City of Basketball Love

Jerome Taylor (@ThatGuy_Rome)
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High school summer league is a time for players to adjust to coaches and teammates, and freshmen typically use that period to adjust to the jump in competition. 

But for a select few freshmen, like Great Valley’s Cameron Wallace, they’ll use it to show that they’re more than ready for the next level of basketball. 

“Being an eighth-grader playing against seniors and 11th graders [in the summer] and he was able to get the ball and get to the basket, I knew he was going to be a problem,” Great Valley head coach CJ Savage said.

“[Cam] started playing with us in the summer, and I was like, ‘Yup, he’s going to help us out 100%,” Great Valley senior captain Connor Gal said. “And he’s one of the main reasons we’re top of the district. He’s one of our saviors.”

Wallace has been a significant factor in Great Valley’s (7-1, 2-0 Ches-Mont) scorching start. The Patriots have only lost once this year – a one-point overtime defeat to Haverford High. Outside of that, they have defeated all of their opponents by 10 or more points. 

“Winning by 10 points every game, it’s kind of impressive,” Gal said. “The good thing about us is that we’re not letting [teams] come back; we get the lead, we maintain it, and we grow… I haven’t been on a team that’s done this, so I'm excited.”

During this run, Wallace has lit up the Patriots’ opposition en route to scoring 23 ppg, which included going off for a school-record 40 points in his second high school game ever, against Twin Valley. And though this is far from the norm for most freshmen, Wallace has been confident in his ability as a scorer from the moment he picked up a basketball at seven years old.  

“Not to sound cocky, but I felt like I was pretty good at it early on,” Wallace said about why he started playing basketball. 

“I think he’s on a path to be the all-time leading scorer here,” Savage said. “He’s coming in as a ninth-grader breaking school records, so the sky’s the limit for the kid.”. 

On the offensive end, the Malvern native uses his wiry frame to get to the rim constantly, and he has impressive mid-air body control that allows him to finish through contact. 

On the other side, the 6-foot-3 guard usually is tasked with defending the opposition's best or second-best perimeter player. Wallace uses his length to disrupt passes and close gaps as a defender.

He also finished defensive possessions as a strong rebounder, allowing him to start the Patriot’s transition, where he is at his most dangerous. 

“The good thing about him is he’s also a great rebounder, and he’ll grab a rebound and go coast-to-coast because he’s such a good ball-handler,” Savage said.  “A lot of our basket [agaisnt unionville] came in transition, with Cam grabbing a rebound and getting to the basket or kicking for shots”

“He’s so unselfish he’s hitting guys for layups when he can take a shot…guys are trapping, and he’s hitting guys for shots that’s what makes us so hard to beat,” Savage said 

Once Wallace gets into the transition, the defense has to worry about his playmaking ability. In Great Valley’s 53-36 win over Unionville on Tuesday, this was on full display. 

With about six seconds remaining in the first half, Wallace grabbed a defensive rebound, raced down the court and with the defense on its heels, he found William Otterbein for a corner three to cap a 13-4 quarter in favor of the Patriots.

The second quarter made up for the slow starts that have plagued Great Valley so far this year.

“It’s been a little bit of a theme for us… but once we get a feel for a team, we get on major runs against them,” Savage said. “Every time we got a lead, we’ve been able to keep them down.” 

Once Great Valley feels out their opponents, Gal or Wallace usually paces the Patriots.

For Gal, that means being an aggressive driver once defenders start overplaying his three-point shooting ability. Unlike Wallace, Gal’s physical development didn't begin until later, and he’s beginning to see the effects, which has had a positive impact on his game. 

“I was 5-2, 90 pounds. I was not like [Wallace] as a freshman,” Gal said jokingly.

“His leadership has just stepped up. He’s being aggressive and finding guys for shots,” Savage said. “He worked a lot in the offseason putting on weight and being in the weight room so he’s ready for these kinds of games.” 

The 170-pound guard has become more comfortable getting to the rim this year after getting stronger over the summer, adding another dimension to the two-headed attack that has its sights on bringing the Chest-Mont title to Malvern. 

“Our goal is to be 1-0 every game. We’re not looking past anything. 1-0 is the goal,” Savage said. 

Great Valley takes on Rustin on Thursday as they continue their conference schedule.

For Unionville, they’ll be trying to rebound from this loss when they head to Oxford on Thursday. 

By Quarter
Great Valley:  9   |  13  |  11  |  20  ||  53
Unionville:      9   |   4   |  12  |  11  ||  36

Scoring
Great Valley: Wallace 24, Gal 11, Dimedio 8, Otterbein 6,  Hegde 2, Deduto 2

Unionville: C. Kammeier 11, Casten 10, Nowoświat 8, Carson 4, J. Kammeier 3