City of Basketball Love

Tyler Sandora (@tyler_sandora)
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In his four year career at Neumann-Goretti High School, Noah Warren has never been “the “guy.”

He’s been on the Saints’ varsity squad since freshman year, but has played behind guards such as Lamarr Kimble, Zane Martin, and Quade Green, all of whom are now playing at the Division I level.

“You learn a lot from them,” Warren said. “They are really good players, they can score. You just take a lot from what they do on the court.”

Kimble, Martin, and Green all had terrific careers at Neumann-Goretti, taking home numerous Catholic League and state championships along the way. Now they’re at the next level, at Saint Joseph’s, Towson and Kentucky, respectively.  

And while Warren might not be as talented as those guards before him, he does believe he has one attribute that sets him apart.

“They were all really good shooters,” he said. “But just certified shooters, I think that’s me. As long as I’m open, I’m shooting it.”

Warren showcased that shooting ability on Saturday afternoon, as he knocked down five 3-pointers en route to 23 points as the Saints defeated Abington, 70-60 in the first game of the 2nd Annual City Play-By-Play Classics at Jefferson University on Saturday afternoon.

Warren, a 6-foot guard who claims interest from local D-II’s East Stroudsburg and Lincoln, had been practicing with the aforementioned guards for the past three years, learning from them and competing night in and night out.

“He always could shoot like that in practice,” head coach Carl Arrigale said. “He often got those guys ahead of him in trouble because he could make shots. He had to be guarded because he can make those shots. He can throw them in, so it was nice seeing him have this game.”

When you see Warren shoot, you sometimes wonder how his shot goes in. A very unconventional release, the southpaw shoots it from his waist and flicks the ball up in the air.

While he admits it isn’t the prettiest of shots, Warren doesn’t seem to mind the common result.

“Yeah I always say it’s a weird shot, but as long as it’s going in, I don’t care,” Warren said. “No one really tried to change it. I tell them I want to keep it the same, as long as it goes in.”

“It’s hard to diagnose,” Arrigale said. “But he does get to the finish line with the follow through and the ball is going straight. I would never teach anybody how to do it, but that’s how he does it, and it goes in. He makes a lot.”

Warren, who hails from Chester, has been a shooter his whole life. Through middle school and in practice at Neumann-Goretti, he’s never lost his sweet touch from beyond the arc.

“I always think I can knock it down,” he said. “I always have the confidence. You’re going to have bad games, you still have to shoot it.”

“He came here and that was his thing,” Arrigale said on Warren. “That was why he was here. He could shoot and not really anything else. He’s gotten better putting the ball on the ground.”

With guards who are more known for getting to the rim, like Chris Ings and Dymir Montague, also in the starting lineup, Warren can afford to stay outside on the wing. Since he’s been practicing with his classmate Montague for four years, and Ings for three, his teammates know his strengths, and usually recognize where Warren is on any given play.

Although he’s won three PIAA state championships in his three year career, Warren has yet to take home the trophy in the Philadelphia Catholic League. His freshman and sophomore years Neumann-Goretti lost to Roman Catholic, and last season, Archbishop Wood took home the trophy.

It would mean a lot,” he said. “That’s what matters most to me. In the PCL we lost the last three years so we need to win this year.”

“It would mean a lot to all of us. We want it back,” Arrigale said. “If there is everything a championship, we want to be involved. It’s a long way away from us, we have a lot of work to do and I like the way we are trending. We have a lot of room for growth.”

Senior Dymir Montague added 20 points for Neumann-Goretti in the win, and junior Chris Ings scored 13.

For Abington, junior big man Eric Dixon scored 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. His classmate, 6-5 guard Lucas Monroe, scored 16 points. 

With the win over Abington, Neumann-Goretti improves to 4-1 on the season, their only loss coming to Shipley. The Saints will travel to Charlotte on Tuesday for a tournament, before they start Catholic League play.