By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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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 2024-25 season preview coverage. The complete list of schools previewed thus far can be found here.)
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Episcopal Academy came closer to winning an Inter-Ac title a year ago than anybody outside of Newtown Square expected. Three starters, including a 1,500-point scorer, are out the door from that group, leaving head coach Taylor Wright and his squad with some serious preseason work to do.
But that doesn’t mean the Churchmen are thinking anything less than a championship in 2024-25.
Langston Foster (above) and Episcopal Academy came oh-so-close in 2023-24. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
“I think we’re going to shock a lot of people,” senior guard Langston Foster said, though acknowledging that feat might be tough to pull off two years in a row: “People expect more from us this year than they did last year. People know when you have Episcopal on your schedule, it’s going to be a tough game.
“But we’re still a little underrated.”
Last season, coming off a 1-9 run in the six-team Inter-Academic League, Episcopal Academy took a major step forward in Wright’s second year. In perhaps the most competitive year in the Inter-Ac’s storied history, one where every team suffered at least three losses, EA finished in third place with a 5-5 league mark. Overall, EA went 14-11, advancing to the PAISAA state quarterfinals.
All five losses were by six points or fewer: two to league champ Penn Charter, by six and five; two to Springside-Chestnut Hill, by five and two; a three-point loss at the Haverford School.
The Churchmen actually held the league lead at 5-2 before dropping their final three league games by a total of 14 points, the last one — to Penn Charter — coming at home, costing them a tie for the championship in a league with no playoffs. They know how close they were, a couple potential game-winning and game-tying shots not going down, one call here or there keeping them from updating their boys’ basketball championship banner for the first time since 2017.
“We lost to SCH twice in overtime, lost to Penn Charter the first time, away, we missed a buzzer-beater,” senior guard Matt McCarthy said. “Every game that we lost was close and every game that we won was close, so it just shows you [...] all the little stuff really matters, because these games come down to one or two possessions.”
Both McCarthy (6-foot-2) and Foster (6-3) were new to Episcopal last year, Foster coming in from Lower Merion and McCarthy from Archmere Academy (Del.), the two combo guards playing significant roles in Episcopal’s improvement despite somewhat-late arrivals in the offseason. But there were seven seniors ahead of them, including a trio of starters in guards Kevin McCarthy (no relation to Matt) and Tyler Beaulieu and forward Calvin Szoradi.
Matt McCarthy (above) picked up an FGCU offer this summer. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
All three are playing college sports: McCarthy, a 6-3 guard and 1,500-point scorer, is at Army West Point; Beaulieu is playing baseball at Cornell, and Szoradi is at high-academic D-III Middlebury (Vt.) playing football. Replacing McCarthy’s scoring is an obvious issue to worry about; what the other two brought to the table is an even higher priority.
“They weren’t even basketball players but they brought that toughness and that attitude every day,” Matt McCarthy said. “Now we have a lot of basketball players, but we have to get them to buy that same role of being tough. They might have more skill, but we have to get them to buy into the dirty work as well.”
Both Foster and Matt McCarthy will play college basketball. Foster is hearing from a group of high-academic Division III schools including Ursinus, Kenyon (Ohio), Bard (N.Y.), Hamilton (N.Y.) and more; McCarthy has an offer from D-I Florida Gulf Court, which he’s taking an official visit to in early October.
The two have become close friends in the last year, sticking together for classes, lunch, and post-school, pre-practice runs to Wawa. As the team’s only seniors, they’ll be responsible for leading the way this winter.
“I know a lot of people say they’re in the gym every day together, but we’re in the gym every day,” Foster said. “That’s my guy [...] I would say we’re really close and that for sure helps with our chemistry on the court.”
The other major returning piece from last year is a third-year starter in junior forward Timmy Dennis, a 6-7 stretch-forward who gives them a quality inside-out piece to work with. Junior Reggie King, a 6-3 guard, would be another returning rotation piece, but an injury likely has him sidelined for the season.
Sophomore wing Gage Cunningham, a 6-3 wing guard who played for Philly Pride’s 15s on the Under Armour circuit this summer, saw spare varsity minutes a year ago but will jump into a much large role this winter.
“He can do anything on a basketball court,” Wright said. “It’s a matter of getting his feet under him, getting some experience, but we’re excited to see what he can do, he’s a helluva talent.”
Timmy Dennis (above) brings size and shooting ability at 6-7. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
Joining the Churchmen after two years at Phoenixville is 6-2 combo guard Dawson Brown. The son of former Villanova guard Howard Brown, Brown was a starter on the Phantoms’ PAC championship-winning team as a sophomore, bringing a good bit of varsity and postseason experience to the floor.
Like McCarthy and Foster, Brown is capable of playing both the ‘1’ and the ‘2,’ giving Wright a versatile backcourt that, so far in preseason viewings, hasn’t had an alpha the same way it had one last year in Kevin McCarthy.
“We really don’t want any one guy to think that they are ‘the point guard’ or ‘the two guard,’” Wright said. “Obviously everyone’s got their strengths and weaknesses, but at the end of the day [...] that chemistry will build and we’re lucky, we have a lot of guys that can handle the ball, which has been something we haven’t had for a while.”
After that top five, Wright is figuring out which from a group of freshmen, sophomores and juniors will earn minutes off the bench. It’s a pool that includes Foster’s younger brother, freshman guard Wynton Foster, along with junior guard Torey Cooper and sophomore wing Kamau Kegler; additional depth from in the form of a football or lacrosse player isn’t out of the question, either.
Despite losing a few stars to graduation, the Inter-Ac will be deep once again. Penn Charter returns the high-major trio of Matt Gilhool (LSU), Kai Shinholster (Minnesota) and Jake West; Haverford School returns most of its core while adding two projected starters back from ACL tears; Malvern Prep, SCH Academy and Germantown Academy all have key pieces back.
After coming oh-so-close a year ago, Wright is hoping that his players understand the importance of every offseason game, every preseason drill, with crucial moments months away hanging in the balance.
“That’s the experience that’s helped these guys going into the offseason,” Wright said. “All these little drills that we do, it’s not just for the sake of it. It’s the difference between winning a championship and not.”
Only time will tell if that lesson’s sunk in.
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