Photos: Kathy Leister & Kyle Woodward
By: Dylan Lutey, Germantown Friends Jr. Reporter
PHILADELPHIA – Ups and downs: the theme of the 2022-23 Germantown Friends Tigers basketball team’s season heading into Friends League play. After losing their first three games, the team went on to win six of their next seven games, only to lose their final two games before their first league game. This resulted in the Tigers splitting their first 12 non-league games going 6-6. While there are concerns with depth and height, the roster has a handful of players who bring reason for optimism.
The roster features 6’0 guard Jordan Dill ‘26 who will get the most attention on the offensive end averaging 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists over the team’s first 12 games which includes 38 points in the team’s 84-87 loss against Overbrook.
Germantown Friends freshman, Jordan Dill #4 - PSD Photo by Kathy Leister
Darius Frazier #1 - Photo Courtesy of Kyle Woodward
The freshman guard is coming off a season where he averaged 16 points as an eighth grader and is already one of the best pure scorers in the Friends League.
6’3 combo guard Darius Frazier ‘24 who transferred from St. Joe’s Prep brings a high motor to the court along with tenacity on both the offensive and defensive glass. The junior averaged 10 points and 7 rebounds across the team’s first 12 games. His potential was at full display in an 84-87 loss to Overbrook, where he had a monster stat line of 18 points, 17 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocks.
6’4 forward Amir Staten ‘23 who is a 4-year member of the team and currently a senior captain has steadily increased his scoring output each year and has become a very solid undersized big. Over his last three years, he averaged 2 points as a freshman, 4 points as a sophomore, and 9 points last season as a junior.
The team struggled during the first 4 games where Staten was out with an ankle injury, going 1-3. However, since coming back he is playing the best basketball of his high school career so far, averaging 13 points and 6 rebounds per game. The highlight of the season so far is when the Tigers won the Germantown Community Tournament in a triple overtime thriller versus Paul Robeson 92-80, where Staten led the way with 35 points on 12-22 shooting from the field and 16 rebounds. He went on to win tournament MVP and has continued to be one of the most consistent players for the Tigers on both ends of the floor.
He is well liked for his positive attitude and consistent effort on the court by teammates and coaches, which is exactly what he wants to be remembered for as he plays in his final season.
“I want people to remember just how hard I play. Just that passion I have for the game, the love I have. And I want people to see that through how I play on the court,” said Staten.
5’11 guard Jaden Palmer-Waldron ‘23 another 4-year member of the team who is also currently a senior captain is the definition of a pass first point guard and a great teammate. Over the first 12 games of the season the senior point guard averaged 6 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals. In the Tigers 66-70 loss against SCH Academy, Palmer-Waldron had 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 assists, coming one assist shy of a triple double. His willingness to sacrifice for the team is another area he positively impacts the team and is something he wants people to remember about him as he plays his last season in a Tigers uniform.
“I play pass first always, but I want people to know that if I want to score, I can when I really want to, but it's like I really don't have a need or want to score, [and] I really want to win,” said Palmer-Waldron.
Caleb Hess ‘24 and Jesse Mullins ‘24 also play roles on the team, mostly off the bench.
After 12 non-league games, the Tigers started league play over the past week with games away at Westtown and home versus Shipley. However, they did not start how they would have liked to. The Tigers dropped two games to Westtown and Shipley by a combined 57 points.
Their league play started with a game away at the always formidable Westtown. In past years Westtown has featured the best player in the country on multiple occasions such as Mo Bamba, Cam Reddish, and Dereck Lively. This year they aren’t built around one big-time player, instead they are built around their depth and size, which will give their opponents in the Friends League a lot of issues. This was the case in the game versus the Tigers, which turned out to be a lopsided 62-33 loss. Jayden Forsythe ‘25 led the way off the bench for the Moose with 14 points with 4 threes. In total, 11 players scored for the Moose. For the Tigers, Dill led the way with 14 points and 4 threes.
“We became overmatched with Westtown and I think some of those bad habits that we saw in September and October bubbled to the surface,” reflected head coach Shawn Werdt on the team’s tough loss.
