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92 in 92: West Catholic Prep (Pa.)

10/09/2014, 11:00am EDT

By Tom Reifsnyder

Brandon Cole (above) and West Catholic had a resurgent year in Jazz Williams’ first season. (Photo: Josh Verlin)

Tom Reifsnyder (@tom_reifsnyder)
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(Ed. Note: This piece is part of CoBL’s “92 Stories in 92 Days” high school season preview, which will feature a different team in the CoBL coverage range each day from September 1 to December 1.)

From an outsider’s perspective, West Catholic’s 12-14 record in 2013-2014 would not seem like something to celebrate.

However, the Burrs don’t play in just any high school basketball league; they play in the Catholic League.

When you’re matching up against perennial powerhouses like Neumann-Goretti and Roman Catholic on a nightly basis, wins are not easy to come by. Second-year head coach Jasmine “Jazz” Williams understands just how valuable each victory is in Philadelphia’s most competitive high school basketball league.

“We weren’t disappointed with our season. We won twelve games overall and won six games in the Catholic League, so we definitely don’t look at the season as being not what we wanted it to be,” Williams said. “It was actually everything we expected, and probably a little more.”

Despite winning less than 50 percent of its games last season, West Catholic managed to advance to the second round of the PIAA AA state playoffs.

The Burrs hung tough with District 2 champs Elmer L. Meyers for three quarters, but were eventually ousted, 51-41. West Catholic was missing two key players that night, but Williams isn’t one to make excuses.

“We went into the game minus two starters due to injury, Jalil Branch and Brandon Cole,” Williams said. “Up until I guess the third quarter, it was only one run; they had like an 8-0 or 10-0 run that basically won the game.

“We felt like we wanted to win the game, absolutely, but we were happy with where we were able to get to.”

And they should be.

Prior to Williams taking over at West Catholic last season, the Burrs posted an abysmal 2-20 record in 2012-2013.

Winning six games in the Catholic League is no small feat, especially following a season that produced just two victories.

Senior guard Jahmil Harris has seen it all during his time at West Catholic, both the good and the bad.

“I feel as though we did good for our first year being together coming from the record we had the year before,” Harris said. “I think we did pretty well last year for a new team with a new coaching staff.”

Last season, the team relied heavily on Harris’ versatility at the guard position. At 6-foot-4, he has the ability to handle and distribute the ball effectively while also guarding multiple positions on defense.

“Last year he won three games at the buzzer for us, just a real tough kid,” said Williams. “His greatest asset is probably…not even probably, his greatest asset is definitely his passing and ability to see the floor.

“I’ve seen a lot of basketball and the kid is one of the best passers that I’ve seen.”

In order to improve on their recent success in the Catholic League, Williams knows that Harris will have to play an even bigger role for the team this season.

“We’ll ask him to do a lot; we’ll ask him to rebound, we’ll ask him to defend, we’ll ask him to run the offense, we’ll ask him to play some point guard, we’ll ask him to guard some bigger guys,” Williams said. “He’ll be tasked with a lot but I think he’s up to it.”

Harris will certainly have a lot of responsibility resting on his shoulders this season, but the Burrs have a strong group of role players that are poised to lighten the load.

Returning to the lineup this season will be 6-4 senior forwards Cole and Stefan Jones, who will contribute significantly to the rebounding effort and on the defensive end. Sophomore Nahim Lee, a 6-5 forward, will also be a solid role player this season for the Burrs.

The team will also benefit from the arrival of three transfers. Sophomore Jeohonni Moore, junior John Herndon and senior Pasquale DiMascio will all be joining West Catholic this season.

DiMascio, a 6-2 forward, will provide an added scoring punch off the bench for the defensive-minded Burrs squad.

“He hustles, he plays defense, he has a great mid-range jump shot, and he can really drive to the basket,” Harris said. “He’ll be a big help for us this year.”

Along with DiMascio and the other transfers, two freshmen are also poised to see significant time on the court this season for West Catholic.

Twins Stefon and Keyohn Maddox, both 5-9 guards, will contribute to a much-improved backcourt this season for Williams.

“I think guards win games at all levels, but particularly at the high school level, if you have good guard play, I mean you really have to look no further than our own league in Neumann-Goretti,” said Williams. “And I think Jeohonni, John, Stefon and Keyohn will give us a different element than what we had last year as far as being able to depend on guards, being able to get up and guard people, forcing turnovers, and creating transition.

“We just have the luxury of having some talented, tough guards this year.”

Although the team will feature several new faces this season, West Catholic will be without four graduated seniors and one junior transfer.

“Jalen Roberson-Cosby, who’s now playing Division III basketball, we’ll miss his stability and senior leadership, along with Jalil Branch who was also a leader for us,” Williams said.

Players come and players go, that’s just the nature of the game.

While the end result of Williams’ second season at West Catholic is yet to be determined, one thing is for sure; winning is on his mind.

“The goal is always about championships,” he said. “We want to be at the Palestra when it’s all said and done.”

If their revamped backcourt proves to be as good as advertised, Williams and the Burrs will surely have a shot at improving their standing in the Catholic League this season.

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(Ed. Note:This piece is part of CoBL’s “92 Stories in 92 Days” high school season preview, which will feature a different team in the CoBL coverage range each day from September 1 to December 1.)