GFS freshman Matt Johnson cuts through the lane in an early-season game against the Episcopal Academy. Though the Tigers struggled this season, Johnson's play was a bright spot and head coach Shawn Werdt hopes that his play will help lead GFS back to the playoffs in the coming seasons. (Photo by Jonathan Vander Lugt)

by Jonathan Vander Lugt

For the first time in his coaching tenure at Germantown Friends School, Shawn Werdt’s Tigers won’t be participating in meaningful postseason basketball.

They finished in a three-way tie for last in the regular season standings (10-15, 1-8) and bowed out to Friends Select in the first round of the Friends Schools League Quaker Cup, a tournament of the bottom four teams in the league.

In short, it was the sort of season that no team wants to go through, but the Tigers never stopped looking for places to learn and improve.

“We knew that if we made the Friends League playoff, something crazy would have had to happen,” Werdt said. “We knew where we stood, and just wanted to get better each time out there.”

The Tigers won their first and only league game against Friends Select on Jan. 8. From that point on, they weathered eight consecutive league losses, including the season-ender in the Quaker Cup.

“We had – if you want to call them this – some good losses in there,” Werdt said, referring to late-season games against Shipley (Bryn Mawr) and the Academy of the New Church (Bryn Athyn). “Against Shipley, we were up a few at halftime, and up one going into the fourth quarter. We had ANC within three going into the fourth.”

“Those were two really good teams that we went toe-to-toe with,” Werdt said. “I got the sense that, as the season went on, we’d end up playing up to our opponents.”

“I had a feeling that if we played a good team, the kids would rise to the occasion and make it a competitive game,” he went on. “In that sense, I really like the group’s competitive spirit.”

Resilience and growth - not wins or points - served as the currency that kept Werdt going through the year. He knew heading into the season that GFS was in for a rebuilding year, so all season he had to find a find a way to be patient when it came to on-court production.

“We just had a lot of young guys and a lot of inexperience,” he said. “I had to be patient with this group. Every year that I had been the coach here, we had made the Friends League playoffs – five years in a row – but really, that wasn’t a goal for us this year.”

Instead, Werdt and his staff worked on helping Matt Johnson, a freshman and undoubtedly the centerpiece of the next three years of Tiger basketball,  grow alongside his teammates.

“Matt is tenacious,” Werdt said. “He’s got one speed and we wants to go in toward the basket with a full head of steam.”

He finished the year with north of 13 points per game, and led the Friends League in free throw attempts – a good indicator of his style on offense.

“At times that worked, but when we were playing taller guys, a lot of his layup attempts got punched into the second row,” Werdt went on. “He has to develop a mid-range game, and become a better three-point shooter. There are some things he needs to do to take his game to the next level.”

That said, “as far as freshman go, he’s as good as any I’ve coached,” Werdt went on.  Usually if we have freshman, they’re on the bench or getting a little bit of time. If they’re really good, they might be the fifth option.”

Instead, the GFS offense ebbed and flowed with his play.

“It was a lot to ask him to go from playing eighth grade basketball to playing against 18-year-olds,” Werdt said. “I’m really excited about his future and I think he’s going to be a great player.”

Elsewhere, junior Nolan Grady was (by Werdt’s estimation) either as valuable or more so than his backcourt mate.

“Matt might be our most talented player but Nolan might have been our MVP in the sense that we just couldn’t take him off the floor,” Werdt said. “He’s an incredibly heady player, and really an extension of the coaching staff on the floor.”

“He’s just a super solid kid,” Werdt went on. “He might need to get a bit stronger and a bit quicker, but I think he’s going to have a good season next year.”

Grady averaged a shade north of 11 points, three assists and two steals per game for GFS.

Rounding up the starting five were “undersized big man” Tyson Maddox (a junior), who played a big role on both ends, and seniors Sam Webber and Noah Davidson who grew into varsity roles as the season went on.

The pair, who rose through the ranks and paid their dues as long-time program kids, will obviously be missed. But they weren’t big contributors on offense, so Werdt is excited to have most of his team’s points returning for next season.

“ will be a realistic goal that we’ll talk about heading into the year,” Werdt said. “The kids know that this year wasn’t all that fun at times, and we want to get back into a place where we’re playing playoff-level games and competing with the big boys.”

“You’re going to see the fruits of our labor pay off in the next couple years,” Werdt went on. “We’ve got some good teams coming through.”

Around the Area:

Each of the Philly Inter-Ac schools lost in the PAISAA tournament. La Salle, meanwhile, advanced to the Philadelphia Catholic League semifinal in 47-45 win over Archbishop Carroll.

Penn Charter (11-15, 1-9) fell in two overtimes to Shipley, 77-75. Ryan Holmes led with 21 points, while Mark Butler added 15 and senior Dylan Topaz added 11. Elsewhere, Germantown Academy beat SCH 76-57 in its final home league game of the year on Wednesday before losing in an admirable showing to the Phelps School (Malvern), 79-77 in overtime. Four players scored in double figures against Springside Chestnut Hill: Brian Basile (16), Diego Carrasco (15), Juan Adames (14) and Jordan Longino (14). Longino led against Phelps with 36. The Blue Devils, on the other hand, sputtered to the finish with the loss to GA and suffered another double-digit deficit against the Perkiomen School (Pennsburg) in the PAISAA tournament 76-53.

The Explorers continued their recent run of success with a revenge win over the Patriots, who  dealt La Salle one of its two losses during the regular season. Seniors Zach Crisler and Allen Powell led with 13. Up next is a semifinal date against a tough Bishop McDevitt team at the Palestra Wednesday.

All-League Players:

La Salle (Philadelphia Catholic League):

1st Team: Allen Powell, Sr.; Konrad Kiszka, Sr.

2nd Team: Zach Crisler, Sr.

3rd Team: Titus Beard, Sr.

Germantown Academy (Inter-Ac League):

1st Team: Jordan Longino, So.

Springside Chestnut Hill (Inter-Ac League):

1st Team: Ke’Shawn Williams, Jr.

2nd Team: David Robinson, Jr.

Penn Charter (Inter-Ac League):

2nd Team: Ryan Homes, Jr.