Senior-led Archbishop Ryan boys’ basketball looking to do ‘special things’

There were sporadic moments last season when Archbishop Ryan boys’ basketball had a problem that could have been handled better. The rough edges showed sometimes with a look, or annoyed body language, or with downright arguments.

What, regrettably, happened were communication breakdowns. This season, the operative words for Ryan are “selective amnesia.”

Ryan went 17-11 overall last year and finished 10-4 in the Philadelphia Catholic League. They fell in the Catholic League quarterfinals to West Catholic (71-51). The Raiders reached the city championship and PIAA Class 5A state semifinals, losing both times to eventual state champion Imhotep Charter.

Head coach Joe Zeglinski will be entering his ninth season. The team returns Georgetown-bound 6-foot-9, 240-pound Thomas Sorber, who’s one of the top centers in the class of 2024, and Florida Gulf Coast University-bound 6-3 senior guard Darren Williams. With those contributors, the Raiders could make a trifecta at a Catholic League, District 12 and PIAA Class 5A state championship run.

The team also returns 6-6 senior forward Jaden Murray, 6-foot senior guard Ryan Everett, and two-year starting 6-1 senior guard Rocco Morabito.

Add in 6-4 junior guard Brandon Russell, a transfer from Pennington School, and depth from 6-3 senior wing Christian Durham, 6-foot senior guard Gavin Reed, and 5-11 sophomore guard Matt Johnson, Ryan will be a formidable team.

They enter this season armed with valued lessons that they learned last year.

“The chemistry this summer has improved a lot, everyone has stayed connected and no one complained to each other, because that happened last year,” Murray said. “We need to communicate better. We had a miscommunication on the court, and that would sometimes follow into the next play.

“We have Thomas in the middle, who’s a great person and a great teammate. He brings the whole team together. I have to speak up this year. I didn’t do it last year, and I’m very ready for us to get to the PCL, the city, and the state championship.”

Williams agreed.

“We need to stay connected,” he said. “It’s going to take all five on the court for us to win. We have to take accountability and let everyone know that it’s okay if you make a mistake, we can get it back. I used to dwell on mistakes, and I learned that it is OK to make mistakes.”

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Zeglinski expects his veteran group to be more cohesive. It was a collection of players that had to adjust to one another last year, and that came with growing pains.

Last season, Zeglinski pointed out, there were too many players who felt that they were on an island. The chemistry was not at a “championship level.” Communication, Zeglinski stressed, was not the overriding issue with the Raiders, though it should have been better — and the gaps of miscommunication did get in the way of Ryan’s success.

“They know what to expect this year,” Zeglinski said. “We grinded out a lot of wins. Thomas and Darren will lead the way, and we will have a more balanced attack. We have guys now with two and three years of experience in the Catholic League. Most of our problems last year came when teams packed the paint against us.”

The goals are lofty. Two years ago, Ryan reached the Catholic League championship for the first time since 2008 and fourth time in program history (1979, 2002, 2008 and 2022), losing to Neumann-Goretti. Under Zeglinski, who has turned the program around, the Raiders have reached the Catholic League semifinals five times.

This year, he has an interesting sell with a wealth of returning talent. Will the Raiders buy into the message of sharing the ball and thinking “we” before “I?”

“I have always been honest with my team and we won’t put up with any guys on the bench giving bad body language, because it will stick out with a senior-led group who are good enough to do special things,” Zeglinski said. “If it is one guy who is not bought in, it is easy to recognize. If it is two, three or four, it becomes frustrating, and that is where teams fall apart.

“There are too many quality leaders and too much talent on this team for that to happen. As long as everyone leads the way they have been, we are going to be in good shape.”

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Zeglinski will try to keep this team grounded. The Raiders will be playing in some major tournaments before league play, like Gonzaga (D.C.) and City of Palms.

“I’ll continue to remind the guys to stay in the moment because I want them to enjoy the ride,” Zeglinski said. “We could do a lot of special things this year. They know the history. Ryan has never won a PCL, city or state championship.”

Maybe that drought ends this year.

This story was produced as part of a partnership between The Inquirer and City of Basketball Love, a nonprofit news organization that covers high school and college basketball in the Philadelphia area while also helping mentor the next generation of sportswriters. This collaboration will help boost coverage of the city’s vibrant amateur basketball scene, from the high school ranks up through the Big 5 and beyond.