City of Basketball Love

Tyler Sandora (@tyler_sandora)

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The last time that Neshaminy basketball was making headlines was in 2011, when former Villanova Wildcat Ryan Arcidiacono, was instrumental in its PIAA 4A state tournament run. Neshaminy ended up making it to the second round of states, when it fell to penn Wood, 54-50.

This season, Neshaminy is out to a 7-0 start, two wins away from its total a year ago. From 2012-2016, Neshaminy totaled 16 wins over the five seasons. In 2012-13, Neshaminy didn’t win a single game.

This team’s key player? Ryan’s younger brother, Chris Arcidiacono, who’s matured from a 5-foot-6 incoming freshman four years ago to a confident 6-3 lead guard as a senior.

Arcidiacono is off to a terrific start to his senior year, scoring over 25 points per game throughout the first seven contests.

“Feels great,” Arcidiacono said on this year’s success. “Last year we had nine wins, so it’s pretty good. We’re playing really good team defense and we’re hitting our shots, that’s what we need to do to be successful.”

Playing alongside classmate, 5-11 Anthony Papeo, another point guard, Arcidiacono has been the primary ball handler this year. He’s also shown the ability to find his teammates on the outside, where fellow senior Charles Dominick (6-1) has been lights out.

Dominick was terrific from beyond the arc on Thursday night, scoring 15 points on five 3’s, all of which came from the corner.

In the paint, Neshaminy has 6-7 senior Danny Bodine. While he’s still very skinny for his frame, he’s got a great touch and footwork around the basket.

Rounding out the starting lineup is 5-9 guard Pat Campbell, a defensive specialist. Greg DeLuca, another 5-9 senior, also sees minutes as mainly a defensive threat.

Neshaminy has defeated non-conference opponents such as Pennridge, Church Farm, and Rustin, the last of which came on Thursday night, when Neshaminy took down the Golden Knights, 66-51 behind 28 points from Arcidiacono.

In addition to his sharpshooting abilities from beyond the arc, Arcidiacono, has shown a developed attribute in his skillset this year; his confidence with the ball.

“He played point for us last year,” head coach Mark Tingle said on Arcidiacono. “He’s confident with the ball at all times, he has to give it up sometimes because teams will put two guys on him. It’s fine because he can find shooters which is great.”

Arcidiacono currently holds offers from Rider, Quinnipiac, Mount. St. Mary’s, and Eastern Kentucky. Delaware, Drexel, and New Hampshire have been showing interest as of late.

A year ago, Neshaminy was the 22nd seed in the 24-team district tournament. It finished the year with a 9-14 record overall, and lost its district matchup to Penn Wood, 54-50.

While some pieces were lost to graduation, including 6-4 forwards Zach Treadway and Anthony Verrechio, Neshaminy returns its core group of scorers this year; and almost all of them have varsity experience from previous years.

“We have a lot of seniors who were all juniors last year,” Tingle said. “As juniors they got a lot of time. We have experienced, seniors with two or three years at the varsity level. We have a lot of expectations.

“We lost a few pieces, but we had a lot coming back,” he continued. “We knew the offseason we were going to after it and play better competition. We would see where we’re at and it’s paying off now.”

Even with the offense clicking on all cylinders, Tingle and the rest of the Neshaminy program know they wouldn’t be at this point without the fantastic play of it’s defense.

“No guy is selfish, nobody is complaining, they’re all playing together,” Tingle said. “You look at certain teams and certain players, and you might want to get the ball out of their hands. We want the players who don’t shoot the ball as much to try and beat us.”

Neshaminy limited the opportunities of Rustin on Thursday night, causing havoc for the Golden Knights offense. Whether it was the full-court pressure, or disruption in the paint, Neshaminy had its way with the Rustin offense.

Tingle, a 2001 Neshaminy graduate and 10-year assistant coach, took over the program a year ago. He was an assistant the year Ryan Arcidiacono led Neshaminy to the district playoffs.

While the supporting casts are certainly different, Tingle admits he does see some similarities between the two teams.

“Of course you have to go with Ryan and Chris,” he said. “You have a guard that can handle the ball and change the game by himself.”

While the season is still young, there is lots of optimism and hope circling this Neshaminy team. The players, Arcidiacono in particular, have started to notice.

“They have to,” Arcidiacono said. “We’re 7-0 and we’re playing really well.”

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Ajak leads Church Farm over Pottsgrove

Jon Bol Ajak was dominant in the second game of the showcase, scoring 18 points and pulling down 10 rebounds in the Griffins 53-48 win over Pottsgrove.

The 6-10 junior big man had his way in the paint, scoring off of post-up opportunities, and after grabbing offensive rebounds.

With Pottsgrove’s tallest player standing 6-3, Ajak was able to grab rebounds simply by extending his arms. He even got up for two highlight reel putback dunks, one of which was called off for an over-the-back foul.

Junior Max Scott contributed 11 points for the Griffins, Jimmy McEvoy added six.

For Pottsgrove, senior guard Mike Ziegler scored 14 points, and Jayden Blakey dropped eight.