City of Basketball Love

Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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ROYERSFORD — Those who caught a glimpse of the Spring-Ford boys basketball team last season may have noticed a freshman out on the floor to start each game.

The tall lanky frosh Jacob Nguyen was most often seen spotting up behind the 3-point arc waiting for a chance to let it fly. The ball usually found the bottom of the net when he did.

The 6-foot-4 sophomore guard is putting up and knocking down treys again this season. He drained four threes as part of a career 20-point night in a 57-39 win over Dock Mennonite on Wednesday. 

He’s also showing there’s a lot more to his game early into his second season of varsity hoops.

“Everybody knows he’s a good shooter,” Spring-Ford second-year coach Joe Dempsey said after his team improved to 2-1 on Wednesday. “He’s getting a lot of attention for his shooting, but what I’m most proud of is his defense was terrific tonight. He had some great wall-ups. He’s handling the ball now. He’s getting to the rim now. His floor game’s better. He’s talking. He’s just developing.

"There isn’t a harder worker, one of the hardest workers I’ve ever coached. When he’s shooting the ball great, if not he’s trying to do other things.”

Nguyen was a standout at the middle school level as an eighth grader. Former Rams coach Chris Talley told him he should expect varsity minutes as a freshman last offseason. 

Then Talley stepped down after a job promotion to spend more time with his family and Dempsey, who spent a long stint as the coach at La Salle College High School, took over. Nguyen wasn’t sure what to expect.

Dempsey wasn’t familiar with Nguyen either prior to taking over at Spring-Ford, but when he got the job he was told of a freshman ‘who can really shoot the basketball’. Any skepticism on both sides turned out unwarranted as Nguyen barely came off the floor for Dempsey last season.

“When Coach Dempsey came, I didn’t know what kind of role I was going to have, but it all worked out,” Nguyen said. “I worked hard my eighth grade summer and got an opportunity to play varsity.”

“I was a little skeptical in that it’s not often you get a freshman who can really contribute but we ran plays for him as a freshman and he’s that good of a player,” Dempsey said. “He’s that good of a shooter, but it’s the whole package now. He’s rebounding, he’s just doing a little bit of everything and that’s exciting.  … It’s exciting to see him round out.”

Nguyen had eight points in the first quarter to help the Rams out to a 15-10 lead on Wednesday. Back-to-back triples from Nguyen in the second quarter gave the Rams some more distance.

He had 16 in the first half as Spring-Ford went into halftime with a double-digit lead and kept it that way for the rest of the game.

Of course the 3-point barrage was impressive, but so was the pump fake from the corner in the second half before putting the ball on the floor and driving to the basket for a bucket. That wasn't quite in the arsenal this time last season.

Nguyen's 20-point outing followed up outings of 14 and 16 points in a loss to West Chester East and a win over Bishop Shanahan, respectively, last weekend in State College.

“Most of my shots last year were just off plays or leaving me wide open,” Nguyen said. “This year, I have to work that much harder to get my shot off.”

“I’m trying to embrace that role,” he added. “It’s kind of hard because most teams deny me the perimeter, so I have to find different ways to get open — backdoors, V-cuts, all that type of stuff.”

The Rams played a style of basketball last season that could be compared to a power running football team. They played mostly zone on defense and often frustrated opponents with big men Jake Kressley (6-5) and Gavin Shauder (6-7) on the back line. There was a stretch of games in PAC play where they held opponents to fewer than 40 points in five straight contests. 

However, the problem came on the other end of the floor. Spring-Ford missed out on the PAC postseason and had its District 1 tournament experience end with two one-possession losses as they couldn’t take advantage of the limited offensive opportunities they got.

“We could count on Jake Kressley to get us 15 points a game, but beyond that it was just a crapshoot who was going to give us the next 20 points,” Dempsey said.

The Rams are built differently this season, no true post to play through or suffocating shot blockers. Ngugyen expects this team to play with more tempo and play a lot of man-to-man.

Senior wing Alex Lewis (six points), a three-year starter, senior forward Zach Zollers (six points) and senior guard Caleb LIttle (eight points) are some of the vets back for Spring-Ford. Lewis does a little bit of everything for the team, Little is a strong ball handler and takes pride in his defense and Zollers, a football standout, adds some athleticism and toughness inside for a team that suddenly doesn’t have a lot of size this season.

Junior point guard E.J. Campbell was another young player in the starting backcourt alongside Nguyen last season. He’s the team’s top returning scorer, averaging about six points per game a season ago, and joined Nguyen in double figures in both games to start the season. Sophomore Tommy Kelly (nine points), Nguyen’s AAU teammate with Philly Pride, has already added some athleticism and scoring as well.

An improved Nguyen will be looked upon to take a big leap on the offensive end on a squad without proven varsity scorers.

“He’s a gym rat. He works really hard at his game,” Dempsey said. “He’s so coachable. He does everything you say and he’s gotta make that next step. He just can’t be that shooter, so when people chase him off the line now they gotta worry about him getting in the lane. He’s adding that dimension that makes him a much more effective player than just a catch-and-shoot guy.”

Nguyen’s time with Philly Pride this offseason gave him confidence to play with the ball in his hands. His trainer John Riles, also an Imhotep assistant, and his AAU coach Sandy Tanner, also an assistant at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, have helped him add some of the physical skills as well.

“It has come naturally because I just trust my work and I just play my game,” Nguyen said.

Dempsey noted his leadership abilities have blossomed as well. Still only a sophomore, Nguyen is hoping to lead Spring-Ford to a league title this season. A PAC championship has eluded the program since 2016.

“Win the PAC and go far in districts," Nguyen said of his goals.

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Spring-Ford 57, Dock Mennonite 39

By Quarter

Dock Mennonite:  10  |   10   |  6  |  13  ||  39

Spring-Ford:        15  |  15  |  11  |  16  ||  57

Scoring

Dock Mennonite: Nathan Lapp 11, Tony Martin 8, Zacy Neff 6, Hoyt Bultje 4, Ethan Parr 4, A.J. Washington 2, Lane Bergey 2.

Spring-Ford: Jacob Nguyen 20, Tommy Kelly 9, Caleb Little 8, Zach Zollers 6, Alex Lewis 6, E.J. Campbell 4, Tyree Banks 2, Mike McKenna 2.