City of Basketball Love

Alex Bonner (@abonn610)
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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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Last year, after finishing a successful season with a record of 17-9, Delaware Valley Charter was looking up. That is, until a few months later, when they received some troubling news.

In May, the Philadelphia School Reform Commission unanimously decided to begin the closing of Del-Val Charter.

The North Philadelphia Charter school, according to the SRC, “did not merit a new operating agreement because of poor academics, shaky finances, and questionable practices in keeping attendance records and overbilling for students,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reported in May.

The SRC’s decision is currently under appeal by the school. Men’s basketball coach--and a math teacher at Del-Val Charter--Jason Harrigan just wants his players to focus on the things they can control.

“I’m telling (the players) to take care of their business,” Harrigan said. “I think that we are kind of in the situation to bond, (the players) already have a chip on their shoulder and when a school is going through that type of turmoil it makes us come together.”

That chip on their shoulders that Harrigan is referring to does not just stem from the school’s current state. Last spring Del-Val graduated two of their leaders and best players on the court in Karl Lewis and DaShon Giddings.

Both Giddings, a 6-foot-4 guard, and Lewis, a 6-5 forward, had been varsity players for the past three seasons.

“They were both really good players,” Harrigan said. “Having both of those players there for three years meant we were able to build on top of them, now we have to readjust to our new identity this year.”

A small, gritty, close-knit team with a chip on its shoulder will be how the Warriors try to identify themselves this season with the help of some transfer students from other Philadelphia schools, including two from Imhotep Charter; who beat Del-Val three times last season.

“Wade and Wyheem (Lowman) came over from Imhotep and (Antwuan) Butler came from Strawberry Mansion,” Harrigan said. “But they’ve all seen varsity action and they all have a bit of a chip on their shoulder wanting to prove that they can play in this division.”

Both the Lowman twins, who are seniors, had limited playing time at Imhotep, but still contributed once inserted into the lineup.

Butler, a 6-0 sophomore guard, was able to put the ball in the rim at ease his freshman year at Strawberry Mansion, playing in every league game and scoring double digits in all but one of those 12 games, including a 29 point performance against Robeson.

Semaj Motley will return for his senior season this year. Motley, a 5-foot-10 shooting guard, was the second on the team in scoring, averaging 14 points per game in league play.

Makhi Morris, a 6-3 junior wing, will be in the mix, as will 6-3 forward Dwayne Coleman, a senior.

Harrigan is confident in his group, and knows that they put in hard work on a daily basis to achieve their goals. His confidence is a result of seeing his players on the court every day, but also off the court, in the classroom, where Harrigan teaches math.

“I think it helps both of us. It’s a different dynamic. They get so see how I deal with normal students,” Harrigan said. “It’s the same formula; bringing consistency every day. Same way in the classroom as it is on the basketball court.”

Wade, Lowman, Motley and senior guard Rashae Nixon, another member of the rotation, all see Harrigan at least twice a day, once in the classroom, and once at practice. To both Harrigan and his players, the change in environment helps them connect with one another, creating a stronger relationship between player and coach.

“Academically, none of those guys give me any problems, they all come in ready to work and essentially they are the leaders in the classroom,” Harrigan said. “I’m sure that our coaching-player dynamic helps that, and it’s been a pleasure having them in the classroom.”

Having a coach that is also a teacher in the school is not something unique to high school basketball teams, but in this situation it certainly helps.

Going through tough times as a youth is just part of growing up, but having Harrigan as a leader, both on the court and in the classroom, should help the Dragons this season. His example of how he is going through this trying period should be one the team follows.

“Those are things that are out of their control,” Harrigan said. “We want to take care of whatever we can take care of and the things that we can’t take care of, we can’t control. Everything else, we will just see where the chips fall at.”

Harrigan and his team begin their season at home Dec. 4th against Sankofa Freedom Charter.