City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Francis Bowe’s been here before.

Catholic League quarterfinal Friday, his Archbishop Carroll squad going into the city to take on Carl Arrigale’s Neumann-Goretti side on the Saints’ home court. It’s the same as last year, when the Patriots’ season ended in an 86-61 defeat; once again, the Palestra is on the line in South Philly.

“For some reason I just can’t get away from ‘em,” he quipped. 

The No. 7 seed in the Catholic League playoffs, Carroll’s earned a spot in the PCL quarterfinals after beating Bonner-Prendergast 66-51 on Wednesday night in the league’s opening round. The Patriots have won six of seven and nine of their last 11 overall, a young group that seems to be figuring things out at the right time. This year’s group has the added bonus of being in a good spot to qualify for the state playoffs, though that’s not set in stone just yet.

And they’re encountering a Neumann-Goretti that’s somewhat vulnerable due to injuries. Senior guard Khaafiq Myers, a St. Joe’s commit, is out for the season; senior wing Amir Williams (Hofstra) has missed several weeks due to a shoulder injury. Both of them were on the floor when Neumann ran past Carroll 84-57 back on Jan. 2. 

“Watching film of our game doesn’t really help,” Bowe said. I have to go off the last couple games that they’ve played.

“I’ll go down in the books saying this — Thomas [Sorber] was fantastic, Jalil [Bethea] was fantastic, I think Khaafiq was on his way to being player of the year,” the sixth-year Carroll coach added. “Them losing him, now we’re talking about a different game. 

“I’m not guaranteeing anything, I would never do that, Carl does an amazing job — heck, Khaafiq went down and they went up 15 more points against Wood — but not having Khaafiq Myers on that side helps. But they still only have two losses.” 

The Saints have been getting terrific play from sophomore guard Torrey Brooks, who had 23 points the las time the two matched up; Myers had 17 points, seven assists and four rebounds in tha touting, while senior forward Larenzo Jerkins (West Chester) added a 14-point, 17-rebound double-double. 

Meanwhile, a young Patriots lineup — Bowe doesn’t have any upperclassmen on his roster, much less in his starting five — has gotten better and better over the course of the season. Nobody moreso than freshman Munir Grieg, the high-ceiling 6-7 wing going for 20 points in the season-ending win over Father Judge and scoring 17 against Bonner in the opening round of the playoffs.

“I’m so happy for that kid,” Bowe said. “He was fantastic last game, he was fantastic the other game, he’s rebounding at a high clip [...] great floor game, rebounding, assists, scoring it, great pace to the basket, can’t ask for much more.”

Grieg is just one of several DIvision I prospects on the team along with sophomore wing Luca Foster (6-5), sophomore guards Ian Williams (5-10) and Nasir Ralls (6-0), sophomore forward Drew Corrao (6-10) and freshman guard Darrell Davis (5-9). It’s a group that Bowe expects to get a lot done in the next couple years, but he’s enjoying the run they’re on now.

“We’re playing some good team basketball,” Bowe said. “I love my kids, I’m confident with my kids and I’m looking forward to going into South Philly.”

A look at the other three games taking place Friday night:

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1) Roman Catholic vs. 9) Cardinal O’Hara
7:30 PM, Holy Family
Previous result: Roman Catholic, 57-44 (Jan. 8, Jefferson Univ.

It might seem like just another year with Roman Catholic ending up the top seed, but this really has been one of Chris McNesby’s best coaching jobs yet. The PCL Coach of the Year has had to deal with a roster full of new parts (including some young ones), a midseason injury to his literal and figurative centerpiece and arguably the most talented year in league history, and yet they finished with just two league losses, winning the tiebreaker over Neumann-Goretti and Wood to earn the top spot. The Cahillites have only taken two losses all year long, led by the now-returned Shareef Jackson, the junior forward and First Team All-PCL Selection. Senior point guard Robert Cottrell is the only other key holdover from last year’s run. They’ve been supported by seniors Travis Reed and Kabe Goss, both new to the school, as well as his younger brother, sophomore wing Sammy Jackson.

O’Hara’s into the quarterfinals after a late, come-from-behind win over Devon Prep in the opening round, Big 5 Hall of Famer Fran O’Hanlon getting 21 points from Aasim ‘Flash’ Burton plus some key plays late from reserve senior Anthony Hobbs to make up the difference. Burton, a 6-2 lead guard bound for Rider, is one of two D-I commits on the O’Hara roster along with 6-7 forward Pearse McGuinn (Stonehill), who’s developed a nice inside-out game as he’s gotten stronger around the rim. Senior wing Ethan Schulcz and sophomore guards Jack Quinn and Tygee Clark need to hit shots to give them a chance, while senior wing Miles Johnson is a versatile and athletic defender. 

Father Judge point guard Kevair Kennedy (above, with ball) in action against Archbishop Ryan in January. (Photo; Josh Verlin/CoBL)

3) Archbishop Wood vs. 6) Father Judge
7:00 PM, Archbishop Wood
Previous result: Archbishop Wood, 85-69 (Jan. 2, Father Judge)

It’s master vs. apprentice (without the Sith overtones) here as Wood’s John Mosco goes up against his longtime assistant Chris Roantree for a berth in the Palestra in what’s certain to be a crazy atmosphere at Wood. This will be the final PCL home game for the Vikings’ outstanding senior duo of Jalil Bethea (Miami) and Josh Reed (Drexel), Bethea one of the league’s Co-MVPs while Reed was another first team selection after both averaged more than 20 ppg this season. Those two will get theirs, but Mosco needs quality outings from some combination of his junior guards (Milan Dean, Deuce Maxey and Mike Green) or sophomore Brady MacAdams to avoid having to lean too heavily on Bethea and Reed.

Roantree has a similarly guard-heavy group led by senior LaQuan Byrd, junior Kevair Kennedy and sophomore Derrick Morton-Rivera, all of whom earned All-PCL honors. Byrd is a muscular 6-2 wing with a strong outside shot; Kennedy a slippery 6-0 point guard with great handles and passing ability, while Morton-Rivera is a burgeoning D-I prospect who can score from all three levels and has really taken a big step forward this season. Senior forward Anthony Lilly (6-6) and junior Everett Barnes (6-8) give them some size up front, and freshman guard Nazir Tyler has physicality and game beyond his years. 

4) St. Joseph’s Prep vs. 5) Archbishop Ryan
4:00 PM, St. Joseph’s Prep
Previous result: St. Joseph’s Prep, 57-52 (Jan. 2, St. Joe’s Prep)

These two teams started Catholic League play against each other with the Hawks rallying from 11 down at halftime to secure a tone setting win for their season. Junior guards Jaron McKie, who recently eclipsed 1,000 career points, and Jordan Ellerbee are both All-PCL first teamers with junior guard Olin Chamberlain and senior guard/wing Jalen Harper joining them on the all-league lists. They’re all dangerous from multiple spots on the floor with senior Catholic commit Matt Gorman adding even more floor spacing and senior Jackson Maguire and sophomore Will Lesovitz providing a little bit of size to the quintet of guards.

Ryan senior 6-9 forward and Georgetown commit Thomas Sorber was the co-MVP of the PCL this season. Like most teams, the Hawks don’t really have an answer for him. It will have to take a group effort to try to contain the most dominant big man in the league. Senior guard Darren Williams, a Florida Gulf Coast recruit, adds plenty of perimeter scoring to give the Raiders a terrific 1-2 punch. Senior forward Jaden Murray and senior guards Ryan Everett and Rocco Morabito (Gannon) are all back as well from a team that fell a game short of the Palestra a season ago — just like the Hawks.