It’s about the culture, too, for Haddonfield basketball star Ben Cerrato

Before his senior season, Ben Cerrato called a few of his old teammates — some of the graduated players who helped lead the Haddonfield boys’ basketball team to consecutive state titles — and asked for advice on how to handle his new, expanded role with the Bulldawgs.

They offered tips on executing certain sets and on how to take a big shot when your team needs it. But, mostly, they talked about culture.

“They told me, basically, it’s all off-the-court stuff,” said Cerrato, a 6-foot-3 forward. “They told me, ‘You got to earn these players’ trust.’ And I do think that’s something we really have as a team right now.”

That trust has clearly been evident so far for the 16-2 Bulldawgs.

The team might lack star power. Players such as Mike DePersia and Dan Fleming — the ones Cerrato called last offseason — have graduated.

But culture can carry a program.

And as the team’s lone returning starter, that might be where Cerrato’s biggest contribution lies.

“He’s been through the battles. He’s played in those Camden games for a couple years in a row,” said Haddonfield coach Paul Wiedeman, referring to the team’s dramatic sectional championship games the last two seasons. “So we knew his responsibilities were going to change this year.”

With Haddonfield lacking a true go-to scorer, Cerrato is shouldering the lion’s share on offense. He’s averaging a team-leading 15.5 points per game. Last year, he averaged just seven points per game and scored more than 15 points only one time in 33 games.

“I knew this year I would have to step up and make more plays on offense, and that’s what I’ve been trying to do,” Cerrato said.

He does show that rare combination of finesse and power on the offensive end — he’s aggressive on the offensive glass — and he can shoot from outside when he has to.

But Cerrato’s biggest contribution is on defense, and this is one of the defining traits of Haddonfield’s culture.

Haddonfield’s matuchup-zone defense is run almost like a military exercise. Players move clinically, almost in concert.

It’s something that requires dedication — players collectively buying into a concept — more than star power.

Cerrato, who averages eight rebounds and two steals per game, has been leading the effort.

“His whole game, the dynamics of his game, have changed drastically this season,” Wiedeman said. “But defense is where we’re really happy with him. He still shoots the ball, and he still gets to the rim. So he still has that dimension. But the defense is so key for him.”

So far this season, once again, Haddonfield has executed Wiedeman’s system brilliantly.

The Bulldawgs have allowed fewer than 40 points in 13 of 18 games.

“I think it’s just hard-nosed defense. That’s really what it comes down to. We have guys on defense that rotate well and are willing to put their bodies on the line to take charges and get stops,” Cerrato said. “Personally, I think I just approach defense with even more intensity than offense. I think our team, if we get stops on defense, that really helps us offensively.”

Cerrato said he comes from a basketball family and has loved playing the sport for as long as he can remember.

And he’ll continue playing it next year at Randolph Macon in Virginia. Other schools were interested in Cerrato, but, the way he describes it, the decision wasn’t a tough one.

“They reached out to me in the summer. Their coach came to watch me play. I met him. He asked me to come down for a visit, and I fell in love with the program, the teammates, and the players and the coaches down there. And then I just thought that’s where I wanted to play.”

For now, though, Cerrato is focused on leaving his mark at Haddonfield.

He knows a championship would be nice, but he knows just as much that, at a program like Haddonfield, there’s more to a legacy than what happens on game days.

“When you play in a program like Haddonfield, [the culture] is just established from the first day that you come in for tryouts,” Cerrato said. “The guys older than me taught me, and hopefully I can pass it along to the guys younger than me. That way we can keep it going and keep winning games.”