Review of Boys Basketball, 2019-20 (5)
Dawgs Hit the Heights
By Lauree Padgett for Haddonfield Today
Part 5 of 5: The Last Dance With Camden?
On Monday, March 10, thanks to Beth Cerrato, who had also gotten me a hard-to-come-by ticket, I was on a school bus filled with the team’s family members heading to Woodrow Wilson for another showdown between Haddonfield and Camden. Unlike the previous three years, the game was not decided on a last-second shot. Although they never gave up and kept hustling and diving for loose balls all the way through to the final minute of the last quarter, this year’s Camden team proved too much for the Dawgs. As Camden handed them only their fifth loss out of 30 games, the Dawgs saw their season come to an end, with the final score 70-42. But that 28-point differential didn’t matter. It did not define their season, and at its conclusion, I was as proud of these boys as I was after any other game I’d been to all season.
In an unexpected way, the boys were lucky that their season came to an end as a result of a defeat. Most of the remaining eight public and four parochial teams who were supposed to advance to the state semis never got to play those games. COVID-19 saw to that. So, technically, Haddonfield still holds the title as the reigning Group 2 state champion. But even though the team didn’t quite reach that height this year, in going 25-5, winning yet another Colonial Liberty title, and giving their coach his 500th career victory, this group of highly competitive and highly committed young men far exceeded expectations. And in doing so, they once again proved just how unwise it is to ever underestimate a team helmed by Paul Wiedeman.
End-of-Year Speech: 2019–20
In an “odd coincidence,” as our coach put it, the day I reached out to Paul Wiedeman to ask him if he wanted to include any comments in my wrap-up article, he had just written what appears below. While it’s not the same as hearing him deliver it in person (nor is it quite as long as it would be in person!), it seems fitting that this article should conclude with our incomparable coach’s comments about this amazing season
From Coach Wiedeman
In what many would describe as a rebuilding season for the 2020 Haddonfield Boys Basketball Program turned out to be business as usual for the Haddons. With a team graduating six of their top eight returning players, many South Jersey teams, including all of the Colonial Conference, were excited to take advantage of a “perceived” weakened team. However, you cannot place a value or quantify the importance a program has with a strong culture, character, and competitive spirit that makes Haddonfield student/athletes so successful every single year.
This was a special group of athletes who exemplified all the above traits from Day One in the preseason all the way until the final buzzer in the SJ Group Two Finals. I cold not be any more prouder of a team that I coached in my 21 years at Haddonfield High School than this unit in 2020. With their dedication, resiliency, worth ethic, and team-oriented style of play, they were able to win 25 games, capture the Colonial Conference Liberty title, and compete in the SJ Group 2 title game. It was an amazing transformation to watch this team develop and mature throughout the course of the season. They did it playing selfless basketball on offense, and relentlessly defending every possession on defense. Our amoeba-style zone defense was so effective, we allowed the fewest total points in all of South Jersey. We allowed an average of less than 40 points per game that became a source of pride for our coaches and players.
Some memorable moments from the 2019–2020 season include winning on the road, and coming from behind in both cases against West Deptford, and Sterling, to clinch the outright Colonial Conference title. Two unbelievable comeback wins against arch rival Haddon Heights. The first one in the regular season on the road, making up a huge deficit in the fourth quarter with Stevey McClane having the court sense to find a diving Ben Cerrato for the game-winning layup. Then two and a half months later, we meet Haddon Heights in a rubber match for the right to go on for the SJ Group 2 finals. Ben hits a clutch 3 in the corner to tie the game at 33 apiece. Heights calls timeout with around 7 seconds left on the clock. We devise a different defensive look we just put in the day before. Heights tries to throw an ill-advised cross-court pass that Conner Fell anticipates so perfectly well. He intercepts the pass and races down the other end and lays the ball in to give us the lead and ultimately the win. What a perfect way for our seniors to play their final home game and defeat Haddon Heights after being away at Cherry Hill East for the past 2 seasons.
Our seniors were the backbone to our success this year. We had great senior leadership, as they led through their voices and their choices. Their voices were always loud and infectious, inspiriting positive enthusiasm and body language during practices and games. The message they communicated was team first and the individual second. They helped the underclassmen understand the culture and style of play that makes the program successful. They choices were always doing the right thing on and off the court. They were role models as students in the classroom and as players performing in practice and games. They were invested in each other and on their craft to make the whole better than the individual parts. It made the season so enjoyable to coach such hard-working, attentive, and respectful players. The senior class has left an indelible impression on not only the coaching staff but also the Haddonfield community. These six seniors have kept a standard of excellence in their four years that includes: 4 Colonial Conference Liberty titles; 2 SJ Group 2 titles, 2 NJ Group 2 State Championships, only the second graduating class to appear in 4 SJ Group 2 finals, and finally, 109 career wins. I want to thank the seniors for their years of sacrifice and dedication to the program. You will be missed. I want to thank the entire program, including the coaches, JV and Freshmen teams, the booster club, the team managers, and the entire Haddonfield community.
My only regret is not having an end-of-the-year banquet, where we can all meet together one final time and share the wonderful memories together in person. There is so much more I would want to share in person, especially thanks to the booster club parents, for team dinners, concession stands, half-court shootouts, meals on the bus, etc. You make this a first-class operation that I do not take for granted. Hopefully, when life returns back to normal, we can all get together as a group one more time. Take care.
For Part 1, click HERE.
For Part 2, click HERE.
For Part 3, click HERE.
For Part 4, click HERE.