Then, two days later in a packed Scattergood Gym on a Friday night the Tigers played the Shipley Gators in what was a highly anticipated matchup. However, in a disappointing game, the Tigers ended up losing 66-38. Darrien Grady ‘23 led the way for the Gators with 14 points 6 rebounds and 4 assists using his lightning quick speed to get to the rim. Palmer-Waldron was given the task to slow down Grady, who scored 10 of his 14 points in the first quarter. Palmer-Waldron gave credit to Grady while taking responsibility for the senior point guard’s strong start.
“Personally I think I could have guarded better because it started with defense, but also their point guard [Grady] is a top point guard in the league,” said Palmer-Waldron.
Jaden Palmer-Waldron #23 - Photo Courtesy of Kyle Woodward
Kody Colson ‘26 added another 14 points with 3 threes and 7 rebounds for the Gators. Two of Colson’s 3 threes came in the third, which played a big role in turning a 7 point lead at the half, which got cut down to 4 at a point, into a 15 point lead to start the fourth. For the Tigers, Dill led the way with 22 points. Staten also grabbed 9 rebounds.
“I think the depth may have worn us out a bit there,” said Werdt after the disappointing loss to Shipley. “(It was a) Really poor offensive game for us in terms of sharing the ball, in terms of getting into offense. A bad shot led to leak outs, turnovers led to leak outs, and credit to Shipley, they played really hard. They did a great job, getting us out of our comfort zone on the offensive end, and they shot the ball really well.”
Werdt was understandably unhappy with the team’s start to league play, but being the experienced coach he is, his focus is moving on and using these two games as a learning experience rather than dwelling on the past.
“Hopefully we can take those two tough experiences and continue to take steps forward as we get deeper into league play,” said Werdt.
The one thing both senior captains and head coach noted about these two losses was the lack of team chemistry on the court and inability to play together. Staten was the first to talk about the necessity of playing together as the Tigers go through this gauntlet of a schedule.
“I think playing together is one of the biggest things we can do because that's what we've gotten away from since the very beginning of our season. We played together a lot more and moved the ball more. And I feel like we need to do that if we want to see any type of improvement in our season,” said Staten.
“We could also pass the ball more. I think we could always pass the ball way more,” added Palmer-Waldron.
Werdt also had a similar sentiment saying, “We got away from running offense. We got away from sharing the ball. We got away from trusting one another and we weren't able to put together a full game.”
The Tigers still have a handful of non-league games scheduled in order to keep them ready for more league games. They played in one on Monday where they got a much needed 63-53 win against an aggressive Frankford team. Dill led the way with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists, hitting 5 threes on 50 percent 3-point shooting.
Amir Staten #32 - Photo Courtesy of Kyle Woodward
Staten added 18 points and 5 rebounds going 10 for 13 from the free-throw line and Frazier added 11 points and 4 rebounds going 5 for 5 from the free-throw line.
Palmer-Waldron had another terrific all-around game with 7 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals. The team went 26-33 (78.8 percent) at the free-throw line, which is an area they have struggled in throughout this season shooting 63 percent on the season. However, over the past five games the Tigers are shooting 70.6 percent from the line.
This was a big win for the team’s confidence in Werdt’s opinion.
“I think playing at Frankord, on their home court [is] intentional. Now we get a chance to go down to Friends Select, which also has a big home court advantage in their Falcon Dome. Hopefully that experience at Frankford will give us a bit more confidence when we step on the floor down there,” said Werdt.
The aforementioned Friends Select game will be at 7 p.m. on Friday. The Friends Select Falcons are the perfect example of how competitive the Friends League has gotten. After being a bottom-feeder for many years, the Falcons are looking like they will be competing for one of the top seeds in the Friends League after going 7-2 in non-league play.
When asked about this competitiveness Werdt replied with, “The Friends League is a bear. It's really hard. This is, in my opinion, the deepest it's ever been. Typically, there's three outstanding teams and then there's a next tier where this year every team is really, really good. It’s got a bunch of college prospects in it. High major division one talent. We're trying to continue to take steps forward and be competitive and trust that there are going to be brighter days for us in years to come. But this year's tough. I mean, the league is really good.”
The Falcons have started 1-1 in league play, playing arguably the two best teams coming into the season in George School and Westtown. Werdt is expecting a very tough game and is working on preparing the team for what would be a big win.
“Friends Select is having a great season and they've got good seniors. They've got guys that have been around the block and they make tough shots and play really, really hard. We're going to spend the next two days trying to figure out how to beat them.”
The Tigers will look to come together as a team during the most important month of the season in order to navigate a very tough schedule.