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Prepping for Preps: Friends' Central (Pa.)

11/25/2015, 3:45pm EST
By Eugene Rapay

DeAndre Hunter (above) and the Phoenix have their eyes on making the FSL championship game. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Eugene Rapay (@erapay5)
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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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“This year, we want to make it to Haverford College,” Friends’ Central head coach Ryan Tozer said.

Last season, Tozer’s squad set three goals for themselves: win at least 20 games, make it to the conference championships, and advance to the state playoffs.

Friends Central completed two out of the three goals for the season. The Phoenix finished the year 22-8 and made it to the quarterfinals of the PAISAA state playoffs.

Haverford College hosts the Friends League championship game, which the Phoenix just missed last season. Their quest to make it to the championship game was thwarted by Germantown Friends in the semifinal round.

This season, not only does Friends’ Central want to accomplish the same three goals from last year, but take it a step further.

“One of my biggest goals this season is to go to the Friends League Championship and actually win it,” junior Antone Walker said. “To do that I know we’re going to have to beat Westtown, which I know will be a challenge for us.”

Westtown, who won the Friends League title each of the past two years, narrowly beat Friends’ Central in overtime of the PAISAA quarterfinals. The Moose are loaded, with top-10 national 2017 prospect Mohamed Bamba, a 6-11 center, in the middle and top-20 2018 wing Cameron Reddish on the perimeter, in addition to George Washington commit Jair Bolden at point guard.

The Phoenix have not been atop the Friends League since 2010-2011, when they won back-to-back titles behind current Duke senior Amile Jefferson. For now, they feel optimistic that they can obtain conference supremacy.

“Our guys developed great chemistry last year, and it’s great to see that go into this year,” Tozer said.

That’s not the only thing that Friends’ Central brings back this season. The Phoenix returns the conference’s top scorer from last season, Virginia commit DeAndre Hunter.

Hunter, a 6-foot-7 wing, enjoyed a solid junior year campaign after missing out on his sophomore year due to a broken tibia, averaging 21.6 points per game last season and earning All-League honors.

A strong junior year and performance on the AAU circuit led to a number of college coaches knocking on his door. He had a number of offers to consider before committing to Virginia.

He isn’t the only one who will be playing Division I basketball next year. Senior guard Chuck Champion provides another scoring threat aside from Hunter.

Champion, who committed to play at Loyola (Md.), is a 6-1 combo guard who can really stroke it from the 3-point arc. However, he’s far from being one-dimensional--he has also shown that he can drive inside and finish through contact if needed.

Getting the ball to the one-two punch of Hunter and Champion will be Antone Walker, who got some time on the court last season but is new to the starting role this year. Walker takes over after the graduation of Jon Lawton, who’s playing at D-II St. Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.).

“We see Antone as more of a true point guard,” Tozer said. “Jon was our point guard but probably our second (scoring) option.”

Although Walker’s main job will be to facilitate and get the ball to his teammates, he can score if needed. With opponents most likely to key in on Hunter and Champion, Walker will be able to call his own number if he is left wide open. He can knock down some shots from the perimeter to mid-range.

With the amount of experience Friends Central has, it also has talented youth to complement them. 6-foot-4 sophomore Toure Mosley-Banks adds some much needed length on the defensive and rebounding ends of the court.

Tozer also expects his two freshmen, Bryce Spriggs and Myles Robinson, to be able to go in and contribute right away. They have made the great leap from middle school basketball to the varsity team right away.

“I know a lot of my friends are playing JV,” Spriggs said. “At first it was intimidating, but once I played my first fall game, it’s just basketball.”

Both Spriggs and Robinson don’t have the typical bodies of a 14-or-15 year old. Spriggs, a 6-0 combo guard, isn’t afraid to shy away from contact. He prefers to play an aggressive style of basketball by penetrating into the lane. He can also rebound well for a guard.

At 6-foot-3, Robinson adds some size. While he is still raw offensively, he has a knack for grabbing rebounds.

Despite a nice assortment of young and experienced players who can each contribute, the Phoenix has one blaring weakness.

“We’re a little short,” Champion said. “DeAndre is probably our tallest guy.”

The lack of a true big man or post presence is something that the Phoenix hopes to have figured out. Rebounding and defending other big men is something that will be a challenge for them throughout the season.

“We don’t have a tremendous amount of size so we need the whole team to rebound,” Tozer said. “If get all five guys to get in there and rebound, we’ll be able to push the ball in transition.”

There is a renewed emphasis on rebounding and having good technique on boxing out opponents. For Friends Central to compete, they are going to need to establish a presence on the boards as a team.

Defensively, the Phoenix plans to get creative and throw various configurations at opposing teams. They know that they cannot last a whole game in man-to-man coverage.

Tozer hopes to work the kinks out now, just in time for the season opener on December 1 against Malvern Prep.

“There’s a lot of teaching in this opening week,” Tozer said. “I enjoy that preparation for the first game. There’s so many different things to put in and we have very little time. It makes the opening week a challenge, but one we really enjoy.”


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