After a spring of discontent, summer brings brighter news for Exeter basketball
It didn’t take long for the glow to fade following the greatest basketball season in Exeter history.
Less than a week after the Eagles played in the PIAA Class 5A championship game word began to circulate that Kevin Saenz, a key contributor expected to be a leading piece next season, was transferring to a private school.
Two months after Exeter won its first District 3 championship came stunning news that Matt Ashcroft, the Berks Coach of the Year who transformed the program in record time, was leaving.
Ashcroft, just 34 and in his fourth season as Eagles head coach, dropped a Memorial Day weekend bombshell, saying he was walking away after a 27-win season.
It was devastating news for the players, and the program.
Exeter nearly knocked off Reading High for the Berks Conference championship last season. With Saenz, all-division pick Reece Garvin, super sub Alex Kelsey and standout freshman Adian Dauble returning the Eagles were the early pick as favorite to win the Berks title in 2024.
That projection turned to dust when Saenz headed to New Jersey to play with St. Benedict’s and Ashcroft abruptly resigned.
After a disastrous spring, things began to look brighter for the program in early summer.
Jeff VanGorder, a basketball lifer who has packed his resume with valuable college coaching experience, was hired as head coach.
Searching for a basketball coach that late in the game can be difficult; most high school jobs are filled in the spring, by June at the latest. Exeter may have gotten a break in landing VanGorder.
The 35-year-old VanGorder has local connections, which is a plus. So is the fact that basketball is his full-time job: He is the director for Pro Skills Basketball Philadelphia where he works with high school players.
The news got even better for the Eagles when Saenz had a change of heart. After practicing and playing a few games with St. Benedict’s in the spring he decided the grass wasn’t necessarily greener on the other side.
“I played two live periods with them,” Saenz said the other night, after a playoff game at West Reading. “It was great energy, it was a great team, great coaching staff, (but) it just didn’t feel like home to me.
“I got some great college looks (while I was there), but the chemistry wasn’t there with my teammates; everything was new. I didn’t think I would be as close with those guys as I would with these guys. I just (couldn’t) leave (my guys) like that, especially since next season we’re about to have another successful season.”
Saenz’s return, if you want to call it that, will be a major factor on the Berks basketball landscape next season. He was an all-division pick as a junior after averaging 11.1 points, third on the team, and making 39 3’s. He’ll be one of the top players in the league in 2023-24.
If there’s a year to get Reading High, this is it. The state champion Red Knights are reloading after graduating All-Berks picks Myles Grey and Aris Rodriguez and the incomparable Ruben Rodriguez, who willed his teams to four straight district championships.
With Ruben Rodriguez gone, and Saenz back in the fold, the Eagles again look like the team to beat. Reading High, West Reading Summer League champ Berks Catholic, Wilson and Muhlenberg will be right there, too, but if the Eagles can adapt to their new coach they will have a chance to win their first league championship in 50 years.
Saenz had some incredible minutes in the state playoffs last season, none bigger than in the state quarterfinals when he pulled the Eagles out of the fire with a 19-point effort against Peters Township. With All-Berks picks Anthony Caccese and Zyion Paschall and Kelsey each fouled out, Saenz carried the team to the finish line, scoring the final six points in a 75-72 overtime victory.
Big moments such as that earned him the nickname “Showtime Kev.”
He’s excited to continue the show this season.
He’s disappointed Ashcroft won’t be around – “I still love up to him; he’s a great mentor, a great coach.” – but excited to get to work with VanGorder.
When news broke about his hiring, Saenz was playing in a tournament at Spooky Nook, where VanGorder happened to be coaching.
“We chatted it up a little bit,” Saenz said. “I can’t wait to play under him; he seems like a great coach. I hope he helps us out.”
Exeter, playing without Dauble, was knocked out in the Ron Krick Memorial League semifinals by Berks Catholic. That ended Saenz’s hoops activieties, for the time being.
“It’s been a fun summer,” Saenz said. “I’m kind of mad it’s over now. No more games. We’re gonna get back to work ASAP, hopefully starting this week (with VanGorder).
“Going into my senior season I just want to run it back with my guys one more time and see what happens. I’m just ready to make noise.”
