FEB. 15
CATHOLIC NORTH
Wood 69, Ryan 63 (OT)
   The Raiders just keep shooting themselves in the foot. They had a
chance on Sunday to knock a very ordinary Archbishop Wood team out of
the playoffs. After watching the first 5 minutes of the game, I thought
Ryan had a double-digit lead, but it wasn't the case and Wood held a
slight lead. It was like in Boxing, if you let a dog hang around too
long, you're going to get knocked out. Thats excactly what happened. The
Raiders wasted Jim Welsh's best day in a Ryan uniform as he connected on
7-11 3's and had 26 points overall. I won't make any excuses, but
Ryan's best player, "The Franchise" Joe Zeglinski was battling the flu.
Coach Rogers had to sub him in and out at spurts to give him a breather.
Zig ended up with 16 points as he battles DeSean White for the Catholic
League North scoring title. Wood was led by Matt Spadafora, who
finished the game with 23 points. If you ask me he isn't in the same
league as his brother Mike, but Matt did hit a HUGE shot with a little
under a minute left with a turn around jumper to tie the game at 57.
Here's where I don't understand Ryan's coaches thinking, it was obvious
they wanted the ball in Joey's hands. Why not let him handle the ball
at the top of the key, a la Jimmy Chitwood, instead of having Joe Mullin (
4 points, 10 assists) hold the ball for about 35 seconds before turning it
over. Then in the extra frame with Ryan trailing by 3 they had the ball
out of bounds with 12.6 seconds left. Why would they run a double
screen down low, when it would take at least 4 seconds to develop.
Instead, without an outlet, they made L.B. Rebstock try to make a pinpoint
pass in the corner, which he wasn't able to do before the 5 second
call. By the way it was clear to everyone with any vision Welsh was
mugged on the right wing. I just HATE losing to Wood; their parents are
obnoxious and look down on Archbishop Ryan. I would guarantee half
the parents in the crowd yesterday attended Ryan or North for
high school. It all comes down to next Sunday for Ryan, as they are set
for Senior Day for a rematch with North Catholic. The loser of the game
will have the number 4 seed, which is almost like not being in the
playoffs at all.
Random Thoughts:
   29 to 5...No, not the number of votes Zeglinski will get for All-Catholic c
compared to Spadafora, it was the number of foul shots Wood shot
compared to Ryan. It wasn't like it was Dougherty getting the calls, it
was Wood. Who's Wood? Although Wood did knock down 25 of those foul
shots.

JAN. 14
EARLY LEAGUE SEASON REPORT
   I'm back people, instead of re-writing reports on the 3 Archbishop Ryan games, I'm just going to review this early season. The Raiders started out the season 2-0 with wins over La Salle and rival Father Judge, before falling to Cardinal Dougherty University. It was quite clear: most of Ryan's games will be close  because of the lack of firepower. "The Franchise" Joey Zeglinski is scoring at a "Anthony Starace" type pace, but that probably will not continue. Anthony still holds the Ryan record for Catholic League scoring 24.6 points a game during the storied season for the Raiders in '98. The Raiders really need for former All-Catholics G/F Joe Mullin and G Jim Welsh to step up as seniors. They can't rely on Zig and fellow Super-Soph Kevin Hudgeons to carry the load. I would also like to commend L.B. Rebstock, who has done a stellar job scoring points, rebounding the ball, and playing defense after being thrown into the starting lineup. My only knock on his game so far is that he doesn't look to shoot as often as he should. Of the 3 teams I watched, Cardinal Dougherty is by FAR the best.  I think they could beat most D3 teams, some D2, and Low D1 teams beware.  This team is fast, can shoot, rebound, block shots, and dunk.  Although, there are a few things I noticed about CDU.  Mark Hiemersomethingorother (Ted's note: it's Heimerdinger and he's a Ryan grad! -- smile) doesn't have much control over his team. In pre game warmups I was watching "The Truth" Shane Clark do 360 dunks.  Pretty smart, huh?  Also in a close Catholic League game, I think Coach Rogers, Fox, and Jackson would all be able to outcoach him.  Also I noticed All American Kyle Lowry visibly upset the Joey Zig was getting the best of him.  For the most part Kyle kept his cool, but that's something to keep our eyes on.  That's pretty much my review...I will return to writing game post-up Friday.

