System of support
Trojans staff helping first-year head coach Ohlson
Without a doubt, Nick Coval is the most recognizable face of the Parkland boys basketball team. Anyone who scores more than 2,000 points in a career and commits to a major Division I college program would be.
But during the Trojans’ run to Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and District 11 6A championships and three wins in the state tournament, teamwork has been the key.
Coval has been great, but Parkland wouldn’t find itself two wins away from the ultimate prize in Pennsylvania scholastic basketball without major contributions from the likes of Jayden Thomas, Robbie Ruisch, Zaire Smaltz, Luke Spang and others.
The same teamwork that has been exhibited on the court also
exists on the sidelines where the coaching staff exhibits the same teamwork in preparing the team for the best possible outcomes.
First-year head coach Eddie Ohlson basically kept the same staff that he was a part of under former head coach and current athletic director Andy Stephens with a few tweaks.
It’s an unselfish staff that works together well and brings out the best in the players.
The staff has now had a longer season than any other boys contingent in the Lehigh Valley and they would love to stay working right through Saturday night in Hershey.
They have been busy prepping the team for a tough semifinal matchup with yet another Philadelphia Catholic League powerhouse, Archbishop Wood.
The Vikings won a 5A state title in 2017 and have been in three state championship games since. They reached the state semis last year before losing to Roman Catholic.
They feature one of the state’s best players in University of Miami commit Jalil Bethea. Wood beat Parkland 68-49 in last year’s Lehigh Valley Hoop Group Showcase and still feature its top three players from that squad.
They will be formidable and pose a great challenge to the 25-5 Trojans, but it’s a challenge the players and coaching staff welcome.
“Wood is a powerhouse and is coming in with arguably the best player in the state in Bethea,” Ohlson said. “We know the challenge and understand what’s at stake here. But every team we’ve played so far has been very good. We’re up for another challenge and we’re excited for it and we’ll be ready to go.”
The coaching staff has worked hard together through the summer, fall and of course since the first official day of practice in November to prepare for such a big moment.
“The nice part of this staff is that we’ve been together for a long time,” Ohlson said. “It’s great having Matt Fritz, another former Parkland player, back because he was with us for an extended period of time and then left and now we’re happy he’s back.
“Then we have Paul Stewart who is kind of our defensive coach and he does an unbelievable job.
“Then we have Austin Beidleman who played here under Andy and he’s a coach who has a very high basketball IQ and one day will be a head coach himself
“And then we brought back Eric Zuber who again was with us for a couple of years as a JV coach and then took some time off and has come back and been a great addition as well.”
B.J. Dugan, a former Northwestern Lehigh head coach, is the team’s freshman coach.
“He’s been a coaching lifer,” Ohlson said. “He has coached at a lot of levels including college. He handles our freshman squad but he has been with us at every practice and every game during the playoffs and does a great job. He just has a great basketball mind.”
Ohlson said one of the biggest things he learned from Stephens was to give voice to assistant coaches and then listen.
“Andy did a great job with me and the other guys in allowing us to have input and that’s one thing I tried to carry on,” Ohlson said. “Everyone brings a different perspective and it’s important for me to listen because I am fully aware I don’t know everything. If there is something going on during a game that I am not aware of it’s great to have guys around me who understand what my vision is and what’s best for the team. They each bring a little something different to the bench and to each practice. I’ve learned to lean on them throughout the course of the season, especially being a brand new head coach because my mind is honestly going in a lot of different directions during the course of a game.”
Now, the only direction the Parkland coaches and players want to go is southwest to Hershey for a state championship game Saturday night.
“We’re going to fight and do everything we can to get there,” Ohlson said.
PIAA CLASS 6A SEMIFINALS
Who: Parkland (District 11 champ, 25-5) vs. Archbishop Wood (District 12 No. 3, 19-8)
When/where: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Norristown Area High School
At stake: A berth in Saturday’s 8 p.m. state championship game against against either District 3 No. 4 Reading (20-9) or District 3 No. 5 Central York (24-3)
Parkland players to watch: Nick Coval (6-2, Sr. G) 21.7 ppg; Luke Spang (6-0, Sr. G) 3.0 ppg; Jayden Thomas (6-3, Sr. G) 11.0 ppg; Robbie Ruisch (6-4, Sr. F) 6.0 ppg; Zaire Smaltz (6-6, Sr. F) 9.6 ppg; Blake Nassry (6-2, Fr. G) 2.9 ppg. Archbishop Wood players to watch: Jalil Bethea (6-4, Sr. G-F); 23.0 ppg, 7 rpg, 3.3 apg; Josh Reed (6-3, Sr. G); 19.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 3.4 apg;
Milan Dean (6-5, Jr. G-F) 7.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg; Deuce Maxey (6-2, Jr. G) 7.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg; Mike Green (6-0, Jr. G); 7.1 ppg; Tahir Howell 6-4, Sr. F).
What to know: Parkland has reached the state semis for the first time since 2004. … The Trojans have advanced with a 65-35 win over Plymouth-Whitemarsh, a 61-46 win over Chambersburg and a 57-50 victory over Roman Catholic. … Archbishop Wood has advanced with an 81-73 win over Methacton, a 66-64 win over Lower Merion and a 67-61 victory over Spring-Ford. … Coval now has 2,092 career points, the fifth most in Lehigh Valley boys basketball history. Former Allentown Central Catholic star Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman is fourth with 2,136. … Coval and Bethea have been AAU teammates on Team Final and have played in major tournaments together all over the country. Coval considers Bethea a good friend. … Bethea scored 18 of a game-high 31 in the fourth quarter Saturday against Spring-Ford. … Wood was able to beat Spring-Ford despite shooting just 4-for-19 from 3-point range. They also missed 10 free throws. … Bethea led his team with seven rebounds, while Reed and Dean each had four assists and also had three steals. … Wood hasn’t lost since falling to Father 78-71 in the Philly Catholic League quarterfinals. … Wood lost to Roman Catholic 66-56 in last year’s 6A semifinals and fell to Roman 77-65 in the 2002 6A title game. Also lost to Reading 58-57 in the 2021 finals. … Collin Gillespie, who went on to win a national championship at Villanova and is currently a G-League player in the Denver Nuggets organization, was the star player on Wood’s one PIAA title team in 2017. Parkland is in the semis for the first time since 2004 when the Trojans beat York 54-50 at Reading’s Geigle Complex.
Keith Groller’s prediction:
Parkland 70-68