By Matthew DeGeorge
There are plenty of reasons why Garnet Valley sits at 12-4 and is projected as one of the eight teams to receive byes in the first round of the District 1 Class 6A playoffs. And among the most understated yet valuable is Greg Vlassopoulos.
Yes, Austin Laughlin is the team’s most prolific, most explosive scorer, averaging 21.1 points per game. And yes, Connor O’Brien’s long-range shooting makes him apt to go off at any time, while he’s also the only player on the team to have scored in double-figures each game this season.
But those two are granted the space to operate because of a dangerous tertiary threat like Vlassopoulos. And with Vlassopoulos contributing much more than just on the offensive end, he provides just enough rebounding and defense to allow Garnet Valley to outscore opponents in their free-wheeling style.
“He’s critical in a lot of ways,” coach Mike Brown said after last week’s win over Strath Haven. “He’s averaging over 12 points per game and as consistent as can be — probably the most consistent scorer on the team — but he’s also our second-leading rebounder. He rebounds a lot; he gets double-figure rebounds almost every game.