City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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If Radnor’s boys needed any reminder of how long it’s been since their program last competed for a district championship, they got one at their District 1 Class 5A semifinal win over Upper Moreland. That’s when one of the members of the last Radnor boys’ squad came up to introduce himself, to pass along words of good wishes for Jamie Chadwin and his Raptors. 

A gentleman who was pushing 80 years old, reliving the memories from that 1960-61 year season, speaking to a group of 16-to-18-year-olds whose parents weren’t even around the last time the Main Line public school hoisted a District 1 trophy.

It’s been exactly six decades since Radnor’s even had the opportunity to play for a district title, a year after longtime head coach Ellis Dwyer led the team to the last of his seven district titles, a reign that started in 1945 and continued in ‘46, ‘49, ‘51, ‘56 and ‘60 before the final win in ‘61, a 68-59 decision over Norristown.

Saturday afternoon, 2 PM at Temple University’s Liacouras Center, Radnor will face defending champ Chester for the chance to bring a much-needed update to the school’s trophy case. They’re trying not to think about what that gap means to a couple generations of former Radnor basketball players who are pulling for them to achieve something none of them did.

“I think one of the unique, strange [things], I don’t know if it would be a positive or what, but coming out of the environment we’ve all been in the last two years, there’s almost like a clean slate,” Chadwin said by phone Thursday afternoon. “It’s almost like a new era, for us, it’s how we feel. [We’re] not even really focusing on the length of time that it’s been since Radnor advanced to a championship this significant.”

While top-seeded Radnor (22-3) is making its deepest postseason run in more than a half-century, No. 2 Chester (17-3) is back in a spot it’s been plenty familiar with in both recent and more distant history. 

No matter who wins Saturday, both teams are already safe in the PIAA Class 5A bracket. The winner will be the top seed in the eastern half of the bracket, going up against the No. 7 seed out of District 3, Exeter Township (13-13). The loser gets the No. 5 seed out of District 3, Susquehannock (17-8); both of those teams outperformed their initial seeding in the District 3 5A tournament.

The Clippers’ district championship last spring, over West Chester Rustin, was the 24th in program history, snapping a seven-year string without a title. It’s a program that’s had the likes of Jameer Nelson and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Bo Ryan and Herman Harris, and many more notable names wear the Chester orange and black over the years. There are plenty of proud programs with long histories of hoops success in the Delaware Valley, and some that have been more successful in recent memory, but perhaps none with the pride or the longevity of excellence of Chester High.

“Growing up in Philly, you just knew they were one of the institutions of Philadelphia basketball,” Chadwin said. “Knowing that history and being in high school and watching them play against the rising Lower Merion teams with Kobe was kind of special as well, and then certainly seeing Jameer and the stable of players who came through year after year.

“It’s there, to have the respect and admiration for that program, but at the same time, it’s one of those rebirth times here where we’re excited (to be here). We want to play Chester, which has had so much success, that’s what makes these [games] special.”

Chester coach Keith Taylor wasn’t buying into the history angle of Saturday’s clash.

“All that stuff don’t matter, all that stuff is in the past,” he said. “It just comes down to basketball, it doesn’t matter how long that the program hasn’t been to districts or whatever. Times are different, times are real different. COVID has messed up everything. Basketball’s totally different from two years ago. 

“With them not being there….they probably aren’t even worrying about the teams from the past. Not even worrying about the history of it. They’re just happy to be there, like all the other kids, they’re just happy to be playing basketball.”

When Chester captured the 2021 title, it was in its own home gym, a 62-46 win over Rustin, whose Hofstra-bound star guard Griffin Barrouk went down with a broken ankle in the first quarter. Leading the way for that Clippers squad were seniors Karell Watkins (24 points) and Fareed Burton (14), but it’s a new group that’ll have to step up this year.

Taylor has three seniors, including starters Quadir Lowrie and Isaiah Freeman, and a few juniors, including Breilynd White, on the roster. But it’s a sophomore-heavy group, with 6-5 forward Larenzo Jerkins and 6-3 guard Kevin Rucker two particular underclassmen to watch as they’ll be major pieces for Chester for the next two seasons.

The Clip Joint can get rocking, but that doesn’t mean it’s an easy transition to a 10,000-seat arena, the second-largest hoops gym in the city after the Sixers’ home at Wells Fargo.

“Hopefully that your young guys are able to get over the initial shock that they’re playing in an arena, get over the lights and all that stuff,” Taylor said. “Hopefully they’re not out there playing for their family and friends, just playing for the team. They have to focus. 

“Once the basketball goes up and they go up and down the floor a couple times, those butterflies should be gone, and they should be ready to play. Hopefully. That’s what you’re wishing for.”

While Chester’s core is made up of sophomores, Radnor’s starting lineup has four juniors: Jackson Hicke, Charlie Thornton, Danny Rosenblum and Cooper Muller join senior Pierce Justice in Chadwin’s top five, the Raptors clearly one of the early favorites to make it deep in the Central League and District 1 again next year.

Hicke, a 6-5 wing with Division I interest, and the 6-4 Thornton give them size on the wings, while Rosenblum is a steady point guard. Muller, who had 10 points in the semifinal win over No. 4 Upper Moreland, has given them another steady scoring presence as the season’s gone on.

There’s a reason the Central League runner-ups are the top seed in the class, after all, and they’re determined to prove it Saturday.

“They’ve got some height, everybody shoots the ball — from 1 to 5, they can knock down the shot, we just have to be able to defend that,” Taylor said. “Because of the height, they’re different [...] they play hard, they like to get out and run. Looks like they handle pressure well and all that, just going to be prepared. 

He finished with something plenty of coaches have said about Chester over the years.

“We’ve got a big task on our hands.”