Few people were looking forward to the start of basketball season more than Patrick Wanamaker.

He was eager to take over a Northwestern boys basketball program where he was an assistant coach from 2012 through 2020 after leading Northern Lehigh the past three seasons.

Wanamaker was also one of the football team’s biggest supporters, and didn’t mind delaying that debut as the Tigers made a run to the state championship game on Dec. 9 - a week after the team’s first scheduled basketball game.

“It seems like a lot, sitting here and reflecting on it,” Wanamaker said. “To hear that you had five games moved, and then we go in and we open up at our rival, a place that I was coming from. From a personal standpoint, it almost felt like it was kind of meant to be, how everything fell the way it did.

“But this whole situation would not have been successful without the kids. Their resilience, their flexibility, the support of the administration here, to work with other schools to get those games postponed, to allow these guys to focus on their football run up until the very last game out at Cumberland Valley. It’s been a lot, but I think when we’re finally able to slow down a little bit in March or April and kind of reflect on it, I think it’s going to make the program that much better that these kids were able to experience it, and thrive in it. Not just experience it, but also thrive in it.”

On the prowl

With a total of 13 players - nine JV/varsity and four junior high - set to join the basketball program after the football season, Wanamaker and his staff had to adapt and adjust.

The Tigers didn’t miss a beat, and entered play Wednesday 12-6 overall and coming off a 58-37 win over Southern Lehigh on Jan. 29.

“We didn’t change a whole lot, to be honest with you,” said Wanamaker, who was an All-League and All-Area player for Northern Lehigh. “We kind of kept it the way it was, because the guys we had were really committed to what we were doing. Of the 11 that were there (prior to the football players arriving), we had three of our starters. I’ll say the most stressful time was leading up to what would have been the start of our season, because we were unsure of whether we were going to have postponements or not. So we were preparing like we were going to go play. I think Dec. 2 was supposed to be our first game. So we were ready to go for a game, and then we started getting postponements rolling in a little bit.

“But we didn’t change much leading up to it. We still had our tryout process. Coach (Josh) Snyder worked with us so our football kids came to our three days of our tryout process, so they were excused from football those days so we were able to establish our teams and rosters, so we didn’t have to wait until after the state final to establish that stuff. It gave us a bit of a jump-start. Aside from the fact that we had games postponed, not a whole lot changed.”

Earning their stripes

Wanamaker and his players made the most of the time they had together while the football season unfolded with a spectacular 15 wins and second straight District 11 3A title.

“The good thing was that we still had 11 kids, not including the football guys,” he said. “So we still had enough kids that we could keep practicing. The bigger issue for us was the junior high team was missing four freshmen football kids. So they only had about seven that could practice. So it was harder for them to try to find practice time, so we ended up combining a couple days, giving them off a couple days, because all of their games got moved, too.”

They didn’t have to wait long to play those games.

“We made all of those games up between the state final and Dec. 30,” said Wanamaker, an emotional support teacher in the district’s middle school. “Zimmy (Athletic Director Jason Zimmerman) really likes to frontload the season in the event of weather. Luckily, we were slated to have a really light winter break so we had the space in the schedule. But our really light winter break turned into a really crazy winter break. And even the week before the holiday, the week before Christmas we played Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, so we played five games in seven days. At the tail end of that stretch we really struggled, kids started to hit that wall and fatigue set in a little bit.

“But it was after the holiday I think we had a couple days where we were able to slow down and get some stuff in and have some lighter practices, and we’ve been pretty good ever since then.”

Trying to squeeze in practice time and prepare for eight games over the final two weeks of December wasn’t without its challenges.

“It was definitely tough,” said junior Eli Zimmerman. “We only had a couple days to get prepared for a game, when it really means something. There were postponements and then we had a really busy week so we really had to focus those two or three days of practice that we had and really get into basketball shape and hopefully try to compete for the team and play to the best of our ability.

“Basketball shape and football shape are totally different,” sophomore Mason Bollinger said with a laugh. “It was definitely hard to get into basketball shape, just from a conditioning perspective. But once we started getting into it, it was kind of easy to just kind of roll back into basketball. And we tried to keep that momentum going from football season and keep going.”

The Tigers have done that, clinching a spot in the District 11 Class 4A playoffs, and had a winning streak of five games in January.

“Our football team only had five seniors so it was a really big learning experience for almost everybody because we had a lot of underclassmen playing significant time for the football team,” said Zimmerman. “So it really just helped all those underclassmen know what it’s like to play in those big games and win something meaningful, especially for a school that you wouldn’t think would get that far. It helps other sports, too, because they can just ride that wave in their seasons and hopefully carry that success that every other sports team has been having so far at Northwestern this year.”

