Boys Basketball: McFadden, Strath Haven erasing recent history

NETHER PROVIDENCE >> When Dave McFadden talked to his Strath Haven players for the first time late last spring, he wasted no time addressing the elephant in the room.

“Coach from the minute he came in said, I know what y’all did last year; we’re going to leave that in the past and start fresh right here,” point guard Jahmeir Springfield said Tuesday. “That’s one thing he emphasized.”

So in that spirit, let’s get the background out of the way quickly: McFadden’s first head coaching job was to take over a team that went 3-19 last season, 5-39 over the past two under coach Tom Dougherty. They endured a 19-game losing streak in the Central League around a winless league slate in 2013-14. That history, no matter how maddening, was just that. There was no changing it, McFadden told his group. The only alternative was to prevent history from repeating itself. One win at a time, McFadden’s bunch has suppressed any hint that this is substantially the same group that endured last year’s pains. That path leads them to Friday’s first-round District One Class AAAA contest in which No. 25 seed Hatboro-Horsham visits the No. 8 Panthers. Even the most optimistic prognosticators couldn’t have expected McFadden to transform this team into a 19-4 outfit. They were one of the Central League’s most consistent teams, resisting the weekly pitfalls against inferior teams and losing to Ridley, Lower Merion and Conestoga in the Central League playoff semifinals. The only outlier was a 53-42 setback to Upper Darby in December.

The recipe for that success lies in the jelling of Haven’s core. They have six scorers who can contribute nightly. They’ve won when no one has gotten out of single-digits, comfortably executing in the halfcourt and defending. They have multiple post options in John Harrar and Josh Singleton, plus Cooper Driscoll off the bench.

Alex Ischiropoulos and Jayvon Green-Springfield can hit 3-pointers, and Jahmeir Springfield is the floor general that ties it all together. “Everybody’s chemistry is above the roof,” Springfield said. “That’s the one thing about us: We do have chemistry. We really love each other.”

Click HERE to read the full article.

Strath Haven’s Kyree Fuller lays one in during practice Tuesday. Fuller is playing with torn cartilage in knee to help the No. 8 Panthers in Friday’s District One Class AAAA opener. (Times Staff/Robert J. Gurecki)