Harriton boys basketball team enjoyed successful inaugural season in Class 6A

This winter, the Harriton boys’ basketball team moved up to the PIAA 6A competition level for the first time and enjoyed a pretty successful inaugural season in 6A, posting a 13-9 regular season record and qualifying for the District 1 6A tournament.

“This is a great achievement for our program,” said Harriton boys’ basketball head coach Jesse Rappaport. “To be the smallest school in all of District 1 6A — I was told we were two boys over the (5A) limit — to qualify for the district tournament makes it all the more satisfying.”

Last year, in District 1 Class 5A, Harriton was ranked 17th, just missing qualifying for the district tournament.

This past winter, the Rams also qualified for the Central League tournament, posting an 8-8 league record.

“Qualifying for the league playoffs, after being picked to finish in the bottom in the preseason, is really rewarding,” said Rappaport.
Leading the way for the Rams this winter was junior guard Marquis Kubish, who was a second team All-Central League selection and MVP of the Phoenixville Tip-Off Tournament. He also was the Rams’ MVP, averaging 17.8 ppg, 7.3 rpg and 2 spg.

“Marquis had an outstanding season, and improved significantly from last year (averaged 7.1 ppg as a sophomore),” said Rappaport.

Kubish said, “Qualifying for the district playoffs this year means a lot to me because last year we didn’t make the playoffs by one game. We put in a lot of work over the past offseason – we were always in the gym.”

Kubish noted the influence of Harriton’s seniors on the Rams’ success.

“Our seniors mean a lot to me; they are all like older brothers to me,” said Kubish. “All of our bonds are there, and we always support each other, we play around a lot. What I learned from the seniors was how to play with more pace and not to get down on myself when a play isn’t the best play.”

Rappaport said, “Our seniors have been through a tumultuous four years.  Masks, shutdowns, lockouts, last minute coaching departures their sophomore year.  Through it all they persevered, and chose empowerment over victimization.  They bought in, and set the example for the younger guys to build this program back from the bottom.”
Top Ram seniors included guard Collin Gorelich (shot 47 percent from three-point territory, made 37 treys), Aidan Abrams (led Rams in assists, and was second in steals) and Jack Chadkowski (led Harriton in charges, and was considered a top defender).

Chadkowski said, “At some point this year I tried to take full responsibility for our success on the defensive side of the ball. Having so many scorers on our team, I find that the best way to contribute is on the defensive side of the ball. Whether it’s guarding the other team’s best player, or taking plenty of charges, any chance to give our team another possession I believe is extremely important, especially in a tough Central League.”

The Rams were a relatively young team starting two juniors (Kubish and Jadyn Gaskins) and one sophomore (Calvin Smith).

Smith led the Rams in treys (41), shot 40 percent from three-point territory, averaged 10.1 ppg and was noted by Rappaport to be fine defensive player. Gaskins missed the first 12 games of the season with an injury, but led the Rams in deflections and averaged just under 10 ppg.

“When Jadyn retuned, our team really took off,” said Rappaport. “He is also a very good defensive player.”

Rappaport pointed out two other encouraging signs for the 2023-24 season – the junior varsity squad won five of its last six games, and the Rams posted an 8-2 record at home.

“Our student fans were solid, and this senior class did a great job with school spirit this year, and it carried to our season,” said Rappaport. “They were passionate and classy. Our parents were outstanding — led by our booster club, they were supportive, positive and grateful.  Our last double playoff clinching game against Marple Newtown (a 69-46 win against the Tigers Feb. 7 in the Rams’ last regular-season game of the 2022-23 season), was one of those truly special nights you live for as a member of this community.”

• Eddie Levin contributed to this article.