City of Basketball Love

By Zak Wolf
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It didn’t take long for Reggie Parks to know what type of player Brad Berwick was. Whenever Parks opened Delco Christian’s gym during Berwick’s freshman season, he wasn’t too far behind. Berwick showed the desire to be a key contributor for Parks’ squad, telling him he wanted to improve his jump shot. 

So Parks spent hours with Berwick before and after practices, hammering home the basics with the young forward. Parks made sure Berwick’s hand placement was right and his legs stayed square on every shot. 

It became an everyday routine where they put up shots for however long the gym was open, according to Parks. 

“He’s a technician with shooting on offense,” Parks said. “Ever since he was a freshman. He's always had an intense desire and love for the nuances of basketball, and that's just grown over the years.”

Berwick’s work with Parks helped him develop into an important figure for Delco Christian, which he showed in its 64-41 win over Phil-Mont Christian on Monday night. Berwick stuffed the stat sheet, finishing with 18 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks as Delco Christian kept its perfect record in the Bicentennial Athletic League.

Soon after Berwick’s work with Parks began, results started to appear. Berwick started a few games as a freshman, before becoming a full-time starter as a sophomore, the 6-foot-6 forward a capable inside and out scorer. It was during that offseason where Berwick started to realize he could play at the next level. 

That goal came to fruition in October when Berwick committed to Dickinson College. After looking at other small liberal arts schools in the Centennial and New England Small College Athletic Conference, Berwick chose Dickinson. 

“It was definitely good, especially in my senior year, now I can play free without having to make a decision,” Berwick said. “Dickinson's a great program, and coach [Al] Seretti is a great guy, and they fit my style [...] playmaking and shooting and all that sort of stuff.”

There’s a sense of pride for Berwick, who will become the first person in his family to play a sport in college. His younger brother Chase, a sophomore at Delco Christian, will try and double that tally in a few years, but for now Berwick retains the bragging rights. 

While speaking about Berwick’s success, Parks looked up at a banner listing the Knights’ 1,000-point scorers. Khamai Orange (Rowan), Josh Parks (Arcadia) and Jackson Piotrowski (UChicago) all attained that honor and continued to play at the next level. Berwick has his college destination down pat, but still has some work to do to join them in their four-digit milestone. Parks expects him to hit the mark by the end of the season. 

“He’s very important, he’s one of the center pieces of our team,” Parks said. “He did a great job offensively and defensively. When he plays like that, we're not going to lose many basketball games.”

Berwick feels his versatility will help him at Dickinson. He doesn’t know whether he’ll play on the perimeter or as a big, but Berwick feels he can do both. His frame long arms allow him to be a paint presence, but he can stretch the floor with his shooting. Despite having an off shooting night — finishing 1-for-7 from 3-point range — Berwick still showed a willingness to pull the trigger, along with pushing the pace as a ballhandler in transition.

For now, he remains laser-focused on helping Delco Christian go undefeated in the Bicentennial and win the PIAA District 2A championship for the second-straight season. Berwick cited Delco Christian’s loss to Dock Mennonite Academy in the 2024 District championship as the biggest adversity he ever faced. 

Last season, he was a major supporting piece to Orange and Beau Lyren, the two high-scoring guards taking the program to new heights. This year, he’s leading the Knights to glory alongside Karter Freeman (seven points), Carter Dill (eight points), Laverne Sambola (10 points) and Joel Johnson (nine points), all of whom return from last year.

“Our continuity is great,” Berwick said. “We all love each other and know each other very well. Our chemistry has been good and like our execution as well, which our coaches really harp on.”

The group got off to a sluggish start against Phil-Mont, only leading 10-9 at the end of the first quarter. A more polished second frame helped it extend its advantage to 11 at halftime, but still a litany of sloppy turnovers kept Phil-Mont within striking distance. 

Though once the Knights started pressing in the second half it was game over. Johnson and Sanbola disrupted Phil-Mont’s offense, forcing the Falcons into 17 turnovers. Meanwhile, Berwick held down the paint, keeping Phil-Mont’s Malik Minor (17 points) in check. 

Easy steals turned into instant offense for Delco Christian and when it had to slow things down, Berwick and his teammates controlled the offensive glass, leading to a number of second chance points. 

“We do well with pace,” Parks said. “We have to pick up our defensive intensity. We have to run whenever we get rebounds, get in transition. That gets everybody excited, and we tend to play better basketball. When we don’t play like that, we don’t play well.”

As the pace increased, so did Delco Christian’s advantage. Minutes into the third quarter, it led 38-20, which allowed the Knights to coast the rest of the way. They led by as much as 24 in the middle of the fourth quarter before emptying the bench.

“We have to be consistent with our effort. We can't come out in a future game like this, in the first half, because there are teams that will do that. So we won't have a chance to come back. So we just have to get more consistent.”

By Quarter
DCCS:  10 | 16 | 20 | 18 || 64
PMCA:  9  |  6  | 15 | 11 || 41

Scoring
Delco Christian: Berwick 18, Sambola 10, Johnson 9, Dill 8, Freeman 7, Barnes 4, Leville 2, Bartkew 2, Proessner 2, Hutons 2, 

Phil-Mont: Minor 17, Moseley 8, Giddens 5, Conway-Brookings 4, Tyson 3, Isaac 2, Stocker 2