Photos: Benji Rawson & Kathy Leister
By: Rich Flanagan
WARMINSTER, PA – John Mosco’s teams have always been at their best when guards lead the way.
It sounds cliché but looking at his success, whether as an assistant under Carl Arrigale at Neumann-Goretti or as head coach at Archbishop Wood, versatile guards like D.J. Rivera, Antonio “Scoop” Jardine, Tony Chennault, Ja'Quan Newton, Collin Gillespie, Rahsool Diggins, Marcus Randolph and countless others have paved the way for historic seasons while coincidentally etching their names into Philadelphia Catholic League lore.
Newton remains the league’s all-time leading scorer while Gillespie turned a league MVP into the program’s first title then Diggins claimed the award twice with a Philadelphia Catholic League title of his own. Mosco has the next great one to add to the list in Jalil Bethea, who already has an MVP to his name, but what he does on the floor is so much more than scoring. He has opened things up for so many others and undertaken the responsibility that comes with being the leader of his head coach’s team. One of the players who has reaped the benefits of the attention Bethea brings is Josh Reed and on Sunday, he showcased the latest example of why the Vikings are so much more than four guys around a former MVP.
Reed poured in a game-high 27 points while grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking a pair of shots in propelling Archbishop Wood to a commanding 96-69 victory over Archbishop Carroll.
Archbishop Wood vs. Archbishop Carroll - PSD Game highlights by Rich Flanagan
The 6-foot-3 senior guard scored 10 points in the second quarter alone as the Vikings built a double-digit lead on one of his customary finishes with his right hand. The Drexel commit has thrived in this offense with the departure of 6-9 big man Carson Howard (East Stroudsburg) as his best attributes are converting around or above the rim combined with a smooth mid-range game where he can hit a floater or fadeaway jumper.
He is in the midst of a breakout season, and this offense is designed to play to his strengths.
“We feel we have five guys who can score and handle the ball anytime we want,” Reed said. “We have freedom and Coach Mosco gives us all the freedom we want. He has all the trust in us, and we just go out there and play.”
Reed averaged 9.2 points per game last season and while his numbers do not necessarily jump off the page in comparison to Bethea, he had 12 games where he finished in double figures. The absence of Howard has allowed him to get to the rim with much more ease but furthermore, with defenses keying on Bethea, he is feasting on the inside. Milan Dean (10 points, nine rebounds, five assists) picked up a steal and found Reed ahead of the defense to give the Vikings a 13-6 lead in the first quarter then in the second, Bethea – the Miami (Fla.) commit who tallied 18 points, 13 rebounds and six assists – threw a lob that Reed couldn’t slam home but still maneuvered to convert with his left hand. That finish gave Archbishop Wood (8-7, 4-2 Philadelphia Catholic League) an eight-point advantage with 4:13 left before halftime.
Archbishop Wood senior Josh Reed #5, scored 27 points in win vs. Archbishop Carroll - PSD Photo by Benji Rawson
Being one of four teammates in double figures on the day makes for a relatively easy afternoon as the Vikings had everything clicking against the inexperienced Patriots, but when Reed and his teammates are performing at this level, they're almost unstoppable.
“We’re at our best when we run the floor and go up and down then get rebounds and push the ball,” Reed said. “When we push the ball, nobody can keep up with us because we’re too fast and too strong.”
Mosco knows that his team feeds off how the defense plays Bethea, who is having another fantastic season averaging 22.3 ppg with a 40-point game in the Hoophall Classic under his belt, and seeing Reed (19.5 ppg) and several others finding ways to be effective is seeing his vision come to fruition.
“We want everybody to move without the ball,” Mosco said. “Jalil is learning as the year goes on that he doesn’t have to score 30 in the first quarter because he’s going to have a lot of people on him, and the focal point is him. If Josh has 27 and Tahir Howell has 13, that’s all because of him and he’s learning to play like that. He’ll still get his because he’s a great player and the way we play is fast and carefree.”
Archbishop Wood senior Tahir Howell #12 - PSD Photo by Kathy Leister
This offense has been masterful for stars and the supporting cast when seeing how a Gillespie-led team with Matt Cerruti, Tyree Pickron and Keith Otto played off their MVP teammate en route to the program’s first league and state title in 2017. Diggins championed a team that had five Division I players on it in 2021 with Randolph, Daeshon Shepherd, Jaylen Stinson and Muneer Newton.
Bethea, Reed and Dean are at the top of the opposition’s scouting report but having players like Deuce Maxey, Mike Green, and Howell, a 6-3 senior guard seeing his first season of extended action, contribute makes the Vikings dangerous on most nights.
Howell turned in his best game of the season with those 13 points to go along with six boards, and he’s following the blueprint previous Archbishop Wood guards have in their introduction to the rotation at this stage in their career, like Mike Knouse, Tyson Allen, and Gus Salem.
“I’m just trying to help my team win in any way I can, and I try to bring my defense to the court because that’s the best part of my game,” Howell said. “When I do that and we’re cooking together, we get a win like this.”
Bethea nailed four straight free throws then nailed a three-pointer from just inside the halfcourt line and the Vikings had taken full control with a 49-34 lead. Ian Williams was the lone bright spot for Archbishop Carroll (10-6, 3-4) with 19 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, and six steals. He converted twice in the lane to cut the Patriots deficit to 13 but then Howell hit a runner in the lane to spur a 9-0 run capped by a Bethea layup and the Vikings lead grew to 60-38.
Archbishop Wood has already done its fair share of traveling when considering it has played games in Maryland, Pine Bluff (Ark.) and Springfield (Mass.). It started strong in league play with a win over Father Judge but double-digit losses to undefeated Roman Catholic and Neumann-Goretti brought on some early angst to the Philadelphia Catholic League season. They have rattled off three straight wins and much of that is predicated on how its leaders performed. Howell knows that the team goes as Bethea, Reed and Dean go.
Archbishop Wood vs. Archbishop Carroll - PSD Gallery by Benji Rawson
“Everyone on this team can score in their own way,” Howell said. “With a team of Jalil, Milan and Josh, all everybody else needs to do is play off them.”
Watching his offense at work and seeing it run to perfection as it was on Sunday gives Mosco hope that his stars will perform, and the supporting cast will fill in the blanks as the season goes along. A swing pass that turns into a diving cut by Reed for an easy finish was routine and has been for much of the year. A skip pass when the defense collapses in the corner to an open Bethea has regularly turned into three points over the course of three seasons.
Bethea influences a lot of what Mosco’s team does and players like Reed are maximizing their potential based on that. Reed is evolving into the next multifaceted Archbishop Wood guard alongside a historically great one and that gives Mosco optimism heading into the latter part of the schedule.
“Guys are running at Jalil and they’re all cheating to him,” Mosco said. “They give up Josh then he slips in the paint and finishes. We had a couple bad games, but he keeps finishing, even if we’re playing an Archbishop Ryan with a big in the middle. He’s been our most consistent player this year.”