City of Basketball Love

Ari Rosenfeld (@realA_rosenfeld)
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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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For returning Penn Charter players, there will be a new face on the sideline guiding the Quakers.

For many of the 326-year old school’s former players and alumni, however, that face is a little bit more familiar.

Coming off a 4-21 (1-9 Inter-Ac) season, Penn Charter has brought back Jim Phillips to coach the Quakers after he previously manned the bench from 2000-2011 and established Penn Charter as one of the area’s top teams in the mid-2000s, a run highlighted by back-to-back league titles in 2003 and 2004.

“I guess I was four years out,” Phillips said. “At some point in year three I realized that I had missed it and was kind of intrigued in getting back into the coaching thing. Frankly, I wasn’t so sure it was going to be able to happen at Penn Charter. Then that became available and the idea of being able to be back where I went to school and coached before and having another opportunity, I’m grateful for the opportunity and I’m excited about it.”

Phillips will now look to revitalize a program that is not too far removed from success, having gone 16-9 just three seasons ago and recently producing two scholarship-level college guards in Sean O’Brien (sophomore, Colgate) and Demetrius Isaac (sophomore, Chestnut Hill).

As he begins his second stint as head coach, Phillips will look to take advantage of the recruiting opportunities that come along with coaching at one of the more prestigious academic schools in the area.

“In basketball it doesn’t take a bunch. I remember the first go ‘round, [former Notre Dame forward] Rob Kurz showed up and [former Virginia guard] Sean Singletary showed up and we got really good, really quick,” Phillips said. “I think we have a really good group of guys and I’m excited to coach them. The problem is we’ve got a few guys that are basketball players and a lot of guys that are playing basketball.”

Not to be overlooked, though, is the crop of players that the Quakers will have this year that will surely make up a balanced attack capable of competing in the Inter-Ac.

Unlike last season, before which the Quakers lost eight seniors, there is some significant experience returning for Phillips. Leading scorers Julian Johnson and Pat McCain have both graduated, but starters Harrison Williams, Jake McCain, and Evan Ferrell are all back for their senior seasons.

While they help form a strong nucleus for the upcoming season, all three have futures in other sports, personifying the conundrum that Phillips laid out; Williams is a Division I soccer recruit, while McCain and Ferrell are both All Inter-Ac caliber football players who will look to continue their careers at the FCS or Division III levels.

Aside from that experienced trio, senior Michael Berk is a capable shooter and sneaky athlete. Junior Michael Hnatkowsky, the starting quarterback for Penn Charter’s football team, along with sophomores Terrence Thompson and Mason Williams, saw occasional varsity minutes and led a successful JV squad last year. All three guards should expect to see the varsity court more consistently this season.

Possibly the most intriguing piece for Phillips, though, is junior guard Adam Holland. Also a standout baseball player, Holland opted not to play basketball last year after shining at the JV level as a freshman.

Back in the fold for this year, Holland should join with McCain to form the starting backcourt and gives the Quakers a dynamic ballhandler capable of blowing by most Inter-Ac guards.

“He was one of those intriguing freshmen that kind of jumped off a little bit to you as a freshman. I think it was a shame that he did not play last year, but we’re fortunate that he made the decision that he’s going to play again this year,” Phillips said. “I think he’s trying to get his basketball legs back a little bit. He spent the lion’s share of his last year and change probably doing a lot of baseball which is a whole different kind of conditioning.”

It’s no secret that archrival Germantown Academy, led by the trio of Penn commit Devon Goodman and juniors Evan-Eric Longino and Kyle McCloskey, will be the favorites to once again win the Inter-Ac after taking home the last three league titles.

Episcopal Academy features the league’s only other Division I prospect in returning MVP Nick Alikakos, and the Churchmen are expected to be very good as well with him, junior guard Connor Delaney and more.

Beyond that, however, the league is wide open, and Phillips is building for the future while simultaneously leading this production-by-committee group out of the Inter-Ac basement and ultimately back into contention for league championships.

“I think we have a good group of guys there that are willing to work and willing to listen and willing to be coached,” he said. “The cumulative effect of what we have to sell them on, and it’s not a surprise to anybody, is we don’t really have a superstar. But I think we’ve got a lot of guys that are probably going to be willing to play together and play as a team, and that’s our challenge as coaches to try to get the best out of them as a group.”