Academy of the New Church Builds Powerful Frontcourt

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — Nestled in beautiful, bucolic Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania sits a tiny school of maybe 250 students. The lush green campus in Montgomery County, about a 30-minute drive north of Philadelphia, resembles a New England college setting, with its rolling hills and old mansions.

But to those who have never heard of Academy of the New Church, the instant—and ignorant—perception that could come to mind is that it’s a diploma mill. Some have even gone as far as assuming ANC, as its known in the Philadelphia area, is a cult. One visit and you’ll find that ANC is a private Christian school that's over 100 years old, and has been an accredited Pennsylvania higher learning institution for over 50 years. Not a school just created last week for convenience so basketball players can get an easy pass to college under the guise that they are actually being taught something other than hoops.

All you have to do is speak once to Malcolm Gilbert, Savon Goodman or Rakeem Christmas to find that out. What the rest of the country may also find out later this year is that the Lions’ 6-foot-11 Gilbert, a junior, the 6-9 Christmas, another junior, and the gifted Goodman, a 6-5 sophomore, could be the most physically imposing frontcourt in the country—and arguably the best.

The addition of Christmas, a transfer from Philadelphia Catholic League power North Catholic, certainly makes the argument strong. The Lions were very young last year, starting Goodman, who led the team as a freshman averaging 15.6 points and 8.3 rebounds a game, and Gilbert, then a sophomore who almost averaged a triple-double, averaging 8 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 blocks a game.

And now with Christmas, a major recruit who has good range on his jumper, can block shots and rebound, the Lions will be a team that will challenge any national power out there.

“You couldn’t ask for any better situation,” said ANC’s coach, Kevin Givens, whose team finished 15-9 last year. “With all of that size, chemistry could become an issue. But a lot of coaches would like to have the problem that I have, and it’s a good problem to have. We have the ingredients for what I’m hoping is the best frontcourt in the country. I’m hoping it puts us in a situation where we can get some attention and some national recognition. It would be nice to have.”

Givens said he likes what he currently sees—three stars working hard with conditioning and weight training, three student/athletes who can’t wait for school to begin in September, they’re that anxious for the season to begin. The Lions have defending state champions Penn Wood (Class AAAA) and Archbishop Carroll (Class AAA) lined up, and will get a visit from national powerhouse St. Anthony of Jersey City, N.J., in mid-February.

But can three stellar players on the same frontcourt co-exist?

“They can,” Givens insisted. “We had some guys playing out of position last year, like Savon. I asked him to play the low blocks. He moaned and groaned about it, but he did it, because he’s a team player. I know he can’t wait for this year, because he goes further from the basket and gets to play the three now. As he improves, he’ll probably get to play some two.”

“I can’t wait for the season to begin,” Goodman said. “I’m excited about it, how can’t you be? This is going to be a change for me, but a change for the better. I’ll be asked to go back to my natural position at small forward, taking me away from the basket, which is something I’ve been working on all summer. This works for all of us. Malcolm is a natural five, Rakeem is a natural four and I’m a three.

“The other thing is we all struggled last year. I struggled. I had problems with the playbook. I had to learn my responsibilities. Last year we didn’t do as well as we were expected to do. That’s why I’m all pumped up now for this year, and everyone on my team feels the same way.”

Perhaps no one may be looking more forward to this season than Gilbert, a game-changer defensively who’s added 10 pounds of muscle, honed his hook shot and plans on carrying a new assertive personality onto the court this season.

“I had a little trouble last year, I got pushed around a lot, but the key word my father and Coach Kev kept putting in my head was be aggressive and go after everything,” said Gilbert, who’s getting attention from every major school in the country. “I have to definitely get some revenge on some teams that shouldn’t have been close to us last year. But we’ve had to do a lot of growing up, and I think we have. I know I have. I’ve learned what it takes to work inside with rebounding skills and working on my hook shot.”

There is something special going on at ANC, though it’s something no one will truly know about it until three months from now when the season begins.

“This is something special and something very rare,” said Lamont Peterson, a former Memphis assistant under coach John Calipari who’s based in the Philadelphia area. “You’ll see big frontcourts, but what you won’t see are all high majors like these three kids. No, you’re looking 6-11, 6-9 and 6-5, and they all can play. You rarely see that anywhere. Philadelphia has a great basketball tradition, but I don’t know if this area has ever had a high school frontcourt like this.

“If all three were centers, or power forwards or small forwards, there could be chemistry problems. But Malcolm is a natural center, Rakeem a power forward and Savon a small forward. They fit with each other perfectly. They all do different things well. There is no question this is the best frontcourt in the country.”

Christmas Names His Final Eight

Rakeem Christmas has had a long summer of outstanding performances at the most coveted basketball events. Before wrapping up his summer of AAU events, the rising junior and his family decided on the schools he plans on looking closely in 2011.

The universities that make up his list are: Baylor University, University of Florida, Georgetown University, Indiana University, Ohio State University, University of Oklahoma, University of Texas and Villanova University.

“It’s been a process, one that we wanted to make sure that the best choices were made for Rakeem,” said Amira Hamid, Christmas' aunt and legal guardian. “He has been receiving scholarship offers since the eighth grade. With such an overwhelming number of schools interested in him, it was important that we did our due diligence with finalizing this list.”

Said Rakeem: “I appreciate the interest that many coaches have had in me, but these are the schools that my family and I think would be a good fit for me. My family and I are thankful to everyone that has offered me a scholarship and participated in my recruiting.”

Joseph Santoliquito covers high schools for the Philadelphia Daily News and is a contributor to MaxPreps.com. He can be contacted at JSantoliquito@yahoo.com.