Roman Catholic High School was the first diocesan high school for boys in the nation and has been a marvel in an ever-changing city like Philadelphia through the decades. Its architecture symbolizes a time forgotten for those simply passing through, but when talking to those who attended the school or have been part of its storied history, what unfolded inside that school, particularly on its third-floor basketball gym, will not only live on but be discussed for and with future generations.

No one better exemplifies the tradition of Roman Catholic basketball than Dennis Seddon. Seddon jokes that “I walked in here in September 1981 and I can’t find my way out.” He succeeded Barry Brodzinski as head basketball coach and Brodzinski succeeded William “Speedy” Morris.

All three men came after the late Billy Markward, Roman Catholic’s first head coach who won 20 league championships in 41 years and led the first integrated high school basketball team in the country in 1902-03.

The Markward Memorial Basketball Club is named in his honor and recognizes the best boys and girls high school basketball players from the Philadelphia Catholic League, Public League, Inter-Ac League, and the suburban leagues.

Morris and Brodzinski won a combined eight Philadelphia Catholic League titles during their time and continued the exemplary tradition that has been in place since the school’s inception. They also passed it down to Seddon, who took the program to new heights with 10 league crowns and a program record 516 victories.

Last season, the Cahillites secured the title behind Xzayvier Brown, Anthony Finkley, Erik Oliver-Bush, Jermai Stewart-Herring, and Shareef Jackson, and head coach Chris McNesby, a former player and longtime assistant under Seddon, won his third league crown.

Over the course of his first two seasons, Jackson evolved into the next Roman Catholic star playing with and learning from Khalil Farmer (Hofstra), Daniel Skillings Jr. (Cincinnati), and St. Joe’s freshmen Brown and Finkley, and he turned that into a First Team All-Catholic selection this season. The 6-7 junior forward and son of two-time Philadelphia Catholic League champion Marc Jackson, who played for Seddon, posted 20 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks in Roman Catholic’s win over Father Judge in the semifinals. He was joined by his younger brother, 6-5 sophomore forward Sammy Jackson, who added nine points, five rebounds and five assists in his first game at the Palestra.

McNesby was a key part of the rotation on three Philadelphia Catholic League title teams and now as head coach, Seddon described that he's the latest link to a coaching fraternity that has set the standard for how to win in this league and city.

“Chris is a perfect example as he grew up in this environment, and he saw what went into it and what it could mean,” Seddon said. “He adapted some things and added some, and it has continued in the tradition. Tradition builds tradition and winning builds winning.”

Seddon has truly seen it all when reflecting on his time at Roman Catholic from a potential school closure in 1986, where the Archdiocese of Philadelphia “told the school it had to enroll 250 freshmen” and “the entire community got together, in the spirit of Roman, with 274 freshmen,” to unrivaled success with the likes of McNesby, Marc Jackson, Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Marvin Harrison, Bernard Jones, Kyle Locke, Donnie Carr, R.C. Kehoe, and Lari Ketner, Rasual Butler and Eddie Griffin, all three of whom tragically passed away before the age of 40.

Wayns played for both Seddon and McNesby, and what he learned from his second high school head coach has benefitted him in his current role.

“Now that I’m coaching, I use a lot of the qualities that he instilled in me from day one,” Wayns said. “The biggest thing is accountability, and he could have cared less that I was a five-star prospect headed to Villanova. He always held me accountable and made sure I was a team guy while making sure my character was high. His basketball credentials and accolades speak for themselves, and the way he makes us strive for greatness is a testament to his greatness.”

He played professionally with the Grand Rapid Drive (now Gold) in the NBA G-League then also played in Mexico and Argentina before returning to Pa. to be an assistant at Chester High, where he helped the Clippers win the Del Val League and District 1-5A title. Last season, he received his first collegiate coaching job as he was hired as the Director of Player Development at Florida Gulf Coast under head coach Pat Chambers. His role includes “making sure these guys are ready to play and working them out. I’m getting them ready mentally and physically, and I’m basically a trainer, mentor, and that big brother role that most coaches don’t have.”

Garner has always wanted to be a college coach and it was McNesby who first told him he would go in this direction. “When I was in high school, he used to tell me, ‘You’re going to be a coach because you’re smart and you know the game,’” Garner said. The current group is very much constructed like the team Garner was part of in 2010-11 with multiple scoring options and defensive versatility. While Shareef (17.2 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 1.6 bpg) is the face of the 2023-24 team, Sammy, Travis Reed Jr. (10.2 ppg), Sebastian Edwards (8.8), Hunter Johnson (8.5), Robert Cottrell (8.2) and Kabrien Goss (6.0), who missed the first 12 games of the year returning from two knee injuries, have all had their moments.

