By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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WEST CHESTER — Dylan DeLucia and the rest of the West Chester Henderson boys basketball program needed to do a major reset last offseason.
The Warriors were one of the powerhouse squads in District 1 6A last year, winning 25 games and making appearances in the Ches-Mont championship, district semifinals and state playoffs, ultimately bowing out in the second round of the PIAA 6A bracket. But they graduated the entire starting lineup, led by standout guard Connor Fleet (Eastern), sharpshooting wing Nyle Ralph-Beyer (Sacred Heart) and versatile wing forward Nelson Lamizana, leaving head coach Jason Ritter and his assistants without much in terms of returning varsity minutes.
Dylan DeLucia (with ball) was one of a few varsity returners for West Chester Henderson. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
DeLucia, a deeper reserve on the varsity squad who had a couple shining moments a year ago, suddenly became Henderson’s most experienced player. In the blink of an eye, he went from starting on the junior varsity squad to having to turn around and become a leader for the varsity.
“We started doing workouts and open gyms almost a week or two after our season ended last year,,” he said. “I learned a lot from those guys last year, so really I just put myself in their shoes last year, and I’m trying to say the same things to the guys who were in my spot last year.”
Ritter knew this year’s group wasn’t likely to be competing for league or district titles. Instead, he took a different approach.
“Our group chat was renamed ‘respect,’ because that’s what we’re after,” the third-year Hendy coach and former Downingtown West boss said. “Everybody knew what we had last year, and they came in expecting to lose. This year, most teams are expecting to beat us. We have that chip on our shoulder.”
It took some time, but DeLucia and Henderson are trending in the right direction, with the postseason still in the cards. A 62-48 win over crosstown rival West Chester Rustin on Saturday afternoon was Henderson’s third in four games and sixth in its last 10, evening their record at 9-9 and putting them within striking distance of extending their season beyond Feb. 3.
DeLucia scored a team-high 19 points, adding four assists and three rebounds, the 5-foot-10 guard going 7-of-9 from the floor and 4-of-6 from the foul line. He was one of four in double figures: junior guard Jaiyre Thomas scored 15 points with four rebounds and four assists; senior guard Shawn Pierce scored 12 points with two rebounds and two assists; and senior forward Ryan Ranalli scored 11 points with five rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block.
All four, along with junior wing Declan Manion, were in the starting lineup for the Warriors’ unbeaten (21-0) junior varsity squad a year ago. Aside from DeLucia and Ranalli, none had even a slightest hint of varsity experience until December. They had to learn on the fly, losing six of their first nine out of the gate, DeLucia missing three of those with an ankle injury.
On top of that, 6-3 junior Cash Roak-Chandler, another member of that JV squad a year ago, has been out since late December due to a concussion. That’s left an already-undersized group quite deficient in that department, having to figure out other ways to adjust.
Even though the varsity level was new for all of them, what wasn’t new was each other.
Jaiyre Thomas (0) attacks the bucket in the second half. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)
“We all talk to each other every day throughout the week, we’re always with each other, chemistry is there 100 percent,” Thomas said, “and I don’t see why we wouldn’t have confidence, honestly because we’ve been with each other for three years.”
Another thing this group has going for it, according to Ritter, is its work ethic. He gave a lot of credit to his assistant coaches — Briheem Adger, Dez Alston and Jon Lott — for keeping the Warriors running year-round.
“We play in every single tournament in the offseason. We play an NBA schedule in the offseason. And if I could play more, the kids would want to play more,” he said. “They are just gym rats. And really, what makes us go in the offseason is my assistant coaches, they just want to be in the gym seven days a week. The difference in our program are the assistant coaches.”
Henderson broke open the game against Rustin (4-12) with a 20-8 second quarter, opening up a 32-17 halftime lead against a Golden Knights program playing without two starters due to injury. Senior guard Vincent Iacone paced Rustin with a game-high 24 points, but his effort wasn’t enough to over Henderson’s balance.
After Henderson took a 14-point lead into the fourth quarter, Rustin cut it to seven twice but couldn’t get any further, the Warriors closing out the game strong against the Knights’ break to get a number of run-outs from Thomas Pierce and DeLucia.
With four games left in the season, Henderson is in a precarious spot. As of this writing, with Saturday’s win factored in but other results from the day still outstanding, Henderson was No. 25 in the unofficial District 1 6A rankings, one spot out of the postseason field. The Warriors have a tough four games remaining: at home against Downingtown East (9-8), at Bishop Shanahan (10-7), at home against Coatesville (11-3) and at West Chester East (2-14).
They need to win at least two to give themselves a chance, but there’s too many variables to know that anything less than four wins leaves them hoping other things break their way. Pull it off, and there’s no doubt they’ll have that respect.
“I hope when we look back at this season, I hope we’re in the district playoffs, I think it’d be a great experience, and I hope we give somebody a scare,” Ritter said. “The kids are amped up, but I said we’ve got to go beat somebody in the regular season to get in there.”
By Quarter
WCH: 12 | 20 | 13 | 17 || 62
WCR: 9 | 8 | 14 | 17 || 48
Shooting
WCH: 25-47 FG (6-16 3PT), 6-10 FT
WCR: 17-49 FG (5-18 3PT), 9-15 FT
Scoring
WCH: Dylan DeLucia 19, Jaiyre Thomas 15, Shawn Pierce 12, Ryan Ranalli 11, Declan Manion 3, Job Wesley 2
WCR: Vincent Iacone 24, Ryan Ward 12, Chris MacNeal 6, Miles Davis 6
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