Fords Basketball has had a very strong season. Their record is now 20-4 and they are 5-4 in Inter-Ac games. There is one regular-season game left for them: Episcopal Academy on February 11th.
“I think the season is going well,” Six Former Kenneth Carson, Jr. stated. “It’s a good group of guys. We are better than last year.”
The Inter-Ac is changing. “Teams know each other better,” Head Coach Bernie Rodgers said, “It’s very heavily scouted now. The teams are balanced though. Every team also has a very good non-Inter-Ac record as well to show how good we are.”
Fourth Former Silas Graham added to this description. “I think the Inter-Ac is really good and there is a lot of talent top to bottom,” he said. “It is definitely one of the toughest leagues in the area, and I feel that we have done a good job for the most part on figuring out ways to stay in games and find ways to win finish tight ones.”
Coach Rogers said, “We are a game out of second. Depending on our last two we could finish between 2nd and 4th. This is the deepest the Inter-Ac has been. Every team is two plays away from the top and the bottom. Almost every game has gone down to the wire.”
Coach Rodgers also described how the team has changed. “We have changed the offense,” he said. “We have more guys between 6-3 to 6-5. This allows us to play more in the post. I think we can play faster this year with everyone gaining experience. To go along with that we are also much bigger with Manny and Duke back.”
“Guys have been ready,” Coach Rodgers said, “Different guys have stepped up when we need them to.”
Graham agreed. “We can beat guys up on the glass and use our size in the post when need be.”
The team has also dealt with many injuries this season. Sixth Former Kenneth Carson Jr, Fifth Former Dillon Gamble, and Fifth Former Emmanuel Butts all missed several games due to injury.
“Guys have been ready,” Coach Rodgers said, “Different guys have stepped up when we need them to.”
Butts shared how he got back to form after his injuries.
“It definitely took a toll on me mentally. But all the coaches, my family, my friends, my peers, and my form, the whole habit for school, community, and everybody outside of it supported me, kept me motivated, allowed me to, which allowed me to keep working hard at it and keep staying focused on a goal which is to come back better than ever,” he said.
On February 4th, the team took on Malvern Preparatory School’s Varsity Basketball team. The Fords had lost their first matchup of the season by only two points, 46-48.
This time, however, things went differently: Haverford rocked Malvern and won by 25 points with a score of 60-35.
“We were locked in,” Coach Rodgers said. “It was a pretty impressive game for us on offense and on defense.” Carson led the team with a 25-point performance.
“It was very good. I had lots of energy. The student section helped a lot,” Carson said.
Coach Rodgers concludes, “We’re excited to finish this run and see what we can do in the PAISAA playoffs.”
Carson is also one of the players that Coach Rodgers commended for playing well this season. Graham, Butts, Gamble, and Sixth Former Duke Cloran also played well this season.
The team now looks to the future. “We are just staying locked in at practice all the time. We are remembering what we did wrong and how we can improve on that while also remembering all that we’ve accomplished this year and using that as momentum for the playoffs,” Graham stated.
Coach Rodgers concludes, “We’re excited to finish this run and see what we can do in the PAISAA playoffs.”
