City of Basketball Love

Kevin Cooney (@KevinCooney)
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There are a lot of coaches who bend the ear of a visiting reporter, yearning for a day that isn’t there anymore and players who have long since graduated.

Tony Chapman isn’t one of those guys. In his 42nd year as the head coach at Holy Ghost Prep, approaching 900 wins, Chapman doesn’t believe the players have changed. Instead, it is the game that has changed and the need for coaches to adapt has become more important. 

“If the game is faster and kids are shooting more three’s, you have to go with that,” Chapman said on Wednesday afternoon as practice got underway in Bensalem. “But it still comes down to defense, and it can be more difficult to get kids to buy in when CYO and AAU coaches are stressing up and down and up and down. But these kids have bought in completely to the idea of defense this year. And that’s why we’ve been successful- because they play both ends of the court.”  

The Firebirds are showing the value of strong play at both ends. They enter Friday’s Bicentennial Athletic League regular season finale against Church Farm School at 18-3 overall, leading the Independence Division and heading towards a potential Top 4 seed in the PIAA District One Class 5A tournament. (Holy Ghost will play in the BAL championships beginning next Monday night.)

“We’re more athletic than we have been the last four or five years,” Chapman said. “That’s the biggest thing about it. And we have a lot of guys with a high basketball IQ. Most of the guys on the whole team understand the game- even if they are not playing. And they are extremely unselfish.”

That fact has shown itself in the fact that Chapman, who has been a great tactician over his time at his alma mater, has shown the ultimate sign of faith in his squad.

“I have called less plays this year than I ever have before,” Chapman said. “I have so much confidence in letting them go and play the game. They have great instincts on how to approach things.”

The last time that Chapman gave that much autonomy to a team? His 2004 squad that went to the PIAA Championship game undefeated before falling to Moon 52-50 in the finals at the Giant Center. 

Like most Holy Ghost teams, they rely on their defense to set the tempo. The Firebirds are- according to stats from the Bucks County Courier Times- yielding only 38.1 points a game in 21 contests. It is something that Chapman can stress with just a simple turn to his bench.

“These guys know that if they don’t play defense, we have guys on the bench who can go out there and get the job done,” Chapman said. “So that’s how it is stressed.”

Offensively, Holy Ghost Prep is led by senior guard/forward Tyler Mish, who is averaging 15.3 points. 

“He’s our leading scorer and he’s probably third in assists, second or third in rebounds and can guard the other teams best player,” Chapman said. “He’s a college player. We’re working on a lot of different schools and trying to figure the best thing for him. But he’s got an incredible work ethic. He would stay three hours and shoot the ball. On a Friday night, other kids are playing video games. He’s at (the Newtown Athletic Club) shooting jump shots.”

He is not alone, however. Steve Cianci has put things together and the senior center has made improvement in his game to average 13 a game. 

“He knew it was his thing to lose and he’s played solid all year,” Chapman said. “And he’s had his best games against the best teams we’ve played.”

T.J. Butler and Jack McDermott have become presences in the backcourt, especially on the defensive end. Ryan O’Hara and John Armentani play in the wing forward spot.

“In this sense, this team is a lot of fun and they work really hard in practice,” Chapman said. “That’s the great part about it.”