City of Basketball Love

Konner Metz (@konner_metz)
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One month in, Radnor is already living up to its high expectations. So far, 13 teams have tested the Raptors, and all 13 have left with one more mark in the loss column.

With an offense predicated on constant ball movement and kickouts, and a defense that has no trouble staying disciplined during extended, drawn out possessions, Radnor presents as a squad that seems equipped to compete with any opponent. No doubt about it, at least in senior Jackson Hicke’s mind.

“I really think we can beat anybody, anywhere, anytime,” Hicke said. “I think we’re a really good team.”

That rang true when the Raptors were leaving Haverford High School Friday night with a convincing 58-37 victory over the Fords. Hicke was the star of the night, pouring in 23 points, 18 of those during the second half.

After a 15-8 first quarter advantage for the Raptors (13-0, 9-0 Central), the Fords (7-6, 4-5 Central) quickly battled back on their home court. Senior guard Googie Seidman drilled a three with his heels on the logo to diminish the lead to 17-15. But Radnor ended the quarter on a 13-0 run, holding Haverford scoreless for more than five minutes.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with the communication on defense and how we were able to learn from that little spurt and were able to get some separation,” coach Jamie Chadwin said of his team’s response to close out the second quarter. 

After the 30-15 halftime advantage, Hicke willed the team through the third quarter, scoring 10 of its 17 points during the frame, including a pair of and-one conversions at the cup.

While they did make five triples in the contest, most of Radnor’s best looks came from inside opportunities via ball movement or isolation drives, whether it be Hicke or senior guard Charlie Thornton (14 pts), or fellow starters and seniors Cooper Mueller and Danny Rosenblum (8 pts each).

“It’s always our goal to get close, get into the paint, and then create and kick out for threes,” Hicke said. “We don’t want too quick of possessions where we don’t go into the paint. We want to spread defenses out and get as good of a look as we can.”

The Raptor offense found it slow on a few possessions, but seemed calm behind the guidance of its experienced starting lineup that includes the four seniors above and junior Henry Pierce. 

Haverford, meanwhile, ran the halfcourt offense at an even slower pace, struggling to create space or find open looks. Seidman led the way for the Fords with 11 points, but was often closely guarded off the ball, even if the possession took north of 30 seconds to develop.

“I think our identity is defense,” Hicke said. “As you saw today, we do a good job of sitting in our stance for a long period of time, making them make and take tough shots. That really leads into our offense, it fuels us, and we just get going and we go on runs. Teams can’t score on us, and I think that’s really our identity.”

That defense has been the foundation of the team’s 12-game win streak to open the season. No team has scored more than 50 in regulation versus the Raptors, though Garnet Valley cracked that mark in a 56-51 Radnor overtime win last week.

At 6-foot-7, senior Jackson Gaffney only makes that defense more of a headache to solve. The lanky Gaffney is a transfer from St. Joe’s Prep, and returned after injury last Tuesday in a Raptor win over Conestoga. After eight points and two blocks in his first game back, he added a bucket and another athletic rejection on Friday versus Haverford.

“You don’t find 6-foot-7 kids that can do what he can very often, so once we get him going even more, it’s just a whole other dimension,” Hicke said. “Teams are already struggling with us, it’s just another thing they have to worry about.”

Back in December when Gaffney was still out, Radnor took down a PCL favorite, Archbishop Ryan, 57-42, holding 6-foot-9 Thomas Sorber to a modest 12 points. Sandwiched between non-conference games against Holy Ghost Prep on Tuesday and Downingtown West on Sunday are dates with some of Radnor’s top foes in the Central League in Upper Darby (10-3, 6-3) and Lower Merion (12-1, 7-1).

The Lower Merion matchup (Jan. 24) will be a chance for Radnor to seize redemption on the Aces’ home court after last year’s Central League title game, where Lower Merion came out victorious. But with the defense playing at a high level and the team’s ability as a whole to burst out of a cannon and go on double-digit runs, Radnor stands as good a chance as ever.

Chadwin knows the defense is in a good place, at least by way of results thus far, but is no stranger to the fact that challenges lie ahead in conference and non-conference play that are way more important than savoring the success of the games they’ve already won.

“Continuing to just develop our fluidity of the offense, to not have the lulls in the game, I think that’s what we focus on,” Chadwin said. “Defensively, just trying to get even tighter and stronger. Being able to adapt the way we play defense to the [different] styles and personnel in the league.”

Both Chadwin and Hicke said there’s no complacency in this year’s team, despite the impressive start, pointing to last year’s district title game that ended in heartbreak when Chester used a buzzer-beater at regulation to ultimately defeat the Raptors in overtime as motivation to continue improving every game. The end goals remain the same, no matter how many consecutive wins Radnor can tally.

“We have a couple championships we want to win this year, so we keep playing defense the way we do, I think we have a good chance,” Hicke said. “We took it to another level this year. We’re a fist together on defense.”

By Quarter
Radnor:     15  |  15  |  17  |  11  ||  58
Haverford:  8   |   7   |   7   |  15  ||  37
Scoring
Radnor: Hicke 23, Thornton 14, Mueller 7, Rosenblum 7, Savadove 4, Gaffney 2, Monty 1

Haverford: Seidman 11, Wiener 6, Wright 6, Cascarina 6, Gannon 2, Raech 2, Denman 2