Germantown Friends' Mike Buckmire shaking a Father Judge defender during the six-team scrimmage Germantown Academy hosted Saturday. (Photo by Jonathan Vander Lugt)

by Jonathan Vander Lugt

The start of a new season often brings fresh faces, question marks and new adjustments to make.

Not for Germantown Friends School basketball. That was last year—the season in which the Tigers lost 80 percent of their starting lineup to graduation.

For the 2016-17 season, all but one major face is back. With the same personnel, the offense is going to work in a similar way, and through the same player: senior guard Mike Buckmire.

“It’s been great to have the same guys back,” he said. “Of course we miss Charlie.”

That would be Charlie Dolgenos, the guard lost to graduation.

“Last year, given the fact that we were young and had so many injuries, it allowed kids who probably weren’t going to get all that much playing time to get some experience,” Buckmire went on. “This year, that’s going to help us a lot.”

Last year’s Tigers squad finished 11-12, a pretty decent record considering their youth and the fact that they spent the majority of their conference season with one or two pieces missing due to injury. Those projecting to receive the lion’s share of the minutes this season are Buckmire, Sam Istvan, Isaac Myran, Pietro Berghella, Peter Gard, Quetin McKnight, and Preston Choe.

Buckmire was named first-team all-conference last season, after putting up 18 points, four assists, and five rebounds per game.

“We’re looking experienced now,” Buckmire said. “We’ve gotten to work with everybody—everybody knows what they’re expected to do. We’re gelling. It’s going to be fun.”

At this point in the pre-season last year, head coach Shawn Werdt was going over—literally—how different types of defenses worked, as well as how to run their newly-installed offense. It was rudimentary basketball, but that’s because his team consisted of a senior, three juniors (two of which hadn’t seen varsity playing time), and a bunch of underclassmen.

This year, GFS is light years ahead. Rather than taking time to explain the basics of man-to-man or a 2-3 zone, they’re working through plays and shoring up their transition offense and defense. It seems minor, but the earlier a team can get the ball rolling, the better off they are.

“I looked at my practice plans from last year—looking at day five this year versus day five last year,” Werdt said, “and we’re leaps and bounds ahead of where we were. That’s pretty exciting.

“We played completely differently last year (compared to the year before), which took a lot of time and a lot of teaching. We had new kids, kids that were partial JV players, and kids with no varsity experience. Practices were much longer, and it was exhausting. This year’s team, we’ve been working from the moment last season ended—playing in spring leagues, going to team camps, working out through the summer and fall—so much so that you could call these kids veterans.”

Elsewhere, the 6-foot-7-inch Berghella finished last season with an average of eight points and eight boards per game. This year, he seems much more comfortable around the rim, and much more eager to be involved in the team’s offense—something that Werdt is happy to oblige.

“He had a fantastic spring and summer,” Werdt said. “He’s worked really hard on his footwork, balance, finishing around the basket, and learning how to play more physically without fouling.

“He’s got a lot more energy and a lot more confidence. I’m excited. Last year, he’d score by ‘finding a couple baskets.’ We weren’t running the offense through him. This year we want to get him the ball.”

That will start and end with Buckmire’s play though. The senior isn’t being highly recruited—he’s got some area Division III schools interested (Haverford, Swarthmore), as well as some tepid interest from a handful of Ivies.

He might, like Werdt pointed out, go to a place like Duke University to just be a student (and wreak havoc in intramurals). Nonetheless, just because colleges aren’t really looking at him doesn’t mean that his play won’t be lights-out. It wouldn’t even be a shock to see interest pick up as the season wears on.

“Mike is a really good player and even better leader,” Werdt said. “He’s just great, all-around.”

He’s been starting since his freshman season, and coming off of a first-team all-league honor, is eager to finish his GFS career on a high note.

“He’s poised to have another outstanding season,” Werdt said. “It’s really going to help him that the pieces around him are better.”

Buckmire, nicknamed “Buck” by his teammates, isn’t hesitant to accept the responsibility.

“Last year was a big year for me,” Buckmire said. “I was coming into my own. This year, I’m feeling more confident and I’m honing my skills and what I need to do for this team—what I need to do to drive us and help us win.”