Sun Valley’s best laid plans didn’t account for a Googie

ASTON — For three quarters Saturday, Sun Valley executed its defensive game plan mostly to perfection.

The Vanguards’ gadget defenses bottled up Haverford leading scorer John Seidman. Their conscientious close-outs of shooters limited the Fords to three makes on 21 attempts beyond the arc. It was exactly what coach Steve Maloney drew up.

So when a different Seidman stepped up to torch the Vanguards in the fourth, there was little Maloney could do but tip his cap.

Younger brother Googie Seidman, a freshman, buried three 3-pointers in the final quarter as the Fords rallied to a 52-45 win in the final of the Vanguard Tip-Off Tournament.

The younger Seidman fueled a 19-2 run for the Fords, who trailed 28-23 midway through the third. His first two triples came off feeds from John, designed plays for the freshman to pop behind the arc opposite the ball screen John dribbled through.

“It’s awesome to see him do that,” John Seidman said. “And it’s awesome to see everyone else see him help out and contribute and to win as a team.”

The contributions by Googie – and yes, that’s the name he, John and the Fords stand by – are part and parcel of a 10-man rotation. The Fords (2-0) lumped a variety of full- and half-court presses at Sun Valley, subbing freely. Both Googie Seidman and Adam Stuck, who scored 15 points, came off the bench.

“We’ve got a pretty cohesive group that has played together coming up through the levels of high school basketball,” Stuck said. “So we’ve been able to build connections in that way, and it’s been able to translate on the court.”

Part of the resilience was inspired by John Seidman. He endured a dreadful offensive day, limited to three points a night after scoring 25 to beat Interboro. He averaged 14.6 points per game last year.

But Saturday, with the constant shadow of Billy Fisher in zone defenses, Seidman never found his touch. He only attempted two shots in the first half, both 3-pointers, and his only bucket, a reverse lay-in in transition, came with 1:03 left in the third, cutting the deficit to one.

But Seidman still impacted the game. He led Haverford with four assists, six rebounds and three steals. He swiped two steals in a run of four straight Sun Valley turnovers in the third, which contributed to the Vanguards scoring one basket

Click HERE to read the full article.