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Boys: Bryce Rollerson captaining Patriots in Year 2 at Germantown Academy

12/03/2022, 1:45am EST
By Andrew Robinson

Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)
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AMBLER >> At a program with the type of tradition Germantown Academy has, it usually means any freshman able to crack the starting lineup has something special about them.

Last year, it didn’t take long for people to start noticing Bryce Rollerson as the fluid guard proved he could hang with the Patriots’ non-league tests and in the Inter-Ac. Individually, Rollerson had a great start to his sophomore season on Friday but what bugged the sophomore was that it came during a losing effort in a 48-44 setback against La Salle at the Triangle Club Tip-Off Tournament held at Wissahickon.


Germantown Academy sophomore Bryce Rollerson was voted team captain by his peers. (Photo: Andrew Robinson/CoBL)

That’s why his teammates voted him a captain, why his coaches are putting a lot on him and why Rollerson is embracing the role he’s been given.

“Our coaches always say to me, ‘you’re not a sophomore here, you’re a leader of our team,’ and that’s what I try to do every time, just go out and lead our guys,” Rollerson said. “I want to lead them, it’s something I take to heart.”

Rollerson finished with a game-high 27 points, netting 13 of them in the fourth as he tried to will GA to a season-opening win. The 5-foot-11 combo guard - height not including his incredible afro - doesn’t want to be seen solely as a scorer however and kept looking for his teammates throughout the game until he saw it was time to take control late.

Patriots coach Matt Dolan doesn’t have any say in choosing team captains as he and his staff leave up entirely to a player vote. For a relatively young team that has just four seniors, AJ Topley the only starter among them, it told Dolan a lot about Rollerson that he was selected for the position.

“It’s a really prestigious thing to be called a captain by your peers as a sophomore,” Dolan said. “He certainly has an ability to put the ball in the hoop and he’s terrific in the midrange, but we’ve got to do a better job of giving him the ball in space and not relying on him to bring the ball down every time.

“I saw a lot of good things and above all, he’s a competitor.”

GA only saw four other players score on Friday, with sophomore Ellis Johnson tallying six off the bench and sophomore Tyler Nolan scoring seven from his starting role. Even with two other sophomores and a freshman beside him and Topley in the starting five, Rollerson worked to keep everyone involved.

“I just started attacking the defense,” Rollerson said. “I knew we were down and had to get back in the game. I wanted to drive and kick, I trust our shooters and wanted to find them if they were open but if I had the lane, I would take it and attack.”

If not for six fourth quarter turnovers, the Patriots could have been in position to take home an opening-night win. Instead, Rollerson saw an opportunity to make up for it on Saturday when GA faces host Wissahickon in the consolation game.

The sophomore captain really likes the potential in this year’s team and said it’s on him to keep communication up and confidence high throughout the season.

“I thought our effort level was great, we have to come back tomorrow harder, better and stronger,” Rollerson said. “I want us to have a winning mentality - it didn’t go the way we wanted tonight but tomorrow we have to come in here like we’re going to turn it around.”

 On top of earning a starting role as a freshman, Rollerson used his first year of high school basketball as a total learning experience. He watched how last year’s seniors and upperclassmen led and handled the team, he talked with former players and coaches and set goals for himself over the offseason.

One area Dolan noted is Rollerson’s physical strength, especially in his lower body when he slips off a screen or gets into the lane and can stay balanced and centered taking one of his trademark midrange shots. Like most young players, Rollerson is still navigating the balance between his scoring and facilitating but Dolan expects that to come with time and experience.

It’s the other aspects, the things that aren’t taught, that make the guard such a natural fit for a leadership role.

“He’s a connector,” Dolan said. “He’s always eating with guys at lunchtime, he brings people together and that, long-term, is going to be very helpful for us.”

Former GA standout Evan-Eric Longino has joined Dolan’s staff as an assistant this year and the current captain has not been shy about using the former Patriots captain as a sounding board.

“That’s my guy,” Rollerson said. “We talk all the time, I’m always going up to him and asking what I can do better, how can I better my game? I love having him as a part of our coaching staff.”

Rollerson made sure people noticed him by the end of last season. Now, his job is to make sure the rest of his guys get the same chance to shine.

“I love the intensity we bring every day,” Rollerson said. “We play so hard and this is just the start. We’re going to go up from here.”

 ~~~

La Salle showed a bit of the formula it will be leaning on this winter.

Drexel-bound Horace Simmons was his usual steady self, with a double-double including a team-high 17 points with 10 rebounds, a couple assists and a steal. The senior forward had five points and just as crucially four boards in the final quarter to help lock up the win.

Beyond Simmons, it was a little bit of everyone else doing a little bit of everything.

Eight other Explorers scored, none posting more than four points. Ryan Sorge had a timely three in the first quarter, Mick McKee was a jolt of energy in the second, Tim Jennings surged in the third and Kasey Fleming saved his contributions for the fourth, including a short jumper that put La Salle ahead four with 2:23 left and in position to play the clock as it wanted.

Seniors Sorge and James Barthcak, juniors Joe Shields and Liam Hawley and the sophomore group of McKee, Fleming and Hayes Altomare give fifth-year La Salle coach Mike McKee a lot of guard options.

“We have a combination of veterans and sophomores, so if we can keep making our practices competitive on a daily basis, that’s where we’ll keep getting better,” Mike McKee said.

~~~

La Salle College 48, Germantown Acad. 44

By Quarter

La Salle:  11  |   11   |  8  |  18  ||  48
Germantown Academy:  8  |  10   |   11   |  15  ||  44

Scorers

L: Horace Simmons 17, Joe Shields 4, Kasey Fleming 4, Hayes Altomare 4, Ryan Sorge 4, Tim Jennings 4, James Bartchak 3, Mick McKee 3, Ryan Warren 2

GA: Bryce Rollerson 27, Tyler Nolan 7, Ellis Johnson 6, Luke Topley 2, Flinn Brooks 2


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