Maloney carves out important role
After working, waiting Phoenixville’s Maloney carves out important role
PHOENIXVILLE » The road to the Phoenixville boys basketball varsity team was not an easy one for senior guard Dallas Maloney.
Cut twice from the program and on the junior varsity roster as a junior, there were no guarantees Maloney would ever suit up for the Phantoms — let alone earn a spot in the rotation.
Though disappointed, Maloney was never discouraged, making sure each offseason he came back better than the next.
In his final season, he’s carved himself out an important role on a Phoenixville team that is 5-1 after a 66-33 victory of Upper Perkiomen on Friday night.
“Obviously, I worked hard over the offseason to get from JV to varsity this year,” said Maloney, who scored seven points in Friday’s win. “I put in the work. You put in the work, it’s going to pay off obviously. This is a great group of guys, and I wouldn’t trade them for any other team in the PAC.”
Maloney is one of the Phantoms’ primary ball handlers and an energy boost for Phoenixville, whether he’s on the floor taking charges or on the bench hyping us his teammates.
The ‘little things’ Maloney contributes on a nightly basis don’t go unnoticed by his teammates.
“He’s been something that we haven’t always had in the past,” Phoenixville senior guard Will Allain said. “He’s got a lot of fight in him. We coined him the nickname, ‘hustle monster.’ All the little things, all the things anyone can control regardless of talent, size, he is excellent at.”
Phoenixville coach Eric Burnett said Maloney was one of the final cuts from the Phantoms boys basketball team as a freshman and sophomore.
Though Maloney didn’t make the high school team, his love for basketball remained. Maloney played in a rec league and went to the gym whenever he could.
When he was cut, he made sure he found out what it was the Phantoms staff wanted him to work on to make the team next season.
Burnett said he’d see Maloney working out at the park almost everyday. He was always at open gyms.
“That conversation of cutting a player is never easy, and he just always sunk into whatever it was, whether it was ball handling or his jump shot,” Phoenixville coach Eric Burnett said. “For him to just keep working and the way that he has worked and you’re seeing it all pay off is just outstanding. He’s such a big part of our team as a leader. Physically, emotionally, he just does everything for all the guys. He’s extremely valuable to our entire program.”
Last winter, Maloney’s improvements and work ethic were too much to ignore as he made the Phantoms junior varsity squad for the first time.
“Getting cut is one of the worst feelings that could happen to a basketball player,” Maloney said. “It breaks you down. My love for basketball, I knew I had to stay with it, and one of these times I would get on that team, and eventually the coaches took the chance on me and I made the most of it.”
Finally making the team was a rewarding accomplishment, but Maloney spent the entire 2019-20 boys basketball season on JV, never suiting up for the varsity squad.
There was still work to be done.
With one more offseason to improve, Maloney made sure to take advantage of any extra time he had to himself this past year when it could have been easy to lose that drive.
When Maloney re-joined the Phantoms this winter, Burnett said it was noticeable he made the most out of his time in quarantine.
“I was a junior last year. Making the JV team is not the true goal,” Maloney said. “It kind of hurts a little bit thinking you’re playing with underclassmen and even not getting a lot of time. But (I was) just trying to be the best teammate I can be and trying to push these other guys and just finding my role.”
“I was just trying to learn as much as possible,” he added. “Just texting coach every day, ‘What can I do to better myself as a ball handler, as a scorer, finding my role on the team.’ Every day, I’m out there I’m working and taking other kids out there with me, other players and just trying to learn as much as possible.”
Maloney is one of eight seniors for the Phantoms this season — the most Burnett has had in his time coaching at Phoenixville.
Burnett’s rotation is about 10 players deep, and Maloney said the Phantoms’ strength this season is that everyone has a role to play.
“If everyone embraces that role, we gel together and that’s how we win games,” Maloney said. “I love doing the little things. I think that’s just as fun as scoring. Getting that energy up by taking a charge is just as big in the game, if not bigger, than scoring a 3-pointer or taking a layup or midrange. The little things really matter in big games too.”
Maloney and the rest of the Phantoms’ senior group would like to see this season go as long as possible to continue their high school careers together.
The ending of the Phantoms’ season won’t be the end of Maloney’s basketball journey, however.
He’s set to play Division III hoops at Penn College of Technology next season, where he will study engineering.
“It’s been a crazy ride. I never thought I’d be playing at the level, especially last year,” Maloney said. “I fortunately got into contact with the coach at Penn College and he’s watched my film and he likes how I play. He’s been in contact with Coach Burnett. I think it’s just a blessing to get to play at that next level.”
Though not the conventional route, Maloney’s path is one that can be appreciated by any sports fan.
“It’s an underdog story,” Allain said. “Everyone loves that.”