City of Basketball Love

Justin Procope (@1procope)
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(Ed. Note: This story is part of CoBL’s “Prepping for Preps” series, which will take a look at many of the top high school programs in the region as part of our 2022-23 season preview coverage. The complete list of schools previewed thus far can be found here.)

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When the buzzer sounded at the end of Pope John Paul II’s district championship loss to Collegium Charter, more than just the season had ended. It was the end of a streak of appearances in the state tournament and more consequentially,  it was the end of the road for three seniors who had defined PJP basketball in recent years. 

JP Baron (league-leading 17.8ppg), Jaden Workman (13.9ppg) and Kevin Green (9.5ppg) were All-League 1st team players in the Frontier Division last season for the Golden Panthers. With their departure, PJP is left with many questions they will have to answer as they enter a new season with only one starter set to return in Trey Rogers.

While losing three of the best scorers in the league changes how potent an offense potentially will be, head coach Brendan Stanton insists they will stick to their foundations of ball movement and teamwork that led them through one of the most successful eras in team history. 

“Are we going to have to do a lot more screening and a lot more motion concepts this year? Yes, because we don’t have guys that are quite as dynamic as the three scorers that we had leave the program,” Stanton said. “Our system and our general philosophies are definitely not changing…we want to be a team that plays fast and shares the ball.” 

While one of the beauties of a system that encourages ball movement is its unpredictability, a focal point is still necessary to shoulder the offensive burden when the going gets tough. For this PJP team, look for Rogers to step into that role. Blessed with a sweet shooting stroke, Rogers has seen his opportunities on the ball increase throughout the summer and has impressed with the notable improvements he’s made in playmaking for others. 

Rounding out the top of the rotation with Rogers will be junior 6-foot-1 combo guard Chase Mondillo, 5-10 point guard Dom DeMito, and 6-5 stretch big Caleb Zavertnik. As for the other spots, Stanton says there will be up for grabs with several players in the mix for minutes.

“I still think it's offense by committee,” Stanton said. “We still want the ball to move. We want different guys to have big games. I think when we’ve been at our best the last three to four years is when opposing teams don’t know who’s going to be the player that goes for 15 to 20 points in a night. So I do think this year will be a little more balanced.”

Having just one player in your rotation with real varsity experience is not typically a recipe for success, but Stanton is optimistic that his guys won’t shy away from the challenge and instead see this as an opportunity to prove themselves. 

“It reminds me of my very first year where we didn’t have a lot of guys with varsity experience but in some ways that makes guys hungrier and that makes guys more excited for every game,” Stanton said. 

After playing Central Bucks West and then at Central Bucks South to open the season, PJP travels to Bonner-Prendergast on Dec. 6 in what figures to be a tough early test for this inexperienced side. They also play at Malvern Prep and at Perkiomen Valley in a PAC crossover game all before January 1.

While most teams would prefer to ease their way into the season, this non-league slate early will provide the coaching staff an opportunity to see who rises to the occasion and who they can rely on once it’s time for conference play.

Questions abound for this inexperienced Golden Panthers group as they are at the start of a new cycle for the program, but the same can mostly be said for the rest of the league. Opportunities and optimism for success exist, but coach Stanton seems to be under no illusions on what this season is ultimately about. 

“I think we want to try and be competitive in the league. We want to compete for districts and hopefully have a chance to go to states, but in my personal opinion… It's about growth,” Stanton said. “Following such success, it’s a lot of pressure but at the same time I know these guys are excited to try and live up to that."