Chouriaf looks to lead Souderton
TOWAMENCIN » Sami Chouriaf’s name has a frequent habit of showing up on Souderton boys’ basketball coach Tim Brown’s phone.
It’s never anything negative, instead it’s usually Chouriaf bugging his coach to get in the gym or for another workout he can do to keep busy. With his senior year finally here, Chouriaf wants to make the most of it and the same goes for his teammates.
He’s been busy this summer playing in Dock Mennonite’s summer league with many of his Souderton teammates, all with the focus of getting better.
“It’s nice to see the younger player develop getting the chance to play with us and our team bond is really strong,” Chouriaf said. “This has been the lineup the last four years, they’re like my brothers so the bond is there, the chemistry is already there and I have a really good feeling about next year.”
Brown is entering his fourth season as the Indians’ coach and for the first time, has a true core
of returning players. Aside from Chouriaf, Souderton expects to have six other seniors who were on the varsity roster last year including forwards Andrew Vince and Dom Natale.
As a junior, Chouriaf seized his first real time on varsity as a guy capable of getting hot really fast and lighting up when he did. Still, there was an adjustment period and Chouriaf admitted he struggled with turnovers his first few games and later on, teams keying on his ability to make shots.
Brown wasn’t surprised after Chouriaf had a strong summer in Dock’s league last year.
“He’s a guy texting me almost every night asking to get in the gym the next day, he’s doing two-a-days almost every day and loves the process that has to be done by himself,” Brown said. “He’s a great example and a huge leader for us. He’s done exactly what we asked for.”
This summer, Brown is having Chouriaf play some point guard and initiate offense in the halfcourt. The 6-foot wing enjoys the responsibility and he’s putting the work in to be as well-rounded a player as possible so he can help the Indians win on nights where his shot isn’t dropping.
Souderton struggled at times last winter, going just 7-15 and 4-8 in the SOL Continental. With a lot of turnover in the conference, a veteran core back and a renewed emphasis on the defensive end this summer, the Indians hope they’re laying the foundation for a team that can play at least deep into February.
“Summer league is more about development and I know in the season, I’m going to get my touches but really, I’m focused on that dub,” Chouriaf said. “I don’t care if I go 0-for-15 or 10-for15 as long as we win, that’s all that matters.”
No coach will ever tell a player to stay out the gym, but there is a point where it can be too much of a good thing. Chouriaf noted health will play a major factor this winter and to that end, he’s been more careful.
“Last year, I worked out a ridiculous amount and coming into the season I noticed my body was sore,” Chouriaf said. “This year, I’m being smarter, stretching, eating better and taking better care of myself.”
With his build, his length and his athletic ability, Chouriaf can be an impact defensive player and the rising senior said that’s been a major focus of his offseason.
“The biggest thing he does is try to be that defensive leader on the floor and that’s what we need him to do,” Brown said. “He’s always a coach on the floor.
“We want five coaches on the floor, talking to each other, strategizing and communicating what they can do. Sami does all those things so the younger guys watching him, he’ll show them how we want them to play.”
Chouriaf said he’s gotten a little interest at the college level, but he’s more focused on preparing himself for a strong senior season. He and his fellow seniors want to experience the postseason and it’s a frequent topic of discussion
“We talk about it all the time, we were talking about it two nights ago actually, what the goal is for the season and how we’re going to reach it,” Chouriaf said.
“These guys have all been there so from that perspective, we’re looking at big things this year but we have more work to do,” Brown said. “They know that. We have to clean up the little things and play together but they’re expecting big things and they’re grinding like they’re expecting big things.”
YOUTH MOVEMENT
On top of all time Mike Fergus has put into basketball, he grew up playing baseball.
It’s a reason why the Dock Mennonite coach often uses baseball analogies describing his teams. One of his favorites is “strong up the middle,” citing how the best baseball teams have good catchers, pitchers, middle infielders and center fielders.
A basketball team is different but it can still be strong up the middle. Going into the season, that’s the strength the Pioneers will lean on with senior center Darius Ellis and senior point guard Ralph SaintFleur as they work in a lot of young guys around them.
“We play really, really hard and we’re talented but we have to know situations better,” Fergus said.
The Pioneers lose a pair of four-year starters in guards Jackson Scialanca, a 1,000 point scorer and Nolan Bolton, the program’s all-time assists leader. Coupled with the graduation of Miz Nyagwegwe in 2018, it’s a lot of experience gone at the guard spots for a team that relies heavily on those positions.
Fergus thinks SaintFleur can fill some of that void, but a lot will be asked of the players coming up from JV this winter.
Ellis, who has improved greatly with each passing year in the program, seems poised for a standout senior year but as a center, he will rely on his teammates to get him the ball.
“Some of these kids haven’t even been in a summer program for us,” Fergus said. “Sometimes we don’t read how they’re guarding. Our whole offense revolves around the high post and we’re not at the point where we can read how they’re guarding it.”
Monday night, the Pioneers were happy to push the ball up the floor any chance they had. It led to a couple nice offensive possessions and open shots but those chances are harder to come by in the regular high school season.
“We pride ourselves on always playing harder than the other team, I’ve hung my hat on that in coaching more than anything,” Fergus said. “If we do that and we have athletes, we’re going to have a pretty chance to beat you. Right now, we have athletes and we play hard so we’ll win a bunch of games, but when we play a really good team that’s really well coached and has some athletes, we’re not there yet.”
There’s only so much coaches can say or demonstrate and while summer league games are a nice option to have, they’re not the same as a practice. Right now, the Pioneers aren’t a well-oiled machine and they won’t really have a chance to fine tune until practice starts in November.
What made the team so solid the last few years was the experience in the starting lineup. Fergus has been around long enough to know that’s a lot to expect from such a young group but he likes the effort his group has brought every week.
“Where this league is really good for us is all these teams are wellcoached teams that run stuff,” Fergus said. “Our athleticism isn’t going to guarantee we beat a team. We lost to La Salle in our first game, we’re more athletic than them but they play really well as a team.”
At the very least, Dock is strong up the middle and Fergus feels he can build around that.
“Darius has been dominant, he’s stepped his game up to another level,” Fergus said. “Ralph can be the best point guard in the league and after that, it all comes down to that team stuff. You want to be strong up the middle, we have a point guard and a center and I better be able plug in around there or I’m not a very good coach.”