City of Basketball Love

By Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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Phelps School and Perkiomen School will head to Worcester, Mass. to test themselves against the best programs in the country at the National Prep School Championship early next week.

Before they hit the road, the two teams will meet for the third time this season at Hagan Arena on Sunday at 7 p.m. — this time for the PAISAA championship.

“We’ve played them twice, so there’s a familiarity there, which is good and bad,” Perkiomen School coach Tom Baudinet said. “It’s good in there’s a comfort level in knowing what they do and how they play, and I think our guys really feel comfortable playing them. I think the bad side is they’re really good. They’re really talented . We know how talented they are. You have to be able to go out and beat them with a team that’s got a ton of talent and big-time shotmakers.

“I’m sure everybody is excited for round three.”

Perkiomen won the teams’ first meeting this season, 95-93, on Dec. 13 at Phelps. The Lions returned the favor Jan. 26 at Perk with a 92-78 win.

The two local programs have set the standard high for each other this season.

“There’s nobody who we would probably like to play in the pantheon of PAISAA basketball more than Perkiomen, and I’m sure they feel the same way,” Phelps School coach Trey Morin said.

“I think everybody’s excited and looking forward to it, and hopefully it doesn’t translate to nerves.”

Perkiomen School is the defending PAISAA champion after breaking through for the school’s first title against George School last season. The Panthers are building a brand on the national level as well, as they are only one of five programs to qualify for the National Preps Championship in each of the last three seasons.

Phelps will compete at the 16-team National Preps Championship for the first time, starting in the play-n game. Phelps is looking to capitalize on a breakthrough season of its own. Morin returned to the program this season and led the Lions to their first PAISAA championship appearance since winning it all in 2015. 

“Basketball is obviously a big piece at Phelps,” Morin said. “We care a lot about it. Our school cares a lot about it. Our administration cares a lot about it, and we’ve been knocking on the door. … We’re always kind of on the doorstep and now to be able to get back to the championship and obviously hopefully win is big.”

Junior Will Riley, a 6-9 guard/wing ranked in the Top 25 nationally by 247Sports, is the top player for Phelps. He can fill it up, but Morin said his playmaking has improved throughout the season as well. He’s part of a talented junior class that also includes 7-foot forward Justin Houser and 6-10 wing Onyx Nnani.

Senior 6-3 guard Jacob Hudson is a strong, athletic lefty in the backcourt who can run the show and fill it up, while senior Jordan Rogers is a strongly built 6-5 guard playing the “elder statesman” role in the starting five. Junior guard Tommy Vaughn Jr. and senior guard Cooper Shivers have rounded out a tight rotation.

Baudinet said a key to slowing Phelps will be staying disciplined on offense to prevent mistakes that would let the Lions get out and run in transition. If they do that, it will be about locking down in the half court.

“They can beat you making difficult shots, but you have to make them earn them,” Baudinet said. “We talk about they’re gonna make enough on their own, you can't hand them easy ones also. The key is just forcing them to take difficult shots and if they make them and they beat us that way, it is what it is, but we need to put ourselves in the best position to make the play. “

Perkiomen looks a lot different from the team that hoisted the PAISAA title last season with stars Preist Ryan (Coppin State), Thomas Haugh (Florida) and Bobby Rosenberger (Saint Francis) all at the next level. Junior 6-4 guard Gabe Tanner and senior 6-8 wing/forward Macon Emory, a Delaware commit, are two of the key returners. 

The Panthers leaned on Tanner and classmate KJ Cochran in the backcourt to start the season, but Baudinet said it’s been a balanced effort down the stretch with five or six players in double figures in multiple games. Senior guard Alex Zakheim (6-2) has been consistent all year, and others like junior guard Hayden Johns (6-5), senior guard Torin Bosch (6-4) and senior stretch forward Alfredo Addesa (6-10) have given Perk plenty of ways to beat teams.

“They play extremely hard. They’re very well organized,” Morin said of Perk. “They play out of flow really well, and obviously they have really good players. All five positions can shoot, all five positions can put the ball on the floor.

“And it’s becoming sort of a rivalry. Every time we play against them, and I’m sure they feel the same way, they think they can beat us, but we also know that we can beat them, so it’s whoever plays better that day is gonna win.”

Phelps and Perkiomen are part of the group of eight different teams to win titles since the first PAISAA state championship in 2007. One of them will join Hill School, Academy New Church, Friends’ Central and Westtown as teams to win multiple championships on Sunday.

With a win. Perk would join and even more exclusive club of repeat champions along with Academy New Church (2007-2008), Friends’ Central (2009-12) and Westtown (2016-2017 & 2020, 2022).

“For the program, it would be a big step,” Baudinet said. “I think since Friends’ Central early on won four in a row, I think since then only Westtown has gone back to back. It’s not easy to do. It would be a great accomplishment if this group can do it.”