City of Basketball Love

Rich Flanagan (@richflanagan33)
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Brad Wanamaker has something that very few players in the history of Philadelphia basketball have: his picture inside the Palestra.

He can always find himself there, celebrating the Philadelphia Catholic League championship he helped raise, one of Roman Catholic’s all-time record 34 league titles. He is immortalized in those hallowed walkways along with Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain, and countless basketball greats who graced the hardwood of the fabled arena that first hosted a game in 1927. 

Wanamaker started four games at the Cathedral of College Basketball during his Cahillites career. The next time he returns there, it will be a much different feeling from when he was winning his lone title as a player, as he is now leading this current crop of Cahillites with a clipboard rather than a basketball.

“My picture is hung up in the Palestra next to Maureece Rice and LeBron James,” Wanamaker said. “We all have our pictures hung up next to each other in the Palestra and that’s the craziest part, to be able to coach down there where I was able to have my picture up next to those guys.”

Wanamaker was named the 17th head coach in Roman Catholic’s storied basketball history on July 28, taking over for former head man Chris McNesby, who was an assistant while Wanamaker was donning the purple and gold as a player in the later 2000s. Wanamaker played for Dennis Seddon, the famed coach who secured 10 Philadelphia Catholic League titles in 22 years at the helm, and gave Seddon the last championship of his career.

Wanamaker has his face mounted on the walls of the Palestra and he was there last year as an assistant coach as Roman Catholic fell to Father Judge in the league final on that Sunday afternoon in late February. Now, he will follow in a line that includes Billy Markward, Speedy Morris, Seddon, Matt Griffin and McNesby, who formally stepped down in June, and continue a lineage of outstanding coaches to roam the sidelines for the Philadelphia Catholic League’s most recognizable program.

“Getting Chris’s blessing and of course Coach Seddon’s blessing to be the next guy in line to take over was just a blessing,” Wanamaker said. “I’m so excited and I think so highly of those guys. I had the chance to come back and coach alongside Chris. They gave me their blessing and seeing the success that they had makes me really excited.”

Wanamaker has been a recent fixture in local Philadelphia basketball through his AAU program, Brad Wanamaker Elite, where he has been the 15U head coach for the last four years. While grassroots basketball is where he laid his hat following an extensive professional playing career, he admitted that becoming a head coach of a high school program, let alone his alma mater, “was never in the plans. It’s something that fell into my lap. But being a player that made it the way I made it and wanting to give back to the kids, that’s what drew that passion a little bit.” 

During Roman Catholic’s run to the PIAA Class 6A Championship Game in Hershey, McNesby and Wanamaker began to have more in-depth conversations about Wanamaker’s interest in the job and keeping the program in the hands of someone who has been around the current group. McNesby knew when Wanamaker joined the program a year prior as an assistant that he could turn it over to his former player and create that succession compared to the first time he stepped away almost a decade ago.

“During the state playoffs on a ride out to Chambersburg together, we had a lot of time to talk,” McNesby said. “I said to him, ‘Are you ready?’ and he said, ‘I think I’m ready and I want to do it.’ That made me feel great because if he wasn’t ready or didn’t feel like he was going to do it then I would’ve been back. I would’ve been ok with that, but it was a great time because we had a successor in mind and it all fell into place, which is a great thing.”

McNesby coached a combined 12 seasons at his alma mater, finishing with a 270-73 overall record (136-22 Philadelphia Catholic League) with four league championships and three PIAA state titles to his name. Like Wanamaker, McNesby was a champion under Seddon, who is still very much around the program, winning a pair of crowns, including one alongside former NBA forward Marc Jackson then winning two with Jackson’s sons, Shareef and Sammy Jackson, as a head coach. Shareef begins his first season playing at Lafayette and Sammy, a 6-foot-7 VCU commit, will be one of Wanamaker’s go-to options in his inaugural head coaching season.

McNesby first stepped away in 2016 after winning consecutive Philadelphia Catholic League and PIAA Class 4A (then the largest classification) titles with the likes of Tony Carr, Nazeer Bostick and Lamar Stevens then returned in 2021 after Griffin took an assistant coaching job at the University of Albany. Shareef and Xzayvier Brown (Oklahoma) were catalysts behind the 2023 title then Kabrien Goss hit one of the most memorable game winners in league history a year later. McNesby recalled how “the first time when I stepped away, I wanted to make sure I was coaching my kids for that period” and how “this time around I find myself really embracing the role of being a supporter and being behind the scenes helping with fundraising and anything I can to advance the program.” 

He is taking on a bigger role with his company, PWA Financial, an investment firm that handles pension and investment plans and retirement plans, in Newtown as his business partner retired. In addition to his expanded role, PWA Financial is “starting to get into the NIL world now and helping people navigate that world financially,” and expect McNesby to see that as his pathway to remain close to the game. Also, his children are moving into the next phase of their lives, including his daughter who is a member of the Penn State cheerleading team, and he plans to make several trips up to Happy Valley to “watch a lot of Penn State games.” 

