Marple Newtown forward Marcus Weathers, left, tries to defend Penncrest’s A.J. Taylor during a Dec. 11 game. Weathers is one of the senior leaders helping the Tigers transition from the change of leadership of the program, with Eric Houck coaching the team on an interim basis after coach Brian Shane took a leave of absence for health reasons. (Special to the Times/Rob Dudley)
By Matthew De George
Three weeks into the season, Marple Newtown’s basketball team was still searching for answers to a bevy of questions spawned by an offseason rebuild.
Then it was hit with another conundrum: How would that laborious process proceed without the coach who led them to the District One Tournament last season?
Illness kept coach Brian Shane away from the Dec. 18 game against Radnor. By Christmas Eve, the Tigers were informed that Shane would take an indefinite leave of absence due to health-related issues.
Eric Houck, the JV coach and an assistant athletic director, would be installed as the head man on an interim basis. And the situation hasn’t been ideal, Houck and his players are coping as best as possible.