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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Entering last year, Perkiomen Valley had a young team full of young guys getting their first chance to prove themselves in a varsity lineup. Expectedly, they struggled.

This year, replacing Tyler Krause could prove to be just as difficult for the Vikings.

The Vikings unquestioned leader served as the only player on last year’s varsity roster with significant experience. The All-PAC-10 first teamer served as a leader, a coach on the floor, and a role model for many of the inexperienced players.

“He was a guy who did a whole lot of stuff on his own all the time, constantly,” head coach Mike Poysden said. “That mentality has really projected downward to the younger guys, and now we have a lot of players that are starting to act like little Krause’s out there.”

Despite finishing 4-9 in the Pioneer Athletic Conference (PAC-10) and 6-16 overall last year, Poysden insists that this team is ready to replace Krause and his production, both on and off the court.

“We went out and scheduled a tough schedule knowing that our guys were going to take some bumps and they had to learn together,” Poysden said. “As that one senior, his work ethic has really inspired and paved the way for the young guys.”

While any one singular Perkiomen Valley player may struggle to replace Krause’s 19.4 points per game, this team has plenty of people willing and ready to step up into his shoes.

In order to be successful, it’s going to be a committee effort of the team’s seniors to cumulatively replace Krause. The Vikings’ fourth-year head coach believes that the team’s chemistry could lead to a more team oriented offense this season.

“I have been really blessed with a group of kids who love playing with one another and being around one another,” Poysden said. “We’re going to be a fun team because of the chemistry of our guys.”

Senior forward Cullen O’Connor, who has been designated as the team’s primary big man, has committed himself to not letting this team lose and being a defensive enforcer in the paint this year.

“This offseason was different,” O’Connor said. “We were really focused on training as teammates, and doing whatever we can do to be PAC-10 Champions.”

Joining O’Connor is fellow 6-3 senior Sean Moriarity, who admits that his mentality has to change into more of an aggressive leadership role if this team is to make a run at the PAC-10 title. As one of the team’s more experienced guys, Moriarity has an opportunity to play an even bigger role in the offense.

“Individually, for me, it’s been about my mentality, when I get out their on the floor, I want to become a smarter basketball player and a more aggressive player,” he said.

In addition to a large group of seniors, two juniors, Justin Jaworski and Sean Owens, look to play key roles within this team. Owens is a great defender, and is likely to help matchup against some of the other great talent across the league.

Jaworski is one of the premier shooters in the entire league, averaging 12.7 points per game last season and sinking 41 triples, good for fifth in the PAC-10.

The 6-0 junior guard has also been looking to add other skills to his repertoire, and after a strong summer, could find himself landing college offers this season.

“I’ve been working on a lot of mid range stuff, pull ups, curling around screens, and then I’ve just been working on my dribbling moves because I figure I’ll get scouted more as a point guard,” Jaworski said.

For a team that lacked experience last year, Perk Valley is hoping to ride the experience of their seniors and standout juniors this season. Instead of relying on one player, which caused the offense to be stagnant at times, the offense plans to emphasize ball movement and spreading the ball around.

“We’ve been preaching ball movement, player movement. Setting screens, moving without the ball, playing team basketball,” Jaworski said.

For this Vikings team, they will certainly have opportunities, as both Methacton and Boyertown are replacing a lot of seniors from last year’s campaign. And if Perkiomen Valley can find themselves in the Final Four, they could rekindle the magic from 2012-2013, when they upset Methacton in the PAC-10 championship to take home the trophy.

After a disappointing two-year stretch and transition period after that title, the seniors are determined and ready to go all out for one final time in search of a league title.

The Vikings open PAC-10 play with Boyertown, Methacton, and Phoenixville, three teams who qualified for the Final Four last season. In non-conference, they have scheduled both Wissahickon and North Penn, among others.

Replacing Krause’s production and leadership won’t be easy. The schedule won’t be easy. The league won’t be easy. But this team is prepared to make a run at the Final Four and league title, no matter how hard they have to work.

“This year, we’re mad, we’re dialed in, and we’re not going to leave this season without a PAC-10 Championship in our hands,” O’Connor said.

The goal is clear for this senior-laden team. The title race begins at Boyertown on December 8th.