By: Ed Morrone
L to R Germantown Academy guards Casey and Luke Traina (photo Traina family)
NEWTOWN SQUARE — If you’re looking for a story about sibling rivalry, Luke and Casey Traina are here to disappoint you.
Sure, all brothers butt heads growing up, and there were undoubtedly times that saw Luke, a senior at Germantown Academy, terrorize his younger brother Casey, now a sophomore. However, for two brothers who are both 6-foot-4 guards, there’s been very little competition between the two because their games diverge once you look past the fact that they play the same position.
“A lot of brothers find themselves being the same type of player, but what’s ironic about us is how different we are,” Casey Traina said. “I’m a shoot-first guard, while he’s more of a guard who excels at attacking. It eliminates any competition as far as our roles on the team go, which is nice because we have a true appreciation for one another when we do something well.”
Casey was speaking following Friday night’s 64-58 road win at Episcopal. Casey, GA’s number two scoring option all season behind junior Jordan Longino at 10.6 points per game, has developed into a confident player as the season has rolled toward February. He’s done so out of necessity, as Luke has missed most of GA’s season after partially tearing his right Achilles tendon during a scrimmage against Roman Catholic in early November.
Luke returned briefly in last week’s win over Haverford, scoring two points. But his real coming out — or better yet, coming back — party occurred at Episcopal, depositing 10 points and making his impact known down low in the post, where the Patriots can use more of a presence to complement the great shooting from their guards.
“Playing for real for the first time since the end of last season, it felt fantastic,” Luke Traina said. “And Casey and I, we haven’t really gotten to play together since grade school, so it’s really cool. We have an older brother and I missed the opportunity to play with him since he went to public school and I went to private, so this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing you get to do. It’s awesome.”
With Luke and Longino both missing time due to injury back in November, Casey Traina knew he had to step up if GA was going to compete in the Inter-Ac this season (the Patriots currently sit in second place at 4-2, two games behind first-place Malvern with four to play). Casey was a varsity player last season but didn’t see much time, and he recalled a conversation he had at Panera Bread over the summer with head coach Matt Dolan, who had asked Casey what he anticipated his role to be on this year’s team.
“Going into this season, there was a lot of uncertainty with how I’d impact the team,” Casey said. “Coach Dolan asked me what I wanted my role to be, and I told him I wanted to be a secondary scorer to Jordan, someone looked at to hit one of the last shots. With Jordan out too in the beginning of the season, it allowed me to be that main scorer at the time and transition to the secondary scorer when he came back. My confidence level went up, and I think I’ve done what I set out to do.”
L to R: Brothers Casey and Luke Traina express what it means to be back together playing for Germantown Academy (video by Ed Morrone for PSD)
Game Highlights: Germantown Academy vs. Episcopal Academy (video by Ed Morrone for PSD)
And this isn’t to say that there’s absolutely no tough love between the Traina brothers whilst competing. Casey said the two go hard at one another in practice, and Luke vocally gives it to his brother. It may be tough at times, but love is still love, something Casey came to recognize.
“When we play together, he hacks me, tries to get in my head,” Casey said with a laugh. “He hits me and pushes me around. At the time I’d get mad, but I can see now how meaningful and valuable what it was that he was trying to do.
“It’s been a long road back for Luke, being sidelined the whole season. It was really great to see him back in the offense tonight getting his points. He looked like the old Luke.”
While Luke was out, he became a de facto coach on the GA bench. He got to watch Casey from the sideline and offer his younger brother helpful tips on how he could integrate himself into an offense that already had a handful of talented veteran players.
“Sometimes when young guys come in here, they lack the competitive nature of the Inter-Ac,” Luke said. “It’s a beast of a league, with every game being super close. Leadership and trust is huge, and I want to groom him to be that leader coming into his junior and senior years so he can be ready to lead this team.”
As for his own role on a team that found a good deal of success without him, Luke saw crystal clear that on a team full of shooters and ball handlers, perhaps the best way he could be an asset to the team down the stretch is in the post. The Patriots have players who can get to the rim off the dribble, but what they’re missing is someone who can catch the ball on the block and score points with his back to the basket.
Against Episcopal, early returns on this strategy seemed to work, as Luke was able to score on some layups down low as well as draw contact to get to the free throw line.
“Being a ‘coach’ the last couple months, I was trying to figure out how I could integrate myself into the offense when I come back,” Luke said. “Last year I played more of a traditional guard role, but we need a post presence and I tried to put myself into that position. I also want to be a defensive stopper, just work hard on defense and try to stop their best guys.”
For Episcopal, the loss dropped the team to 3-3 in league play. It was the Churchmen’s second loss to the Patriots, putting the team three back of Malvern with four to play.
Regardless of the team’s place in the standings, it got another huge performance from senior forward Andrew Alikakos, who scored 21 in the loss. Episcopal is led by Alex Capitano, who crossed the 1,000-point milestone at the school last week, but Alikakos has scored 20-plus points in three straight games and adds a legitimate scoring threat in the post as the team enters its stretch run.
GA sophomore guard Casey Traina (photo Geanine Jamison for PSD)
GA senior guard Luke Traina (photo: courtesy Traina family)
“I’ve always felt I’ve had it in me,” Alikakos said. “The last few games my confidence has been pretty high. I think I can get to the rim on most of these guys, who I consider myself stronger than in the paint. Unfortunately, though we didn’t get the win, and that’s what matters.”
The fact remains that everyone is chasing Malvern, and Friday’s result left the door cracked open for GA with a Jan. 28 road contest against the Friars looming. Catching the Friars is a long shot, but the Patriots feel better about their chances with Luke Traina back in the fold.
“We don’t plan on losing,” Casey Traina said. “Just got to maintain the defensive intensity and make them take hard shots. If they make one, make the next one harder on them. We do that, we can get the job done.”
“My freshman year, we won the Inter-Ac,” Luke added. “Whether you respond to adversity or sink to the bottom is what will decide your season. Tonight, was a huge win and gave us the boost we needed to go try to win the next four. Hopefully we take care of business and see what happens from there.”