With all these changes, McNesby was forthright with Wanamaker saying “I’m not going to do this forever and I would love for you to take this year as an opportunity to learn.” Wanamaker became more enthusiastic about the prospect of taking over for McNesby and as his comfort level grew in his lone season as an assistant, he found his voice, and this allowed for the seamless transition McNesby had longed for.

“It goes back to the tradition,” McNesby said. “It started way back with Speedy Morris and Dennis Seddon to me having been part of a lot of teams. Marc and I played together at Roman. You saw the tradition and saw guys put the team ahead of themselves. You know going there everyone is going to play a role; it’s not one guy getting highlighted.”

“Everyone comes together and that has always been the tradition. They go in knowing that and when Marc sent Shareef and Sammy to Roman, it was perfect because he taught them what Roman is about. That’s the Roman way. Brad has been through it, and he saw how his teams were successful. He played five different positions and did whatever he had to in order to win. We’re in good hands because Brad knows what it’s about.”

While at Roman Catholic, Wanamaker blossomed into a star, averaging 17.6 points per game on his way to First Team All-Catholic as a senior then finishing with 17 points, six rebounds, seven assists and four steals as Roman Catholic defeated Neumann-Goretti, 59-56 in the 2007 Philadelphia Catholic League final. He finished his career with 1,306 points and committed to the University of Pittsburgh. He immediately became a member of the rotation under Jamie Dixon and helped the Panthers win the Big East Conference Tournament then reach the NCAA Tournament as a freshman. He was a full-time starter his final two seasons with the Panthers, averaging 12 ppg over that span. He was named AP Honorable Mention All-American in 2010-11 and finished his Pitt career with 1,090 points. 

From there, his basketball career took him to a multitude of countries including Italy, France, Germany, and Turkey. While in Germany, he helped Brose Baskets win the 2014-15 Bundesliga title where he was named Finals MVP then won league MVP the following season. He later returned to the U.S. after signing with the Boston Celtics in 2018 and made his NBA debut against his hometown team, the Philadelphia 76ers that season. He played two seasons in Boston then spent time with the Golden State Warriors, Charlotte Hornets, Indiana Pacers and Washing Wizards, where his professional career came to a close in 2022. 

Being part of a Philadelphia Catholic League title at Roman Catholic connects that particular team to the legacy that has been established since the Cahillites won their first title 103 years ago. Wanamaker is part of that legacy and every day as he goes into the building where he developed as a player and person, he sees his name and is reminded of what he accomplished while he was there.

“My name is up on the wall for the Roman Catholic High School Sports Hall of Fame,” Wanamaker said. “It’s cool to walk through the halls and see my name and the plaque from the championship I helped win. We have another building where one of our trainers has a picture of me from when we won the championship back in ’07. It’s crazy because now I’m walking these halls and teachers are telling the kids stories about me.”

The one person who won’t be telling stories about his playing career is Wanamaker himself. While he found success from a young age and played professionally for over a decade, McNesby notes that one of the reasons Wanamaker will thrive as a head coach is his humbleness and unrelenting hunger to get better. 

“He has a great demeanor about him,” McNesby said. “You would never know that he was a Catholic League star, an All-Big East player and an NBA player because he’s the last one to talk about himself as a player. He never tries to bring that up or tell the kids what he did. There were times when I had to send highlights of him to the kids so they could see how tough a player he was. He never ever talks about himself, and he almost gets embarrassed doing that. He doesn’t like the spotlight on himself.”

The continuity between the previous regime and the new one has been paramount and that’s why long-time assistants Bill Goebig and Kyle Bernard will return. Sammy is back for his senior season as is fellow senior guard Semaj Robinson, and sophomore guards Dwayne Ruffin and Brad’s son, Brad Wanamaker Jr. Wanamaker welcomes new additions in Bryce Presley (Germantown Academy), 6-8 junior big man Sabir Lyn (Chichester) and La Salle commit RJ Smith, the 2024-25 Philadelphia Public League MVP who comes over from Imhotep Charter after avg. 16 ppg last season. After losing Shareef, Sebastian Edwards and CJ Miller, mixing the returnees with a talented crop of transfers will be a challenge but McNesby isn’t worried about that. 

He knows the program is in capable hands with Wanamaker leading the way.

“The future is bright,” McNesby said. “He’s well respected around the city and there’s a lot of kids who will come to Roman or look at Roman because of Brad. For a lot of these kids, they want to play at the highest level and what other coach in the area can give the kind of insight that Brad can.”

Playing in the biggest games is where Wanamaker made a name for himself. He played at the Palestra then Madison Square Garden then later TD Garden with the Celtics. However, all the gyms and arenas he played in pale in comparison to the allure and everlasting monument that is the Palestra. His picture will be there long after he’s done coaching his alma mater and, in the meantime, the goal remains the same for him, just as it did for all previous Roman Catholic head coaches. The goal is maintaining Roman Catholic as one of the premier programs in the league and across the state while attracting the best talent Philadelphia has to offer. 

Wanamaker plans to do just that.

“That’s the goal,” Wanamaker said. “I want to keep it going. We’ve had so many great players and coaches walk through that door, and I just want to be a part of that story from the other side now. I’m the coach who’s helping these guys perfect their craft and win some championships of their own.”