Post & Pivot Media Day

<a href="http://postandpivotsme.com">Post & Pivot</a> is preparing to host "The Reindeer Games" at Cristo Rey High School on December 12th. 14 teams and 7 games with the first tipoff at 10:15am. Below are previews of teams who were in attendance. Abington Fellow senior captains Connor Fields and Fhenyx Scutt. Abington always has a talented team and this season won’t be any different. Scutt gets to step up and take over the ball-handling duties with Jeremiah Lee. “Every year I’ve been here, we always had an all-league point guard. Now it’s my turn.” On his changes of roles, Fields shared, “I was used to playing off of my teammates but this year my team needs me to score more.” The Ghosts lost a lot of talent to graduate yet they believe they are deeper in ‘21-22. Senior two-way wing Derrius Lucas will have a big impact as they look to get out and run more. Abington plays Father Judge at 11:55am. Collegium Charter Travon Mack (Sr), Terrell Mack (Jr), and Kamari Smith (So) showed up for the Cougars. Due to COVID, Collegium didn’t have a season in 2020-21. They’re now hungry to get after it for Travon’s last go-around. Both the Macks are enthusiastic defenders. Terrell takes pride in rebounding while Travon likes to get out and run the break. Kamari facilitates the offense. Eager to get the season underway, Travon stated “We’re ready to show people we’re back.” Collegium kicks off the event with Haverford at 10:15am. Cheltenham The Panthers had seniors Brandon Bush, Rasheem Dearry, and Justin Savage. Coach Pat’s squad has been getting after in the Fall leagues. Dearry is a scorer and rebounder, Bush is an all-around threat, and Savage is a versatile defender. “If nothing else, Coach Pat is going to have us defend and run,” one player noted. Their intensity on that end has caught teams off-guard. But despite how competitive Cheltenham has been lately, people in the area are still sleeping on them. So they want all the smoke. “We comin’ this year, no matter who it is.” The Panthers will get to stand on that at 8:15pm versus West Catholic. Downingtown West D-Town West was represented by juniors [player_tooltip player_id="1116019" first="Dylan" last="Blair"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1279644" first="Jake" last="Warren"]. When asked about the shift to becoming upperclassmen after breaking out as sophomores, Dylan acknowledged the increased responsibility to be leaders. But they noted the love that everyone around the school has shown them. “People in the community have been encouraging and supportive,” Jake added. He also attributes his physical style of play and the attention he’s received off-the-court to his older brother, Josh. They would be aggressive going against each other and it’s carried over to Jake’s game in high school. They play at 4:55pm versus Archbishop Wood. Father Judge Senior Jalen Flowers and junior Kyle Jones, Jr. represented the Crusaders with Head Coach Chris Roantree now at the helm. Their new offensive attack has been putting up a ton of points in their Fall league games. “It’s been really fun. Everything is more fast paced and free flowing,” commented Jalen. Their team has a few guys who like to play with the ball in their hands - Flowers, Jones Jr, [player_tooltip player_id="1123891" first="Laquan" last="Byrd"], and Paul King. But they have a variety of skill sets, which makes them dangerous. Jalen is a “3 & D” guard who takes pride in his defense. In a short amount of time, Kyle has proved he can get buckets from anywhere on the floor; now he wants to show people how underrated he is as a passer. They play Abington at 11:55am. Life Center Academy [player_tooltip player_id="901963" first="Justin" last="Hawkins"] (Sr), Keith Brown Jr (So), and Reggie Dillard (Jr) all traveled down from Burlington for the event. Coach Brown’s team recognizes that people have different expectations this year after the departure of two high profile players. But Justin shared “We feel tighter knit” and “even more like a family this season.” Hawkins is the captain and tasked with carrying the load on offense. Reggie, a new-comer, runs the point for them and comes in with a reputation on defense. “I feel like I can take more chances now because I trust these guys to have my back,” said Dillard. A young man of few words, Brown Jr spaces the floor from deep. Senior big man Landon Shivers was unable to attend but is beast on both ends of the court, especially when he plays mad. They face Malvern Prep at 1:35pm. Malvern Prep Senior captains Joey Vendergeest and Tyler Lauder were joined by sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="991421" first="Ryan" last="Williams"]. They’re excited to be back in the gym with new head coach, Paul Romanczuk. In a short amount of time, he’s added a new system to the up-tempo style they played with last season. The team’s best big man, Tyler will be tasked with locking down the opposing team’s best post player and making plays down on the block. Rather than taking turns running the offense like in the past, backcourt mates Joey and Ryan are in roles that compliment one another. Vandergeest will be the primary facilitator while Williams plays more off-ball as a scorer and adds secondary creation. Malvern Prep faces Life Center Academy in the 1:35pm slot. Penn Charter The Quakers had their core of juniors on deck at the media event - [player_tooltip player_id="991383" first="Mark" last="Butler"], Keith Gee, Isaiah Grimes, and [player_tooltip player_id="1116056" first="Trey" last="Shinholster"]. They’ve been together since freshman year so they look forward to building on that bond after only getting to play four games as sophomores. Keith is the “pure point guard,” while Mark considers himself a combo. However, in their 5 out offense, everyone gets touches. “We all share the ball,” commented Trey. When asked if he goes at his young brother and freshman [player_tooltip player_id="1271429" first="Kai" last="Shinholster"] during practice, he said “No, only at home.” But Mark quickly replied “I do” and nodded his head. The little brother of the team is already expected to be a big contributor. They play Cardinal O’Hara at 3:15pm. West Catholic Fresh off their commitments and beating St. John’s (DC) the day before, seniors [player_tooltip player_id="991210" first="Nasir" last="Griffin"], [player_tooltip player_id="1122111" first="Kaseem" last="Watson"], and [player_tooltip player_id="1122112" first="Kareem" last="Watson"] came to represent. Griffin is headed to East Stroudsburg and the Watsons are going out to Cal St Bakersfield. Coach Boc’s team is all grown up and ready to take everyone’s best shot. “Even though some people know how good we are now, other people still treat us like we’re the same team from a few years ago,” expressed Kaseem. The Burrs are deep with 8 different players who can get them 15 points in any game. They shared that it was Adam “Budd” Clark who led them with almost 25 at the game in DC. WC gets to take on Cheltenham at 8:15pm. For more hoops coverage, follow me on twitter at @CGraham_sports.