Duffey sets pace for Lower Moreland, scores 1,000th point

Danny Duffey knew this was the moment, so he wanted to make it as simple as possible.

In the second half of Lower Moreland’s game at New Hope-Solebury on December 23, the senior point guard was in reach of a milestone. Running out ahead of everyone and collecting a pass from Jake Fazio, Duffey went up and laid the ball in calmly and with ease for his 1,000th career high school point.

The steady-handed senior, who is also closing on his 500th assist, is the leader of one of the great hidden gems in District I. Lower Moreland plays with pace and fills the floor with shooters but it’s the senior in jersey No. 4 that makes it all work.

“That play, I kind of knew,” Duffey said. “I tried to run out so I could get an easy layup and get it over with. Jake, we have really good chemistry and we’ve been best friends since kindergarten, he threw me the ball and I got a nice, easy layup.”

Entering the season, Duffey knew he was in striking range of the mark and knew that if the Lions started the year right, he could probably break it inside the first 10 games.

Last year, Lower Moreland coach Seth Baron took note of his personnel and changed the whole way the Lions played basketball. A traditional halfcourt based team his first two years, the Lions turned into a go-go-go machine in Duffey’s junior year and he facilitated most of it. Lower Moreland was also in a position where a lot of key cogs were expected back.

The offseason brought some changes. Phil Madden, the team’s lone senior and tallest player, graduated while Matt Cerutti, a versatile and talented shooting guard, transferred to Archbishop Wood. Duffey knew it would be different, but he said nearly every player that came back got better over the summer.

“We knew we were going to be smaller and it was going to be tougher, but our expectations didn’t change at all,” Duffey said. “We though collectively as a unit we could do it. It’s taken more time, last year we were rolling over teams where this year we might have to grind it out more but the expectations are the same and we think this team is just as good if not better.”

The Lions aren’t big team, with 6-foot-3 Cobe Wiggins the tallest guy on the roster, but they defend and rebound bigger than their listed heights. In Duffey’s eyes, the success of the season hinges on their ability to defend and rebound. In the team’s only loss so far, an overtime setback to Holy Ghost Prep, the Lions didn’t play well on the defensive end and it cost them.

But that loss also galvanized the group and it has won four in a row, including games against New York’s Banneker Academy and Emmaus in a tournament in Wildwood this week. Duffey said the team played great in both games, taking over against Banneker in the second half then doing the kind of things it needs to on defense against a big and skilled Emmaus squad.

Ramping up the pace didn’t just help the Lions, it turned them into a must-see event in Lower Moreland. By the end of the season last year, the Lions played in front of packed student sections with plenty of other parts of the bleachers loaded with fans. It’s not just family, but friends, parents and family of former players and just anybody else coming to watch a team that runs the floor and lets its shooters shoot away from the outside.

Outside of Duffey, senior Tyler Millan has taken a big step in his play, Nick Smoulda can get hot in a few minutes, seniors Mike Gould, Dicky Rhodes and Fazio played a lot last year and freshman Forrest Keys has earned minutes, It’s a balanced group and a very close group according to Duffey, They make full use of the style of play they’ve been handed.

“For me, it’s the most fun way to play basketball,” Duffey said. “Win or lose, we’ve had way more people come to watch our team because we’re fun to watch, we play fast and try to be exciting. I think our team is starting to develop a reputation where Lower Moreland basketball didn’t have any name before, I think it’s a more respected program.”

After the Ghost game, Duffey was 30 points away from 1,000 with a home date against Valley Forge Military Academy on deck. The team’s Twitter account posted the update that day but worded it that Duffey was going for 30 to hit the milestone. The guard ended up posting a reply saying not to expect that kind of performance.

Duffey said he appreciated the shout-out, but it’s not his game to hog shots or try to put up gaudy point totals. He scored 16 in the victory, leaving him 14 short going into the New Hope game.

“This season, the lowest I’ve scored is 14 points, so I was pretty confident I was going to get it,” Duffey said. “We felt confident going into the game so even if I was struggling early, my teammates probably could have looked for me toward the end and I could have gotten it at the end. It was cool, we even had some kids come out and watch.”

Duffey said New Hope plays tough so the Lions couldn’t afford to have their focus on him to start the game. His teammates didn’t try to force-feed the senior shot attempts and he went into halftime with the lead and 10 points, so he was confident it was there for him.

So it was, after taking the pass from his longtime friend Fazio and laying up, New Hope stopped the game so Duffey could celebrate the moment with his family before getting right back to work.

“It was really nice of them,” Duffey said. “My parents came on the court and we got to take a picture with them and my sister and Coach.”

Duffey’s focus is very much on Lower Moreland right now and repeating as BAL champions, plus trying to win a district title and advance to states, but he does hope to keep playing at the next level. The guard has been in contact with a good number of schools and said he’s most interested in Gettysburg, King’s, Ursinus and St. John Fischer in Rochester, New York.

If he’s able to get to the 500 assist barrier, Duffey said it may mean more than the 1,000 points because so few players reach that kind of mark. Duffey thinks his court vision is his best asset as a player and it’s on full display as Lower Moreland flies up and down the floor.

Always the point guard, Duffey said his milestone is as much on his teammates as it is on him. Without them spacing the floor and making 3s, there wouldn’t be room for Duffey to attack and make plays.

Scoring his 1,000th point was a big moment for a tremendous player, but he hopes it’s not the high point of his senior season.

“It’s really cool,” Duffey said. “It’s not my primary goal, I’d rather win a district championship but it’s still cool to have that kind of recognition and you know it’s always going to be hanging up in the gym. It kind of solidifies your legacy.”