By Joseph Santoliquito
Special to MaxPreps.com
It’s not luck. It can’t be luck when it happens over, and over, and over again. Lower Merion coach Gregg Downer doesn’t have Kobe Bryant to swoop down from above and bail the Aces out of any situation, as the NBA great did during his playing days at the school prior to sharing him with the world as an international superstar.
No, Downer’s teams are always good, because quite simply Downer is always good. The Aces have been to three state championship games, winning in 1996, led by a kid who thought he could make a successful jump from high school to the NBA—Bryant—then taking the state title again a decade later in 2006, after losing in the state finals to powerhouse Chester in 2005.
Downer wins with a system that matches his talent. This year that system is wrapped around 6-4 senior, Richmond-bound guard Greg Robbins and Harley Williamson. The Aces (22-4) reached the PIAA District 1 Class AAAA (large schools) quarterfinal round Tuesday night, after a 45-41 overtime victory over Central Bucks West.
It sets up a PIAA District 1 Friday night playoff showdown between Penn Wood, a team that entered the season as state-title contenders, and Lower Merion, which beat Penn Wood during the regular season on a last-second shot.
Downer will figure something out. He always does.
“I pretty much take the same approach into every season, trying to look at every team and every season as a puzzle and doing the best possible job I can to put the puzzle together and putting each team in a position to win,” Downer said. “This has been a very special group this year. It’s been a special accomplishment to go 22-4 and we played the whole season without three-year starting point guard Eric Stahler, who’s been out with a hamstring injury.
“People forget we started the season 1-3 and we never expected to have this kind of a streak. People still can’t believe we started the season that way. We were wondering if this puzzle would ever come together.”
It did—and at the right time.
The Aces are riding a 17-game winning streak into the district quarterfinals. That run includes victories over a previously undefeated Conestoga team (46-41) for the first-ever Central League tournament championship, and last-second victories over a good Penncrest team (44-43) and the aforementioned Penn Wood (47-44), back on Jan. 24.
“There are a lot of excellent teams in District 1, like Conestoga and Penn Wood and Penn Wood, in my opinion, has five Division I players on the court,” Downer said. “We take a lot of pride in what we do. We take pride in having a fearless attitude. We play a tough non-league schedule and we’re fortunate to beat a team like Penn Wood earlier this season. But to beat them twice this year would be a great accomplishment.”
It’s not good to doubt Downer, who still maintains a very close relationship with Bryant after all these years. But Downer points out that how great Bryant was—and still is today, it’s also alumni from other Lower Merion teams who come back and help.
“We foster a culture of winning here, and much of that comes from my assistants, many of whom don’t even get paid,” Downer said. “It’s a real affection for one another, with the commonality that working real hard wins games.”
It’s not wise to doubt him.
Joseph Santoliquito covers high schools for the Philadelphia Daily News and is a frequent contributor to MaxPreps.com. He can be contacted at JSantoliquito@yahoo.com.
