Mickens an emerging peg for PDS hoops

Panthers using new style for success

By: Bob Nuse
   Ahmed El-Nokali wasn’t going to keep trying to fit a round peg into a square hole.
   After watching his Princeton Day School boys’ basketball team struggle to play a half-court style long enough, El-Nokali decided it was time to make a change to better fit his personnel.
   "We’re changing the tempo because we found out we’re not the best half-court team," said El-Nokali, whose team broke out offensively Thursday for a 70-64 win over Princeton High. "That doesn’t fit our personality. What you’re finding is that teams don’t like to be guarded hard. Teams don’t like to guard hard and teams don’t like to be guarded hard. So it disrupts them a little bit. It’s 32 minutes, so a lot of it is conditioning.
   "We can’t play this style consistently because of the conditioning. In our last game (against Moorestown Friends) we played it to get back into the game and it was 42-42 after the third quarter, then in the fourth quarter we got annihilated. We lost 24-5 in the fourth quarter because we ran out of gas. But we are honing our skills a little bit."
   In his first season at PDS a year ago, El-Nokali had a veteran team that was suited to play a half-court game. But this year, with a young roster, he’s found that style just wasn’t working. So the Panthers made a change, one that seems to have worked for the better.
   "When you play this way, kids don’t think as much," said El-Nokali, whose team improved to 6-9 with the win. "It’s just playing basketball and reacting. We could call out 10 plays a game and these kids would just run it like robots. We’re just trying to play basketball and teach them. Then it is more fun for the kids to play and I think we’ll be more effective."
   One player who is thriving in the new system is freshman Jordan Mickens, who had 11 points against Princeton, one game after scoring a season-high 20 against Moorestown Friends.
   "We’re running more now," said Mickens, a Titusville resident who is averaging 8.3 points a game this season. "We’re pressing and playing more of an up-tempo game which I think works to our advantage because we’re faster than a lot of teams.
   "It was tough for me in the beginning trying to find my place on the team. As the season has gone on, I’ve been able to figure out where I fit in with the team and what I can do in terms of how I can take control."
   While junior Drew Godwin, who had a season-high 34 points against Princeton, is the Panthers’ No. 1 option on offense, Mickens has helped give El-Nokali another place to look for points.
   "Jordan is a very nice option," said El-Nokali, whose team will be back in action today at 5:45 p.m. at Timothy Christian. "This kid is very talented. He just has to learn to be a little more aggressive on both ends of the floor. I think he’s made a lot of progress and I’m seeing his maturity. He’s getting to the foul line and taking more shots. Before he wouldn’t even look to take it to the hoop. He was tentative, always looking for Drew or another outlet instead of trying to be the focal point."
   With Godwin, Mickens and Andrew Davidson, the Panthers now have three solid options on offense.
   "I work a lot of my shooting, that’s my strong point," said Mickens, whose AAU team, the Central Jersey Big Orange, went to nationals last year. "But Coach is trying to get me to take it to the hole more. If I can shoot and take it to the hole, I’ll be tougher to stop.
   "At first it was a little hard adjusting to the varsity level from middle school but now I’m pretty comfortable. We’re starting to work more together as a team, which is a positive. We’re starting to piece it all together now."
   With the state Prep B tournament on the horizon and a new system to learn, PDS hopes it all pieces itself together quickly.
   "We just have to get good at what we do," El-Nokali said. "The teams we’re going to play the rest of the season are very good basketball teams. But we play such a style that if we concentrate on what we do, that’s what we need to do. We just have to get good at what we do."