City of Basketball Love

By Owen McCue (@owen.mccue)
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FORT WASHINGTON — Every time Upper Dublin sophomore Justin Ragsdale walked into a workout this offseason, Cardinals coach Derek Brooks could see him sprouting up.

Ragsdale walked into Upper Dublin as a 6-2 freshman in the fall of 2023. A year and a half later he’s a 6-6 forward starting for one of the hottest teams in District 1, helping the Cardinals win their 12th straight game with a 65-45 win over Plymouth Whitemarsh on Tuesday night.

“It doesn’t happen, from what I’ve been told, a lot here at Upper Dublin,” Brooks said. “Usually, we’ve got a lot of short guards, so it’s nice to have a tall tree.”

Ragsdale was a swing player as a freshman, mostly sitting on the bench as Upper Dublin won the SOL Liberty Division, SOL Tournament title and made a run to the District 1-5A title game and PIAA playoffs.

As he watched his older teammates put together one of the best seasons in program history, he couldn’t help thinking to himself, “Can I really play? Can I really play in this game?”

The answer came this offseason. Ragsdale worked his way into the Cardinals’ starting rotation over the spring and summer. There was good. There was bad. There was a lot to learn.

“It was like my third game playing. I got comfortable,” Ragsdale said. “I started to get adjusted. He put me in the starting lineup and that’s when I started getting more confidence, shooting the ball more, providing for my team, feeding off my teammates’ energy.”

“This year, I’m like, ‘I got this now.’ I’m ready,” he added.

Brooks saw things click in mid-October when Upper Dublin played Samuel Fels and Conwell-Egan at the Rare Footage Classic. Ragsdale was the best player on the court that weekend and his standout performances began to stack up game after game.

“It’s his first year really on varsity, but he’s played in a bunch of big offseason games,” Brooks said. “We’ve had a lot of big games to start the year, and he’s not afraid. He plays to win and attack and I can’t say there’s ever a time Justin’s afraid to make a play. To do that as a sophomore, a young sophomore — he doesn’t turn 16 until May — it’s great. 

“He brings a lot that we haven’t had in the past. His length, his shot blocking, his athleticism and also his ability to step out and shoot a three. It’s like, ‘Wow.’ It’s a great weapon to have.”

Upper Dublin defeated PW on Feb. 1 last season to snap a 19-game skid against the Colonials that dated back to 2014 and clinched the Cardinals their first outright division title since 2004. Tuesday’s win made it two in a row for Upper Dublin (12-1, 5-0 SOL Liberty) against PW (9-4, 4-1), the first such streak for the Cardinals since consecutive wins in 2011-12 and 2012-13.

Ragsdale had eight points in the first quarter as the Cardinals jumped to a 19-5 lead. He hit two of the team’s five threes in the period. The Cardinals led 28-14 at half and extended that advantage to 42-23 by the end of the third, never letting the lead dip below double digits as they jumped in the driver’s seat of the Liberty Division.

“They’ve been beating on us for 10 years,” Ragsdale said. “Last year was our first win. This year, a big win. We just want to keep winning. We see them again at the end of the season, and we want to beat them, win the division, and make a name for ourselves.”

Senior Idris Rines scored 15 points, Ragsdale followed with 13 and senior Ryan Mulroy added 12 in Tuesday’s win. Junior Mani Sajid led PW with 12, while sophomore Buddy Denard scored nine, all coming in the fourth quarter as the Colonials made UD sweat just a little bit down the stretch.

When Brooks took over at Upper Dublin in 2022-23, he went and watched the Sandy Run Middle School team to see what pieces might eventually join a 2025 class that already had some special players at the varsity level. 

In their second years, Ragsdale and 6-4 wing Horace Jackson (five points) are making their impact in the Cardinals rotation with guard Kevin Macneal also representing the sophomore class on the varsity roster.

“I always push Justin and Horace the hardest because I feel like their potential is out the roof,” Rines said. “Justin’s a 6-5, 6-6 sophomore who can do everything, inside-out. He can shoot the three-ball perfectly, has great mechanics and stuff like that. Me just pushing him everyday in practice and him pushing me too, it’s great competitiveness.”

The Cardinals have plenty of options to attack teams with three-year starters Rines and Mulroy at the top of opponents’ scouting reports. Junior guard Kobe Bazemore (six points, six assists) puts pressure on teams. There’s generally a multitude of others finding ways to contribute as well. (Junior guard Noah Cohen left Tuesday night’s game early with a wrist injury.)

With Ragsdale (6-6), Rines (6-5), Jackson (6-4) and Mulroy (6-3) all able to step outside and knock down shots, Upper Dublin also has some different ways it can attack its opponents.

“We’re big this year, and that I think has been a major difference for us, finishing inside, defending the rim,” Brooks said. “It’s a nice element to have. … We’re so versatile. I’m so lucky. I can do so many different things depending on the matchup. I try to remind myself to be grateful every day for what we have going on right now because I may never coach a team like this again.”

Upper Dublin dropped its first game of the season to Lower Merion before rattling off 11 in a row, many of those wins coming in dominant fashion like Tuesday night’s contest. Rines pointed to the Cardinals’ ability to embrace their roles as a key to their early success.

Ragsdale is trying to continue to find the best way he can help his team win games as they chase another division and league title and more this year.

“I don’t know how to explain it. I just have so much excitement,” Ragsdale said. “I’m finally playing. I wanted to play last year, but I was a new freshman playing. Now, I really get to play, prove myself.”

“Idris Rines, Kobe, Ryan, they all push me,” he added. “Coach Sean pushes me. Coach Brooks pushes me. He says we don’t want to be good, we want to be great, so he keeps pushing me on my tail every practice, every game.”

Upper Dublin 65, Plymouth Whitemarsh 45

Plymouth Whitemarsh 5 | 9 | 9 | 22 || 45

Upper Dublin 19 | 9 | 14 | 23 || 65

Plymouth Whitemarsh: Mani Sajid 12, Buddy Denard 9, Eric Conicello 5, Terron Davis 5, Caleb Bridgeman 5, Michael Pereira 3, Jack Hayes 2, Ehab Ahmed 2, Micah Thompson 2.

Upper Dublin: Idris Rines 15, Justin Ragsdale 13, Ryan Mulroy 12, Kobe Bazemore 6, James Castronuovo 6, Horace Jackson 5, Reilly McLaughlin 4, Brandon Altman 4.