City of Basketball Love

Jared Leveson (@jared_leveson)
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DOYLESTOWN — One word can describe senior Kyle Berndt’s play style — shooter. 

The 6-foot-5 wing for Central Bucks East has hooped since kindergarten, but when Stephen Curry exploded onto the scene and revolutionized the 3-point shot a decade ago, Berndt, who was in elementary school at the time, got inspired. 

“He’s been one of my favorite players forever,” he said. “Everyone is going to say Steph Curry, when you think of a shooter. He’s the greatest to ever do it.” 

He wanted to perfect the art of shooting and got to work. Berndt still shoots with his younger sister Natalie in the driveway or at any gym they can find, constantly working on his jump shot. 

Head coach Erik Henrysen first took notice of Berndt’s shooting prowess during East’s summer basketball camp. 

“Kyle, since he was probably in third grade, has been coming to our camps,” the 13-year head coach said. “He’s probably won our Hot Shot competition from third grade through ninth grade and when he came here, it just continued.”

“He’s always been a gym rat. Always been in the gym shooting and even when he was younger we’d be having practice in the main gym and he’d be over here in the (other) gym with his dad getting shots up.” 

“We go back to fifth grade, sixth grade,” junior guard Jake Cummiskey added. “That’s always been the label, Kyler Berndt — shooter.”

Berndt found open pockets in Garnet Valley’s zone defense and shot the lights out. His first-half shooting was critical for No. 4 CB East’s success in their District 1 6A playback contest against No. 8 Garnet Valley. The senior finished with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting from 3-point land and five rebounds. 

His excellent shooting output opened up space for Cummiskey and East’s offense in the second half while the Patriots staved off Garnet Valley’s second-half push, winning 61-51 on Tuesday night. 

CB East will face another Central League opponent, Upper Darby, on Friday for the fifth seed out of District 1 in the PIAA Class 6A bracket, which would earn them a spot against the third seed out of District 12 (likely Archbishop Wood) in the first round. The loser of that game will face the second seed out of District 11. 

“Shooting has always been my main thing through the years,” Berndt said. “But I’ve really worked to perfect it and tonight I was able to shoot effectively and efficiently to help my team get a W.

“I’ve always been able to shoot. I think just throughout the years my confidence has shot up. I’ve been more confident in my shot and my ability.” 

“We know what Kyle does,” Cummiskey added. “We need him in order to win and today he was able to show up and [we got] a big win.”

Berndt's pregame shooting ritual begins with form shooting under the basket, making sure his elbow is aligned with his knee and that his wrist and arm follows through. Once he’s calibrated the basics, the senior steps out a bit further and shoots mid-range jumpers off-the-dribble. Berndt then moves to the perimeter and shoots spot-up 3’s from a variety of spots with a little sweat going and his shooting touch established.

“I warmed up the same, did everything the same,” he said. “As soon as I saw that [first] one go through I got that extra boost of confidence and I saw a couple more go through and I just felt good coming out the gate.

“I just let them fly.”

Guards Cummiskey and senior Joey Giordano were able to find Berndt in the soft spots of Garnet Valley’s 2-3 zone defense. Berndt’s shot making was like clockwork: catch, gather, shoot, and repeat. 

The senior went 4-of-4 from 3 in the first quarter. Several Garnet Valley players reemphasized the scouting report on the court yelling: “21’s the shooter!” over and over again. 

“I just laugh at it,” Berndt said. “It's funny to hear.” 

Garnet Valley’s focus on Berndt only boosted his confidence and he shot 2-for-4 from beyond the arc in the second, giving the Patriots a 36-25 halftime advantage. 

“They were in the zone,” he added. “In practice, we ran against the zone a little bit and I was able to pick and choose out the spots that were open and I knew that if I got the shot off quick and confident, I would get it down.” 

Garnet Valley head coach Mike Brown made the necessary adjustments at the break and the Jaguar’s ramped up the defensive pressure to begin the third quarter. They pressed out on Berndt, limiting his floor-stretching ability.

Seniors Max Koehler and Logan McKee, along with sophomore Jake Sniras took advantage and helped Garnet Valley outscore CB East 17-13 in the third quarter, cutting the Patriots’ lead to 49-42 going into the final frame. 

However, Garnet Valley’s defensive adjustment created more opportunities for CB East’s dynamic group of guards in the final quarter. 

“When (Berndt) comes out aggressively,” Henrysen said. “It kinda stretches the floor a little bit and allows Jake and Joey to get into the lane and we find Tyler Dandrea on kicks and he can slash. 

“It opens up the entire game for us.” 

The junior guards made enough key plays in the fourth quarter that kept the Patriots ahead. 

Cummiskey and Dandrea scored 17 and 12 points, respectively and combined for 16 in the second half. 

The Jaguars did not go away easily though. A Sniras lay-up got Garnet Valley within four points at 55-51 with 2:13 left in the fourth quarter. 

In their 64-46 quarterfinal loss to Downingtown West on February 24, CB East struggled against high defensive pressure and it looked like the Garnet Valley was having similar success for a stretch. 

Cummsikey and Giordano are strong ball handlers but struggled under pressure at times. Henrysen adjusted for Garnet Valley and placed Berndt in-between the two, helping release pressure and getting the ball up the floor safely. 

“With Kyle there,” Cummiskey said. “We were able to swing it more fluidly and get it to the middle and push on their wings.” 

Berndt’s more than a shooter and his ability to deal with pressure and help break a press helps show that. The senior also never hesitates to rebound and rarely loses an assignment on the defensive end.

He’s a selfless teammate, but sometimes a little too selfless on the offensive end for Henryson’s liking. 

“Sometimes he needs to be more selfish,” he added. “We need him to assert himself just a little bit more. That’s the only push-and-pull that we’ve had with him.

“We want Kyle shooting six-to-ten 3’s every game because he’s that good as a shooter.” 

By Quarter
Garnet Valley: 15 | 10 | 17 | 9 || 51
CB East:         23 | 13 | 13 | 12 || 61 

Scoring
Garnet Valley: Sniras 24, Koehler 12, McKee 10, Facenda 5

CB East: Berndt 21, Cummiskey 17, Dandrea 12, Mukund 8, Giordano 3