skip navigation

Methacton's Eberly emerging from the shadows

01/04/2020, 9:30am EST
By Ray Dunne


Methacton point guard Brett Eberly (above, vs. Roman Catholic on Dec. 14) runs point for a Warriors squad with District and state title hopes. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Ray Dunne (@RayDunneBTB)
~~

It’s easy to get placed in the shadows of high school basketball.

For Brett Eberly, that can be true both figuratively and literally. The 6-foot-tall Methacton guard has played a supporting role his whole career: to the likes of 6-11 big man and Colgate commit Jeff Woodward; to 6-3 wing Erik Timko, the PAC’s leading scorer entering the weekend; to former teammate David Duda, a 6-3 guard and one of the best shooters in the PAC’s history.

That role, however, has earned Eberly a great deal of respect and has allowed him to show his incredible grasp of the game of basketball. It’s evident just how much the guard means to the Methacton program when Woodward talks about his teammate and classmate.

“I’ve been playing with Brett since fourth grade, and that kid is probably one of the fiercest, most competitive kids that I have ever played with or against. Every time he steps out on the floor, he just competes, he just loves the game,” Woodward said. “The kid just everyday comes in and just works his butt off every day and just puts forth his best effort. Whatever we need as a team, he’s able to provide. He’s a great teammate and a great guy in general.”

His physical abilities on the floor are certainly impressive. Despite being the smallest of Methacton’s five starters, Eberly’s engine continues to roar deep into games. Uptight, aggressive defense coupled with intense work on the offensive end to distribute to Methacton’s talented crop of players is by no means easy work.

However, the one thing that strikes those who watch him play is the way he runs a team and sees the basketball floor. He just seems to know where to put the ball at just the right time.

“His court vision is what separates him from so many other guards with similar size and similar skill sets because he gets the basketball and immediately he sees the entire floor,” Methacton head coach Jeff Derstine said. “He sees what the defender is doing and he also anticipates what they are going to do which kind of has him one step ahead of the defense.”

It’s a well-conceived plan of attack most of the time he brings the ball up. Eberly describes it as a natural instinct of what to do with the basketball. Granted, he comes from two parents who played high school basketball, his mother up in New York and his father In Lancaster County at Solanco. 

Eberly also says his time as a soccer player helped him think passes ahead and keep defenses off balance. Yet above all that, the keen awareness and attention to detail he has given the game over his almost 12 years of playing it seems to be what manifests itself in every possession that he’s on the floor.

“There’s a lot of strategy in this game that not many people know and don’t take it to the next step. We’re in the film room and we’re constantly looking at the numbers and looking at what we need to do,” Eberly said of his mental approach to the game. “We’re also taking it to the next step where we’re looking at the numbers and what formula works for us and what formula can beat other teams and what formula can take us to the next level.”

That film room is same place Derstine recalls this senior class being very active in as young players, even describing his point guard as a “student of the game”. Now the veteran, Eberly is on his third year as a varsity starter but still takes as much pride as ever in that title and in his work to understand the mental part of the game.

His comprehension of the game explains why a season ago he broke the school’s single season assist record and why the school’s all-time assist record also now belongs to him. It also has played a big role in his ability to help the Warriors secure back-to-back PAC titles while sitting as the favorites to raise a third straight banner in February. 

Take a moment from Tuesday night’s game against Norristown, for example. Eberly is amidst an impressive third quarter in which he has done strong work on both ends of the floor as Methacton’s lead has grown rather large. A ball goes out of bounds on the baseline. Nine of the ten players on the floor take the deadball to gather air and enjoy a bit of a break.

Eberly, instead, is standing on the baseline yelling to Derstine what he believes they should do, hand gestures and all, as he pleads his case to run a certain inbounds play. Derstine yells back, signals something, and Eberly gives a thumbs up.

The Warriors score on that possession. They did that quite a bit as Eberly led the way in scoring with 16 points to go along with four assists and his team beat their PAC Liberty Division foe 68-48 to improve to 9-1 overall and 4-0 in the division. 

“It’s trust and experience,” Eberly said. “We just trust each other, he trusts us...it’s mostly me telling him, this is what can work, but it’s all up to you, you're coach and I’m just telling you what I see from my standpoint on the floor.”

“Brett thinks like a coach on the floor,” Derstine said. “When you’re a three year starter, you start seeing a little bit more, you recognize a little bit more, but he’s always had that knack and feel for the game where he understands really what we’re trying to accomplish and when you have that coach on the floor, it makes such a difference in terms of decision making.”

There’s still plenty to work on. Eberly’s jumper isn’t quite where he’d want it to be, and Derstine would love it if his guard could be more aggressive at times, but all of it is a bit of an adjustment.

The point guard has never had to be one of the primary scoring options in his career. Even back to his early days, both he and Woodward agree that Eberly was more of a distributor. 

Now without Duda, a two-time PAC champion and current East Stroudsburg freshman, Eberly is leaning on some things he got from his old friend and teammate about being a scorer.

“Just shoot more. Honestly, just don’t think about it, just shoot and play your game,” Eberly said. “Stay focused and locked in and you’ll be fine. It’ll go down.”

As for what’s next, the priority is clear to Eberly. He’s just trying to ensure this team keeps winning and plays to its potential.

He’s holding off on the next level decisions. While he wants to play in college and has some Division III interest, he’s locked in to making the most of his senior season. 

Even beyond his aspirations as a player, the passion he has for the sport and its strategy could lead to him being a good coach himself one day far down the line.

“I’ve never thought about it. I don’t know how’d I do by myself, you know?” Eberly said with regards to one day pursuing coaching. “I’m always on the floor seeing it, but coaching, you might see it differently. I don’t know the mindset of how coach is thinking, but if I see it on the floor, it’s just a little different. I might think about it.”

For now, he’s very comfortable being the player guiding one of District One’s best teams through the intense portion of the regular season even if he won’t be the guy who is showered with praise night in and night out. 

Woodward, on the other hand, is all about his point guard and fellow captain getting some public acknowledgement.

“Everybody always wants to talk about points and rebounds, but Brett runs the offense,” he said. “Any guard in the PAC, in the state, he’s just as good as, at being a true point guard. He’s just an incredible kid and an incredible leader.”


D-I Coverage:

HS Coverage:

Recruiting News:

Tag(s): Home  Boys HS  Pac-10 (B)  PAC-10 Liberty (B)  Methacton