City of Basketball Love

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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It’s almost impossible to predict the Catholic League.

That’s the nature of the beast, the 14-team league that’s widely considered the deepest and toughest in the state; no fewer than nine of the programs boast sure-fire Division I prospects,

Last year, Roman Catholic finished second during the regular season but still found it in themselves to upset Neumann-Goretti, ending the Saints' run of six consecutive PCL titles. Both return loaded squads this year stacked with future high-major talent, but they're far from the only two teams worth watching. Teams like Archbishop Wood, Archbishop Carroll, La Salle, Conwell-Egan and more all have high expectations, and more than one of the above programs will make noise in the various state tournaments in March.

Here’s how the CoBL staff sees the Catholic League shaking out this year:

Preseason All-Catholic League
Tony Carr (Sr./Roman Catholic)
Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree (Jr./Neumann-Goretti)
Quade Green (Jr./Neumann-Goretti)
Josh Sharkey (Sr./Archbishop Carroll)
Lamar Stevens (Sr./Roman Catholic)

1. Roman Catholic
Head Coach: Chris McNesby, 7th season
Last Year: 29-2 (11-2 PCL), won PCL championship (Neumann-Goretti, 64-59), won District 12 championship (Martin Luther King, 58-57), won PIAA Class AAAA title (King, 62-45)
Name(s) to know: Nazeer Bostick (Sr./SF), Tony Carr (Sr./PG), Lamar Stevens (Sr./SF)

Breakdown: Watch out. Fresh off an impressive season that saw the Cahillites snap Neumann-Goretti’s six-year run at the top of the league and then win its first-ever state championship, Roman Catholic got even better. That’s what happens when you add to the lineup a powerful 6-6 wing in Stevens, a top-100 recruit and one of three players on the roster signed to play basketball at Penn State. The other two are Bostick, a 6-4 wing nicknamed “Horse” for his motor on the court, and Carr, a 6-4 point guard who like Stevens brought in two dozen high-major scholarship offers before selecting the Nittany Lions. They’re joined by a few other D-I prospects, including 6-8 senior Paul Newman, 6-4 junior wing D’Andre Vilmar and two very promising newcomers: 6-6 forward Mikeal Jones and 6-5 guard Seth Lundy. And don’t forget 6-0 junior guard Dakquan Davis, who came out of nowhere to emerge as the team’s reliable sixth man and 3-point gunner a year ago. Anything less than a PCL and state championship repeat will be a disappointment.

2. Neumann-Goretti
Head Coach: Carl Arrigale, 17th season
Last Year: 29-2 (12-1 PCL), lost PCL championship (Roman Catholic, 64-59), won District 12 AAA championship (Imhotep, 77-74), won PIAA Class AAA championship (Archbishop Carroll, 69-67)
Name(s) to know: Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree (Jr./F-C), Quade Green (Jr./G), Zane Martin (Sr./SG)

Breakdown: The only other team in the Catholic League that can claim to have as much talent on its roster is the program that had a stranglehold on the PCL for the last six years. Green, a 6-0 combo guard, and Cosby-Roundtree, a 6-8 forward, both had tremendous summers on the sneaker circuit and are raking in the high-major offers. While Green, a top-50 prospect, looks like a blue-blood guard, no player in the area has improved as much over the last 12 months as Cosby-Roundtree, whose shooting range has extended to the 3-point range and he’s become a ferocious shot-blocker and rebounder as well. Add in Martin, a 6-3 wing bound for Towson, plus contributors like seniors Vaughn Covington and Rasheed Brown, junior Mike Millsip, sophomore Dymir Montague and more, and you have a dangerous group that could very well topple Roman as well as take home its sixth PIAA Class AAA title in seven years.

