City of Basketball Love

By David Comer
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GLENSIDE -- Arcadia men’s basketball coach Adam Van Zelst describes senior guard Nas Johnson as a “hooper.”

“He loves basketball,” Van Zelst said.

So imagine how difficult last season was for Johnson, a Father Judge graduate who grew up in the Oxford Circle neighborhood, when a shoulder injury forced him to sit out the season.

“It was tough,” Johnson said Wednesday night after he scored a team-high 19 points to lead the Knights to a come-from-behind 75-55 win over Gwynedd Mercy at Alumni Gymnasium on the Arcadia campus in a non-league contest dubbed the “Battle of 309.”

The wiry, 6-foot, 160-pound Johnson could not be happier to be back on the court. 

He tore the labrum in his right shoulder during his junior year, but toughed out the season while wearing a brace to protect the injury. Despite not being close to 100 percent, he still managed to average 15.7 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game in earning first-team All-MAC Freedom honors.

Then, in July 2024, he had surgery to fix the torn labrum. The next six months meant therapy five times each week and no basketball.

By January, though, he was able to work out, dribble and shoot, but he wasn’t ready to get back.

“I didn’t want to rush it,” Johnson said.

Johnson wasn’t the only key member of last year’s team forced to miss the season with an injury. Darius Isaac, a 5-foot-10 senior guard out of Springside Chestnut Hill, sat out with an ankle injury. He, too, is back. He chipped in seven points off the bench for Arcadia.

Even though Johnson and Isaac weren’t able to contribute to the team on the court last year, they did whatever they could do to help. They were at practice each day, attended every game — home and away — and did everything all of the other players did except play.

“We were already close, but we spent a lot of time together and got even closer,” Johnson said of his long-time teammate. “We’re like brothers.”

“They were both fully invested,” Van Zelst said. “They were fully engaged.”

And this year, after watching last season’s team struggle to a 12-14 record, they are both back on the court and contributing to the Knights success. That was evident on Wednesday night. A year ago, Gwynedd Mercy clobbered Arcadia, 91-65.

“They embarrassed us,” Van Zelst said. “We weren’t ready to play.”

The Griffins, who fell to 2-1 on the season under first-year coach Darnell “Speedy” Artis, led 30-29 at halftime behind the exceptional play of sophomore guard Bruce Smith. Smith, a Neumann Goretti product, scored 16 of his game-high 23 points before intermission on a variety of difficult shots from all over the court.

The Knights switched from man-to-man to zone to start the second half and were able to slow Smith and the Gwynedd Mercy offense. Arcadia slowly built its lead that eventually grew to 25 points with 5:07 left in the second half.

Wednesday’s win improved Arcadia to 2-0 on the season and gave them a sweep of the Battle of 309. The Arcadia women’s basketball team defeated Gwynedd Mercy, 65-45, in the opener of the doubleheader behind 18 points from senior guard Hanna Rhoades.

For the women's side, Wednesday's victory also meant at 2-0 start; the Knights won by double digits at Penn State Abington in their season opener. 

Expectations are high for Van Zelst and his team as he begins his seventh season at the helm. Arcadia is the preseason pick to win the MAC Freedom title.

On Wednesday night, they showed their depth, experience and unselfishness. Amazingly, their first eight field goals of the game were each scored by a different player.

Joshua Okocha, a 6-foot-5 senior forward who looks like he could play middle linebacker, finished with 11 points and 7 rebounds. And 5-foot-10 sophomore guard Jamison Lynam added 7 points and 10 assists.

“We have so many older guys,” Van Zelst said. “They love each other. They’re playing for each other. I’m really proud of them.”

Johnson is one of those “older guys.” He now has exactly 800 career points, and reaching the 1,000-point milestone is within reach. (He scored 1,000 points in high school and became only the second player in Father Judge history to reach that benchmark when he did so in the final game of his high school career.)

Johnson could not be happier to be back in the gym and doing more than just watching his teammates play.

“It’s great — just sharing moments like this with the guys and being out here playing,” he said. “I think having me and Darius back makes us a more dynamic team and a better team.”

That certainly appears to be the case. Johnson said he still needs to improve his conditioning and get into better game shape, but that will come. He learned patience while sitting out last season, but he doesn’t have time to be too patient this year.

He knows that this is the final chapter of his college basketball career, and he will play a major role in determining his team’s destiny. 

“I think Nas is the heart and soul of this team,” Van Zelst said. “When he’s good, we’re good. He really drives the ship for us.”