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NEBL Notebook: Thurs., June 22

06/23/2017, 12:15am EDT
By Josh Verlin & Ari Rosenfeld

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin) &
Ari Rosenfeld (@ARosenfeldDVHR)
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The final night of the Northeast Basketball League’s regular season was Thursday night at Mayfair Recreation Center, featuring two big-time matchups as defending PIAA 4A champs Imhotep Charter took on defending PIAA 3A champs Neumann-Goretti before PIAA 5A and Catholic League defending champs Archbishop Wood faced off against last year’s District 1 6A winner Abington HS.

Here’s a notebook focused on those two games:

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Wood freshman Diggins fitting in amongst veteran group

Five of the members of Archbishop Wood’s top six players on Thursday night were a quintet of upperclassmen -- all on the Division I radar, all who played roles of varying significance on the Vikings’ run to Catholic League, district and state championships.

The sixth is fresh out of middle school.

Rahsool Diggins has been starting at point guard during the last few weeks of spring league for head coach John Mosco, and rising freshman is trying his best to fit in amongst a group that includes rising seniors Andrew Funk, Tyree Pickron, Seth Pinkney and Karrington Wallace plus rising junior Julius Phillips.

Funk (6-4), Pickron (6-2), Pinkney (6-11) and Wallace (6-7) all have multiple Division I offers. Phillips (6-5), a year behind the rest, is starting to get some interest as he improves his on-ball abilities.

It’s an imposing group to join, to say the least.

“Obviously coming in as a freshman, it’s tough, playing with a bunch of new guys, that kind of thing,” said Funk, who picked up an offer from Quinnipiac on Thursday night to go along with ones from most of the Patriot League plus Drexel, Rider and others. “You’re a little scared, you don’t know if you’re going to fit in right away.

“He’s done a great job, he’s playing, he always shares the ball, fits right in with our offense. He doesn’t play scared, he plays hard, he competes, he’s been great so far.”

On Thursday night, Diggins started alongside Pickron, Funk, Phillips and Pinkney in the Wood lineup as the Vikings romped, 85-61 over Abington. He got involved early with a pair of offensive rebounds and a 3-pointer, finishing with 10 points, five rebounds and two assists while hitting 4-of-7 from the floor, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range.
Diggins said that playing with all the veterans for extended minutes has helped him settle in, even though so far his only experience with high school basketball is in summer leagues and team camps.

“[They tell me to] keep playing, keep your head up, don’t worry about mistakes,” he said. “They score the ball so it’s easier for me, just facilitate.”

A lanky 5-11 guard, Diggins has the tools to play varsity minutes in the tough Catholic League right away, but the Vikings aren’t reliant on him to do anything above his capacity. Both Funk and Pickron shared point guard duties, and just like last year -- when Wood had Funk and Keith Otto help out Collin Gillespie -- the Vikings’ attack won’t rely on just one creator.

With his older teammates’ expectations nothing short of three successful title defenses, Diggins is free to get out some kinks this offseason in preparation.

“We’re going to let him make mistakes, if he’s a freshman he’s going to make mistakes,” Funk said. “There’s no pressure on him, we’re coming off a big year, we want to have a big year again, but you’ve just got to let him play through it. That’s what the summer’s all about, getting ready for the season.”

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Donta Scott (above) put in a tremendous well-rounded effort as Imhotep downed Neumann-Goretti. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Quick Hits
-- Imhotep’s Donta Scott was a one-man wrecking crew during the Panthers’ 63-35 win over a shorthanded Neumann-Goretti squad that was without big man Marcus Littles (stomach bug) and guard Christian Ings (injury). Scott, a 6-7 wing and one of the top 2019 prospects in this area, contributed 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting (3-5 3PT), he added in five rebounds, five blocks and five steals as well as a pair of assists. He did a lot of that producing off the bounce, knocking down pull-up 3s and 2s, though perhaps his most impressive play was on a shot he didn’t hit -- after missing a corner 3, Scott raced downcourt to stop a transition break with a steal, then brought the ball back upcourt and buried a jumper. It’s a jumper, by the way, which is much-improved, with a more consistent release and arc that looks much smoother in general. In the week or so since rising juniors could first be contacted by college coaches, Scott said he’s heard from “Temple and St. Joe’s, UConn, Virginia, Miami, South Carolina, Indiana, St. Mary’s [and] Maryland.”

-- Speaking of impressive juniors on Imhotep, Scott’s classmate Dahmir Bishop had another standout outing, going for 22 points while hitting four first-half 3-pointers, leading all scorers in the game. The 6-4 guard also grabbed nine rebounds and a pair of steals, but it was his knockdown shooting ability that was giving Neumann-Goretti fits as Imhotep sprinted out to a 21-2 lead. Bishop’s recruiting stock is certainly starting to rise as his pre-junior year offseason continues, and his list of interested schools reflects that; since June 15, Bishop said he’s heard from “UConn, Mt. St. Mary’s, Hofstra, SMU, VCU, Temple, [and] NJIT.”

-- The matchup between Archbishop Wood and Abington pitted two high-level big men with vastly different styles against each other, as Wood’s Seth Pinkney (2018) went up against Abington’s Eric Dixon (2019). The former is as slender as they come, but at 6-foot-11, makes a consistent impact as rim-protector and finisher, while Dixon uses his 6-foot-7, 250-pound frame to bully his way to points on the low block. A top-100 recruit in his class, Dixon has been on a tear so far this offseason, but struggled a bit with Pinkney’s enormous length; he shot just 4-for-13 in one-on-one matchups with the Wood center, but still scrapped his way to 29 points behind a strong second half.

Pinkney, meanwhile, did his usual work en route to finishing with nine boards and four blocks. However, he also showed that he’s developing a bit more of an offensive game, finishing an and-one jump hook over his left shoulder and even draining a ‘3’ from the top of the arc, though that’s not a part of his game you should expect to see much of going forward.


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Tag(s): Home  Old HS  Josh Verlin  Catholic League (B)  Archbishop Wood   Neumann-Goretti  Public League A (B)  Imhotep  Abington