3. Archbishop Wood
Head Coach: John Mosco, 3rd season
Last Year: 18-6 (8-5 PCL), lost in PCL quarterfinal (Roman, 64-50)
Name(s) to know: Tommy Funk (Sr./PG), Collin Gillespie (Jr./G), Tyree Pickron (Soph./SG)

Breakdown: If there’s any logical challenger to Neumann and Roman for supremacy at the top of the PCL it’s Wood, who’s established itself as a certifiable threat under Mosco, a longtime assistant at Neumann-Goretti who’s bringing that same success to his new school. After starting off last season 3-4 in league play, Wood ripped off five straight wins, including an impressive victory at Roman Catholic that served as a coming-out party for Pickron, an athletic 6-3 wing who averaged 11.6 ppg as a freshman. Though they’ll need to replace all-PCL selection Luke Connaghan (19.0 ppg), the combination of Pickron, Army commit Tommy Funk (14.6 ppg) and junior combo guard Collin Gillespie (7.1 ppg) will have them right there in the mix.

4. Archbishop Carroll
Head Coach: Paul Romanczuk, 14th season
Last Year: 23-7 (11-2 PCL), lost in PCL semifinal (Roman, 61-58), lost in PIAA Class AAA final (Neumann-Goretti, 69-67)
Name(s) to know: Miks Antoms (Sr./PF), Ryan Daly (Sr./SG), Josh Sharkey (Sr./PG)

Breakdown: This is when the league really opens up; a few of these teams have a chance to break into the top three of the league, but there will be a lot of parity in the middle portion of the PCL. Despite graduating high-flying wing Derrick Jones (UNLV) and losing junior guard David Beatty (St. Benedict’s) to transfer, Romanczuk still has two signed D-I guards in the 6-4 Daly (Hartford) and 5-9 Sharkey (Samford), both of whom started all season long a year ago; Daly, who averaged 12.8 ppg a year ago, could become one of the top scorers in the league this year. And to help shore up the frontcourt, the Patriots have added a 6-8 import from Latvia, Antoms, who is by all counts coming into his own during preseason practices and should be an intriguing piece for the Patriots this year. Also playing well this offseason has been 6-4 senior John Rigsby, a shooting wing with a gritty mentality on both ends of the floor.

5. La Salle College HS
Head Coach: Joe Dempsey, 12th season
Last Year: 21-7 (9-4 PCL), lost in PCL semifinals (N-G, 70-65), lost in PIAA Class AAAA quarterfinals (J.P. McCaskey, 60-59)
Name(s) to know: Ryan McTamney (Sr./SF), Shane Stark (Sr./PF), Jarrod Stukes (Jr./PG)

Breakdown: Yes, this is an ambitious ranking for a program that graduated four starters from last year, including one Division I prospect in David Krmpotich (Colgate) and two D-II guards, Najee Walls (East Stroudsburg) and Shawn Witherspoon (Nyack). But it was just two years ago that the Explorers, after losing a huge 2013 graduating class, went all the way to the PIAA Class AAAA finals with the above trio going from unknowns to scholarship-level prospects in the span of a few months. Stark, a 6-6 forward with D-II/D-III looks, is the team's only returning starter after averaging 5.8 ppg as a junior; he's joined up front by the 6-5 McTamney. The backcourt should be steady with Stukes--whose older brother Amar plays at La Salle University--and his classmate Matt Paulus running the show.

6. Father Judge
Head Coach: Sean Tait, 7th season
Last Year: 15-9 (6-7 PCL), lost in PCL quarterfinals (N-G, 88-57)
Name(s) to know: Justin Fleming (Sr./SF), Quincy Reed (Sr./G), Marc Rodriguez (Jr./G)

Breakdown: After going 5-8 in league play three consecutive years, the Crusaders took a small step forward with one extra victory last season, and could do so again this year for the team’s first winning season in league play since 2010-11. They’ll need to replace point guard Will Brazukas (Moravian), a terrific floor general and leader, but the backcourt should be plenty solid with the 6-0 Reed (10.4 ppg) and 6-1 Rodriguez (10.0 ppg) both more-than-capable ball-handlers and terrific outside shooters; Fleming, a muscular 6-3 wing, is also a terrific 3-point shooter off the catch and will stick his nose in after any loose ball. Their biggest problem will be rebounding against some of the taller teams in the league, but they can scrap and shoot with any of them.

