City of Basketball Love

Anthony Dabbundo (@AnthonyDabbundo)
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(Ed. Note: This article is part of CoBL's "Prepping for Preps," our series of articles previewing area high school teams for the 2015-16 season. For the complete list of schools previewed so far, click here)

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After a disappointing attempt to defend their PAC-10 title, Spring-Ford is back for the 2015-2016 season with a vengeance and determination to find a second league title in three years.

Entering last year, Spring-Ford was the undefeated reigning PAC-10 champion. They had a talented roster ready to replace the seniors and be right in the mix for another title. Then, it all went wrong for the Rams. A combination of injuries, off the court issues, and lacking defense led to a sub-par effort in retaining the title.

The Rams know that last season’s effort was simply not good enough. They finished 7-6 in PAC-10 play, and they lost a playoff game against Boyertown that cost them a spot in the Final Four. Then, in the first round of the District 1-AAAA playoffs, they allowed 78 points to Pennridge in a blowout loss to end their 2014-15 campaign.

The Rams lost Jake Freedman to injury near the end of the season. One player was kicked off the team due to attitude problems, and another was suspended after another off-court disciplinary issues.

Third-year head coach Chris Talley admits that the lack of effort defensively cost his team a chance at repeating as champions.

“We need to get better defensively,” he said. “Last year, we were as average defensively as a team can get.”

The Rams allowed 58.4 points per game last year, which was the worst of all five teams in the Liberty division of the PAC-10.

This upcoming season, the Rams must get back to the basics. No matter how skilled the team is, without instilling a tough, hard-working defense, they stand little chance against the rest of the PAC-10 contenders.

“We need to make defense our identity for us to have a chance,” Talley said.

Spring-Ford lacked a defensive enforcer last year, as they failed to find someone to replace defensive specialist Josh Tupper from two seasons ago.

The Rams are returning multiple key players from last year’s disappointing campaign. They return 6-4 senior Cam Reid, who averaged 10.6 points per game but was sidelined due to an off-the-court issue at the conclusion of last season.

Reid has a lot of potential, as he can get to the rim, knock down outside shots, and aggravate opponents’ guards with his length. If he can manage to stay on the court and put in even more effort, he has the talent to be one of the best players in the PAC-10.

Senior point guard Matt Gnias averaged 9.5 points per game last year as a junior, but will have to take an even bigger role in this Spring-Ford team as they look to replace lost seniors. Gnias, a PAC-10 honorable mention last year, is a slashing combo guard who looks to both pass and score, and has had a good summer.

With the returnees come the departures, as they look to replace Ryan Corcoran, who was the team’s leading scorer at 12.4 points per game. Corcoran was also the team’s best shooter, sinking 38 triples, which was seventh in the league. They are also replacing 6-4 forward Jake Freedman, who averaged 11.5 points on the inside and was Spring-Ford’s go to big man.

Talley is always looking for ways to improve the team, and he keeps a watchful eye during open gym for a diamond in the rough.

Thus far this offseason, Talley has been very impressed by the determination of his players.

“We’re always evaluating, we always look to see who's gotten stronger, who has gotten shots up this summer, and who can help this team win in anyway possible,” he said. “These guys are hard workers. This is the most committed I’ve seen a team in the offseason.”

The players have been going to workouts since the season ended, and having open gym practices twice a week to sharpen their skills on the court, and strengthen the continuity between the players.

Defensively the Rams may be smaller on the inside this year, but they will have to make up for it with effort and great defensive guard play to keep opponents out of their paint. One player that Talley says to look out for is J.T. Cuthbertson.

At only 6-1, Cuthbertson is undersized, but not to be underestimated.  “He has completely transformed his game. He has bought into everything we’ve taught, he comes to every workout, and his energy really rubs off on the rest of the team,” Talley said.

Cuthbertson may be the defensive specialist, energy guy that was missing last year,  to help improve the team on the defensive side of the ball.

As the Rams continue to prepare for their PAC-10 season opener against Owen J. Roberts on December 8, Talley hopes that his team remains determined and allows last season’s frustration to fuel the fire underneath this new Spring-Ford team.