Sophomore Tyler Sutton steers Roman Catholic’s ship as starting point guard

From tofu to two weeks of hell, Roman Catholic point guard Tyler Sutton has come a long way in a year.

Quickness, elite ballhandling, and an uncanny ability to finish around the basket mixed with a dogged defensive disposition make the 6-foot-2 point sophomore a problem for Catholic League opponents.

Intelligence and poise under pressure, however, might be his best attributes as Sutton, a transfer from George School, learns to navigate one of the most high-profile positions in the city: point guard at Roman.

“It means a lot,” Sutton said Sunday after the Cahiliites dispatched Lansdale Catholic, 80-47. “I was honored to start as a sophomore and control the team as a point guard. I know [Xzayvier Brown] was here two years ago, and he got a PCL [championship]. I know Kabe [Goss] was here last year, and got a PCL [title]. So I’m just here to do the same thing and lead my team.”

Sutton’s first two weeks at Broad and Vine Streets, however, weren’t easy.

“It was a little hard,” Sutton said, smiling. “It was a lot of conditioning. Coach was on me a lot about being a better point guard, but it was for the betterment of me. Just reading the floor better, being a better point guard, and not just scoring all the time.”

Perhaps Sutton’s experience at George School, a boarding school in Newtown, accelerated his learning curve.

“It was a learning experience,” Sutton said. “It was just a lot as a freshman, being away from family, not eating everything you want to eat. That’s a transition that college players face, so to get it there was good.”

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His palette also was forced to adjust.

“It was different, different, very different,” he said, laughing. “A regular school, you get pizza and burgers and all that. [At George School] You might get tofu one night! They just have to mix it up for everybody because it’s very diverse.”

Sutton grew up in South Philly but said Julian Dunkley, a well-known trainer in the area, helped him land at the private boarding school.

Eventually Sutton, who grew up watching Catholic and Public League games, decided it was time to return to the city.

He knew well the exploits of Brown, the point guard who led Roman to the 2023 PCL crown, banking a three-pointer to send the finale at the Palestra into overtime against rival Neumann Goretti.

Goss, a 5-8 senior point guard, authored last season’s heroics, draining the game-winning, 17-foot jumper over the outstretched hand of Archbishop Ryan’s 6-10 center, Thomas Sorber, just before the buzzer blared.

Brown now stars at St. Joseph’s while Goss plays at Montclair State, a Division III school in his native New Jersey.

It is now Sutton’s job to steer the ship, but Roman coach Chris McNesby said that hasn’t stopped Sutton from picking the brains of Brown and former Roman guard Tony Carr.

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“That’s the one thing that’s really special about Roman: its tradition,” McNesby said. “I mean, we’ve got Brad Wanamaker on our staff. He was an NBA point guard, so [Sutton] has him in his ear every day.”

Wanamaker is a North Philly native who was the Daily News player of the year in 2007 as a senior at Roman. He scored more than 1,000 points at Pitt before playing in the NBA and overseas for more than a decade.

McNesby also mentioned Sutton’s national recruiting profile and how that can force players to face pressure for which they aren’t prepared.

Sutton has no such concerns.

“No pressure at all,” Sutton said of Roman’s tradition of point guard excellence.

Is that because he doesn’t feel it or because it doesn’t exist?

“There is no pressure,” he said. “There’s no pressure at all.

“I’ve always played [against older competition] as a kid, so all that pressure stuff, it was never really pressure. The cameras were always on me, people were always talking about me, so I just tune everything out.”