"Another high Tide"

by mike carnahan (staff writer mcarnahan@republicanherald.com)

Published: April 20, 2013

In the preseason, Pottsville boys' basketball coach Dave Mullaney said that Brandon Bridy had a "Nick Schlitzer-type work ethic."

Perhaps that is not much of a surprise.

Bridy and Schlitzer, the former Crimson Tide standout who now plays college ball at Philadelphia University, live three blocks apart in the Yorkville section of Pottsville. The two grew up together, played plenty of basketball together, were teammates for two years and shared Schuylkill League championships in 2010 and '11.

When Schlitzer graduated from Pottsville in 2011, Bridy stepped into his spot as the leader of the Crimson Tide and became one of the team's best players. Now Schlitzer and Bridy share another honor: Republican-Herald All-Area Boys' Basketball Player of the Year.

Bridy, a senior who signed a letter of intent Wednesday to continue his basketball career at Division II Kutztown University, had the best offensive season of his high school career, finishing third in the league in scoring at 15.9 points per game (428 total), while shooting 49 percent from the floor and 72 percent from the foul line. Bridy also led the Crimson Tide (21-6, 12-0 Division I) in assists with 2.6 per game and steals with 2.3. Bridy finished his career with 942 points, and, according to Mullaney, is the only player in Schuylkill League history to letter on four league championship teams.

When Pottsville finished its season, the Crimson Tide had raised their division winning streak to 43 consecutive victories and had won its fourth straight league title, beating Mahanoy Area 35-21 on Feb. 15 at Martz Hall.

Coach of the Year honors go to Mahanoy Area's Mickey Holland.

The Golden Bears entered the season needing to replace their entire back court and didn't miss a beat. In fact, Mahanoy Area took another step forward.

The Golden Bears (22-6, 12-1 Division III) won their first division title and reached their first league championship game since 2007. Additionally, Mahanoy Area won its first District 11 championship since 2000 and first PIAA playoff game since 1998. Mahanoy Area's season ended with a 42-36 loss to Church Farm in the second round of the state playoffs.

Bridy solidifies reputation as league's best player

Growing up, Bridy's favorite sport was baseball. In fact, he picked basketball somewhat late, first playing the

sport in middle school.

By the time Bridy was a junior, basketball was all he did.

Every day.

Bridy figures he works at basketball around four hours a day, seven days a week, including a lifting program five days during the week. The only time Bridy takes off is the occasional holiday.

He credits Schlitzer, who shared the Republican-Herald Player of the Year honors with North Schuylkill's Steve Ennis in 2010 and earned it outright in 2011, with providing him the direction and inspiration to devote the last two years of high school to the sport.

"I think working out with Nick, seeing how good he was and just seeing what he could do, really inspired me to try and do stuff that he did," Bridy said. "I think my freshman and sophomore year I saw that turn. He played baseball for four years, and we all knew he was going somewhere for basketball. My working out with him, I just kind of felt like basketball was the sport for me after my sophomore year."

Like Schlitzer, Bridy became a complete player on both ends of floor.

Going into the season, Bridy's strength offensively was going to the basket and creating opportunities for either himself or teammates. Heading into this year, Bridy felt he needed to take his offensive game to the next level by improving his mid- to long-range shooting game. He also needed it if he had any hopes of playing at the next level.

Bridy wasn't afraid to post up either, and his numbers from this past winter reflect his offseason work. He scored around four points more per game this season after averaging 12.1 in 2011-12. Bridy reached double figures in 24 of the Crimson Tide's 27 games, scoring a season-high 29 at Tamaqua on Jan. 25.

One of the best showcases of Bridy's all-around offensive ability was the league championship game where he scored 18 points, accounting for more than half of the Crimson Tide's total. That included 13 in the first half as Pottsville got out to a 23-9 halftime lead.

Bridy scored in a variety of ways, including a foul-line jumper, a 3-pointer, a layup after a steal, a spin move to the bucket and another spin move into a hook shot. Bridy even scored when he threw up a shot as he was falling down.

But Bridy isn't just known for his offense. He might also be the best 1-and-1 defender in the league.

"He's an elite defender and the best I've ever had at Pottsville," said Mullaney, who's been the Crimson Tide's coach the past five years.

Any player in Mullaney's system must play defense and Bridy was no exception. As a freshman and sophomore, he figured it was the best way to get playing time. Now, it's just another part of his game.

