City of Basketball Love

Rich Flanagan (@richflanagan33)

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(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 2025-26 season preview coverage. The complete list of schools previewed thus far can be found here.)

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Carl Arrigale summed up the 2024-25 season in one sentence: “It was definitely different, that’s for sure.”

It was a year that Arrigale and Neumann-Goretti were unaccustomed to in South Philadelphia for a variety of reasons. The Saints finished with a modest 18-11 overall (7-6 PCL), which reflected a team transitioning from one finding itself to one that returned the program to heights it is quite familiar with.

However, the growing pains led to some obscure history. Those 11 losses were the most ever by an Arrigale-coached team and the six league losses were the most since the program went winless in 1995. Not to mention, Neumann-Goretti had never finished with more than three PCL losses in a season since St. John Neumann merged with St. Maria Goretti in 2004, and it was no surprise this group lost to eventual champion Father Judge in the quarterfinals.

As only Arrigale can, he galvanized the Saints to regroup and turn its attention to the state tournament where they advanced to the GIANT Center in Hershey and left with the program’s 10th PIAA state championship. Neumann-Goretti downed hometown Hershey, 85-71 to secure the PIAA Class 5A Tournament title, its first state championship since 2022. That’s a long drought for Arrigale considering he led the Saints to eight state crowns in a nine-year span from 2010-18. It was a season of growth and definitive result that the heralded head coach hopes will turn into sustained success.

“We got to the finish line and lived up to our standard; however, it took a little longer to get there,” Arrigale said. “It’s the new nature of things as we lost some guys, gained some guys and tried some new things. It’s not the same as it was when you had guys in your program who were waiting to play and following the path. Even though a couple of things had been there, it was about teaching these guys the Neumann-Goretti way and how to blend together.”

Four starters return from that 2025 PIAA 5A title team in Stephon “Munchie” Ashley-Wright, DeShawn Yates, Kody Colson and Alassan N’Diaye.

Ashley-Wright, the reigning Pa. All-State 5A Player of the Year bound for Towson, closed out the state final with perhaps his best game of the season, shooting 9-15 from the floor and finishing with 25 points. The 6-foot senior guard averaged 17.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 4.4 apg and 1.8 spg while shooting 48.1% from the field and making 32 three-pointers on the season. Arrigale saw a much more determined and driven Ashley-Wright down the stretch and he’s confident that will seep into his point guard’s final high school season, especially as he has matched his brother, Robert Wright III now playing at BYU, in PIAA state title victories.

“Maturation is the biggest difference, and he’s had to deal with that a lot,” Arrigale said. “Rob’s a tough act to follow because he’s a true hooper. Everything was basketball for Rob, and he wanted to be great. Munchie was like a normal kid where he would get distracted and he didn’t have Rob’s mentality. Munchie was thrust right into it playing as a freshman then Khaafiq got hurt that year and he played even more than we thought. He has experienced it a little bit and you see it in the way he finished last year.”

“The beauty and joy of it is having done it so long that you see the different steps and journeys each kid takes, and seeing Munchie understand and mature and having it mean a little more to him was special. Hopefully, he stays on that path he’s on and leads this team to bigger and better things.”

Yates, the 5-10 senior guard and Second Team All-State selection, is “the most underrated player in the area,” according to Arrigale. He entered the rotation two years ago when injuries were affecting the Saints lineup and has left since. He averaged 14.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 5.9 apg and 2.8 spg while shooting an impressive 54.8%. He scored a Neumann-Goretti state playoff record with 34 points against an overtime victory over Penncrest in the quarterfinals, surpassing the likes of Wright, Ja’Quan Newton and Zane Martin who all held the previous record of 33.

Even more vital to Neumann-Goretti’s success than his production is the minutes he plays as evidenced by his team-high 30.2 minutes per game. Arrigale noted that “he was the heart and soul of our team last year” and “he’s selfless and you have to have guys like that who only care about winning, not their stats.”

Colson, the son of former Franklin Learning Center star Sean Colson, transferred in from Imhotep Charter and immediately found a role with the Saints. The 5-11 senior guard started 24 games, averaged 12.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg and 2.5 apg while making an astounding 71 three-pointers at a 36.8% clip.

