Tacony Charter first-year head coach Sean Riley has inspired his team with his motivational tactics. BILL ACHUFF / FOR THE TIMES
At first glimpse, Jeremiah Alston fails the eye test on the basketball court.
During warm-ups, it’s easy to mistake Alston — all 5-foot-5 of him — as an end-of-the-bench player, someone there just to put on a jersey and be a body.
Then, the senior guard for Tacony Charter goes out and plays … and shuts his detractors up fast.
On Friday night at Archbishop Ryan, Alston buried five three-pointers in a wire-to-wire contest with the Raiders. That Tacony lost the game, 52–49, was not the story; rather, it was Alston and his Lions, in their first year in the Public League, nearly toppling a Catholic League program on the road.
“I’m really proud of my team, because many people didn’t expect us to be in that game at all,” Alston said. “Many thought it would be a blow-by for them; we knew we were the underdog and wanted to put Tacony on the map. This is a big year, a building block for Tacony athletics, and although we lost, we played really hard, so I cannot blame my team for losing.”
In a sense, Alston is an amalgam for Tacony hoops; that is, in any other place or scenario, he might not be getting the chance to showcase what he’s made of. He’s a transfer from Northeast, and going from one of the city’s largest schools to a charter institution with much smaller class sizes has allowed him to prove to people that he can play varsity ball in the Public League.
“I love it when people see me and say, ‘Oh, he can’t do anything,’ ” Alston said. “Hearing that motivates me to do something. I know that I’m undersized and overweight, so right away people think I’m a non-factor. Every time I go out there, I give it 100 percent and play with a lot of confidence. My coach and my teammates have confidence in me to take shots. If I have one and I’m open, I’m going to take it.”
Alston scored all 15 of his points against Ryan from behind the three-point arc, and his head coach referred to him as “the heart and soul of Tacony, a short little chubby kid who can play his ass off.” Fellow senior guard Justin Johnson — a transfer like Alston — added 18 points for the Lions. Johnson came from Imhotep Charter and could not make the varsity team for the high-powered squad from the Public League’s Division A. Now, like Alston, Johnson is helping lay the foundation for a program that is already proving its mettle in Division E, including a 21-point victory over Masterman on Dec. 16. The Lions were 3–4 overall at the time of this writing, including two wins in the division, and their four losses are all by eight points or fewer.
“All the odds have been against all of us from the beginning,” Johnson said. “As a transfer, it feels good to be a part of something like this. We’re a part of something new, an ongoing program, and our confidence comes from the work we put in during the offseason.”
A lot of the credit should land at the feet of first-year head coach Sean Riley. Just like many of his players, Riley didn’t anticipate being here this time last year. At 26 years old, he had a job making good money for Post Brothers Apartments in Germantown before being unexpectedly laid off earlier this year. He had trained young basketball players on the side in the past, and used those connections and networking ability to land an interview with the Tacony athletic department. Athletic director Ryan Nase, a Father Judge graduate, needed a varsity basketball coach and saw the potential in Riley, realizing the former student-athlete castoffs from other schools would be able to relate to Riley’s motivational style.
Nase was right.
“From that first day, I said to the team that I wanted to bring a winning tradition, to start something new that hadn’t been done in the Northeast before,” Riley said. “I’ve tried to be a leader for this team. I was let go from my job making a good salary, and that humbled me. It taught me that you could lose everything, but I’m still alive. I try to teach them that as well, that this is bigger than basketball and sports … this is life.”
“Coach Riley, he’s young, but he knows a lot,” Alston said. “He’s a mentor and a leader, and he’s building a program while teaching us that it’s not just about basketball; he’s showing us how to prepare for life and the real world after high school, valuable life lessons I won’t forget.”
Or, as Johnson said, “He’s a strong leader and a very willing man. He told me about his struggles, and that made me want to play for him even more.”
Against Ryan, Tacony led by one at halftime, trailed by two after three and even held a five-point lead early in the fourth quarter. The Raiders (5–1) fought back, but Johnson scored on a strong drive to the hoop and was fouled in the process. He missed the free throw that could have tied the game, but the team’s effort and fight was admirable, showing just how far the program has come in a short amount of time.
Alston and Johnson — as well as fellow seniors Joe Purnell, Tyler Taliaferro and Ervin Merone — have used strong leadership to make people notice their program. And while the seniors may not see all of the long-term fruits of their labor play out this year, they’ve also shown they have the ability to win more than just a few games.
“I look to push the younger guys,” Alston said. “They have a lot of potential, but they need to see it for themselves first. We might not see championships or state playoff appearances, but it all starts here with us. We’re the building blocks, and I won’t forget that this is the beginning of it all, the first big step for Tacony.”
Alston and Johnson each praised the smaller classrooms and hands-on, personal guidance they receive from teachers and coaches at the school. It’s allowed them both to step outside their shells and help do something that would have been either impossible or less impactful at their previous schools.
“As people, we’ve all taken on the challenge in front of us,” said Alston, also an All-Public baseball player. “I’ve been waiting since my freshman year to be able to play varsity basketball in the Public League. None of us really had the opportunity to play before at other schools, so it’s crazy to be in this situation being able to set an example for others. To be leaders for our school, we proved we could do that when everyone else said we couldn’t. On the court and in the classroom, I just love being around these people.
“Mr. Nase, Coach Riley and (assistant basketball and head baseball) Coach Jerry Abernathy have been great teachers and mentors. They showed faith and they believed in me, and now we’re here.” ••
Making strides: Justin Johnson (left), a senior transfer from Imhotep, is guarded by Ryan junior Austin Chabot. Johnson, who scored 18 points in Tacony Charter’s 52–49 loss to Ryan, is one of many players, along with head coach Sean Riley, who has found an opportunity with Tacony. BILL ACHUFF / FOR THE TIMES
Opportunity knocks: Tacony Charter 5-foot-5 senior guard Jeremiah Alston drives to the hoop in a Dec. 19 loss to Ryan. Alston made five three-pointers for the upstart Lions. BILL ACHUFF / FOR THE TIMES
