City of Basketball Love

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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It was the worst night of Matt Gardler’s high school career. He’s moved past it in a major way.

Only a freshman at Marple Newtown, in a game against Penncrest whose winner earned a spot in the 2022 Central League playoffs, he went to the foul line down two points with 0.8 seconds left on the clock, put there after the visiting Penncrest student section prematurely stormed the floor.

Gardler went 1-for-4.

Marple lost by a point.

The Tigers bounced back, winning a few games in the District 1 5A playoffs to make a run all the way to the PIAA state quarterfinals. Marple coach Sean Spratt, reflecting on the game recently, said it was “probably a coaching error” to put the 15-year-old on the line in such a difficult situation, but Gardler was the team’s best foul shooter, its heir apparent as a big-time player, from one of Delco’s most famous hoops families.

That tough night, as it turned out, was an inflection point for a young guard from a basketball family who’s become one of the top players in the Central League and District 1. With that night now well in the rearview mirror, Gardler is able to see its benefit.

“Being able to handle that pressure at such a young age just helped me grow as a person, helped me grow as a player,” he said. “All my teammates were very supportive of me, they were trusting in me, they kept my head up. It helped me become a better leader for the guys now, and it helped me become a better player to work hard, that day.”

Now a 6-foot-tall senior and the Tigers’ undisputed leader, Gardler is in his final go-around with his hometown school, determined to do whatever he can to bring them as deep in the postseason as possible after bowing out in the district playoffs each of the last two years.

He was able to exorcise whatever demons remained from that Penncrest game when he knocked down two foul shots in the waning seconds of overtime in a Central League playoff game against Garnet Valley, a game the Tigers ultimately won in double overtime.

“I felt like I needed to make those,” he said. They were huge free throws to make.”

Marple didn’t make it much further last season, a 13-12 (10-6 Central League) season ending with a two-point loss to Sun Valley in the opening round of the District 1 5A playoffs. 

Gardler drives to the rim against the Haverford School in an offseason event, September 2024. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

The Tigers do have to replace a deep senior class of Steven Tansey, Andrew Capella, PJ Esposito, Dave Bertolini, Hercules Kaltsidis and James Kirby. Tansey and Esposito were both multi-year starters who were major pieces on that state championship squad three years ago, leaving Gardler as the only remaining part of that rotation. 

But that’s a great piece to start with. Strong with the ball in his hands, Gardler can get his own shot, with range well beyond the 3-point arc and some nifty finishing skills around the bucket with either hand, and the willingness to throw his body around and pop back up each time. He enters his senior year already past 1,000 points, though catching program record-holder Soutiri Sapnas (1,626 points) would require averaging somewhere around 30 ppg.

But the son of two former St. Joe’s standouts and grandson of legendary Catholic League coach Bud Gardler is also a great passer, who’s equally adept at finding the shooters Spratt surrounds him with.

“His most underrated skill — I don’t know if underrated is the right word, or underappreciated — is his passing ability,” the ninth-year head coach said. “He’s a phenomenal basketball passer with great vision and high IQ. So he’s always going to make the right read and right decision, he’s not going to force a bad shot when he knows we have a better look somewhere else.”

That's a trait Gardler shares with his siblings, former Villanova point guard Kenzie Gardler and current Chestnut Hill guard Tommy Gardler, who also starred at Marple Newtown.

This year, those shooters are going to include junior guards Jack Dean (5-10), Sean Grogan (6-2), Jackson Burger (5-10), Jackson Park (6-1), 6-2 junior forwards John Matthews and Ben Edwards, and senior guards Noah Maida (5-9) and AJ Tarquini (6-0). Spratt also mentioned one freshman, 6-0 guard Mike Rush, as one underclassman who could work his way into the rotation. 

A major part of Gardler’s duties this year aren’t just on the court with the ball in his hands, it’s getting his teammates to play together and to believe in their ability to hit the open shots he gets them. 

“It’s a lot of my job,” he said. “I try to get in the gym after workouts every time and try to get some extra shots up, and a lot of these guys haven’t played together yet, [...] (the preseason) is our first time actually playing together.”

In the middle is the team’s other returning starter from a year ago. Ryan Keating, a 6-foot-5 forward, is a lacrosse standout committed to D-III Salisbury (Md.), which finished the season ranked No. 3 in the country last year. Keating gives them a legitimate post presence who can also face up and knock down jumpers as well as help them clean the glass. 

“He’s always been somewhere between a third, maybe a second option [offensively], but now he’s going to be a three-year starter, hopefully his confidence has built up a little bit,” Spratt said. “He’s gotten bigger, stronger, he’s always been a great athlete, so once he plays with a sense of aggressiveness, but also with control, he can be a scary player in the open court.”

In addition to the 16-game Central League slate that eats up much of its season, Marple also plays Overbrook, Episcopal Academy, Delco Christian and Avon Grove in the non-league, as well as two games in its own Christmas tournament. 

The Tigers are expected to be in the mix in the Central League along with the likes of Lower Merion, Garnet Valley, Conestoga, Penncrest and several others. The District 1 5A field tilts towards Upper Dublin, but a deeper run into districts and states is entirely possible. Though it’ll obviously take a whole-team effort to get there, there’s no doubt this group will go however far Matt Gardler will carry them.

It’s why he turned down overtures from Catholic League schools to stay at Marple, to represent his hometown, to make sure the lesson from those foul shots three years ago pay off at home. 

“I’ve grown up playing with all these guys for multiple years,” he said. “It’s great building connections and keeping those connections going, creating traditions for people to follow on, it’s an amazing feeling.”