City of Basketball Love

By Jeremy Goode
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Brandon Williams knows how good his Penn Charter boys basketball team is. Coming off a Inter-Ac championship from last season, Williams returned much of his squad, led by three high-major Division I commits. While it is a talented team with much depth at scoring, it is the Quakers’ defense that truly could be the difference between themselves and their opponents.

Penn Charter’s offensive and defensive talent was on display on Thursday night at the Haverford School, another Inter-Ac team that has realistic goals of winning the league championship this year.  

Williams and his team did not want to hear it, as Penn Charter walked into Haverford’s gym and defeated the Fords, 74-53. 

“I like to call this a social media win,” Williams said. “There were a lot of folks that did not think we were the class of the Inter-Ac and might have had Haverford above us, so I think for the outside looking in, this is a win that does more for them than does for us.”

For Penn Charter, the win checks off the first league win of the season in as many tries. With nine more league games, the goal is simple: win them all in order to repeat as league champions. 

After giving up 18 points in the first quarter and trailing by three points, the second quarter set the way for the rest of the game for Penn Charter. According to Williams, the difference was that his team started playing defense. 

Williams’ implementation of 94-foot defense caused several turnovers and allowed Penn Charter to create offense through their defense. They outscored Haverford School in the second quarter 24-8. Penn Charter would not look back. 

The player Penn Charter turned to in efforts to up the defensive play: senior Jamal Hicks. 

The 6-foot-2 guard who recently committed to play college basketball at St. Thomas Aquinas College led the way defensively. He was the first to double while playing full-court defense. He deflected several passes that led to turnovers and he even had a few steals himself while pressing on defense that turned into points on the other end. 

“I take pride in the energy I bring on the defensive side,” Hicks said. “I like pressuring 94-feet just so the other team has left time on the offensive end with the shot clock in play.”

Penn Charter recovered from their uncharacteristic first quarter, according to Williams. From the second quarter through the fourth, Penn Charter gave up an average of just under 12 points. 

Offensively, Penn Charter turned to their usual suspects. Senior shooing guard Jake West (Northwestern commit) led scoring with 23 points, while Matt Gilhool (LSU commit) added 19. After managing two early fouls, Kai Shinholster (Minnesota commit) hit three 3-pointers, giving himself 11 on the evening. Hicks finished with six points, including a three pointer to open up the second half and really extend Penn Charter’s lead. 

Hicks has admitted that offense has been a bit of a struggle this season. However, while shots may not be falling at the rate in which he would like, he knows he can still help the team win through his defensive presence. Williams knows as well.

“I tell my guys, ‘be as elite as a defender as possible because that’s what separates you,’” Williams said. “Everybody today can pass and shoot and dribble. Really what separates kids nowadays is, how well do you guard? That’s the biggest thing I have seen Jamal lean into; hounding the other guard, being really physical, creating other opportunities for us.”

Hicks gets his contributing mindset from adversity he dealt with early on with high school basketball. Originally attending Monsignor Bonner for three years, Hicks transferred to Penn Charter last year and reclassified. Bonner had a handful of guards, and it was just hard for Hicks to get on the court due to the competition. 

For Williams, Hicks’ addition was more than welcomed. In fact, Williams was hired shortly after Hicks transferred to Penn Charter. Regardless, Williams refers to Hicks’ role as a “gift.” And the consistent theme that keeps on coming up due to his development during his senior year: his defense. Defense that helped contribute to Penn Charter only giving up seven baskets in the second half, and two of them occurring during “garbage time.” 

“He has the ability to be a really elite defender,” Williams said. “Defense is what gets you noticed and on the court early.”

Haverford School, undefeated going into the game, are now 12-1 on the season. While Haverford head coach Bernie Rodgers was pleased at his team’s strong start, he also noticed how Penn Charter’s defense changed the game. 

“Can’t turn the ball over as much as we did after the first quarter,” Rodgers said. “Turnovers turned into easy baskets for them.”

Penn Charter improves to 10-3 overall and 1-0 in Inter-Ac play. While defense set the tone against Haverford School, Penn Charter is still very much an offensive-orientated team. They made 28 field goals and averaged just over 18 points per quarter.

While Haverford School started off strong for the first 10 minutes, Penn Charter’s talents eventually prevailed. They pressed on defense, which turned to easy transition points on offense to reclaim the lead in the second quarter. In the second half, they scored 15 baskets. When asked how opponents could defend that, Hicks smiled.

“It’s hard, really, really hard,” Hicks said. “You just have to be better than us. We’re going to outwork you. We’re going to play defense for 30 seconds. You’re going to have to beat us like that.”

Ultimately, Penn Charter’s offense and defense have contributed to wins. And with the players knowing their role and contributing the best way they can, repeating as Inter-Ac champions and winning the state championship is quite realistic. 

“I’m not worried if I am in an offensive slump,” Hicks said. “I’m worried about getting wins. We’re already playing better than we were last year and as long as we get the win and I feel like I am giving 100 percent effort and intensity, I’m good.”

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By Quarter
Penn Charter         15  |   24 |  16   |  19  ||  71
Haverford School:  18  |   8   |   9   |  18  ||  53

Scoring
Penn Charter: Jake West 23, Matt Gilhool 19, Kai Shinholster 11, Carter Smith 7, Jamal Hicks 6, Ty Bryson 6, Kingston Roundtree 2.

Haverford School: Silas Graham 15, Duke Cloran 11, KJ Carson 9, Harry Koenig 5, Leo Becker 3, Cole Maguire 3, Dillon Gamble 2, Owen Murphy 2, Jabcob Becker 2, Evan Large 1.

Shooting
Penn Charter: 28-46 (9-15 3PT) 9-14 FT
Haverford School: 17-39 (8-17 3PT) 11-14 FT