Boys basketball gets its Philadelphia Catholic League season underway this Friday night with a 6 p.m. matchup against defending Catholic League champion Roman Catholic from the East Gym at Archbishop Carroll.
Students should be sure to check their school email for information on how to reserve tickets for the game while parents and fans can pay the listed price of admission at the door. Be sure to get there early as the game will sell out.
Here’s what to expect heading into this Friday’s bout:
Carroll in 2024-25 —
Thus far in 2024, the Patriots hold a 4-4 record in non-conference play. Three of their losses came in a disappointing trip to the nation’s top tournament, City of Palms.
Carroll opened their slate with convincing wins over James Monroe High School (NY), 89-77; Westchester (CA), 78-60; and Gil St. Bernard (NJ), 81-70. Despite the hot start, the Pats had no chance in the City of Palms Classic in Fort Meyers, Fla., as they fell in three straight games to the nation’s No. 5 Montverde Academy (FL), 96-77; and national powerhouses Portland Central Catholic (OR), 87-72; and Gateway Charter (FL), 80-76.
Carroll returned home and took the first of its final two games of the preseason, defeating Woodbury High School (NJ) in the Fidonce Classic, 77-64. The Pats lost to St. Frances (MD) in the Jordan Brand Classic, 71-62, on Sunday.
The Pats have taken on some of the nation’s best competition in preparation for Catholic League play. Carroll comes into the year as one of the state’s top ranked clubs, despite missing two of their four returning starters from a year ago in captain Ian Williams and 6-foot-9-inch center Drew Corrao.
Williams is expected to miss a majority of the year with a knee injury. Corrao, who suffered a right foot injury, will remain out until mid-February, hopefully returning for yet another state playoff run.
In the meantime, the Pats will need to rely on a cast of characters old and new, headlined by ESPN-Top 50 player and Four-Star recruit Luca Foster, a junior. Foster, who leads not just the Catholic League but the Philadelphia area in scoring through eight games, is averaging 22.6 PPG. The Pats star has fielded offers from Saint Joe’s, Temple, Penn State, Albany, Bryant, Virginia Tech, Villanova, Eastern Carolina, Miami (FL), Xavier, Pitt, and Seton Hall.
Another high major recruit is 6-foot-6-inch sophomore Munir Grieg, who holds an offer from Villanova. The imposing Grieg has made some huge strides in his game this offseason, putting on muscle and working on bully ball in the paint. Grieg is averaging 15.1 points so far this season and looks to be a major contributor down low in the absence of Corrao.
Junior Nasir Ralls and transfer guard Christian Matos, a junior, have become a deadly knockdown pair from distance in the early going as well, with both Matos and Ralls shining at different points in the preseason and showing off their impressive shooting ability on multiple occasions.
Rounding out the starting lineup is the intriguing freshman guard Yasir Turner. Turner, a product of Fidonce in Chester, hasn’t been the model of consistency on offense but hasn’t missed a step when it comes to his hustle and ball movement/playmaking abilities from the top of the key. In the absence of Williams, the freshman has had the opportunity to grow up fast, playing against and alongside some of the nation’s best on the court.
Rounding out the varsity roster is the junior pairing of Chris Kingkiner and Eric White, who shuffle in rotationally through head coach Francis Bowe’s notoriously thin lineups. Finally, freshman Kaiden Mooty has seen minimal time on the floor for the varsity squad but has continued to get the call in the wake of injuries. He’ll be an intriguing name to watch at the bottom of the roster.
The Patriots come into the season as one of the Catholic League’s favorites under Bowe, who is in his seventh year at the helm in Radnor. Bowe has guided multiple iterations of his Patriots squad through Catholic League, district, and state playoffs. Names like Moses Hipps, Jake West, and now Luca Foster come to mind when regarding Bowe’s tenure, along with an era of consistent winning, though always coming up just short of the bigger goal.
The trend continued last season as the Pats fell first to Neumann-Goretti in the PCL quarterfinals in a heartbreaker, then to Lincoln Park in blowout fashion in the 4A state championship game.
Carroll’s 2024-25 season looked to be different at its onset, though injuries have thrown a major wrench into one of the school’s most promising teams in years. Time will only tell if this still young though experienced Carroll club can pull it all together and prove itself in 2025.