“He’s overlooked and honestly one of the best shooters in the area. His decision-making is getting there,” as Arrigale frames it.

Also look for 6-foot sophomore EJ Stanton Jr., who picked up his first Division I offer from Towson in October, to be part of this backcourt rotation. Stanton avg. 3.1 ppg in 29 games and is coming off one of his better performances with 11 points in the state championship.

“EJ is a year older and has really blossomed. Now he’s the tallest guard on the team. His stock is rising,” Arrigale said.

Arrigale wasn’t sure what to expect when N’Diaye, the 6-6 senior forward, joined the team last year and he surprised many during his first season in the Philadelphia Catholic League after coming over from St. Mark’s (Del.). The East Stroudsburg commit had 11 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in that state final and finished with averages of 15.2 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.3 spg and 1.4 bpg to go along with 24 three-pointers on 42.1% from deep.

He had 26 points against Marple Newtown to open the state tournament and Arrigale sees N’Diaye building off of a superb junior campaign.

“In some respects, he might not be the biggest name playing with Munchie and DeShawn but he’s definitely the most important with what he does for us and brings to our team,” Arrigale said. “He’s a classic forward that defends the other team’s big guys and does a lot of different things. He started to make some threes and make some plays. It was a really big adjustment for him as we were playing a lot of five out and working through him, which I don’t think had happened before in his life.”

Neumann-Goretti welcomed a few new additions this season beginning with 2027 wing Marquis Newson, who came over after helping Academy of the New Church capture the 2025 Friends Schools League title. Arrigale feels the 6-5 guard, who holds offers from La Salle, Penn State, Arizona State, Virginia Tech, and St. Joe’s, has “been exactly what we needed. He’s a great athlete and a better shooter than I thought. He handles the ball much better than I realized. He’s a two-way guy and can do a lot of things defensively with his versatility.”

Newson began his career at Sanford School (Del.) where he averaged 12.2 ppg as a freshman then built on that by averaging 10.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.0 spg and 1.1 bpg with 32 three-pointers at ANC a season ago.

The Neumann-Goretti pipeline continues to be forged by the familial connections and the latest example of his connection is London Collins, the nephew of former Neumann-Goretti great Antonio “Scoop” Jardine who scored 1,299 career points and won a pair of Philadelphia Catholic League titles in 2005 and 2006. Collins arrives by way of St. Monica Prep (Cal.) as he spent a few years on the West Coast living with Jardine.

The 6-2 junior lefty has known Arrigale since he was 10 years out as “he lived in South Philly and used to come to my camp. I’ve known him a long time.” Collins will be a welcomed addition for defensive versatility as “he gives us another dimension and has really improved his shot since he’s been here.”

The final player to watch in the Saints’ rotation this year is 6-3 freshman guard Amar’e White, who could log some minutes and will be a staple in the program for years to come.

Neumann-Goretti opens the season on Dec. 5 against Middletown (Del.) in the All-City Classic. It will also play Haverford School and St. Georges Tech in nonleague while traveling to play in premier events such as the 7th annual Xaverian Classic at Our Lady of Good Counsel (Md.) and the NY Holiday Invitational at St. Dominic High School (N.Y.). The Saints open Philadelphia Catholic League play on Jan. 2 against Archbishop Ryan and get their first shot at reigning champion Father Judge on Feb. 1.

For the first time in two years, the immense expectations that come with donning the black and gold emblazoned “Neumann” across the front have officially returned. A deep corps of returning veteran starters led by Ashley-Wright and N’Diaye coupled with the additions of Newson and Collins have given the Saints a reason to dream of the program’s road to the Philadelphia Catholic League title game for the first time in three years.

That has always remained Arrigale’s sole focus each season and that trend will continue once again this year.

“There are some expectations now,” Arrigale said. “That’s always our goal every year is to be playing on that last day in the Palestra. That’s what we’ve built at Neumann-Goretti and that hasn’t changed. Now there’s a little noise around the team and we’re the toast of the town.

"Meanwhile, people didn’t think we were going to do much last year. That stuff can be poison, and I don’t want them to start believing it. They can’t get caught up in the wrong stuff. Enjoy the journey and really put in the work. We have a group that should challenge and have a chance.”