Another Tiger tale?

The community support and camaraderie created during the team’s football run were unparalleled.

“Now that we’ve seen what the postseason looks like (during football), we want that for basketball, too,” said Bollinger. “Our community really came together on our run to the state championship game. To see everyone come out, it was just amazing. We want that for basketball, too.”

So does Wanamaker.

“I was talking to (Assistant) Coach (Mark) Henry last night on the way home from Southern Lehigh and he said boys basketball has been in the league playoffs one time since 2007,” said Wanamaker. “And I was in high school in 2007. So we’ve had a lot of athletic success at Northwestern Lehigh in that timeframe that excludes boys hoops. So that’s been a point of conversation and it’s been a point of emphasis for these guys, and they all want it. They’re putting the time in to get it, and hopefully in the years to come we can build athletic success in the winter time too.

“They also see what it takes to get there. You don’t get the success that Coach Snyder and his staff had overnight. They’ve been working at it I think 12 or 13 years now here, so it’s not an overnight thing. So for kids to see that it takes that time and that effort and that offseason grind to experience those games on Friday nights, then that’s just that much more important.”

Northwestern has created a championship culture across seasons and sports. And there’s no reason it can’t continue with the boys basketball team.

“I’m just really excited to see what this team can do coming into the playoffs,” said Zimmerman. “It will be a fun experience, especially for us being our first time ever in our high school careers to make it in the playoffs. And hopefully we can win a couple games and host some games here so the fans can come out and see what Northwestern basketball is actually about.”

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DOMINANT BANKS

... Panther Valley’s Brenda Banks added another championship to her resume by winning the 235-pound weight class at the Battle of the Buck on Sunday. Banks posted a 3-0 decision over Quakertown’s Peyton Fries in the semifinals before registering a pin at the 1:57 mark of the finals against Souderton’s MacKenna Atkinson. The PV sophomore is now 17-0 this season. Banks has also won titles at the Coal Cracker, Elizabethtown Girls BAGUBA Brawl and the PA National Guard Invite in December, and the Mattness at the MACC on Jan. 15.

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READY FOR THE POSTSEASON

... Fresh off a thrilling Schuylkill League Division 1 title clinching win against North Schuylkill on Tuesday, Lehighton (10-3 overall, 5-0 in the league) will now be competing in the District 11 team championships this Saturday at Freedom High School. The Indians are seeded fourth in Class 2A and will get a rematch with the Spartans, who are seeded fifth. Palmerton qualified as the eighth seed and will face top seed Notre Dame Green Pond in the quarters. The 2A quarterfinals are scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday, with 2A and 3A semis to take place at 1 p.m. The 2A and 3A finals will take place at 5:30 p.m.

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MILESTONE WIN

... Tamaqua swim coach Jen Paisley picked up her 100th career victory last Thursday when the Blue Raiders swept North Schuylkill. The Blue Raider boys cruised to a 110-48 win, while the girls earned a 103-79 victory.

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CLINCHED

... The Panther Valley and Marian boys basketball teams have recently secured District 11 playoff berths. Julius Currie exploded for 37 points to power Marian to a 70-33 Schuylkill League victory over Shenandoah Valley in the key win for the Colts Tuesday. Panther Valley clinched a district playoff berth with a convincing 63-44 non-league victory over Roberto Clemente Saturday to lock up a playoff spot. Logan Fisher scored 10 of his 14 points in the third quarter as the Panthers used a 19-4 period to extend an eight-point halftime lead.

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HITTING 1K

... Panther Valley’s Chase Weaver reached the 1,000-point plateau Tuesday against Pottsville. Weaver needed seven points to reach the milestone and finished with a team-high 13. His three-point play in the third quarter allowed him to become the seventh PV boys player to score 1,000 points. Weaver also added six rebounds.

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SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

... The schedule has been released for the first-ever PIAA Girls Wrestling Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey. The girls tournament will begin Thursday, March 7, with the first round at 2 p.m. Quarterfinals and first round consolations will take place at 11:45 a.m., followed by second round consolations at 1:15 p.m. Semifinals will take place Friday at 7 p.m., the same time as the 2A and 3A boys, and girls third round consolations will take place at 9 p.m. The fourth round consolations will be held Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Third, fifth and seventh place consolations for girls, 2A and 3A boys will take place at 11:30 a.m. The Parade of Champions for girls, 2A and 3A boys will take place at 3:40 p.m., and the finals for each will begin at 4 p.m.