City of Basketball Love

Rich Flanagan (@richflanagan33)
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The best postseason slate in the City of Brotherly Love will play out on Thursday as the Philadelphia Catholic League quarterfinals have been pushed up a day to accommodate the Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl parade.

While a championship will be celebrated then, the rise of a champion begins as four, high-level matchups will captivate local high school basketball fans as they do every year with some of the premier players around look to cement their legacies and earn a trip to the Cathedral of College Basketball where the Philadelphia Catholic League semifinals and championship game have called home for decades.

St. Joseph’s Prep earned the top seed in the bracket with two-time defending champion Roman Catholic taking second and Devon Prep, fresh off its best league finish since joining the league in 2018, finished in third and Father Judge, hoping for a second straight trip to the Palestra, rounds out the top four.

Storylines abound across four games, and we will break them all down here:

1) St. Joe’s Prep vs. 10) Archbishop Wood (4:00 PM)

When head coach Jason Harrigan welcomed Olin Chamberlain Jr., Jaron McKie and Jordan Ellerbee into the program as the essential pieces to his 2025 class, the season that’s currently playing out is exactly what he expected. Chamberlain (Wilt’s nephew) and McKie (Aaron’s son) are part of Philadelphia basketball royalty and Ellerbee was named league MVP, the first Hawk to win the award since Chris Clover in 2015 after avg. 17 ppg, 6.7 rpg, and 5.2 apg this season. Combine that with the emergence of 6-4 junior guard Will Lesovitz and the addition of 6-4 sophomore guard Mekhi Robertson, one of the top players nationally in the 2027 class, and St. Joe’s Prep (17-5, 12-1) is primed to win its first title since 2004.

Ellerbee looked every bit the MVP in the first matchup between these teams with 21 points and eight rebounds while McKie had 16 points and Robertson added 13 points and nine boards in a 76-65 overtime win on Jan. 31. Mike Green, the senior veteran, drilled six three-pointers and finished 22 points and junior Brady MacAdams, who was named First Team All-Catholic, scored 19 points.

Green and MacAdams have been part of big games for Archbishop Wood (10-12, 5-8) in the past from the league quarterfinals to the state semifinals and the additions of breakout sophomore Caleb Lundy and freshman Rowan Phillips gives head coach John Mosco a dazzling array of talented guards. Mosco’s teams have been at their best when backcourts have been staked with guards of this caliber. The difference maker could be 6-9 sophomore big man Jaydn Jenkins, who can control things inside at both ends and step out to the three-point line.

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3) Devon Prep vs. 6) West Catholic (6:00 PM)

The last few years, this matchup between the Burrs and Tide could have been the league or state playoffs with the two programs accounting for the last three PIAA Class 3A titles. This time around, Devon Prep (16-4, 11-2) will host a quarterfinal game for the first time as a member of the Philadelphia Catholic League following an 11-win league slate. Zane Conlon is one of the more versatile forwards in the league and Swarthmore College commit Reece Craft can go for a double-double on any given night. Shane Doyle is a do-everything guard while fellow seniors Calvin Smith and Mason Thear provide scoring and shooting to a potent lineup for Jason Fisher, who is looking to lead the Tide to their first trip to the Palestra.

Miguel Bocachica is hoping to advance to the league semifinals for the third time in four seasons and he will look to achieve that with the help of 6-2 senior floor general Saaid Lee and 6-7 junior forward Kingston Wheatley, who had 18 points and 10 rebounds in the first matchup with the Tide. The Burrs also boast the streaky shooting of 6-3 sophomore Jayvon Byrd and 5-10 slashing sophomore Eric Scott, who excels in getting into the lane and dishing off to Wheatley and 6-7 junior Jalyn Hopkins. West Catholic (10-12, 7-6) has a knack for winning big games in February, just look at their upset of Archbishop Ryan in 2023, and they have the facets to spring another with their size upfront and skill in the backcourt. The biggest hurdle will be limiting Conlon, who went for 24 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals in the regular season matchup.

