City of Basketball Love

By Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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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 losses still sting for Perkiomen Valley head coach Mike Poysden.

He watched them linger with his Vikings group throughout the past offseason, when PV played more games than in any of Poysden’s other 12 years in Collegeville.

A double overtime, buzzer beater loss to Upper Merion in the Pioneer Athletic Conference semifinals dashed the Vikings’ league champion hopes. A one-point loss to Coatesville in the district playback bracket set up an incredibly difficult state playoff opener against Roman Catholic, where PV’s season ended.

There was much more for the taking.

“Man those were two opportunities where I really thought we had a chance to earn the right to play some special basketball,” Poysden said on the phone this week. “But that’s kept their edge. We’ve mentally dialed in differently, and the energy that they bring to each other is really cool to watch.”

The Vikings’ 2022-23 regular-season was an intriguing one. 

PV finished 15-7 with wins over eventual state playoff teams Chichester, Exeter, North Penn and Spring-Ford that gave them a top eight seed and a bye in the District 1-6A playoffs. But tight losses throughout league play (4-6 PAC Liberty) had the Vikings’ fighting for their PAC postseason lives throughout the final few weeks of the season.

They took care of business with wins in their final three games, including that big one over rival Spring-Ford, and got A LOT of outside help to sneak into the PAC Final Six.

“Having that edge where a lot of games were like do or die, if we lose this we’re out, I think it just kind of helps us mentally,” senior guard Julian Sadler said earlier this fall. “We just have that edge mentally and playing hard.”

Perk Valley finished with a final mark of 18-11 in 2022-23. Upper Merion’s buzzer beater spoiled a potential rematch with Spring-Ford in the league title game. Upper Darby took down PV in its district opener. The Vikings’ three-point win over Neshaminy in their first playback game booked the program’s first state playoff trip since 2019 before losing to Roman.

Sadler, a three-year varsity player, was flanked by wing Kyle Shawaluk and guard Mason Thear last season, who both had breakout campaigns. With Thear now at Devon Prep, it will be Sadler, a 6-2 guard, and Shawaluk, a 6-4 wing, leading the way for a Vikings group that feels it's more ready for deeper postseason runs in 2023-24.

“A lot of us were newer last year,” Shawaluk said. “We’re getting a lot of those guys back this year. We’re trying to build upon that, and I think we can be pretty tough to beat this upcoming year.”

The Vikings have just two starters back but there’s plenty of experience. Senior 6-4 forward Josh Tagert is an inside-outside threat. Senior guards Sean Wagoner (5-11) and Ryan Murphy (6-0) are two reliable ball handlers. Poysden expects junior guard Anthony Rodriguez to see his role expand.

This year’s breakout candidate is junior Jakob Harken. The 6-3 guard can shoot it and score it and has quickly become one of those leading by example.

“Obviously Julian and Kyle are Julian and Kyle, and we’re excited about the growth that they’ve made,” Poysden said. “They’ve really led us this offseason in effort, in intensity in making sure we’re doing our work when no one’s looking. The other guy who’s fallen just lock and step with Julian and Kyle is Jakob Harken, who is poised to have a huge jump this season because he plays as much basketball, and works, and gets as many shots up as anybody we’ve ever had and it becomes infectious.” 

There are a few young pieces within the program that have also excited early on. Time will tell how much they can contribute this year. 

The veterans are prepared to avoid some of the late season drama of last year by taking care of business and putting games away.

“Last season, we had a lot of ups and downs and I think it really helped build our character as a team,” Sadler said. “Going into this season and this offseason, we’re just trying to get better, play tough teams and get better as a team.”

The Vikings haven’t won the league title since 2017. Reigning champ Spring-Ford is one of the favorites in the district as well after a runner-up finish a season ago. The Vikings have a tough division with Methacton and Norristown always a threat, Boyertown improved as of late and an OJR squad that split the season series last year and looks ready to break out.

Poysden feels he has a team mentally ready for the challenge ahead. They don’t want to head to another offseason with any what-ifs.

“That really has carried our dedication in the offseason,” Poysden said. “We’ve really tried to get out there and play as much and we’re in the gym a lot. They’re pumped and they’re excited and as long as they try to continue to try and improve, I do think we’ll be in every game.”