City of Basketball Love

By Ryan Coyle (@ryancoyle35)
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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 basketball season is like climbing a mountain. Practice, film room, weight room, extra sprints, all the dirty work that goes into the climb with one end goal of reaching the top of that mountain.

In basketball terms, reaching the top of that mountain is winning a championship title. William Tennent’s boys basketball program did just that last year winning the Suburban One Freedom regular season title last year, claiming their first league championship since 2004.

“To be a part of that last year, it was really cool,” head coach Rob Mulville said. “To get to the top of that mountain after what we felt like the last few years we were climbing, it was really cool to get to the top. For everything to come the way it did, it was a special year.”

The Panthers reached the top of that SOL mountain that they had been climbing, but once that climb finished and there was another mountain to climb, they stumbled.

Tennent earned the No. 12 seed in the District 1 playoffs, receiving a home game and a matchup against No. 21 Haverford, where the Fords went on the road and took down the Panthers 60-46 putting a premature end to a historic season.

“I felt as if we were a little satisfied after winning the league,” senior guard Kirby Mooney said. “I feel like we could have won that first playoff game against Haverford in districts, but we might not have had that same sense of urgency that we did chasing the league title all year. We had the talent, it was just an upsetting way to end such a great season.”

What great teams and players tend to do is use a previous failure, as motivation to accomplish another goal they set out for. While the memories of last year will live on forever, it is time to turn the page and begin the next climb.

“This offseason though, we have been able to use that loss as some motivation,” Mooney said. “We also now have the standard in place that it isn’t just to win the league and we feel satisfied. The goal should be to win the league and then go make a run in districts and qualify for states.”

As the Panthers set out to defend that SOL Freedom division title, they will be led by Mooney, a first team all-league player in the SOL Freedom last year. Mooney averaged 23.1 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1 BPG, spearheading the Panthers attack en route to the league title.

“Having a kid like Kirby is always a luxury as a coach,” Mulville said. “He is such a talented player, but such a great kid and easy to coach too. Obviously, he gets a lot of recognition for his scoring and playmaking, but he is great on defense too. He does everything it takes to win and that makes life on me as a coach a lot easier when you have a guy like him to rely on.”

Last year, Mooney’s counterpart in the scoring column most nights was first team all-league guard George Marion who is now gone due to graduation, opening up the opportunity for a lot of points to be replaced.

“Losing George is a big loss for us,” Mooney said. “He was a great leader, a great scorer, great on defense, he helped us win a lot of games last year. I think this year we have some guys coming off the bench from last year’s team that didn’t have as big of roles, but this year they are going to be counted on to step up, and I think they can surprise some people.”

Other than Mooney, no starters return from last year’s championship team. Marion, along with Isaiah Dawson, Evan Devore, and Danny Scheller all graduated as well, leaving their mark on the program and setting the standard of what to expect at Tennent. 

“Last year set an example too of what it takes to win and what it takes to win a championship,” Mulville said. “While a lot of the guys that will be playing for us this year didn’t play major roles last year, they were able to see what it takes and the necessary focus and energy to win games in this league.”

Amongst those that are expected to step up into more prominent roles include Imad Abunima, Chris D’Ambra, Sean Devine, Vince Sulpuzio, Luke Torok, Tony Pople and Tre Scarcuzzi. 

“One guy that is ready to step up is Imad Abunima,” Mooney said. “He is a legit 6-5. He can shoot, he can finish, he has been lighting it up in our scrimmages.”

“I feel confident going pretty deep in the rotation this year,” Mulville noted. “Luke Torok came off the bench last year, good shooter, takes charges. Tony Pople, he came off the bench too, can shoot the three. Chris D’Ambra is going to get a lot of minutes for us this year. Real physical, very good athlete. 

“Sean Devine played the most minutes for us off the bench last year. Scrappy kid, good defender. Vince Sulpuzio, played sparingly last year, he should get some good time. Tre Scarcuzzi, really good shooter, really good at understanding the game.”

Mulville’s system on the offensive end is one designed to get the ball up the court as quickly as possible and is transition heavy. Marion, one of the quicker guards in the SOL last year led the charge for the attack that scored 60+ points in 17 of their 22 games.

“We plan on playing the same style this year like last year, very fast pace and transition based attack,” Mulville said. “In our scrimmages we have been getting the ball up the court very quick and executing the break. Losing George hurts due to his quickness and ability to push the ball, but these guys had a chance to learn from him and they have been getting the ball up the floor very quick themselves in practice and our scrimmages, so I am excited to see them in real action in this system.”

Mooney did note that with some size limitations, the Panthers could struggle on the glass, but “Early on it is something we can learn and work on more. If we work together and give 100% effort towards crashing the glass, we will be able to hold our own there.”

While some of the members of last year’s climb to the top are no longer with the program, the cornerstone in Mooney and head coach in Mulville are back and ready to lead the charge with a group of hungry guys ready to make a bigger name for themselves are ready to take on the challenge of becoming champions once again. 

“People doubted us, people didn’t expect that type of season from us, but to be able to go out and prove people wrong and accomplish what we did, it was special,” Mooney said. “I hope to carry it on to this year.”