Westtown School boys aim to return to Friends Schools League contention this season

In the last decade, the Westtown School boys’ basketball program has been dominant. The Moose have won nine Friends Schools League championships and four state titles, and had multiple players turn into first-round NBA draft picks.

However, last season Westtown finished 15-10 overall and 7-3 in the league. The Moose lost to eventual champion George School in the FSL semifinals and were a first-round exit in the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association Tournament against Malvern Prep.

“I feel as though we underperformed,” said junior point guard Jayden Kelsey. “We should have stepped up.”

Still, if you talk to 16th-year head coach Seth Berger, he’s confident that this season can be as good as any he has coached.

“I have never had a group this talented from top to bottom. Any of the first eight are relatively interchangeable,” Berger said. “It gives us so much flexibility as a staff with such an immense amount of talent and immense amount of depth.”

That’s a bold stance from a coach who led what was considered the best high school starting five, which included Mo Bamba and Cam Reddish, in the 2016-17 season.

» READ MORE: Westtown’s Seth Berger wanted to make a difference. He built a basketball powerhouse.

Berger believes the early exit last season stemmed from injuries to two former starters, Matt Mayock and Seyphon Triplett, both of whom have graduated.

“As a coach when you lose your two best players before a game, [you] tell yourself, ‘We can still win this,’ but on the outside, you’re thinking, ‘They’re not as good’ ... and both are true,” Berger said. “I think had we been healthy, we could’ve challenged for states.”

The woes continued in the offseason, as 6-foot-11 Matt Gilhool transferred to Penn Charter. The highly skilled forward averaged 11.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks last season. Westtown hopes to fill that void in the paint with Malik Rasul, now the lone senior in the starting unit.

Rasul, who committed to Lafayette this summer, averaged 8.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks last season. Berger also hopes Rasul can pick up more of the defensive and rebounding responsibilities left by Gilhool.

Joining Rasul in the starting lineup will be an explosive core of returning juniors in Kelsey, Jayden Forsythe, Cameron Wallace, and new addition Daveyon Lydner, who transferred from William Penn High School in York, Pa.

Kelsey, who has received offers from Colorado and Towson, will once again serve as the floor general for the offense.

Junior guard Jahmare Memphis has also received praised by his teammates for the energy he brings off the bench as the sixth man. Westtown added a trio of international players as well in 6-6 sophomore forward Eb Ehigie (Ireland), 6-2 sophomore guard Henry Ye (China), and 6-9 freshman center Emmanuel Oli (Nigeria).

“Who we can be as a team has to fit who they can be as players, not the reverse,” Berger said. “There’s going to be way less structure, way more space, way more moving without the basketball than ever before.”

» READ MORE: Penn Charter boys’ basketball ready to bring its ‘A’ game behind influx of new talent

Berger’s team has plenty of talent on a roster that’s another year older and could reclaim the throne in the league and earn a state title as well.

“The fun is in the competition, not the winning,” Berger said.

“Every title is unique and every year is its own adventure. I think there are at least six teams that can win a state title. It’s going to make everyone better. It forces us to be better.”

This story was produced as part of a partnership between The Inquirer and City of Basketball Love, a nonprofit news organization that covers high school and college basketball in the Philadelphia area while also helping mentor the next generation of sportswriters. This collaboration will help boost coverage of the city’s vibrant amateur basketball scene, from the high school ranks up through the Big 5 and beyond.