Goss, like Reed and Johnson and previously Cottrell, is a transfer and the appeal of the Philadelphia Catholic League drew him to Roman Catholic, where he helped the Cahillites finish with an 11-2 record and securing the top seed in the playoffs.

“The Catholic League is one of the best leagues in the tri-state area,” Goss said after the semifinal win. “You read up on guys coming out of the Catholic League. If you know about basketball, you know about the Catholic League before you come here.”

McNesby earned his first two Philadelphia Catholic League titles in 2015 and 2016 behind Tony Carr, Lamar Stevens and Nazeer Bostick, all of whom would go on to play with Garner in Happy Valley. He stepped away after 2016 then returned in 2022 when Matt Griffin was hired as an assistant at Albany.

Bernie, currently the head coach at the Haverford School, is the all-time winningest coach in Archbishop Ryan history with 212 victories. He took the Raiders to two league title games, the first being in 2002 when the program fell to Neumann-Goretti. Bernie starred at Archbishop Ryan in the early 1990s, twice being named All-Catholic including first team as a senior and finishing his career as the program’s all-time assists leader (record was later broken by Jalen Snead). He went on to have a successful career at Ursinus where he tallied 1,185 points and 429 assists.

Bernie recalls what it was like when he first took over at his alma mater, which had only one league title game appearance (1979) prior to his arrival, and how he wanted to usher in a change in culture and player development.

“Back then, it was North and South divisions, and they took the top four teams from each division,” Bernie said. “Early on, we were trying to build consistency and made it eight or nine straight years. We wanted to build consistency for the playoffs then once we got there, we wanted to do everything we could to be the last team.”

Mooney credits Bernie and subsequently Joe for not only making Archbishop Ryan a respectable program but one that was in contention almost every season. Bernie had the Raiders in the playoffs for a large portion of his career and Joe has taken Archbishop Ryan to the league semifinals six times, including two title game appearances with the first one coming in 2022.  

“That’s been the key to success as they’ve had tremendous coaches who have been able to play great basketball,” Mooney said. “I’ve been there many times over the years watching practices while recruiting, and while I love the place, they have some of the best workouts and coaching that I’ve seen in my recruiting career.”

The next and perhaps most accomplished Division I tandem resides on the current roster in Georgetown commit Thomas Sorber (18.7 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 4.9 bpg) and Florida Gulf Coast commit Darren Williams, who were starters on the team that advanced to the league final two seasons ago. Sorber, the 6-foot-9 big man, was named Philadelphia Catholic League Co-MVP – the first Archbishop Ryan to win that award since Andrew Rogers – and he played like it in the semifinals going for 11 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks while Williams, the 6-4 marksman avg. 17.5 ppg with 80 three-pointers made, scored 10 of his 13 points in the third quarter to beat Neumann-Goretti. They have won a lot of games together, but none will be bigger than Monday as the Raiders are on the precipice of the first league title in program history.

As both an alum and former head coach, Bernie understands the magnitude of what a victory in this title game would mean for the school and community.

“Four different teams have gotten down there and whoever can capture that first one will be pretty historic,” Bernie said. “It’s exciting and they’ll get to say they got the first one.”

The league hasn’t seen a big man like Sorber for quite a while, and when thinking back to some of notable forwards, names such as Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree, Rick Jackson, Jalen Duren, Mark Zoller, and even Adonal Foyle and Rakeem Christmas stir in the memory banks of former players and coaches like Mooney who have recruited within the league for decades.

“They have a great team and while they have multiple great players, they have a standout player in Sorber,” Mooney said. “It would mean a tremendous amount because there’s been so much hard work and I know so many people who have played there and will be supporting the team. It means a great deal to the students and facility, and it would also mean a great deal to the alumni and guys who played there.”

Archbishop Ryan won the regular season matchup, 64-57 as Sorber posted 23 points and 12 boards and Williams hit four three-pointers on his way to 14 points. Ryan Everett hit three shots from behind the arc in that game against Roman Catholic, which was without Shareef, and came up big in the semifinals with three more makes from deep. Jaden Murray (7.9 ppg) is in the midst of his best high school season and the 6-6 senior forward scored 11 points at the Palestra on Wednesday.

It’s the biggest game in the history of Archbishop Ryan basketball and Bernie, who will be on-hand Monday night, is hoping everything this team has done to this point leads to a long-awaited title.

“When you’re a head coach, the average person doesn’t know how much Joey and his staff, like all high school staffs, are doing all year round to prepare for this moment,” Bernie said. “It’s an ongoing grind and you work at it to get your team and program better. I think anytime you have this type of moment, it makes all that hard work come to fruition.”