7. Conwell-Egan
Head Coach: Frank Sciolla, 3rd season
Last Year: 21-8 (8-5 PCL), lost in PCL quarterfinals (Carroll, 47-34), won District 12 AA championship (Freire Charter, 67-31), won PIAA Class AA championship (Aliquippa, 62-51)
Name(s) to know: Vinny Dalessandro (Sr./PF), James Leible (Soph./F), LaPri McCray-Pace (Sr./SG)

Breakdown: The defending PIAA Class AA champions have some key pieces they need to replace if they want to make another run in the state bracket. In addition to the expected graduations of starters Chase Kumor and Sean Kelly, the team got a jolt in October when senior point guard Stevie Jordan, the defending Player of the Year in the AA classification, transferred to Advance Prep International (Tex.) for his senior year. They’ll need to replace his 16.8 ppg, but returning are two key pieces from last year in 6-3 wing McCray-Pace (11.4 ppg) and 6-8 forward Dalessandro (10.5 ppg), who’s committed to play at D-II Pace University (N.Y.). They’ll need to rely on youngsters like Leible, a 6-6 forward, and Eric Esposito, a 6-3 sophomore guard, to make plays to compete with the top teams in the PCL.

8. St. Joseph’s Prep
Head Coach: Speedy Morris, 15th season
Last Year: 18-5 (10-3 PCL), lost in PCL quarterfinals (La Salle, 37-33)
Name(s) to know: Temi Aiyegbusi (Sr./SF), Pete Gayhardt (Sr./C), Kyle Thompson (Soph./PG)

Breakdown: It’s tough to place Prep in the bottom half of the league, because Speedy Morris’ squads always find a way to work their way up the standings. But they do have to replace one heck of a player in Chris Clover; the 2015 PCL MVP averaged 20.7 ppg as a senior and scored 979 points over his final two seasons before heading off to Saint Joseph’s University for his college career. He’s one of four senior starters who the Hawks will have to replace, including point guard James McGovern (10.0 ppg), who went from unknown to all-Catholic in three months. There are always seniors who come out of nowhere for Prep, and this year that could be Aiyegbus, a 6-4 wing who can score from all three levels; Gayhardt, a 6-6 forward headed to Notre Dame for lacrosse, should also enjoy a big senior year on the hardcourt.

9. Archbishop Ryan
Head Coach: Joe Zeglinski, 1st season
Last Year: 10-13 (4-9 PCL), lost in PCL first round (Archbishop Wood, 66-56)
Name(s) to know: Izaiah Brockington (Jr./SG), Austin Chabot (Sr./SF), Austin Slawter (Sr./PG)

Breakdown: Don’t sleep on these Raiders: despite finishing five games under .500 in league play last year and with a first-year head coach in Joe Zeglinski, this is a Ryan group with some pop. They’re fired up to play for Zeglinski, a 28-year-old Ryan grad who went Division I (Hartford), and he in turn is excited about his first group. The star is Brockington, a 6-4 left-handed guard who’s gaining the attention of plenty of Division I schools after averaging 14.8 ppg as a sophomore. But he’s got a strong group of seniors around him, including 6-6 wing Austin Chabot, a DeSales commit, plus 6-5 Freddie Killian and the 5-11 Slawter, all of whom started as juniors. With that returning experience and some talent as well, the Raiders will be a threat to upset the teams above them and move up the standings.

