City of Basketball Love

Rich Flanagan (@richflanagan33)
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(PIAA Championship Previews: Class A | AA | AAA | AAAA)

The PIAA Class AAA championship game at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pa. on Friday night will put one program which is all-too-familiar with the state final against another which is on its deepest run in school history.

Neumann-Goretti (28-4), the No. 1 seed out of District 12, has become accustomed to playing in this game as looks to win its third consecutive PIAA crown and sixth in the last seven seasons. Mars (23-6), the third seed out of District 7, is making its first trip to the state final behind a strong core of seniors.

Neumann-Goretti defeated ELCO in the opening round, throttled Scranton Prep by 42 points in the second, handled Lower Moreland in the quarterfinals and survived Imhotep Charter in the semifinals for the second straight year to reach this point.

The words “consecutive” and “straight” come up quite often when talking about Neumann-Goretti head coach Carl Arrigale’s program and its accolades, but Arrigale has been steadfast in his approach of treating the state tournament as its own separate season.

“We treat the state playoffs as almost a whole different season,” Arrigale said. “Being fortunate enough to have been in the Catholic League final the last eight straight years, that game is like the culmination of the season and to be in the Palestra on the final night with all of those people watching, everything [is] on the line. It’s really tough after that to get the kids back focused and prepared for what’s to come…We kind of regroup after and regroup for a whole new season. We look at the state playoffs as a five-game season.”

On the other side, Mars, under the direction of head coach Rob Carmody--who played under Pa.’s all-time winningest coach Don Graham at North Catholic--started off with two wins over Clearfield, top seed out of District 9, and Strong Vincent, top seed out of District 10, by a combined ten points before finding their stride in defeating Highlands by 29 in the quarterfinals and District 3’s top seed, Bishop McDevitt, by 18 in the semis.

Carmody, whose team is no stranger to the state tournament as they’ve made it each of the last five years, knows what Neumann-Goretti has accomplished in recent years but has his team focused on the present, not the past.

“It’s just keeping our guys focused on the things that we do well and keeping them loose,” Carmody said, who has coached at Mars for 18 years. “Obviously, Neumann-Goretti is as decorated as a program could possibly be but we’re not playing the last six or seven years. We’re playing the 2015-16 team for one night, and that’s a formidable enough challenge as it is. We can’t let our guys get wrapped up in what they’ve done last year, two years ago or before that because we’ll be dead before we even step on the court.”

Neumann-Goretti got by Imhotep behind its quartet of perimeter players led by junior Quade Green, who lead the way with 21 points, followed by Florida Gulf Coast commit Rasheed Browne (17), Towson commit Zane Martin (13) and Vaughn Covington (12).

In addition to their talent on the perimeter, the Saints boast 6-foot-8 Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree on the inside, who can influence the game at both ends of the floor. Carmody spoke highly of Arrigale’s team and the challenge they present.

“Not only are they very talented but they’re cohesive. They’re very well coached, tough athletic,” Carmody said. “There’s a whole lot of things to like about them and a whole lot of things to look at as an opposing coach. That’s our job and that’s’ the challenge in front of us to get over that factor and get our guys to play for 32 minutes and not be awed or wild.”

Carmody’s Fightin’ Planets are led by 6-5 senior John Castello, who has eclipsed more than 1,400 points and more than 1,000 rebounds during his career. The Shippensburg commit has been the catalyst behind his team’s deep run through the tournament and feels his team is prepared for whatever the Saints throw at them.

“They have athleticism and size. We’ve played a lot of teams who are athletic and have size but this will truly be our greatest test,” Castello said. “We just have to shut down on defense and work real hard. This last game we felt we played good defense and it’s getting better every game.”

On the perimeter, Mars boasts talent of their own in senior point guard Christian Schmitt, who will walk-on at Furman next year, senior Steven Castello, John’s brother who Carmody described as the team’s “best shooter” and a player who “has really played well here in the playoffs,” and sophomore Robby Carmody, the coach’s son, who is receiving interest and offers from a number of high Division 1 programs such as Michigan State, Purdue and Penn State.

Despite being the favorite, Arrigale says his team has to be ready and notes Mars is a team which should not be taken lightly.

“They look like they’re a talented group,” Arrigale said. “They have senior guards in the backcourt. These are guys in their career that, by now, have seen it all. They’re playing well right now. They have their 6-4 emerging sophomore [Robby Carmody] that presents some problems with his size and shooting ability. They’re a very formidable opponent.”

For Carmody and the Fightin’ Planets, they know going toe-to-toe with Neumann-Goretti on Friday night will not be an easy task but they’re excited for the opportunity to play as the underdog.

“No matter what happens Friday night I know we’re going to do everything we can to win that basketball game,” Carmody said. “We know the task in front of us is very difficult but we’re going to be very proud of where our program is being mentioned with a Neumann-Goretti. We’re playing N-G for a state championship; that can’t be taken away from us.”

Arrigale insisted having his seniors go out with their third straight state title would be a crowning achievement to cap of their careers.

“If they can win that game Friday night, the seniors: Zane, Rasheed and Vaughn are going to go out winning three state titles in a row,” Arrigale said. “It’ll be a lasting one on our program, win or lose. These are guys who show up every day and put the work in.”

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(PIAA Championship Previews: Class A | AA | AAA | AAAA)