City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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There’s no margin for error when it comes to the National Junior College (NJACC) Division I basketball tournament.

Last year, Harcum College, a two-year junior college located on Montgomery Avenue in Lower Merion, found that out the hard way.

For those who don’t know much about Division I junior college basketball--JUCO hoops have three divisions, just like the NCAA--the country is divided into 16 districts, with each district comprised of smaller regions. The 16 district champions are each guaranteed a spot in the tournament, along with four “zone” bids: four of the districts each season get their runner-up a guaranteed spot as well.

That leaves only four true at-large spots for teams that don’t win their district championships and aren’t in one of the two-bid zones.

Which is how Harcum went 28-4 last year and yet, after losing to Monroe College (N.Y.) in the Region XV championship game, saw its 2014-15 season come to an early end.

“We were ranked ninth in the country in the final poll and we didn’t get a bid,” head coach Drew Kelly said. “There’s only four at-large bids in the whole country (and) we didn’t get one.”

This year, District III--which comprises the northeastern United States from Maine to Maryland--got one of the zone bids. And so when Kelly’s Bears downed Monroe this time around in the region championship, they guaranteed that another 27-4 season wouldn’t end in disappointment.

It’s only the second NCAA tournament bid for Harcum in its eight seasons at the top level of JUCO basketball. In 2014, the Bears made it all the way to the Final Four before losing to Indian Hills (Iowa) by three points.

As good as Harcum has been under Kelly, who just won his 300th game in 11 seasons, the last few years have showed him how special these opportunities are.

“You have over 250 Division I programs around the country and only 24 spots in the national tournament,” Kelly said. “Statistically, it’s really hard to do it and one of the hardest things about it is the whole season comes down to one weekend, it’s like the regular season doesn’t even matter. You’ve got to get that automatic qualifier and you’ve got to win your region tournament.”

Over the decade that Kelly has coached Harcum, he’s turned it into a breeding ground for NCAA Division I prospects. Currently, former Harcum players are at D-Is Miami, Iona, George Mason, Tennessee Tech and Southern Illinois plus D-IIs East Stroudsburg, Virginia Union, Lock Haven and more.

This year, his team is led by a pair of sophomores who both look like they’ll be playing somewhere in the Division I landscape next year. Forward Elliott Smith, from Pittsburg, Calif., is averaging 18.1 ppg and 7.1 rpg. Guard Anthony Wright, from Harrisburg’s Steelton-Highspire, is just behind him at 18.0 ppg, chpping in 5.8 rpg and 4.5 apg.

“La Salle’s been in, Fordham, Duquesne, Utah was here the other day, Oregon State was here the other day looking at Anthony,” Kelly said. “They’re both going to end up somewhere, they’re good students, they’re all qualified and everything. They’ll both be Division I signees.”

Smith and Wright led five Harcum players in double figures on a team that averages over 100 ppg, a mark that the program’s hit a few years under Kelly.

Harcum’s roster has grown to be a national one, without a single player from the greater Philadelphia area. Wright and freshman Milik Gantz, out of Harrisburg’s Bishop McDevitt, are the closest to home.

Gantz, another Division I-level recruit, looks like he’ll be yet another success story to come out of the school when he finishes up next year.

“He’s been our starting point guard all season,” Kelly said, “he’s averaging a shade under 10 points, leads the team in assists, he’s done a nice job for us.”

Kelly doesn’t yet know what seed his team will get in Hutchinson (Kansas)--where the tournament is located every year--or who his team’s first-round opponent will be. First they have to get through Saturday’s district championship game against Harford (Md.) Community College.

After that, anything can happen.

“I think I learned that the most important game is the first game,” Kelly said. “If you can win the first game and stick around for a couple of days, it gives you a chance to get some momentum going.”