You may have heard this story before…
The Neumann-Goretti boys basketball team has won the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association 3A tite. Sure, it may sound like a sequel to that hit Bill Murray comedy “Groundhog Day.” In this case, the players and opposing teams change, but this amazing run keeps on going and going … We are taking seven championships over eight seasons. It’s an achievement that future hall-of-fame quarterback Tom Brady can’t match. OK, the Super Bowl takes place on a much bigger stage.
The latest win, a 89–58 triumph over Lincoln Park, took place on March 23 at the Giant Center in Hershey. For coach Carl Arrigale, who became just the second basketball coach in state history to win seven state titles (tying former Farrell coach Ed McCluskey), it’s all about believing in the system.
“It’s a culture we’ve built over the years,” he said. “A lot of the kids pass it on year after year. The group that is leaving makes sure the next group knows what it’s all about.”
The coaching staff adds a little guidance, and the results speak for themselves.
The current group of Saints have received a little extra attention as a result of having two highly touted Division I recruits. Quade Green is bound for the University of Kentucky while Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree will be joining Jay Wright and the Villanova University Wildcats. Green contributed 22 points and eight assists in the championship game while Cosby-Roundtree finished with a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds. Mike Millsip (11) and Christian Ings (13) also reached double figures in scoring.
“I really didn’t want to see them go out not winning a championship,” Arrigale said of his senior class. “They won four straight state championships. They can feel good about how they’re closing their careers at Neumann-Goretti.”
Here is another attention-grabbing number: 3,110. This is the amount of points Green and Cosby-Roundtree combined to score over the last four seasons.
This championship storyline, which is likely to have a sequel in the works, is far from finished. With the Saints girls basketball team winning a 3A title of their own on Saturday, spirits are riding high at the East Passyunk Crossing-based school.
“It’s a neat little thing. We get along really well,” Arrigale said.
Should we start writing the script for next March?
