City of Basketball Love

By Joseph Santoliquito (@JSantoliquito)
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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 2023-24 season preview coverage. The complete list of schools previewed thus far can be found here.)

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The fluid chemistry wasn’t supposed to arrive as quickly as it did last season. Academy of the New Church was a team that was supposed to be young, filled with a bunch of new players who would need time to find cohesion. So, regrettably, nothing much was expected. Fortunately, ANC longtime coach Kevin Givens knows how put a jigsaw puzzle together. He also knows how to put up a good veneer.

For a team that was developing, Givens found what players to plug in, and where they fit, because for the fourth-straight year, ANC reached the Friends Schools League championship (there was no championship in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), this time losing to George School, after three-straight seasons of falling to traditional Friends Schools League powerhouse Westtown.

Things are quite different this season for the Lions, who finished 18-6 overall and 8-1 in the league. They find themselves a team that will be in the crosshairs of their Friends Schools League opponents as a favorite to win the league this year.

ANC has not won the Friends Schools League championship since 2009. The Lions have a streak to break this season, after losing in their last seven championship appearances in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023.

“The kids are mindful of that, and they are going into this season with a purpose, that’s good,” said Givens, who will be entering his 30th year as head coach of the Lions. “We have to break through and win one of these years. These guys expect to win the league and they are exactly on point. They feel that this is our year. We have two giants, George School and Westtown, and we feel, finally, this is our year. I say this is our year because we finally have something that we have not had in the past — we have a little size now for the first time in five years. My expectations are the same as always. We want to win the league championship. That’s our goal.”

That begins with the return of 6-5 senior wing Bahsil Laster, who has really shined in Givens’ system and proved to be a huge force for the Lions, scoring 15 points in last year’s 64-61 championship loss to George School. There is one shot that plagues Laster that he would like to have back, missing a game-tying, off-balance heave from beyond NBA three-point range that could have tied the game in the last seconds.

“I knew what kind of team we had last year, and I thought we could have done even better,” said Laster, whose status continues to grow and already has received offers from Rhode Island, Lafayette, Drexel and NJIT. “Maybe people from the outside looking in didn’t expect us to do what we did, but I knew it. Last year there was a lot of pressure internally on the guys based on what the previous team did, with a bunch of seniors that reached the league championship. This year, we’ll be dealing with more pressure, because now, we’re expected to win. That heat is nothing. We go to practice every day putting pressure on ourselves to do better. To be honest, I don’t even see our expectations as heat. No one on our team sees it as heat. No one can stop us, but us.

“We bought into what coach Givens was telling us. We’re unselfish, and coach Kevin and his staff allows us to be comfortable within ourselves and allows us to do what we’re capable of doing. We’re also put in uncomfortable positions, which forces us to work on our weaknesses, and we have grown from that. That has made us better. We have become comfortable being in those uncomfortable spots. This team has become a family. We are capable of winning 20, 22 games this year. No one sees the days we come into the gym when we do not even pick up a basketball. That conditioning, that focus on defense separates us from other teams.”

Laster returns with two other starters, 6-1 senior guard Nolan Waldon and 6-4 sophomore forward Dior Carter. Givens will select his other starters from 6-1 senior guard Ogana Obayi, 6-6 junior forward Caleb Alston-Nelson, a Springside Chestnut Hill Academy transfer, and a pair of La Salle transfers, 6-7 sophomore forward Cameron Smith and 6-6 sophomore forward Ryan Warren. Six-foot sophomore guard Tobe Nwobu (Camden Catholic) and 5-11 sophomore guard Jason Custus (City School) will also play vital roles for the Lions this year.

The players know the history.

“We all came at the same time last year, and we all spoke to each other and made sure we clicked,” said Waldon, who started his high school career at Father Judge. “I loved playing with these guys. We know everyone in the league is looking at us. We are ready for it. I say that because of the pieces that we have. We expect to win the championship this year. We know what it’s like to get there. But we also know that it’s been a while since we last won (a league) championship. It’s why I say we’re coming out on top in 2023-24.”

Givens is optimistic—though cautious.

“I’m looking for Tobe to break out, and he has the varsity experience that we will rely on,” Givens said. “We also expect more from Laster, and Tobe, from Cam, who had a great summer, and we expect Dior to really come out. We have Bahsil and Nolan to provide that veteran leadership, but we still have five sophomores who will play big roles for us, so they will have to gain experience. Getting to the championship four-straight years, we are bound to break through one of these years.”

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Joseph Santoliquito is a hall of fame, award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who began writing for CoBL in 2021 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter here.