Springfield seeing deja vu in Chester’s run
CHESTER >> One year ago Friday, Chester stomached the unthinkable.
For the first time in 23 years, the Clippers — battered by injuries, riddled with youthful errors, defeated by Coatesville, 57-55, in District One Class AAAA playbacks — would miss the PIAA tournament.
But for one person in the gym, that ineffable feeling was plenty real. Chester’s 2014-15 squad joined the 1991-92 team as the last to miss states. The leading scorer on that team 24 years ago was Jimai Springfield, now an assistant coach, who bridged the despair of the two failures.
“Not to even qualify for states is like a tsunami coming through Chester,” Springfield said Tuesday. “… It’s definitely a black eye on my resume.”
Springfield’s hindsight fostered the wisdom he shared last year, that anomalies can happen and just as quickly be rectified, through hard work and togetherness. So it was that those demons were exorcised Tuesday in a 56-34 thumping of No. 25 Hatboro-Horsham to return Chester to states. Combined with the elimination of five of the top eight seeds, No. 9 Chester’s domination through two rounds could install them as a favorite to win the tournament.
The next step on that path snakes through the Clip Joint, where the Clippers take on No. 17 Central Bucks East, which tipped top-seeded Coatesville, 49-43.
In appraising last year’s Clippers, Springfield recognized similarities to his senior campaign. That team was heavy with sophomores that blossomed a year too late for Springfield.
The following year, coach Alonzo Lewis led the group to a 24-6 record, returning to states before falling in the Eastern Final. By 1994, Lewis turned that core into state champions, finishing a 28-4 record by toppling defending champ Erie Cathedral Prep in the final.
“I was really the leader of those guys,” Springfield said. “And I helped nurture those guys. … That learning process that they went through as 10th-graders — it’s just unfortunate that it was my senior season — but they had to go through that.”
The story of this year’s team hasn’t finished unspooling, but the hallmarks are clear. Khaleeq Campbell’s knee injury last December was devastating, but they graduated just one senior. Campbell returned healthy. Marquis Collins emerged from a quiet scorer to a leader. Jamar Sudan has helped set the example for others to emulate.
The product has been 16 wins in 17 games borne of a renewed sense of urgency.
“What I try to tell those guys now is that you never know when it is going to be the last time you throw your uniform in that pile,” Springfield said. “So you take every practice, you take every minute like it could be your last. And I think since December, these guys have really turned it around, and they’re playing each game like it could be their last.”
Tuesday’s victory is but one milepost on the path, though an obligatory one by Chester standards. But Springfield knows it’s one the players may most value in retrospect.
“It’s something that cannot be erased,” he said. “You live with this throughout your entire life. It’s something that you can always recollect. It brings these 13, 14 guys together in a brotherhood that will last for the rest of their lives. … It’s a lifelong memory.”
In another quarterfinal:
No. 4 Ridley vs. No. 12 Spring-Ford
The Green Raiders (24-1) finished strong, scoring 25 points in the final quarter in a 45-31 dismissal of No. 20 Perkiomen Valley to book a second straight states trip. Ridley made the semis last year as well, and their late-game poise makes them a danger again this year.
In playbacks:
No. 18 Academy Park vs. No. 10 Phoenixville
AP (17-7), which battled No. 2 Plymouth Whitemarsh in a 60-56 setback, trounced the Phantoms, 90-63, Jan. 16. The Knights made 18 3-pointers that day, eight by Jawan Collins.
That should fuel Phoenixville’s desire for revenge. But the Phantoms (20-5) run hot and cold. Against No. 7 Central Bucks West, they managed a paltry offensive output in a 40-32 loss. For comparison, 6-foot-4 guard Christian Kelly averaged over 20 points per game this season on his own. Academy Park will offer a more open game, but if the Knights can limit Kelly, AP could play for a states bid for a second straight year.