10. Bonner-Prendergast
Head Coach: Jack Concannon, 2nd season
Last Year: 12-11 (5-8 PCL), lost in PCL first round (Father Judge, 64-49)
Name(s) to know: John Hargraves (Sr./PF), Mike Mercanti (Sr./F), Keith Washington (Sr./G)

Breakdown: The Friars suffered a blow this offseason when it turns out they wouldn’t have the services of sophomore forward Ajiri Johnson, a 6-8 Nigerian native who was slated to play at the Delaware County school but instead will go to a prep school in Connecticut. But there are still pieces for Concannon to work with, including Hargraves, a 6-4 workhorse forward who’s an early commit to Moravian; he averaged just under seven points per game a year ago. Mercanti, a 6-3 wing and maybe the most athletic player on Bonner’s lineup, should go from a small-role player to a big-time contributor, as should 6-4 junior wing Dylan Higgins. If 6-7 sophomore Jake Wilson gets medical clearance for the year, their ceiling certainly rises.

11. Lansdale Catholic
Head Coach: Joe Corbett, 1st season
Last Year: 5-17 (2-11 PCL)
Name(s) to know: Ryan Braun (Jr./F), Tyler Grant (Sr./G), Dan Modestine (Sr./PG)

Breakdown: Corbett, a language teacher at Lansdale Catholic, takes over a program that hasn't made much noise in the Catholic League since joining the league in 2008, and while it doesn't look like that's going to change too significantly this season, he does have some pieces to work with. Modestine, the team's captain, is a 6-3 point guard and the team's leading scorer a year ago (10.0 ppg). Also back is Braun, a 6-5 wing who can really shoot, plus Grant, both of whom started all last season. There's certainly a chance this group picks up 3-4 wins and has one of its better showings.

12. West Catholic
Head Coach: Jazz Williams, 3rd season
Last Year: 7-15 (3-10 PCL)
Name(s) to know: John Herndon (Sr./SG), Jeohnni Moore (Jr./G),

Breakdown: The Burrs graduated three of their top four scorers from a year ago, including versatile 6-4 wing Jahmil Harris (14.0 ppg) and forward Brandon Cole (11.7 ppg). They’ll be much more guard-heavy this year, led by Herndon, who was ineligible last year but is jet-quick with a scorer’s touch from all three levels; Moore, who averaged 9.6 ppg, showed he can also be a big-time scorer with a 24-point outing against Bishop McDevitt and seven other double-figure performances during league play. West Catholic did take a blow, however, when twin brothers Stephon and Keyohn Maddox, both of whom would have been in the starting lineup, transferred to West Philadelphia.

13. Cardinal O’Hara
Head Coach: Steve Cloran, 3rd season
Last Year: 6-16 (1-12 PCL)
Name(s) to know: Zakee Griffin (Sr./G) Liutauras Repsys (Sr./F-C)

Breakdown: O’Hara was close in several games last year, especially as the season went on, losing by three to West Catholic, by six to McDevitt, by three (in overtime) to Bonner-Prendie. The program got a big blow in the offseason, however, as twins Ahmad and Ahmin Williams transferred to Plymouth-Whitemarsh for their sophomore season; the two combined to average 14.2 ppg as freshmen and formed two-thirds of the Lions’ backcourt. Griffin, a 5-11 guard, averaged 6.5 ppg a year ago, while inside they’ll go to Repsys, a 6-9 post from Lithuania who averaged 5.5 ppg in his first year at O’Hara last season.

14. Bishop McDevitt
Head Coach: Sean Ryan, 2nd season
Last Year: 5-17 (1-12 PCL)
Name(s) to know: Quintin Beasley (Jr./G), Da'Quane Williams (Soph./G)

Breakdown: It was a tough season last year for McDevitt, and without the graduated Jayson Clark (14.3 ppg) and transferred Qadir Burgess (11.8 ppg), plus five other seniors, it could be two years in a row for the Lancers where it’s a struggle to pick up wins in a tough league. Ryan is leaning on a lot of youth this year, with four freshmen and three sophomores on a roster that returns only a solitary player--senior Chris Moore, who scored a grand total of six points last year. Beasley, a 6-0 guard, and Williams, a 6-1 guard, will be leaned upon heavily.