City of Basketball Love

Mitchell Gladstone (@mpgladstone13)
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RADNOR — At the end of each day, Archbishop Wood coach John Mosco and Marcus Randolph hop in the car together.

The two make the trip from Warminster toward Randolph’s hometown of Willingboro, N.J., meeting Randolph’s dad in between.

And during those 45-minute car rides, Mosco has learned more and more about one of his many junior standouts.

But Mosco was still waiting for that breakout performance, a game in which Randolph showed out for a full 32 minutes. Friday night, that game happened.

Randolph ignited the Vikings with seven of their first 12 points and scored 18 — one of four players in double figures — as Wood rolled past Archbishop Carroll 80-61 on the road. Despite a four-plus minute scoreless drought at the start of the third quarter, the Vikings closed strong to pick up their 10th Catholic League win of the season and remain just a half-game behind first-place Neumann-Goretti.

Although it was classmate Rahsool Diggins who did most of the work down the stretch, including scoring his 1000th career point, there was little debate as to who set the tone against the Patriots.

“He knows what I like to do, I know what he likes to do,” Diggins said of Randolph. “We both are super competitive, no matter what. … And we always play for each other.”

Not only do they play for one another, but they’ve played with one another. Randolph, Diggins, Jaylen Stinson and Daeshon Shepherd have all spent the last two summers playing for Wood assistant coach Chris Roantree and Team Final.

That makes those long car rides with his dad and his coach even more worth it to get to school.

The transition itself was more challenging.

“I had to get into the flow of coming to school,” Randolph said. “And then in the gym, everything was harder. The competition was better, I was getting pushed daily, and it’s making me better now.”

Although the four knew what it was like to play alongside one another, Randolph was the only one who hadn’t faced the wringer that is the Philadelphia Catholic League. And it took time for the newcomer to adjust.

“I knew what he could do [coming in,]” Mosco said. “Tonight was the first game he really put it all together for 32 minutes. … He’s used to having the ball in his hands and doing whatever he wants. Now he’s playing with better players and going against better competition.”

Putting it together meant more than just scoring points. Randolph looked ready from the get-go, knocking down his first three field-goal attempts and gaining confidence with each one.

He then got to work dishing to his teammates, hitting Stinson for a triple that went down just before the first-quarter buzzer sounded.

And just last weekend, Randolph scored his 1000th career point, all part of a junior season in which he looks all the part of a soon-to-be Division I player.

But so much of it is a credit to the guys around him.

“That was a major reason why [I wanted to come to Wood,]” Randolph said. “I had a couple of years left and I didn’t want to be jumping back and forth between schools. Coming with juniors that are in the same grade as me, it was way easier because we can build this year.”

That growth is already showing on the floor. A year removed from going 20-9 — just the second time the Vikings have reached the 20-win plateau since 2004-05 — Wood is already 16-4.

And they’ll all be back next year. The six players who scored for the Vikings Friday — the Team Final four, plus Muneer Newton and Robert Jackson — are probably as impressive a junior core as there is anywhere in Pennsylvania.

Yet there’s business still to come before this season wraps up.

“We’re going to win the Catholic League and we’re going to win the state championship,” Randolph said. “No question about it.”

By Quarter
Archbishop Wood:   21 | 22 | 10 | 27 | 80

Archbishop Carroll:   15 | 10 | 14 | 22 | 61

Shooting
Archbishop Wood: 29-54 FG, 9-22 3PT, 13-21 FT

Archbishop Carroll: 23-61 FG, 3-22 3PT, 12-18 FT

Scoring
Archbishop Wood: Diggins 19, Stinson 18, Randolph 18, Shepherd 17, Newton 6, Jackson 2

Archbishop Carroll: Ketner 17, Camden 16, Coleman-Newsome 11, Hill 11, Stewart 6