City of Basketball Love

Dan Arkans (@dan_arkans) 
—

(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 2025-26 season preview coverage. The complete list of schools previewed thus far can be found here.)

~~~

The Downingtown East boys basketball team has been waiting for this moment. This year.

The Cougars have not made the District 1-6A playoffs for eight years.

Each year under head coach Brian Grashof they have gotten a little bit better with last year ending with a 10-win campaign.

This is the year for the next step.

“We have gotten the program to the point where we are ready,” Grashof said. “If we play hard on defense, be good teammates, and value the team’s success we will be good. They love each other. We have the right culture. It’s go time.”

The Cougars have high expectations this year. They believe the pieces are there to make a run at the Ches-Mont National and the district playoffs. It all begins with leading scorer junior shooting guard Holland Neff, who averaged 20 points per game last season and was second team All-Ches-Mont.

“I know our whole team is very excited and are really looking forward to the season,” Neff said. “We think we can turn a lot of heads. Our goal is to try to make it to the final four. We want to make it to districts. It’s something we haven’t done in a long time. We feel we have the group.”

Led by Neff and the return of 6-foot-5 junior forward JoJo Smuda the scoring should be there for Downingtown East. Smuda missed last season due to a knee injury, but has had a big-time offseason where he improved on both sides of the ball.

“We are getting one of our best players back,” said Neff of Smuda. “I am looking forward to playing with him. It makes my job so much easier. He helps so much on the offensive end. He brings a lot of energy. He’s a real big help for us.”

Led by Smuda and Neff the scoring will be there for Downingtown East. The big question is on the other side of the ball. The first 30 minutes of every practice is just working on defense. The Cougars’ principles will focus on that side of the ball and crashing the boards.

“It’s going to come down to defense,” Grashof said. “If we can defend and we can rebound, I know offensively we can score. It’s going to be if we can stop other teams. We have been really focusing on that. It’s defensive and rebounding.”

Downingtown East did not have much of an offseason. The Cougars got back to work in mid-March and never let up, playing several tournaments and leagues. They focused on getting one percent better each day, but it also brought the team closer together as the season quickly approaches.

“We are going to have highs but we also will have low points,” Neff said. “We are working a lot on communication skills. I just feel like we didn’t focus on it last year. We are trying to make it a big emphasis, having good energy, being happy, giving high fives, cheering on teammates. If the team has good chemistry everyone will enjoy it more. I think it’s very important. You have to have people who like each other.”

“This is the most dedicated group I have ever had,” Grashof said. “The boys are hungry, putting the work in. The last four years we have been building for this moment. We took our lumps. Now we are trying to do it to other teams.”

Downingtown East knows how difficult the Ches-Mont National is with the likes of Coatesville, Bishop Shanahan, WC Henderson and Downingtown West. The Cougars suffered some growing pains last year, but still were sitting with a 10-8 record before dropping their last four games of the season. The Cougars are looking at last year as a learning experience which they hope will lead to success this year.

“Our league is fantastic,” Grashof said. “We know Coatesville, Downingtown West, Bishop Shanahan are all really tough. I really believe we have the pieces to be in discussion with them. Personally if we do what we are supposed to do we will have a shot. Another thing is we just gotta do it. We have talked about it. We gotta do it now.”

While the talk has been there this offseason for Downingtown East, the rest of the Ches-Mont National won’t be believing it yet. The Cougars are embracing that underdog mentality and ready to turn some heads.

“Some people might think that’s a free win or will underestimate us,” Neff said. “I think we will sneak up on some teams. We have worked really hard and prepared a lot in the offseason. We know what we have to prepare for. I think we have a chance to be one of the top two or three in the Ches-Mont.”

The Cougars won’t be a two-man team either. Returning to the fold is 6-foot guard Sergio Hunt, who played the point last season. This year Hunt is moving to off-guard as the Cougars are looking for more scoring from him. Hunt is moving to shooting guard because Downingtown East is expecting big things from 5-10 sophomore Peyton Vinson, who played JV last year. 

Filling out the rotation will be role players senior guard Rishabh Jain and junior forward Tristen Fell. Both players will be key in getting Downingtown East to be more of a defensive team.

“Defense is very important,” Neff said. “We spend the first 30 minutes just working on our defense. Our coaches tell us we are very gifted offensively. Defense is a lot of effort.”