Krasna and son ignite New Hope-Solebury girls' hoops

The New Hope-Solebury girls' basketball players blast music whenever they are together - at practice, on bus rides, during pregame warm-ups.

Their playlist features rap hits from the last 10 years, including Lil Wayne's 6-foot-7 and Migos's Pipe It Up.

"We love hard-core rap," senior guard Karli Burns said. "Pipe It Up is our theme song."

No one loves these hype sessions more than Lions coach Andy Krasna, a quiet, mild-mannered, 57-year-old.

"They are fun girls to be around," Krasna said.

The Lions did not have much fun before Krasna arrived in 2013. Practices were silent and strict. Plays were called on almost every possession in games.

"Players were not allowed to create offense," Burns said.

"We had little fights and drama because of the pressure," senior forward Maggie Dougherty said.

New Hope went 21-21 in the two seasons before Krasna arrived. In almost three seasons since, the Lions are 59-16. They won the Bicentennial Athletic League Independence Division for the first time since 1980 last season and started 19-0 for the first time in school history this season. On Saturday, they also won the BAL Tournament for the first time in school history. At 23-2, New Hope is the second seed in the District 1 Class AA playoffs, which are set to start Feb. 23.

Krasna overhauled the program, from its attitude to its style of play to its offseason workouts.

His first move was to switch New Hope's defense from zone to man-to-man.

"He wanted pressure all the time," Dougherty said. "We focused on particular girls on the other team and denied them the ball."

The emphasis worked. In Krasna's first two seasons, New Hope won a lot of games in the 20s. Now the offense has caught up, thanks to Krasna's son, Jesse, and his favorite NBA team to watch, the San Antonio Spurs.

Jesse Krasna, a 24-year-old health teacher who starred for Pennsbury High School and Ursinus College, joined his father's staff last season, working with players every day at practice and twice a week in the offseason. New Hope players credit him for building their skills.

"I used to not be able to handle the ball," Dougherty said.

"I would shoot a lot before but wouldn't really attack the basket," senior center Toni Suler said.

"He taught me driving doesn't mean you have to be fast. One move or fake can move the defender," Burns said.

"Our philosophy is players over plays. We don't have a ton of structured offense," Jesse Krasna said.

The Lions run a base set modeled after the Spurs' offense. "Always moving and passing it around," Andy Krasna said.

They position shooters around the three-point line and Suler in the high post. The ball rarely touches the floor, and players are free to penetrate, often kicking it out to open shooters.

The looser style has made basketball fun for the Lions, which has pulled the players closer off the court. They get pizza after games, go to boys' games together and have team sleepovers.

"We are winter best friends," Dougherty said.

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