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4) Father Judge vs. 5) Neumann-Goretti (7:00 PM)

The lineage of Philadelphia Catholic League coaches is part of the allure of this matchup as Carl Arrigale, with 12 Philadelphia Catholic League titles to his name, mentored and groomed Mosco and Mosco did the same with Chris Roantree, now the head coach at Father Judge, at Archbishop Wood. The three coaches teach a similar style with guards having the freedom to operate as they deem fit and it has led to tremendous success for their respective programs.

Let’s start with Neumann-Goretti (12-10, 7-6), who are in uncharted territory having to travel on the road in the postseason, and the fact that junior Stephon Ashley-Wright, who poured 34 points in the regular season against Crusaders, is the only player on the current roster who played in the 2023 title game. Newcomers in Alassan N'Diaye and Kody Colson have found their niche in Arrigale’s offense, as have last year’s holdovers in stat-sheet stuffer DeShawn Yates and versatile lefty Keon Long-Mtume. Arrigale has won without starpower and what he has this season is a unique mix of players who excel both inside the three-point line and beyond. 

It’s difficult to find a backcourt as dynamic as Merrimack commit Kevair Kennedy and Derrick Morton-Rivera, whose father DJ Rivera was a star under Arrigale at Neumann-Goretti in the early 2000s. The tandem combined for 54 points in a high-scoring 93-81 victory earlier this season. Kennedy surpassed 1,000 career points earlier this season and Morton-Rivera is on track to only eclipse 1k but has a legitimate shot to break Marc Rodriguez’s all-time scoring mark at Father Judge (16-6, 10-3). These two were instrumental to the Crusaders’ run to the semifinals a year ago, the program’s first trip to the Palestra since 1999, and an improved Nazir Tyler, a 6-3 sophomore guard, gives Roantree a very skilled group who can all score, facilitate and penetrate. Everett Barnes is headed to Loyola (Maryland) has come into his own and if he can control the glass and give Father Judge second chances, the Saints will be in trouble.

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2) Roman Catholic vs. 9) Archbishop Ryan (7:30 PM, Holy Family)

The Raiders and Cahillites played in one of the most remarkable title games in recent memory last February as it seemed Joe Zeglinski had delivered his alma mater its first league crown but Kabrien Goss had other ideas as he cemented his legacy, a year after Xzayvier Brown did the exact same thing. 

Darren Williams and Thomas Sorber have moved on following storied careers at Archbishop Ryan (11-12, 5-8) as have Goss, Robert Cottrell, Hunter Johnson and Travis Reed Jr. for Roman Catholic. Matt Johnson is the only returning starter for the Raiders and the junior point guard leads an offense that is highlighted by 6-5 senior Brandon Russell and 6-7 junior Malik Hughes, who was celebrating last season’s title on the Palestra floor as a member of Roman Catholic. Hughes scored 14 points in the first round win over La Salle and sharpshooter Mark Gallagher knocked down six three-pointers and poured in 17 of his 20 points after halftime. Semaj Stone has not only entered the rotation but flourished as a sophomore. Zeglinski knows how to motivate his team this time of year and he’s hoping to do that again to prevent a three-peat.

Chris McNesby just completed his second case of winning two straight championships, the first of which came with Tony Carr, Nazeer Bostick and Paul Newman in 2015-16. He is looking for Philadelphia Catholic League title No. 5 as head coach and Lafayette commit Shareef Jackson is looking to overtake his dad, former Roman Catholic star Marc Jackson, with his third crown. Shareef had 16 points in last year’s title game then 19 and 13 in this year’s regular season finale. Tyler Sutton, as expected, has been one of the best guards in the league in his first season at Broad & Vine and senior Sebastian Edwards has shown flashes of brilliance in his final run. The Cahillites boast length and versatility with Shareef, his younger brother Sammy Jackson and senior wing CJ Miller all at 6-7. The size mismatch inside and on the wings should give Roman Catholic (18-4, 11-2) a huge advantage in its pursuit of another title.

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Girls’ Semifinals
Mon., Feb. 17 (6:00 PM + 7:45 PM, Finneran Pavilion)

Boys’ Semifinals
Weds., Feb. 19 (6:00 PM + 8:00 PM, Palestra)

Catholic League Championships
Sun., Feb. 23 (12:30 PM + 2:45 PM, Palestra)