City of Basketball Love

By Joseph Santoliquito (@JSantoliquito)
__

(Ed. Note: This story is part of CoBL’s “Prepping for Preps” series, which will take a look at many of the top high school programs in the region as part of our 2023-24 season preview coverage. The complete list of schools previewed thus far can be found here.)

~~~

The table is set this season for Archbishop Ryan.

Ryan went 18-9 overall last year and finished 10-3 in the Philadelphia Catholic League, upset in the Catholic League quarterfinals by West Catholic (71-51). The Raiders tallied their most PCL wins since the league went to the one-division format before reaching the city championship and PIAA Class 5A state semifinals, losing both times to eventual state champion Imhotep Charter.

Ryan has the coaching, head coach Joe Zeglinski will be entering his ninth season, and the talent, with the return of Georgetown-bound 6-foot-9, 240-pound center Thomas Sorber, and Florida Gulf Coast University-bound 6-3 senior guard Darren Williams, for the Raiders to make a trifecta at a Catholic League, District 12 and PIAA Class 5A state championship run.

Four of the five starters are back (the exception point guard Michael “Zaire” Paris), with 6-6 senior forward Jaden Murray, 6-foot senior guard Ryan Everett and two-year starting 6-1 senior guard Rocco Morabito joining three-year starters Sorber and Williams.

Add in 6-4 junior guard Brandon Russell, a transfer from Pennington School, and depth from 6-3 senior wing Christian Durham, 6-foot senior guard Gavin Reed and 5-11 sophomore guard Matt Johnson and Ryan will be a formidable team.

They enter this season armed with valued lessons that they learned last year.

“The chemistry this summer has improved a lot, everyone has stayed connected,” Murray said.

“We have Thomas in the middle, who’s a great person and a great teammate. He brings the whole team together. I have to speak up this year. I didn’t do it last year, and I’m very ready for us to get to the PCL, the city and the state championship.”

Williams agreed.

“We need to stay connected,” he said. “It’s going to take all five on the court for us to win. We have to take accountability and let everyone know that it’s okay if you make a mistake, we can get it back. I used to dwell on mistakes, and I learned that it is OK to make mistakes.”

Russell has been welcomed with open arms. He adds depth and more importantly he can break a press and handle the ball.

Zeglinski expects his veteran group to be more cohesive. It was a collection of players that had to adjust to one another last year, and that came with growing pains.

Last season, Zeglinski pointed out the chemistry was not at a “championship level.” Communication, Zeglinski stressed, was not the overriding issue with the Raiders, though it should have been better — and the gaps of miscommunication did get in the way of Ryan’s success.

“They know what to expect this year,” Zeglinski said. “We grinded out a lot of wins. Thomas and Darren will lead the way, and we will have a more balanced attack. We have guys now with two and three years of experience in the Catholic League. Most of our problems last year came when teams packed the paint against us.

“We should have broken the press better than we did. We needed that third and fourth guy to step up, and this year we have that. Where we are right now, being in my ninth year, and everyone knowing their roles, and accepting their roles, this is a much more together team. It is a very focused team and I love how they are communicating with each other.

“To their credit, everyone is putting it on the table and telling the truth.”

The goals are lofty. Two years ago, Ryan reached the Catholic League championship for the first time since 2008 and fourth time in program history (1979, 2002, 2008 and 2022), losing to Neumann-Goretti. Under Zeglinski, who has done a fabulous job in building the program, the Raiders have reached the Catholic League semifinals five times.

This year, he has an interesting sell this season with a wealth of returning talent. Will the Raiders buy into the message of sharing the ball and thinking “we” before “I?”

“I have always been honest with my team and we won’t put up with any guys on the bench giving bad body language, because it will stick out with a senior-led group who are good enough to do special things,” Zeglinski said. “If it is one guy who is not bought in, it is easy to recognize. If it is two, three or four, it becomes frustrating and that is where teams fall apart.

“There are too many quality leaders and too much talent on this team for that to happen. As long as everyone leads the way they have been, we are going to be in good shape. The reason why we have been successful in previous years is because we had senior-led teams that were selfless and had each other’s backs. That is what we focus on every day, keeping the positive energy going.”

Zeglinski will be trying to keep this team grounded. It is within the Raiders to win the trifecta of Catholic League, city and state Class 5A championships. Ryan will prepare by attempting to stay in the moment, and by playing in some major tournaments, like Gonzaga (D.C.) and City of Palms, and then the Catholic League.

“I’ll continue to remind the guys to stay in the moment because I want them to enjoy the ride,” he said. “We could do a lot of special things this year. They know the history. Ryan has never won a PCL, city or state championship.”

Maybe that drought ends this year.

~~~

Joseph Santoliquito is a hall of fame, award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who began writing for CoBL in 2021 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter here.