Fully healthy, Haverford School ready to roll in 2024-25

By Josh Verlin for City of Basketball Love

Last year didn’t go according to plan for The Haverford School. 

A young-but-promising group had two starters go down to ACL tears in the months leading up to the season, putting a cloud over a year that still went pretty well for the Fords, all things considered. With those injuries well in the past, and some of last year’s newcomers now well-integrated parts of the rotation, everything’s All Systems Go for the Inter-Ac runner-ups as the 2024-25 season gets under way.

“Last year at the beginning of the year, we were definitely a little frazzled,” sophomore Silas Graham said. “I haven’t felt that at all this year.

“We had a completely new plan going into the season [last year]; this year, we’re ready.”

It was a tough one-two blow last fall when then-junior guard Duke Cloran and sophomore forward Manny Butts — who, along with Graham, formed a promising trio of college-level hoops prospects for head coach Bernie Rogers — both suffered torn ACLs within weeks of each other.

On top of that, identical twin forwards Leo and Jacob Becker had moved into the Philadelphia area from New York, and were still getting accustomed to new surroundings. Despite all the uncertainty, the Fords still went 17-10 overall including a 6-4 mark in the Inter-Ac, losing to the Hill School in the opening round of the Pennsylvania Independent School (PAISAA) state tournament. 

“I think when we won our first game, it was kind of like, something got off our chests, just to breathe and relax,” Graham said. “We were nervous — how were we going to do without Manny, without Duke? And we figured it out, and we carry that into this year.”

The Fords got their 2024-25 season off to a good start on Tuesday, overcoming a less-than-stellar shooting night to knock off Friends’ Central, 52-42, in the Phoenix’s Shimada Athletic Center. 

Graham, a 6-foot-4 sophomore guard and third-year varsity starter, led the way with 19 points and nine rebounds, adding three assists and three steals in a typically well-rounded performance. The son of Penn assistant Nat Graham is a rapidly-developing Division I talent, and already a third-year starter, making him both one of the area’s top underclassmen and already one of its most experienced varsity players. 

“Sometimes it feels weird being a leader,” he admitted, “even though I’ve been here for three years now and just getting more comfortable with that role, getting guys going. Duke’s also really good with that, Manny’s good with that. It’s a big part of getting more mature.”

Duke Cloran (above) missed his junior year with a torn ACL. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

“He gets better every day,” Rogers said. “He’s very coachable, he has such a high IQ. He just does so much for a team, in all aspects. And he’s really working at it. I just think he’s going to continue to get better and I think he’s really, his understanding of the game and not only getting better himself but making guys better around him on the court, which is impressive for a young guy.”

Senior guard KJ Carson, another returning starter, added 17 points, getting Haverford off to a strong start with three first-quarter 3-pointers. Jacob Becker, who started at the ‘5’ against FCS (0-5), added seven points, six rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Junior guard Dillon Gamble (3 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals) and Cloran (6 points, 6 rebounds) rounded out the starting five. 

Cloran played the whole game without a brace on his left knee, the 6-3 guard thrilled to be back on the court.

“It feels really good,” he said. I mean we all have one goal, we just want to win the Inter-Ac, go far in states.  It did suck, not being able to play for a year, but now that I’m back, I’m not worried about the past, just worried about winning this year.”

Unavailable on Tuesday were Butts and Leo Becker, but both were expected back later in the week. With the two of them in the fold, the Fords have the availability to be as big as any other squad in the Inter-Ac, with the 6-7 Butts in the middle along with the Beckers (both 6-5), Graham (6-4), Cloran (6-3) and more. 

“Height, athleticism really matters,” Cloran said. “We’ve got a lot of it — depth, size, so we think that can be one of our advantages.”

The Fords didn’t have their best offensive showing against Friends’ Central, shooting 17-of-47 (36%) from the floor, including 5-of-18 from 3-point range, and the 13 turnovers were a few more than Rogers would have liked. But they held off a Friends’ Central squad led by junior guard Gabe Moore’s 17 points, not allowing their hosts to hold a single lead, a couple buckets by Graham and a triple by Becker in the fourth quarter helping them put it away.

Senior guard KJ Carson (above) had 17 points against Friends' Central. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

In addition to his top seven, Rogers will also utilize seniors Evan Large and Gabe Baker and sophomore Conor Morsell off the bench. 

It’s a group that’s confident it has what it takes to hang with Penn Charter and capture the Inter-Ac title. The six-team league only plays 10 regular season games, and last year was the most competitive season on record, with the Quakers’ 7-3 record one ahead of the Fords, which itself was one game ahead of SCH Academy, Episcopal Academy and Malvern Prep, all 5-5. 

Penn Charter is favored to repeat due to its trio of high-major commitments in Matt Gilhool (LSU), Jake West (Northwestern) and Kai Shinholster (Minnesotga). But the Quakers had all three of them there last year when the Fords split their meetings, winning seven of their eight league games overall to end the year with confidence. 

With the team almost all the way back to full strength, and a month to go before Inter-Ac play starts in January, the Haverford School boys have the time they need to get on the same page and get ready.

They’re not going into the new year thinking like underdogs. 

“I think we should win the league,” Graham said. “Maybe not on paper, but just with the guys we have, knowing how well we play together, the offense that we have, the defense that we have, I think we could definitely make a run in the Inter-Ac and PAISAAs.”

He might only be a sophomore — but he’s been around enough to know what he’s talking about.

By Quarter
THS:   14  |   7   |  15  |  16  ||  52
FCS:   10  |   6   |  16  |  10  ||  42

Shooting
THS: 17-47 FG (5-18 3PT), 13-18 FT
FCS: 14-42 FG (5-18 3PT), 12-15 FT

Scoring
THS: Silas Graham 19, KJ Carson 17, Jacob Becker 7, Duke Cloran 6, Dillon Gamble 3

FCS: Gabe Moore 17, Oben Mokonchu 7, Su’meer Alleyne 6, Patrese Feamster 5, Pierce Blackwell 3, Evan Boyer Jr. 2, Vaughn Jones 2