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St. Joe's-bound Jordan Hall has grown into versatile star for Neumann-Goretti

01/27/2020, 10:45am EST
By Kevin Callahan


Neumann-Goretti senior Jordan Hall (above) is a 6-7 Swiss Army Knife for the Saints. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

By Kevin Callahan (@CP_KCallahan)
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On Friday night, in a shoulder-to-shoulder packed gym at Neumann-Goretti, Saints’ senior Jordan Hall stood out above the crowd in the stands and on the floor.

Sure, the 6-foot-7 Hall was the tallest player on the court in the 66-55 win over Archbishop Wood in a marquee matchup of the top two teams in the Catholic League, but his height was far from the only reason his play was so noticeable.

And, this wasn’t because Hall lit up the scoreboard either as he scored a modest seven points as Neumann-Goretti won its seventh straight .

It was how Hall played is what elevated his performance.

Early in the third quarter, Hall stole the ball on the baseline, started a Saints’ 2-on-1 fast break dribbling over half court, drew the Vikings’ defender to him at the foul line, bounced a pass to Hakim Byrd for an uncontested layup.

“I think it’s so much simpler playing that way and so much more fun,” Hall said about his selfless style .

The feed to Byrd was one of his five assists as Neumann-Goretti improved to 14-2 and remained the last unbeaten team in the PCL at 8-0.

“I know I can score on any level, but we have eight guys who are Division I basketball players and someone has to be the facilitator,” Hall said, “and that’s what I do.”

Hall is one of those D-I guys, signing a National Letter of Intent to attend St. Joseph’s on a basketball scholarship during the early-signing period in November.

One Big 5 assistant coach who squeezed into the tiny South Philadelphia gym Friday for the Neumann-Goretti win over Archbishop Wood said, “Saint Joseph’s is getting a special player.”

Hawks coach first-year coach Billy Lange certainly agrees, saying “Jordan is going to be a wonderful addition to Hawk Hill, Philadelphia.”

“He brings our community resilience, compassion, and a level of kindness that shows in how he treats others," Lange said. "On the court, Jordan provides an energy and a competitive nature that we value. His passing will elevate our entire team."

Hall, who lives in Roxborough, embraces the chance to play the next four years on Hawk Hill.

“It feels amazing,” Hall said. “It’s a great opportunity. I have to take advantage of the opportunity.”

Hall’s passing and poise stood out as special traits that Lange praised when Wood turned up the heat in the fourth quarter and Neumann-Goretti head coach Carl Arrigale used him to not only throw in the ball against the press, but to step in bounds and take the return pass. With the ball in his hands and Wood’s guards trapping him, Hall patiently passed to the open man, turning the aggressive defense into an offensive advantage for the Saints.

“He is our best passer and is big enough to see over traffic,” Arrigale said. “He really does a good job for us and he gets us open threes with his ability to throw over the defense.”

Saints guard Hysier Miller benefitted from Hall’s quarterbacking the offense, finishing with a game-high 24 points. 

“It’s wonderful to play with him, he’s long and he’ll find you when you’re open, he makes our team a lot better,” Miller said. “He’s confident and we trust him, that’s why he has the ball.

“When he has the ball we trust him that he’s going to make the right play.”

Hall, who transferred from Cardinal O’Hara after his sophomore year there –– he spent his freshman season in South Jersey at Middle Township –– has earned the trust of his teammates.

“He really matured after last year,” said Archbishop Wood coach John Mosco, who was Arrigale’s assistant for 18 years. “I mean Carl does a great job with all the kids and especially when he has them in his system they learn what Carl wants and it is a calming influence.

“He gets them to play their best.”

Hall also respects Mosco’s young team, which includes the talented trio of Rahsool Diggins, Daeshon Shepherd and Jaylen Stinson.

“They are good this year, they are going to be something special,” Hall said about Archbishop Wood after ending the Vikings’ 11-game winning streak.

Of course both teams are steering toward the top two seeds and a mid-February rematch at the Palestra in the Catholic League finals. 

Hall’s focus is winning the 11th Catholic League title under Arrigale and erasing the sting from the last season when the Saints bowed out in the  PCL semifinals to eventual champion Roman Catholic and then falling in the PIAA 3A quarterfinals to Bishop McDevitt. The  60-57 loss to its Catholic League foe was the first season Neumann-Goretti didn’t reach the state title since 2013.

“Yeah,” Hall said, “we have some unfinished business.”

The Saints play at Archbishop Ryan on Monday night where Hall will surely stand out once again.

“He is the key,” Arrigale said, “when he is good, we are really good."


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