"I do enjoy playing defense, especially with the guys I played with in high school," Bridy said. "All are seniors this year and we really took it to the defensive end. Two years in a row we gave up the fewest points in the league (36.3 points per game). So just playing defense with the guys definitely boosts and just builds team chemistry."

Bridy certainly had high expectations placed upon him this season and delivered. He appreciates the individual accolades and attention he's received during his career, but as Bridy graduates and moves to the next level, he wants to be remembered more for the success Pottsville had as a team.

"Just a kid who wanted to set his mind to something he wanted to do and accomplishing it," Bridy said. "Just a hard-working kid on and off the court and enjoyed playing the game and did it for his team and coaches."

Despite new starters, success continues for Holland, Golden Bears

Holland has been a part of Mahanoy Area basketball for almost his entire life. He played for the Golden Bears, graduating in 1967, and just finished his 32nd season as head coach.

The expectations at Mahanoy Area are always high. It's built into the fabric of the community, and that work ethic has been passed down through the years.

"When I was a little kid, the 6th Street Playground (in Mahanoy City) was like the hub of the county for basketball for a long time," Holland said. "Everybody used to play there."

The Golden Bears went through lean times as recently as 2007-10, going 31-38 over those three seasons. Not only had the talent level dropped but so had that work ethic.

That is not the case anymore. The values and principles instilled into Holland as a player that developed his coaching style are rubbing off on his players again. The Golden Bears have come roaring back, going 16-9 in 2010-11 and 19-7 in 2011-12, reaching the District 11 Class A title game both years but coming up short in both.

Mahanoy Area took it up a notch this past winter.

There were concerns at the start after guards Mike Gaval, Neal Goodman and Jim Baker graduated, taking their talent and leadership with them. But with senior Kyle McGee, along with juniors Dylan Mahmod and Larry McNeil, joining returning starters Tyler Cavenas and Andy Kuzma, both of whom are juniors, the good times continued.

All season, Holland talked about the time and work the Golden Bears put in last summer. Not only did Mahanoy Area play 37 games last summer, but the players got together to work on fundamentals a couple of times during the week. This was all done as five of Holland's players got ready for the football season under new coach Dave Holman and his system.

"It seems like these guys are a little bit of throwback as far as willing to put the time in," Holland said.

The summer play also led to a key decision from Holland. Originally, Mahmod was supposed to be the point guard, but Holland found that the Golden Bears were better offensively with McGee at the point and Mahmod at shooting guard. They carried that plan through the year.

Mahanoy Area wasn't fazed by a 1-2 start, learning from the mistakes that were made. And, after a maddening 58-53 overtime loss to New Hope Academy in the championship game of the Pine Grove Tournament on Dec. 28, Mahanoy Area followed with an 11-game winning streak and went 16-3 the rest of the season.

The Golden Bears stunned Blue Mountain in the Schuylkill League semifinals, coming back from an 11-point, fourth-quarter deficit to win 42-39.

Two weeks later, Mahanoy Area got out to a 15-point lead against Pius X in the District 11 Class A championship game before holding on for a 57-55 victory, breaking the string of heartbreaking title defeats.

After cruising to a 58-44 victory over Muncy in the first round of the PIAA playoffs, the Golden Bears led Church Farm 32-23 going into the fourth quarter before tiring and losing 42-36.

Individuals developed offensively, but the strength of the Golden Bears was defense. Mahanoy Area finished second in the league in scoring defense behind Pottsville, allowing 38.5 points per game.

"We had a lot of help man, but we had a lot of exceptional 1-on-1 defenders who could play really good players and keep them in check," Holland said.

Holland retired as a history teacher from Mahanoy Area in 2007 and turned 64 on March 28. Despite suffering a heart attack in 2011, he shows no signs of slowing down. Holland, who has a career record of 588-252 and should reach 600 victories next season, believes that growing up and still living in Mahanoy City allows him to continue to relate to his players.

"I honestly can't help thinking I am still a Mahanoy Area kid at heart, and really I think they keep me young," Holland said. "The relationships with these kids, I feel, aren't a whole lot different than what I felt with my first teams. My assistant coaches through the years were guys who played for me, and some of my best friends are guys who played for me and I could see that with these guys. I expect them to be great friends when we are all finished, too.

"Part of it is just that I feel that we are all Mahanoy Area kids. I can understand where they are coming from a lot because it doesn't seem like so long ago I was one of them."