Freedom High School's appearance at the Stellar Basketball Tournament last week at Cedar Beach Park in Allentown was its first under new leadership, but with head coach Dean Reiman on the road with his travel team, assistant coach Jeff Barr took over.

"It's tough to assess," Barr said, the day after the Patriots lost their first game against Parkland JV in the final seconds 31-28. "Maybe we weren't as focused, playing a JV team. We looked tired, missed a lot of inside shots. But to give Parkland JV credit, they were consistent."

A new day brought new life to the Patriots as they defeated Freedom JV 55-24 and Northwestern 41-37 before falling to Dieruff 39-22, all on Saturday.

"We've been throwing a lot at them, so this is an adjustment period for them and for us," said Barr.

The Patriots are playing in multiple leagues and tournaments this summer, but what Barr is really pleased about is the overall participation.

"We have a lot of sophomores and freshmen. We've been getting a lot of participation at our open gyms. A lot are showing up," he said.

Barr's expectations for the Patriot girls playing in tournaments this summer are to always be playing on Sunday, and to go out and win the game.

His expectations for the coaching staff are a little different, but with the same result.

"We are trying to see how they are in a competitive environment. It's a road map for what we need to focus on," said Barr.