Roman in 2024-25 —
The Cahillites come into Friday’s season opener in prime positioning. As defending Catholic League champions and the number one ranked squad In Pennsylvania, they are the top dogs.
So far this year, the 6-2 Cahillites have taken down clubs such as Sanford (DE), Coolidge (DC), Archbishop Spalding (MD), Westminster Christian (FL), Woodward (GA), and Palmetto (FL) most recently to win the 2024 Junior Orange Bowl.
Roman is led by 6-foot-7-inch senior center Shareef Jackson, who committed to Lafayette last summer. Jackson, the son of former 76er and Roman Catholic grad Marc Jackson, is accompanied by his younger brother, junior Sammy Jackson. The 6-foot-6-inch, three-star forward fields offers from Arizona State, Auburn, Florida Gulf Coast, La Salle, and Penn State, all the while standing as one of the best players in the Philadelphia area.
Senior CJ Miller, along with freshman phenom Dwayene Ruffin Jr., will complement the Jacksons in Roman’s starting lineup as Ruffin projects to be one of the best freshmen in the area this year.
Tyler Sutton is now in his sophomore year after a great freshman campaign for the George School. The 6-foot-2-inch point guard holds offers from Miami (FL), Cal State Bakersfield, Iowa, Penn State, and Saint John’s.
Home grown senior Sebastian Edwards will be a name to watch as always. The 6-foot-4-inch guard will provide shooting and great playmaking from the outside long with 6-foot-4-inch guard Elijah Guer, who holds low major offers from Hofstra, USC Upstate, and St. Bonaventure.
The varsity roster wraps up with sophomore Judah Sterling, freshman Bradley Wanamaker (son of former NBAer Brad Wanamaker Sr.), sophomore Derek Carr, and junior Semaj Robinson.
The Cahillites are led by Chris McNesby, who enters his fourth season since returning to Broad and Vine back to 2021. Since returning to the sidelines, McNesby has brought Roman back-to-back PCL titles in 2023-2024 and looks to make his club the third Cahilite club to ever accomplish the feat.
The Matchup —
Carroll will be going up against one of the most potent teams in the nation this Friday, with heaps of talent, experience, and numbers, not to mention one of the best coaches in PCL history. It’s safe to say that the Patriots have their work cut out for them.
Bowe’s club is going to have to be on its “A” game come 6 p.m. on Friday if it wants to find a way to take down this Roman Catholic club.
AC, Projected starting V
PG – Yasir Turner
SG – Christian Matos
C – Munir Grieg
PF – Luca Foster
SF – Nasir Ralls
RC, Projected starting V
PG – Dwayene Ruffin
SG – Sebastian Edwards
C – Shareef Jackson
PF – Sammy Jackson
SG – Tyler Sutton
The one thing the Patriots will have on the Cahillites is their experience playing together. Roman’s new blend of young players could struggle with their first taste of Catholic League action while Carroll’s tight knit group of guys goes into its second season.
Although this Roman club is still young and learning to jive, if anyone will get those guys up and in line for a big time Catholic League matchup, it’s McNesby.
What to watch for —
Can Carroll keep it tight?
One thing the Pats have had no trouble with this year is getting out to a good start, perhaps with the exception of last week’s slugfest against Woodbury, where the team trailed 15-5 in the opening minutes. Nonetheless, the team has thrived in the early going, most notably playing pound for pound with the nation’s No. 5 team, Montverde, at City of Palms and keeping things within one score at the end of the first quarter.
However, Carroll has struggled with keeping things tight and when the lead seems to slip away from them, they rarely have been able to get their feet back under them against elite competition like Roman.
The Matchup down low —
With Corrao out, Grieg will need to step up in the center role for the Patriots through Catholic League play. His first test may just be his toughest as well, as he takes on 6-foot-7-inch Shareef Jackson, the bulky bully of a center who thrives in the paint for Roman. Certainly keep an eye on Grieg on the defense end in particular going up against Jackson.
Who steps up for Carroll?
Perhaps the biggest question when Ian Williams went down for the Patriots prior to the season was, who would step up as the team’s secondary scorer? While the obvious choice may have been Grieg, as previously mentioned the sophomore will have his work cut out for him, trying to account for Shareef Jackson all night.
Look for one of the Pats two sharpshooting guards to show up on offense, as both Christian Matos and Nasir Ralls have shown in the preseason on the offensive end.
