Traina’s return promises to boos GA’s title chances

Posted 1/28/20

Luke Traina rises for a jump shot. (Photo by Ed Morrone) by Ed Morrone Trailing Malvern Prep by two games in the standings with four to play, Germantown Academy’s basketball team will need some …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Traina’s return promises to boos GA’s title chances

Posted
Luke Traina rises for a jump shot. (Photo by Ed Morrone)

by Ed Morrone

Trailing Malvern Prep by two games in the standings with four to play, Germantown Academy’s basketball team will need some fortuitous breaks if the team is to win its first Inter-Ac title in three years.

Enter Luke Traina.

Traina, a Doylestown native and senior for the Patriots who is bound for Lehigh University on a basketball scholarship, had missed the entire season for GA after partially tearing his right Achilles tendon in the team’s first scrimmage of the year against Roman Catholic back in early November. The Patriots are loaded with talent on their roster and were having a good season even without Traina, so it becomes slightly understandable to forget just how important he is to the team.

Traina reminded everybody on Friday night just how badly he’s been missed, as well as how crucial his presence will be the rest of the season.

After playing for a minute or two in the previous game against Haverford and scoring two points as he got his feet back under him, head coach Matt Dolan turned Traina loose on Friday at Episcopal. Traina scored four quick points in the first quarter, including a bucket off a steal that turned into a fast break layup, and 10 points in total in GA’s hard-fought, well-earned 64-58 win.

“It’s my first time playing for real since last season, so it felt fantastic,” Traina said. “To really get my feet in the water tonight, it was just awesome.”

Traina is a guard by position, but as he’s sat on the bench and watched the rest of his teammates play their season over the past two-plus months, he started to wonder how he might best integrate himself into the flow of the team’s offense once he returned from injury. After all, the Patriots are already led by junior guard Jordan Longino, who has averaged 22.6 points per game the last two seasons and is one of the best players in the Philadelphia area. GA also boasts Luke’s younger brother, sophomore Casey, at another guard position.

While Luke has been out, Casey, who was on varsity as a freshman but barely played, has developed into a capable second option behind Longino, averaging 10.6 points per contest. Casey Traina, like Longino, is a deadeye shooter, so the question became how could Luke make himself most useful to the team when healthy?

“I’ve kind of gotten to be a ‘coach’ the last six weeks or so, just seeing where I’d best fit in with those guys and how I could integrate myself into the offense when I came back,” Luke said. “So, I decided to take on more of a low post role. Last year I played more of a guard role, but we need that post presence both offensively and as a defensive stopper on their best guys.”

Luke got most of his 12 points near the rim, and although Episcopal senior forward Andrew Alikakos muscled his way to 21 points, Luke was one of the GA defenders who made Alikakos work for everything he got.

Presently, the Patriots sit at 12-8 overall and 4-2 in the Inter-Ac, two games behind undefeated Malvern (GA visits Malvern for an enormous game on Jan. 28). The Friars have won 12 straight and catching them won’t be easy but having Luke Traina back in the fold makes the monumental task slightly more doable.

“It’s a beast of a league, with every game being super close as you saw tonight,” Luke said. “What’s helped us is Jordan had an injury and missed two weeks in November around the same time I went out, so the team had to pick it up. Guys like Casey and Zach Anderson and Juan Adames learned to play without us. Everybody trusts each other, which is huge. Now, everybody gets their chance to eat.”

Against Episcopal on Friday, Longino scored 21 to lead the way, followed by Luke’s 10. Anderson and Lacey Snowden had nine apiece, and Casey Traina, who was thrilled to see his big brother back in action, contributed seven points.

“It’s really cool to see, because it’s been a long way back for him,” Casey said. “Just to see him back in our offense getting his points, he looked like the old Luke.”

How this season ends and whether or not the Patriots will be celebrating their first league title since 2017 remains to be seen. However, what is known is that GA is a much more formidable foe with a healthy Luke Traina creating havoc out there, and he is looking forward to contributing as much as possible down the stretch before the season ends and his basketball career continues at Lehigh.

“My freshman year, we won the Inter-Ac,” Luke said. “Every season you’re going to have adversity in this league. Whether you respond to that adversity or sink, that’s what is going to decide the season. We had two fantastic practices leading up to this game. We knew we needed to win, and it was huge to come out and do it. It’s the boost we needed to hopefully win the next four.”

sports