A Royal Surprise

By: Joel Brennan, Sports Journalism

“Play-offs?! Play-offs?!” This infamous quote was made by then Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Mora. When he made this statement, his team had no chance of making the post-season. However, members of the Upper Darby community could be heard making similar statements when they found out the varsity Boy’s Basketball team had made the play-offs last season. This accomplishment marked the first time in over 20 years that the Royals reached the post-season.

After a first round knockout, the coaching staff and team were looking for next season to begin right away. They knew that were going to be something to watch. Even the community responded to their success, flooding e-mail boxes and voicemails with congratulatory sentiments.

Senior G Elie Daniel, the team leader and captain, was instrumental in getting people to pay attention to them. Through use of the school’s closed circuited television program, Daniel and his teammates promoted the team. Head Coach Bob Miller met Daniel when he was in the 8th grade and knew right away that with him, they had a chance to make an impact in the Central League. Daniel, joined with a supporting cast of six other seniors, led the Royals to their first Central League Championship since 1979.

At the beginning of the season, the team participated in the Skip Coleman Tip-Off. Upper Darby Athletic Director Rich Smith said, “When they won their pre-season tip-off tournament, I knew that this was going to be a special season.” By the end of the season, the team would only lose twice, finishing with a 20-2 record.

Over the course of the season, attendance steadily increased, but there was one fan that was there from the beginning. According to Smith and Miller, UD Superintendent Joseph Galli, Sr. was the team’s biggest fan and supporter. “[Superintendent] Galli was one of the more vocal members of the crowd and defended the team wholeheartedly,” Smith said, recalling an incident where a parent referred to a player in a derogatory manner.

In addition to Galli, other district administrators and faculty comprised a large portion of the audience. With an increase of press coverage, college scouts made their way to the state’s largest high school. Even members of the 1979 team, revisited their alma mater to witness the team’s success. All the excitement required Smith to make some accommodations by adding extra seating to the gymnasium. When asked if he was surprised by the interest in the team, Smith replied, “No, not at all because basketball is a high profile sport in the district.”

Through the 1990s, the Royals won six consecutive Central League titles in wrestling and had several superstar track athletes, many who won medals at the State Championships. However, these accomplishments did not get the attention of the community that the basketball team has in the past two seasons.

With the amount of attention that the team was getting from within the district, there was no surprise that the media took notice of the team. The district’s public access channel started to show replays of the team’s games and there was an increase in coverage by local newspapers. When asked if there was a particular player that the community came to watch, neither Daniel nor Miller could give a name. They both felt like the style of play prevented a “star” to emerge and that the team concept was strong among the players.

There are times where attention like this can affect a team negatively. However, this team seemed to be more at ease with the audience and enjoyed playing the game. According to Daniel, “It was impressive to see all those people. We had a lot of fun playing for them.” The team didn’t feel obligated to perform for the crowd. They enjoyed playing for them and understood that the crowd was there to support them, not to be awed. The team seemed to be having fun, but Miller was feeling pressure. “It’s easy to be the underdog. With each game, you can feel pressure of success,” Miller said. He’s referring to the metaphorical bull’s eye that gets placed on teams when they succeed.

In his fifth year as head coach of the varsity squad, Miller has instilled the “team-first” concept into his players. He encourages the team to make that extra pass to find an open teammate. This is the first group of seniors Miller has coached since their freshmen year. With four years of coaching the team has gelled into a cohesive unit, which allowed for their success.

However, the success of the regular season did not result in success in the post-season. The Royals were the number one team in the District 1, Class AAAA tournament. With wins over Bensalem and Norristown, they qualified (top eight from the district qualify) for the State Play-off. Loses in the next two games, forced them to drop to seventh in the district.

Despite the abrupt end to their fantastic season, everyone feels things were a success and look to the future. In some cases, teams like this shine for a season and then return to their previous status. “The best is yet to come,” Miller said, “We’ll be good for sometime.” His feeling is that in two years, his squad will be better than the one this year. He’s referring to the freshmen team that won the Central League title and the junior varsity team that was among the best in the district.

With the success each of these teams had, the culture at UD is changing and people are now expecting to win. The underclassmen have already begun working out together in preparation for next year. Between Smith, Miller, and even the graduating Daniel, they all feel that the level of interest by the community will continue next season. Smith says, “As long as Galli is involved with the team, the community will know about their success.”