City of Basketball Love

By Mike Gross
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Church Farm had just routed old nemesis Dock Mennonite 74-38 Friday, and the Griffins could hardly contain themselves.

After a very short postgame locker-room session, they came flying back out into the gym and, soon, were taking turns dunking, just for the sheer joy of it.

It’s an enthusiastic group.

“That’s a lot of emotion from years past coming out,’’ said Church Farm coach Jon Guarente.

It was the first win over Dock, a longtime Bicentennial League force, in Guarente’s six-year tenure. The Pioneers had won 44 straight Bicentennial games in a streak that ended in 2024. Last year, Dock caught the Griffins in free-fall.

Church Farm had lost point guard Neiman Smith to a season-ending injury and then lost its way, losing its last eight games to finish 10-12.

“The train went off the tracks,’’ Guarente said. “Instead of transferring, instead of breaking apart, instead letting that adversity kill us, they all came back, and they’re more connected than they’ve ever been.’’

Case in point: Friday’s win lifted Church Farm to 15-1 on the season, including a 10-1 record in Bicentennial Athletic League play. Their only loss has been to co-leaders MaST Charter. They’re also currently the No. 1 team in the District 1 2A rankings, ahead of BAL rival and last year’s league and district champs, Delco Christian. 

Job one for the Griffins is to make opponents go faster than they can. They accomplish that by turning all 94 feet of court space into an attack zone. They forced 21 turnovers Friday that seemed like more than that. Even the biggest Griffins, 6-9 Deng Mabior and 6-8 Chagus Agbor, were out on the perimeter, in their stance, getting after it.

“Everybody on this team guards,’’ Guarante said. “We switch one through five. We practice what we preach in terms of being able to guard every inch of the floor and make it as athletic a game as possible.’’

The point guard issue, given Smith’s injury from a year ago, has been addressed and then some.

Credit Carl Raymond, a 6-foot-5 senior guard in his second year at Church Farm, for taking those reins.

Raymond scored 21 Friday and did everything else, but especially running the show and distributing the ball. There’s a little of Andre Miller, the longtime crafty veteran NBA point, in Raymond’s game.

“One of my biggest challenges, from last year to this year, is becoming a leader,’’ said Raymond, who spent his first two prep seasons at Bishop Laughlin in Brooklyn, New York.

He moved south at the urging of his father, who’s a professor of — honest to God — leadership, at St. Francis College in Brooklyn.

“Last year, Carl struggled a little with being the point guard,’’ Guarente said. “He knew how to score, and he was always thinking about how he could get to the bucket. He watched a lot of film, and now, nine months later, he is completely adapted.’’

In addition to Raymond’s 21, Church Farm got 14 points from Mabior, who’s a low-post guy on offense even as he flies all over the place defensively. Brandon Bromfield and Agbor added 10 points each.

The Griffins look primed for the next couple months, and the intangibles seem off the charts.

“I’ve never had a more together team than this one,’’ Guarente said. “The only thing they’re worried about is the outcome of the game, and that’s really been the separator for this team. I really think they’d be best friends even if they didn’t play basketball.’’

Raymond confirmed that. He said he’s received recruiting interest from schools in all three divisions, isn’t close to a decision and isn’t even thinking about it.

“My main focus is this team, winning the league the (district) and the state,’’ he said

“I love these guys. It’s just love, and it’s family, like you saw today. It’s so natural right now, because everything is coming together.’’

~~~

By Quarter
DM: 11  |  10  |   8   |   9   ||  38
CF:  15  |  21  |  18  |  20  ||  74

Scoring
DM: Myles Johnson 3, Ethan Kratz 4, Timmy Weir 10, Akoi Deng 7, LJ Swoyer 1, Luke Wilkinson 11, Keithan Dunn 2.

CF: OT Yeboa 2, Terrion Turner 5, Manny Parsons 1, Jayden Green 8, Deng Mabior 14, Jalmeer Jackson 2, Carl Raymond 21, Sebastian Eman 1, Brandon Bromfield 10, Chagus Agbor 10.