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BOYS BASKETBALL: Rahsool Diggins’ Promise to Bring Archbishop Wood a Philadelphia Catholic League Title Comes to Fruition

By Rich Flanagan - Photos: Kathy Leister, 03/16/21, 3:15PM EDT

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By: Rich Flanagan

Photos: Kathy Leister, Videos: Rich Flanagan

SPRINGFIELD, PA –As the game entered its final minute, Rahsool Diggins could finally exhale. After having played almost the entire Philadelphia Catholic League championship game, there was a sigh of relief that washed away four years’ worth of pressure and agony for the Archbishop Wood senior.

Diggins capped off a historic career by tallying nine points and a Philadelphia Catholic League title game record 12 assists in propelling the Vikings to 68-59 victory over Roman Catholic at Cardinal O’Hara to capture the program’s second ever league crown. It marked Archbishop Wood’s first league title since 2017 when that heralded class, led by Collin Gillespie, won the program’s first league and state title.

As he walked off the floor, Diggins embraced head coach John Mosco, a man who gave him control of the team after Gillespie moved on to Villanova. Since taking command of the Vikings, Diggins, a UConn commit, has won a Philadelphia Catholic League MVP, made appearances in the league semifinals at the Palestra and the 2019 PIAA Class 5A title game in Hershey, and become the program’s all-time leading scorer.

Despite all of the success, the burden of not having won a league or state title weighed on him and the 2021 class. That burden was lifted off of his shoulders as he hugged his head coach.

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“I’ve been waiting for this, even before I came to Wood,” Diggins said. “I remember my freshman year after we lost in the quarterfinals, I told him I’m going to get him one. My promise was true.”

When Mosco gave Diggins the starting point guard role as a freshman, he knew there would be mistakes but he also saw the potential of a player who was as mature for his age as any he has coached.

“His parents trusted us with the way we play and our system,” Mosco said. “Every year, he got better and better. After we lost in the quarterfinals his first year, he called me from the Palestra and said, ‘Coach, we’ll be back here.’ The second year, we lost a heartbreaker to Bishop McDevitt but we were making those strides and we went to the state final. He’s a great kid and great for the school. UConn got a good one.”

Jaylen Stinson, a James Madison commit, nailed five three-pointers, which included the first points of the game, on his way to 21 points. La Salle commit Daeshon Shepherd, a three-year starter who has been in the rotation with Diggins for four seasons, converted an and-one inside then his longtime teammate nailed a triple to make it 14-11 in the first quarter. Diggins hit two more baskets in the opening half while Stinson drilled two more triples in the first 16 minutes as the Vikings (16-0) took a 33-29 lead in the locker room at halftime.

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Rahsool Diggins’ promise to win wood a pcl title came true

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Shepherd, the 6-foot-5 forward who posted eight points and six rebounds, recalls seeing Gillespie and the 2017 class win the league title and had his sights set on bringing that feeling back to Archbishop Wood when he joined the program.

“I saw in my eighth grade year Collin and those guys win the championship,” Shepherd said. “When I came to Wood, I knew I wanted to bring one home. It’s a great moment and I’m going to enjoy this forever.”

Just as he started the game, Stinson hit a three-pointer from the corner. Next, Richmond commit Marcus Randolph (18 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals) scored five of the Vikings’ next seven points to push the lead to eight points. The Cahillites (10-2) kept answering as Daniel Skillings Jr. converted inside then Khalil Farmer, who led his team with 22 points, including going 10-for-10 from the free-throw line, hit a pair of foul shots to make it 45-39 with 4:36 left in the third quarter.

As freshmen, Diggins and Shepherd led Archbishop Wood to the league quarterfinals before falling to Archbishop Carroll. Two years ago, led by Diggins, Shepherd, Muneer Newton (nine points) and Stinson, who transferred in from the Haverford School, the Vikings fell in the quarterfinals again, this time to McDevitt, but rebounded to make an incredible run to the PIAA 5A championship game, where they fell to Moon. Last year, with the addition Randolph, a Willingboro (N.J.) transfer, they advanced to the semifinals before losing to the Cahillites then never got the chance to make it to the state final again as the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancelation of the PIAA basketball tournament.

Mosco stressed how worn out his team was, both from a physical and mental standpoint when taking into consideration everything this team has gone through in the last few years.

“You’re drained from a crazy season and not knowing if this group was going to get a chance to do this,” Mosco said. “It’s simply a relief.”

A pair of free throws by Shepherd then a layup from Diggins pushed the advantage to 49-39. As the 2021 class has consistently done this season, they attempted to close things out early as Stinson finished inside then Randolph hit one out of two at the line to take an 11-point lead into the final quarter.

After a basket by Roman Catholic sophomore Xzayvier Brown (nine points, six rebounds), Randolph and Shepherd scored consecutive buckets for Archbishop Wood. Skillings, the dynamic 6-6 forward who finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds, kept the Cahillites in it as he scored off a seal inside to cut the deficit to 56-50 with 4:10 left to play. The four-year teammates of Diggins and Shepherd turned the tide for good as the floor general found the athletic forward for an alley-oop on the ensuing possession.


Archbishop Wood wins the 2021 PCL Championship, defeating Roman Catholic 68-59 - PSD Photo by Kathy Leister

That was Shepherd’s moment of relief as it began to set in that his goal of winning a championship had finally come to fruition.

“This one means everything,” Shepherd said. “I can’t even put it into words because we worked so hard for it. The past two years, we came up so short but we finally got it.”

The district title and potentially another run in the state tournament are on the horizon but for one night, the feeling of dread that had shrouded the individual accolades for the 2021 class slowly evaporated as the final seconds ticked away.

For Diggins, who ushered in the next great class at Archbishop Wood, if you throw all of the accolades out, this team did not have much to show for all of that individual success. This title now puts them into the same discussion as the 2017 class as the only two teams to win a Philadelphia Catholic League championship in program history.

“A lot of people worry about the accolades but I never worried about any of those,” Diggins said. “I just wanted to win and I tried hard for four years. I finally got one and it’s a great thing to get off my shoulders. I couldn’t leave here without one.”