TOP FLIGHT: Princeton Day School boys’ basketball player Connor Topping puts up a jump shot in a game earlier this season. Last Friday, senior star Topping tallied 16 points to help 16th-seeded PDS defeat 17th-seeded WW/P-North 51-37 in a Mercer County Tournament play-in game. On Sunday, Topping scored 22 points to help sixth-seeded PDS edge second-seeded Wardlaw-Hartridge 61-54 in the state Prep B semis. The Panthers, now 4-10, will play at top-seeded Trenton Catholic Prep in an MCT first round contest on February 16. They are slated to play at top-seeded Doane Academy in the Prep B final on February 24. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Coming into the winter, Connor Topping realized that he needed to be a jack-of-all-trades for the Princeton Day School boys’ basketball team.

“I am just trying to do everything, last year I was really the fourth or fifth option on offense with guys like Ethan [Garita], Dameon [Samuels], and Hampton [Sanders],” said Topping.

“This year I am definitely tasked with scoring the ball more but also I can’t just score. I have to play defense, I have got to rebound, I have got to pass, and I have got to be a leader.”

Last Friday, Topping did a lot of good things, tallying a game-high 16 points to help 16th-seeded PDS defeat 17th-seeded WW/P-North 51-37 in a Mercer County Tournament play-in game.

Having lost to the Northern Knights 43-38 in mid-December, PDS was fired up for the rematch.

“In the first game, it was early in the season and we were trying to figure out how to play with each other,” said Topping.

“We got a little flustered, we were speeding ourselves up. Today, we just played calm, we played poised. We just trust ourselves, we trust our stuff.”

The Panthers, who will now play at top-seeded Trenton Catholic Prep on February 16 in an MCT first round contest, will be looking to build on the win over WW/P-N.

“We looked good early and they went on a little run,” said Topping. “We know that this team is not better than us. We just have to come out and just play hard and give effort the entire game, not just select moments.”

On Sunday, Topping had another big game, scoring 22 points to help sixth-seeded PDS edge second-seeded Wardlaw-Hartridge 61-54 in the state Prep B semis as the Panthers improved to 4-10. PDS will play at top-seeded Doane Academy on February 24 in the Prep B final.

Having started 1-9, PDS is finding a rhythm down the stretch.

“Over the course of the season, we just learned to play together more,” said Topping. “We are moving the ball around a lot more on offense. We all want to win. We had a tough stretch and we don’t want to lose any more so we are just giving our all, 110 percent.”

Topping has been giving his all in his final year at PDS, joining the boys’ soccer team this fall and looking forward to a second season of baseball this spring

“I just came back to soccer this year, I haven’t been a three-sport athlete since eighth grade,” said Topping, who helped the Panther soccer squad make the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public B state final.

“I was always itching to get back on the pitch. I came back to baseball last year. I was always itching to get back to that too. It is my last year.”

PDS head coach Eugene Burroughs credits Topping with providing his squad with athleticism and versatility.

“Connor is a great kid, he has done a great job adapting to different roles,” said Burroughs. “This year he has been the point guard, he has been the two guard, he has played the three, he has played the four. He just plays on the basketball court. He drives, he passes, he does some of everything. What I love about his game is that he is so versatile. He has good length and great athleticism. He has a great IQ. We need him to do a lot of different things to help us win and he accepts that role. He has done a great job.”

Burroughs liked the way the Panthers took care of business against WW/P-N.

“I gave them a list of about 20 things that could impact winning today and it had nothing to do with scoring,” said Burroughs.

“That is what I am happy about, the way we took that message about winning plays. It had nothing to do with offense, it is communication, can you block out, can you set a screen.”

In reflecting on his team’s late surge, Burroughs sees it as a product of increased self-confidence.

“It is just believing that we are a good team, I think our kids in practice have seen the improvement,” said Burroughs.

“I felt like we were going to go on a four-game run. We had a setback in the last game (a 71-50 loss to WW/P-South last Thursday) but we were trending that way. We just got better together as a unit. The kids are playing hard but we still have another step to make.”

Junior guard Mason McQueen epitomizes that progress the squad has made.

“Mason is probably our most improved player, he is bringing energy and we need more of that,” said Burroughs. “He goes in there is not afraid to put his nose in there to scrap and fight. I love what he is bringing for us, he has been the most consistent player for us with his defensive energy. He has done a great job of being that guy who is going to go in there and say I am going to guard, I am going to compete.”

Looking ahead to the rest of the postseason, Burroughs believes the formula for continued success is simple.

“If we compete and play hard, we will be in great shape,” said Burroughs. “If we don’t, we will get exposed.”

Topping, for his part, is confident that PDS will keep competing hard.

“We are just focused on us,” said Topping. “It is about how we play, it is how we are moving the ball. We have just got to stick to what we are doing and stick to what it is working. We just have to stick to our stuff and stay together.”