City of Basketball Love

Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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While Archbishop Ryan junior big man Thomas Sorber put together a highlight-reel worthy 29-point, 17-rebound effort Monday at Cardinal O’Hara, one of his much smaller teammates put on a performance that as uniquely entertaining.

As Sorber tossed down dunk after dunk and hauled in rebound after rebound, the Raiders’ senior point guard Michael Zaire Paris darted toward the hoop and dished out dimes for a 14-point, 10-assist performance to complement Sorber and junior guard Darren Williams (15 points), in a 71-54 win over the Lions.

They are the kind of outings the 5-foot-11 guard has waited patiently for in his Ryan career. And they’re starting to pile up during his senior campaign.

“It was tough because I think I should have played (more earlier in my career) but Coach Joe (Zeglinski) believed in me no matter what,” said Paris, who goes by his middle name Zaire. “My dad always told me, ‘Be patient,’ and this is the time. I’m just following my dad. He told me to be patient and good things happen. Now, that’s what’s going on. Good things are happening.”

Paris, a Germantown native, waited his turn at Ryan. 

He was the sixth or seventh player in the rotation as a sophomore when he averaged 3.7 ppg in 11 minutes of action per contest. As a junior last season he came off the bench for the PCL runner-ups as the team’s sixth man behind Williams and then seniors Luke Boyd (West Chester), Jalen Snead (Gwynedd Mercy) and David Wise. He averaged 6.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg and 1.7 apg in that role.

When that senior class moved on, Ryan coach Joe Zeglinski talked to Paris about the role he would finally step into as a senior, not just starting for but leading the Raiders as one of just two seniors on the roster — and the only senior with experience.

Thus far he’s run with the opportunity. 

Paris came into Monday night averaging 10.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg and 3.7 apg for a Ryan team that’s now 7-7 overall and 3-2 in the Catholic League after the win over O’Hara (9-4, 2-3). His beyond-the-box-score impact is felt on a nightly basis for a Ryan squad.

“Zaire is the ultimate competitor and winner,” Zeglinski said. “It has been great to see his hard work over the offseason paying off the way it has. He is really controlling the game on both ends of the floor with his energy on defense and poise on the offensive end. I’m really proud of the steps he has taken as our point guard and leader.”

Paris was a distributor early on Monday, feeding Williams on a pair of threes and helping Sorber get started early during an eight-point, seven-rebound opening frame as Ryan took a 16-12 lead. The assists began to pile up for Paris in the second quarter as the Raiders rode another big Sorber period (seven points) to a 34-27 halftime lead.

“When Tom is on fire like that, it just opens up the court for everybody,” Paris said. “And nobody can stop him, so we’re going to keep feeding him until somebody stops him.”

“If you get him open in the beginning, it’s just going to make it easier for everyone,” he added.

Sorber understands how important Paris’ role is too.

“He’s our leader,” Sorber said. “He controls the paint. He controls the vibes. He controls everything. You gotta listen to what he says. He stepped up a lot, grew up a lot.”

Archbishop Ryan senior guard Zaire Paris, seen playing in a game earlier this season, has waited his turn to lead the Raiders. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

The Raiders’ senior guard had five points at halftime and doubled that by end of the third. He converted an and-one to boost Ryan’s momentum during a third-quarter run that helped the Raiders get up by 18 points, 53-25, with about two and a half minutes left in the frame.

Led by senior Izaiah Pasha, who finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds, the Lions scored seven straight to finish the third down 53-42, and another Pasha bucket cut the deficit to single digits to start the fourth. 

Two straight buckets from Sorber and another and-one from Paris made sure the Raiders didn’t have to sweat out a comeback run. Sorber had 10 points and six boards in the fourth, and Paris added another five points and continued to feed his teammates to finish off the victory.

“We knew we had to keep pushing,” Paris said. “We weren’t going to let go, we weren’t going to show any mercy. We’re going to keep pushing until we hear that final buzzer.”

Paris said his father, Michael Sr., took him to parks to play hoops when he grew up. It’s where the lefty started finishing through contact with both hands and developed what he calls his physicality and “rough ball” style.

He likes to attack the paint and is pretty good at finding a way to put the ball in the hoops when he gets inside if he’s not dishing to someone else.

“That dog mentality he got,” Sorber said of what stands out about Paris as a player. “He keeps it pushing every time, never stops, always keeps going.”

Paris said he’s heard some Division II and III programs have inquired about him, but he’s still waiting for serious college interest.

He can wait on that. He has practice being patient.

Right now, his responsibility is leading the Raiders, and it’s not one he’s taking lightly.

Aided by Sorber’s arrival two seasons ago, Paris has seen the Raiders turn into a true PCL contender during his time at the school. Last season ended with a PCL title-game loss to Neumann-Goretti and District 12 championship and PIAA quarterfinal losses to Imhotep, Paris wants to lead his teammates to more.

The Raiders lost to St. Joe’s Prep (4-1) early in PCL play and fell to Roman in overtime last week, so Monday's win was a big one. The hope is that a dominant effort on Monday can propel this group moving forward as they get ready for their championship chases.

“It means a lot,” Paris said of getting a chance to lead the Raiders as a senior. “We came up short in the championship, coming here last year in the states we fell short. We just want to make it to the top again and win a (PCL) championship, and states and city. We’re coming for everything.”

By Quarter

Archbishop Ryan:   16   |  18  |   19   |  21  ||  71

Cardinal O’Hara:     12   |  15  |   15   |  14  ||  54

Scoring

Archbishop Ryan: Thomas Sorber 29, Darren Williams 15, Zaire Paris 14, Rocco Morabito 5, Jaden Murray 4, Frank Monaco 2, Ian Walker 2.

Cardinal O’Hara: Izaiah Pasha 20, Aasim Burton 13, Pearse McGuinn 10, Josh Coulanges 6, A Anthony Hobbs 3.