City of Basketball Love

By Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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(Ed. Note: This story is part of CoBL’s annual “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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The Great Valley boys basketball team was full of fresh faces last season.

A team breaking in nine new varsity players got out to a 3-9 in 2023-24. It was the type of start that could have sunk the confidence and the season for coach CJ Savage’s squad.

Instead the Patriots rallied for wins in eight of their final 10 games. And while they finished just short of turning that rally into a postseason berth, they are hoping it pays off this winter as they try to keep that momentum going into 2024-25. 

“Compliments to those guys,” said Savage, who is entering his seventh season at the helm of Great Valley. “When you start out 3-9, it’s very easy to not show up and give it all you got in practice. … It’s very easy to go off and lose your season, but for them to go (8-2 the rest of the year) it speaks a lot to them and it speaks a lot to where we’re going, our mindset that we’re bringing into this year.”

The Patriots finished 11-11 (6-4 Ches-Mont American) in 2023-24. They finished tied with Sun Valley and West Chester Rustin for second in the American Division, but lost the tiebreaker for a playoff spot.

The late-season rally wasn’t enough to sneak them into the district playoffs either, finishing at No. 28 in the Class 6A power rankings —  four spots out of the field.

After dropping three of their first four league games, Great Valley won five of its last six league games during the turnaround run down the stretch. The wins over the Golden Knights and the Vanguards the second time through the league highlighted the growth the Patriots made throughout the year.

“Last year we lost a lot of games in a row at the beginning of the season, and at the end we won a lot and we missed the playoffs by a little bit,” junior guard Chris Woodard said. “But we have a lot of guys returning and the chemistry is up.”

Chris’s brother, second team all-league guard Jack Woodard (Muhlenberg), is one of the few departures for Great Valley to fill. Senior 6-5 forward/wing Henry Person leads an experienced core that brings a lot of optimism into the 2024-25 campaign.

Senior point guard Tyler Markowski and classmates Noa Metrick (6-3) and Will Mack (5-11) are others who went through last season’s growing pains. Woodard, a 6-2 guard, will be another important piece as someone who can put the ball through the hoop and 6-2 forward Marquis Alexander is an additional name to know.

They’ve all had the chance to jell together this offseason, building off the good basketball they were playing at the end of last season.

“That’s the difference from last year’s team to this year’s team,” Savage said. “Last year, we had nine first-year varsity players. This year, we’ve got nine returning varsity players. A lot more experience this year coming into the season.”

“The transition from the beginning of the season, just the experience this year coming in with those guys is going to make a big difference,” he added.

Great Valley has some length and athleticism that has Savage excited, highlighted by Person. Savage anticipates that will help his team get to the hoop more this season and shore up some woes on the defensive end.

He has also watched the team grow closer together this offseason as well as become more familiar with the plays and the system the Patriots run.

“We’re a sneaky good team, and I think we’re going to upset some teams this year,” Person said.

The Patriots made eight straight district appearances from 2012-2019. They’ve made just one in the last five years, when they finished 16-6 in 2022. 

The bar has been raised, however, this season. All signs are pointing to Great Valley playing important games come February.

Unionville dominated the division over the past two seasons but things should open up for the rest of the division after the Longhorns graduated a strong senior class. Great Valley is ready to take advantage, not shying away from ambitious goals.

“The goal this year — it’s always a winning record — but I think this year the goal for us is to win the Ches-Mont championship,” Person said. “I think it’s very possible for us.”

A key for the Patriots will be starting strong. They know how hard it is to dig yourself out of a hole. Savage also knows he has a team of resilient players who won’t let any obstacles they face derail their season.

“We just gotta work hard, keep playing hard,” Woodard said. “Adversity’s going to come, but we just gotta keep playing through it, keep playing tough.”