City of Basketball Love

Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)
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WILLOW GROVE -- There's something about Upper Moreland's gym that brings out the best in Cheltenham point guards wearing the No. 1 on their jersey.

A few years back, Zahree Harrison had one of the best shooting and scoring nights of his career in the Golden Bears' den wearing the single tally on his uniform. Friday, the newest Panther PG to occupy the single-digit top put on a show of his own.

Freshman Josiah Hutson shot his way to 20 points, hitting six 3-pointers against UM as he and the Panthers continued to build on their breakout start.

"We had practice yesterday and it was kind of rocky, I think my teammates needed something to lift us up," Hutson said. "I figured me coming out, hitting a lot of shots and getting my teammates involved would get everyone excited."

When a basketball team is coached by a former point guard, as the Panthers are by Patrick Fleury, the position naturally becomes a point of emphasis. The past half-decade has seen some quality players man the role, from Ahmad Bickley to Harrison, through Justin Moore and Saleem Payne and now Hutson and senior Elias Walker.

Fleury is toughest on his point guards but Hutson prefers it that way. From his perspective, Fleury sees the freshman as "a seasoned kid" and someone who is always locked in and not afraid to ask questions or speak up, even if it’s to a senior teammate.

"Our point guards are always a high emphasis for us, we ask them to be selfless but also at the right times, be selfish," Fleury said. 

Hutson had opportunities to play for other programs, but watching his brother Tim Spenser play for the Panthers and having the opportunity to play for Fleury was all Hutson needed.

"I like that the team is coached by a Black man. Patrick Fleury, I wanted to learn under him," the freshman guard said. "He did a lot when he was here and it inspired me to come here and feed off of him."

Hutson called Friday night his best game of the season but he's been playing pretty well in general for the now 5-0 Panthers and has two 20-point nights so far. While his outside shot was the go-to weapon against Upper Moreland, it's actually been a bit of a project getting there.

Listed at 5-foot-9 and 150 pounds on the team roster, Hutson figured out quickly his speed wasn't going to be enough at the varsity level. Playing with the Panthers since June, Hutson has worked on his shot and has already started the work in the weight room.

"At first, I was a little rocky when it came to shooting the ball, I'm small and I wanted to drive," Hutson said. "I had to develop a different type of jump shot and a way to release it faster.

"Coach Pat, he told me don't worry about anything, just shoot the ball and that's what I did."

Hutson's first points came off a steal right off a Bears' inbound pass but the bulk of his damage was done behind the arc. The freshman hit back-to-back treys in the final 30 seconds of the opening quarter to give the Panthers a 21-7 lead eight minutes in.

He added two more threes in the second quarter, plus a couple assists then connected on two more from distance in the third quarter in Cheltenham's push that put the game out of reach.

"It doesn't make sense for him to French-kiss the three-point line, he's got to be able to knock the shot down whether he's 19, 23, 24 feet out," Fleury said. "He challenged himself to do that, at first, some guys are resistant to change. It's a testament to him and all our guys staying true to it and playing together."

The Panthers needed him to do it. Senior wing Justin Savage, who has played really well out of the gate, was stifled with foul issues most of the night on Friday but still managed seven points and six rebounds.

Senior Rasheem Dearry kept up his strong play, scoring a team-high 23 points and also playing stout defense on Bears forward Matt Tiernan, holding the senior to just four points. Walker had eight, using his quick hands and anticipation on defense to get a couple steal-to-layup baskets in the third quarter.

"We stick together and we help each other," Hutson said. "We'll keep grinding and keep working. It doesn't stop here."

Cheltenham hit 12 threes as a team but what Fleury liked more was the ball movement. He said it was the team's highest assist total of the season and plenty of the Panthers' scores were set up by a pass before the pass, something the coaches emphasize.

"In years past, teams thought playing zone against us would derail us because we couldn't make the outside shots," Fleury said. "We don't ever want that to be part of us as a program and sharing the ball, the guys are making quick decisions and making it very fun to play, which makes it easy to then go play defense."

Hutson wasn't the only guard wearing No. 1 who played well Friday. Upper Moreland senior Byron Hopkins put all he had into the game, tying for the game high with 23 points and looked to attack, find teammates or score on every possession until he was taken out with the deficit too much to overcome in the fourth quarter.

Last year, despite winning an SOL Freedom title, the Panthers' visit to Upper Moreland came with a loss. Turns out all they needed was a point guard to don the No. 1 jersey again and come out firing.

"(Hutson) chose to stay home, he's family forever just on that decision and then he's come out here and played beyond his years," Fleury said. "At Cheltenham, we always talk about how it doesn't matter how old you are or what grade you are, if you can play, you will play."