Brian Webster

Leader of the Pack

Strong defense carries Glenwood to top of league standings

By Brian Webster, Staff Writer

CHATHAM—The Saturday shoot-around was business as usual. The game the night before had been anything but.

It had been a shirt drencher, a 65-62 overtime escape for Chatham Glenwood, which overcame a sizable deficit and five dunks by Springfield High’s Obediah Church to prevail. 

That victory kept the Titans tied with Lincoln atop the Central State Eight standings in a season that’s been as slippery as the winter roads. It also secured Glenwood’s fourth consecutive 20-win campaign. 

Nobody in the gym was talking about that the following day. Because, 20th win or not, it was the first time all season the Titans had given up 60 points.

“Springfield can score the ball,” said Glenwood senior Cole Harper, whose 27 points the night before had been crucial. “They were hitting tough shots and Obi (Church) really came to play. Escaping with a win was good, but we weren’t happy with our defense at all.”

Harper is one of four seniors who start for head coach Todd Blakeman’s squad. He, Sam Anderson, Drew Parriott, Nick Patton and junior Ethan Hunt form this year’s version of a defensive scheme that’s been one of the league’s best-kept secrets since Blakeman took over the program a decade ago.

It’s called the Pack.

Former Titans coach Brad Stewart put the defense in place 14 years ago. Blakeman liked it, so when he succeeded Stewart after four years, he kept it.

“It’s been very good to us,” Blakeman said. 

Especially this season. Glenwood (now 21-5 and 12-3 in the CS8) has held 23 of its 26 opponents to 50 points or less. Of those 23, the Titans have held 14 to 40 points or less. In two victories over Decatur MacArthur, which averages almost 70 points per game against everybody else, Glenwood held the Generals to totals of 48 and 41.

“The whole premise is to stop the ball and get the ball,” Blakeman said. “There’s a lot of little bits and pieces in it, but we’re really trying to stop them from getting to the paint and instead make them shoot jump shots and then contest the rebounds.”

That probably doesn’t sound different from a lot of defensive philosophies. Stop the ball and get the ball? Of course! The difference Glenwood makes is its firm emphasis on keeping the ball out of the paint. To opposing players, the Pack defense acts like an impenetrable membrane inside the perimeter. 

“They’re really hard to drive on because of the way they pack it in,” said Jacksonville’s 6-5 sophomore Brandon McCombs, who has caught lots of passes in the paint against the Titans only to find two defenders blocking his path to the rim. “They pack that defense in so that no drive goes. They’re all gonna be there to help.”

The Crimsons have lost three close games to Glenwood this season.

“They are tough,” said Crimsons coach Sean Taylor. “With that pack line defense, they guard everybody. I’ve seen them against MacArthur. I’ve seen them against Lincoln and against us three times. They guard everybody on every possession.”

Is it a man or a zone? The Titans guard the paint like some kind of tight zone, but can put pressure on the ball or challenge an outside shot in an instant.

“It’s a man defense,” says Parriott. “But it’s really packed in there, so you’d better be looking to hit shots, and you’d better be on fire if you want to get those gaps open.”

When teams aren’t “on fire” with the jump shot, they have to contend with either Anderson or Harper for the rebound—and good luck with that. Anderson is 6-5, and Harper leads the CS8 in rebounding.

The Equalizer

The realities of playing basketball in the CS8 dictate that in order to compete, certain teams must devise systems to stay competitive year after year. Lanphier, Southeast, and Springfield High have the athletes. Lincoln has the 1-2-2 ball press and a steady supply of 3-point shooters. Now Glenwood has the Pack.

“It gives us a chance,” Blakeman said. “The other team might be more athletic than you, or quicker than you. But if you can slow the game down and make the other team take shots that they don’t want to take, that changes the game a little bit.”

It has come in extra handy this season, the first since former all-stater and current Texas Tech star Peyton Allen graduated, leaving many to wonder if the Titans would have enough firepower to remain a force in the CS8. 

Did Blakeman think his squad capable of another 20-win season?

“After the summer, I thought we could play with everybody,” the coach said. “I just didn’t know if we could close games out.”

Now everybody knows. The only question left is whether the Titans can close out the CS8 race and dethrone Lincoln. The two league leaders appear on a collision course for their Feb. 27 showdown in Lincoln. Unless one of them slips along the way.

So far, neither of them have. Lincoln won on Tuesday, and so did Glenwood. The Titans held yet another opponent — Decatur Eisenhower this time — to just 40 points for their 21st victory.

Business as usual.