Deer Lakes wants to build on last season’s breakthrough

By: Michael Love
Thursday, November 16, 2023 | 6:19 PM

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Albie Fletcher was no stranger to coaching Deer Lakes boys basketball when he took over as coach last year.

He knew the pieces were in place for the Lancers to make a deep run in the playoffs.

They proved him so very right.

Deer Lakes captured WPIAL Class 3A gold at Petersen Events Center with its second victory of the season over Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.

The first one ended the Chargers state-record 74-game win streak, but the second one put Deer Lakes on top in the WPIAL for the first time in program history.

The Lancers then reached the PIAA title game before running into a West Catholic juggernaut

“There were so many special moments,” Fletcher said. “What stands out to me through all of that was the support from our community and the school. I think the way they approached the game and played the game with an unselfish nature really caught everyone’s eye. Some of the crowds we had at our games and the followings we had were amazing.

“There were so many great basketball moments, but coming back and the parade after winning the WPIAL title and coming back from Hershey and having a ton of people waiting for us; the support was incredible.”

As the victory cheers and the days of the season faded away, Fletcher said preparation for a new season and another title attempt ramped up with offseason workouts.

He said there are big shoes to fill after four starters, including Valley News Dispatch Player of the Year Bryce Robson, were lost to graduation.

“You couldn’t have had a better example set than that (senior) class last year in terms of work ethic, preparation, and they way they carried themselves and went about their business every week,” Fletcher said. “I told the returning guys there are no excuses. The bar has been set high. We’re trying to get to the point in the program where we’re not going to rebuild, we’re going to reload. We did exit interviews at the end of last year, and every one of the returning players said the goal is to do it again. I can appreciate that. We talked about the amount of work it was going to take to do that.”

Senior guard Billy Schaeffer is the only returning starter.

“Our expectations are always high,” Schaeffer said. “We had a deep bench last year, and that helped us a lot, especially late in games. The younger guys, too, will be able to come in the gym every day and prove themselves.”

There are five from the consistent 10-player varsity rotation who are back.

“Billy’s work ethic is like no other,” Fletcher said. “Throughout the summer, he’s a kid who is up in the gym taking a thousand shots at 7 in the morning. That effort shows in his play on the court. I’ve asked him to be more of a vocal leader this year, and he has responded positively to that.”

Seniors Wayne Love and Aiden Fletcher, junior Nathaniel Moore and sophomore Collin Rodgers also return to form a core group to lead the Lancers.

“All of those guys back had major roles and major wins for us in the WPIAL and PIAA playoffs,” Fletcher said.

“Those guys probably could’ve cracked many starting lineups around the area. Now, it will be interesting to see who among the younger guys will step into the roles those guys had last year. That is how you maintain the level of success we want to have.”

Fletcher said some of the team members continue to transition from the fall and the football team’s run to the WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinals. The Lancers saw the season conclude last Friday with a 49-6 loss to No. 1 Belle Vernon.

“There is a lot of talent coming back in the section,” coach Fletcher said.

“Shady Side is bringing almost everyone back. Burrell is bringing close to everyone back. We’re bringing back six guys with experience. Derry has three starters back. Those were the four playoff teams from last year. It was pretty competitive last year, and I expect that to be the case again. Ever since I’ve been here, we’ve tried to challenge ourselves with a hard schedule, also out of conference.”

Deer Lakes kicks off its season Dec. 1-2 at the Armstrong Tip-Off Tournament.

“We’re going to start with 5A Armstrong, and Kiski Area is there, too,” coach Fletcher said.

“Westmont-Hilltop was in the Class 3A playoffs last year. It’s similar to last year where we started with Shaler and Highlands. We’re going right back at it from a scheduling perspective. If you want to make that deep playoff run, you have to get that experience and be battle tested. You might not always come out on the winning end, and we had some really tough losses against some really good teams. But I said at the end of last season that if we didn’t play those games, experience that adversity, and respond to it, we don’t make the run that we did.”

Deer Lakes boys basketball at a glance

Coach: Albie Fletcher (second year)

Last year’s record: 21-9 (10-2 Section 3-3A)

Returning starters: Billy Schaeffer (Sr., G)

Top newcomer: JT McCue (Jr., G)

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

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