City of Basketball Love

By Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
__

(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.)

~~~

John Allen said he didn’t do much coaching last fall.

In his second year at the helm of Coatesville, the Raiders head coach let his veteran group go out and compete and see how they stacked up in the preseason and saved most of his Xs and Os talk for the winter.

Following a second straight state quarterfinal finish and the departure of an experienced senior class, Allen is pulling out the whiteboard a bit more this preseason.

The new-look Raiders have a few talented returners and an exciting group of youngsters that has Allen back in teaching mode.

“I’m enjoying this fall,” Allen said. “We actually shut it down early last fall because those guys they were seniors, they were coming back. We knew who we had, we knew what we had. This year, I really, really like this group. They play together, they talk to each other. It’s a really good group.”

Coatesville won its first Ches-Mont League title since 2017 last year before reaching the District 1 and PIAA Class 6A quarterfinals. First team All-Ches-Mont selections Zuri Harris (Elizabethtown) and Dior Kennedy (Hargrave Military Acad.) paved the way for Coatesville in the last two seasons, but the Raiders still expect to compete for championships in the league, district and state.

Junior 6-foot-7 forward Larry Brown is a big reason why.

Brown tantalized with potential in his freshman and sophomore seasons, even garnering interest from the Division I level. Brown’s growth this offseason has left an impression on his coach. The Raiders will lean on him for production and leadership as he looks to play a new role in his career.

“Last year, I don’t think ended the way he would have liked personally and team wise but he’s been focused locked in, showing up for everything,” Allen said. “We have weightlifting class during school where he does it, sometimes twice a day. 

“He’s been mature about a lot of things that’s going on and I think he’s been playing well. He deserves it because he puts the work in.”

Brown is one of two starters back along with senior guard Amon Fowlkes. Senior 6-4 forward Armon Shockley is another returner who provides plenty of toughness.

“This year we just gotta be patient, work off each other and learn how to trust each other on the court, off the court and it’ll come together with time,” Fowlkes said.

There’s plenty of talent behind that veteran trio. After typically bringing about seven players to fall events in 2023-24, Allen has had 13 guys traveling this fall as he tries to get them some experience.

Junior 6-7 forward Jonas Chester is an intriguing piece who saw a little bit of varsity time last year. Junior 5-11 guard Chris Allegra will earn plenty of minutes as he plays extremely hard and contributes in a number of ways. Senior guard Nasir Williams (Sankofa Freedom) and junior guard Nasir Buchanan (Collegium Charter) are at Coatesville this school year after both leading their teams in scoring last season. 

Freshman 6-4 guard Colton Hiller has been terrific this preseason with a polished offensive arsenal to go along with a mature approach to the game.

“He’s special,” Fowlkes said. “He’s definitely consistent. It’s definitely good to play with him. It’s a lot of new guys who are good to play with, good play styles, so it’s definitely fun.”

From the freshmen to the seniors, most of this season’s Coatesville team grew up playing together, so there is a palpable chemistry that both the players and their coach can already feel.

Despite some youth, Allen has also seen a buy-in from his group that includes time spent in the weight room and attendance at voluntary early morning workouts.

“Play defense to get on the court, getting together, talking, basic stuff like that and it can take you a long way," Fowlkes said. "It’s pretty much the same things just a different group.”

The Raiders are an unfinished product, but they are excited about where they could end up. They know at a program like Coatesville there’s an expectation to win. 

“There’s a standard,” Brown said. “The standard is really high and we’ve gotta keep it up there. We’ve gotta play hard and bring it everyday, especially in practice too.”