket, Wood played decent minutes a year ago. The two new kids on the block, Brewer and Williamson, are both in their first year of high school.

Williamson stands 6-foot-6 and weighs in at about 235 pounds. He’s got the strength to back down opponents, and can even step out and hit a jump shot. Earlier this week, Hasson named the big-bodied freshman the team’s captain.

“Very excited about that,” Williamson said. “I just showed [Hasson] that I can lead a team. I can lead on and off the court.”

Brewer, an athletic 6-7 freshman, has skills that make him look the part of a future star. His combination of length and athleticism make him a name to keep an eye on for years to come.

A Somerdale, New Jersey native, Brewer came into West Catholic this year only knowing one person in the whole school; Williamson. The duo played AAU on Team Final together over the summer.

“We talk every day in school about what we can do better to help the team,” Brewer said on Williamson. “We build chemistry.”

“I found out Jerome was coming last minute, and that was music to my ears,” Williamson said on Brewer. “We have six or seven classes together. We always talk about what we can do off the court and on the court.”

This year’s West Catholic team does feature a few upperclassmen. Juniors Imere Harris and Samier Kinsler both played significant minutes a year ago. 6-5 senior C.J. Pressley, who will likely come off the bench this season, also was a big part of the Burrs offense a year ago.

Even though he’s only a junior, Harris is the Burrs most experienced and polished player. The 5-10 speedster embraces the fact that the younger guys look to him for guidance on and off the court.

“I like being a leader,” Harris said. “I teach them what to do on and off the court, like in the classroom. I tell them school comes first. We can go really far. We have a lot of guys that contribute off the bench.”

The Burrs will also get contributions this year from Sukky Nd-Ezuma, a 6-9 junior, and Joel Gomez, a 6-7 sophomore. Isaac Brito is a 6-4 freshman guard who has shown signs of maturity on the court and looks like another star in the making.

West Catholic is off to a 2-1 start to the season, having downed Pennsbury in its season opener and West Philadelphia on Wednesday night sandwiched around a narrow defeat to Constitution on Monday.

Whether it is in school or not, the members of the West Catholic program are hearing words of optimism. After all, with all the height and talent the Burrs have, there is room for hope.

“We’re starting two freshman and a sophomore. We just played a good team and beat them by 19,” Hasson said. “So there is definitely room for optimism. I came here to have success and build this program. I think we’re heading down that path.”