(PHOTOS BY ZACK BEAVERS FOR PSD)

BY RICH FLANAGAN

HERSHEY, PA-It was a season unlike any other for Carl Arrigale and Neumann-Goretti.

The Saints finished with six Philadelphia Catholic League losses for the first time since going winless in 1995 (not counting the COVID-19 season of 2021). In a full season, Arrigale had never finished with more than three league losses in his illustrious head coaching career and as a result Neumann-Goretti had to go on the road in the quarterfinals. The team was Father Judge, which went on to win the title and have its best season in program history, and the Saints surrendered 91 points in a playoff game, suffering their first quarterfinal loss since 2018. Furthermore, Neumann-Goretti’s 11 losses were the most ever by an Arrigale coached team.

Aside from that maligned and unorthodox 2021 season, this was perhaps the most challenging for Arrigale because much of what has made Neumann-Goretti the premier Philadelphia Catholic League program since he took over 26 years ago was no longer working and he was concerned the message and principles that had brought unprecedented winning had finally waned. 

“A lot of people were throwing dirt on the program, and it was warranted at times,” Arrigale said. “We weren’t playing to our core values or to what we stand for. We would on occasion and had some tremendous games against some great competition then other games where we didn’t respond well to any kind of adversity to do the things a winning team does. We started to get a little bit better and better from there at the end of the year. We lost to the team that eventually won the championship in the playoffs, so no one really got to see us getting better. When we got accepted into the state tournament, I said let’s hit the reset button because there’s no reason we can’t do this.”

What has made Arrigale so good for such a prolonged period is his ability to relate to players and get them to understand the bigger picture. He’s had his share of big names from Antonio "Scoop" Jardine and Rick Jackson to Tony Chennault and Tyreek Duren to Ja’Quan Newton and Lamarr "Fresh" Kimble to Jordan Hall and Cameron Young to Robert Wright III and Khaafiq Myers. Part of Neumann-Goretti’s struggles can be attributed to the lack of star power within the program but what the program doesn’t and never has is versatile players, historically guards, who have emerged and dominated in the biggest games of their careers. The PIAA Class 5A Tournament Championship Game was the latest example.

He has had the same approach since taking over what was then St. John Neumann High School and continues to follow his own recipe for success on the court that now bears his name. His philosophy has not only worked but resonated with players perhaps better than any high school the city has had. He remains committed to sticking to what has been effective and that is emphasizing the effect of winning. 

“In this day and age when winning isn’t the most important thing to a lot of people, we’ve been able to keep it a priority at our place,” Arrigale said. “We’ve won in a lot of different ways with a lot of different groups and people. That’s why I wasn’t sure this group was there yet because I wasn’t sure they really understood it. We had a lot of new guys and not a lot of guys who have been part of it.”

Ashley-Wright is the younger brother of former Neumann-Goretti standout Robert Wright III, now playing at Baylor. Wright led the Saints to their most recent Philadelphia Catholic League championship in 2022 and also won the PIAA 4A title that same season. Ashley-Wright’s first year with the program saw Neumann-Goretti suffer its first ever loss in a state final to Lincoln Park as Brandin Cummings (Pittsburgh) and Arkansas commit Meleek Thomas combined for 47 points in the 2023 state championship. Ashley-Wright became the first Neumann-Goretti player to score 20 or more points in a state title since Aamir Hurst in 2022 and he did it in a variety of ways.

Ashley-Wright and fellow junior DeShawn Yates have been with the program since their freshman year meanwhile Kody Colson (Imhotep) and 6-6 junior forward Alassan N’Diaye (St. Mark’s (Del.)) arrived as a transfers and have meshed well with the holdovers. Long-Mtume came over from Martin Luther King High School two seasons ago.

The Saints received contributions from up and down the roster as six players finished in double figures, just as they did six years ago. Yates (12 points), N’Diaye (11), Stanton (11) and Colson (10) joined Ashley-Wright and Long-Mtume in double figures. Three seasons ago, it was Hurst, Wright, Myers, Bruce Smith, Sultan Adewale and Masud Stewart all reaching 10 or more points to secure the state title over Adou Thiero (Arkansas) and Quaker Valley.

Ashley-Wright was simply quicker to the ball by sprinting into passing lanes then speeding by defenders on his way to the hoop. When he’s performing at the level he was in this game, Arrigale feels he’s one of the better players in the area and someone teams need to be aware of.

Grant Later, who hit four three-pointers on the night, drilled one from the corner to cut the Trojans’ deficit to 25-22 then a 12-3 run was capped off by a Jaiden Waynes three-pointer that nearly blew the roof off the GIANT Center as Hershey High School is 10 minutes down the road and the Trojans contingent was quite abundant. Waynes’ trey from the wing put Hershey up 29-28 with 6:08 remaining in the half. Hershey found its groove as Aidan Miller hit a three and James Campbell IV, who led the Trojans with 20 points on the night, drilled the biggest trey of the night to put his side up 44-37 at halftime.

Yates, who poured in a Neumann-Goretti state tournament record 34 points against Penncrest in the quarterfinals, felt the momentum shift in Hershey’s favor and felt a reset at the half was exactly what the Saints needed to jumpstart their offensive attack.

“I felt as though we were forcing it in the first half and when we came back into the locker room at halftime, we knew we had to adjust and trust each other more,” Yates said. “This way, we had to play together, and we came back.”

Hershey grew its lead to 47-37 early in the third then came the game-altering run for the Saints that spurred them state championship No. 10. Yates nailed a deep three-pointer from the top of the key then Ashley-Wright scored 10 of the next 13 points, including two and-one finishes, to put the Saints up, 53-49 at the 3:34 mark of the third quarter. Campbell answered with four consecutive free throws but N’Diaye and Long-Mtume combined for the next 10 points and Neumann-Goretti led, 63-58 heading into the fourth quarter.

Like so many Neumann-Goretti greats who have made names for themselves on that very floor, Ashley-Wright founded a simple mantra.

“Just listen to Coach and we’ll come out with a win,” Ashley-Wright said. “I knew we were going to win.”

It has worked for countless Saints players who have donned the gold and black uniform, and it was incredibly successful once again. Colson came alive, first with a floater in the lane then a three-pointer from the wing, and lastly, he found Yates in the corner for a trey to put the Saints up, 73-64.

Yates blossomed as a sophomore and has taken his game to another level as a junior. According to Arrigale, this team doesn’t complete this state championship run without Yates and everything he has meant to the resurgence of the program.

“I told them now you’re part of the gang. You’re real champions,” Arrigale said. Their names will always be mentioned amongst those of Chennault, John Davis, Newton, Kimble, Troy Harper, Green, Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree, Zane Martin, Christian Ings and Dymir Montague.

This victory was No. 619 for Arrigale and winning that many games, let alone “22 championships between the Catholic League and the state tournament,” was never the goal. He wanted to help players develop and find opportunities for themselves through basketball. The championships were just icing on the cake and even as they began to stack up, the demeanor of the fabled head coach never changed, and his resolve never wavered. He has remained steadfast in who he is and what he believes can be accomplished at Neumann-Goretti. It’s been hard to argue with the results over these two decades.

“I didn’t anticipate it,” Arrigale said. “I didn’t know anything about this tournament until we were allowed to be in it. I’ve had a lot of good players and a lot of good teams. A lot of kids bought in and when you have good players, they have to buy in to what you want to do and play a certain way.