DEC. 16
SPECIAL REPORT . . .
   The Archbishop Ryan Raiders had many goals going into this upcomming season.  First, make sure the 3 headed monster of "The Chise" Joe Zeglinski, Jim Welsh, and Joe Mullin would all get their share of shots.  Next, figure out a way to beat Archbishop Wood, who currently holds a 4 game win streak over the Raiders.  Finally, to challenge Cardinal Dougherty, St. John Neumann, and Roman Catholic for the Catholic League crown.  All these things took a major hit early last week, when  "Mr. Do Everything" Rick Ferraiolo left the team.  If you look in the paper after Ryan games, it might not look like Rick did all that much because they just show points, but Rick brought so much more to that team than scoring.  Often he would be the one to set up the scoring trio, by making a cross court pass, or grabbing an offensive rebound.  Rick also played stellar defense, and would have more then likely finished among the top 10 in all time steals at Ryan.  Rick leaving the team was a shock to all of us, most of all to myself and current Ryan G/F Brian Oakes.  The 3 of us have been best friends since playing together on the freshman team, and neither Bri nor myself saw this coming.  Rick is not at all a selfish player who demanded the ball, nor was he a destraction in the locker room.  Often it was Rick's outgoing personalitly that kept the team loose in tight spots.  The team will probably miss that more then his freakish jumping abilty, or his tremendous defense.  Rick did wish his teammates best of luck, and hopefully they will be able to continue to play well without Rick, a task that will definitely be difficult.

DEC. 14
NON-LEAGUE
West Catholic 60, Archbishop Ryan 58
    I arrived at Ryan for the non-league matchup between the Burrs and the Raiders at about midway through the first quarter.  West was up 9-2 and looked like they had the game much in control.  This was my first chance to see 6'4 swing man Marshall Taylor in action. In last years matchup he went down on his ankle and never returned.  Taylor was pretty much what I expected, a excellent athlete with great basketball skills.  Marshall finished with 22 points (4 3's) but he wasn't all O, he had 2 or 3 blocked shots and 3 or 4 more changed shots.  The Raiders battled an uphill climb all afternoon to get themselves out of the early hole.  They played a 1-3-1 3 quarters zone trap, that worked for 3 in a half quarters, but eventually caught up to them.  Ryan was led by Joe Mullin, who by far played his best game of this young season.  Joe finished with 21 points and about a half dozen rebounds, and is likely to pose match-up problems all year long because of his size and athletic ability.  Raiders senior guard Jim Welsh also played his best game of the year, finishing with 13, and hearing sreams of SHOOTER! from the West bench evertime he touched the ball.  West Cathoic did a good job on "The Chise" Joe Zeglinski, holding him to NO points in the first half, but many people ask me why I've given Joey the nickname The Franchise, and if they were at this game they will no longer wonder.  Joey battled for 15 second half points and played explosive defense.  With about 1:13 left in the game Joe Mullin tapped in a Zig miss, which looked to complete the up-hill climb, but like I said early that 1-3-1 came back to get them.  After Mullin put it in, the Ryan players scrambled to get in there positions allowin! a West player to sneak behind the defense and convert a length of the court pass into a easy layup.  Ryan did have one more chance however, with 4 seconds left, Taylor missed the front end of a 1-1 and Mullin grabbed the board, threw it ahead for Welsh who just barely missed the 27 footer.  Ted you shoulda been there.
A few other things:
   Archbishop Ryan was empty yesterday for this great game.  Why not make student admisson 50 cents, or 1 dollar?  I paid 3 dollars to get in to the game. Had it been a blowout either way, I would have been more then a little upset.  On a lighter note however, sophomore sub Mike Varanavage's love interest did pay full admission to watch and cheer her man on.  In the words of 6'8 center Kevin Hudgeons " Mike is a player."

DEC. 3
NON-LEAGUE
Holy Ghost Prep 52, Ryan 46 (OT)
  Someone please call John Capella, John Pelligrino, and Chris DiStasio, because they were the main players for the Archbishop Ryan Raiders the last time Ryan beat Ghost.  For some reason this game is always close, but HGP just always seems to make the plays down the stretch.  This was the inaugural game at the new HGP gym, and it was one for the ages.  It was a hostile environment but the Raiders kept their poise for the most part.  The game got off to a jumpin' start when Holy Ghost PF Brett Manney rose up for a one-handed jam the got the preppies going nuts.  The Raiders fought back though, and got trey bombs from Joey "The Franchise" Zeglinski, who finished the game with 18 points.  Zig was the best player on the floor, which is likely going to be the case most of the season.  HGP star Lenwood Greenwood led the Firebirds with 22 points, including 4 big ones in OT.  Greenwood looked like he hit the weight room a little bit, and that seemed to pay off as he grabbed some rebounds late, and got to the hole and finshed with ease.  Jim Welsh and Joe Mullin were just off, going a combined 4-17 for 10 points.  Jim and Joe most likely will have to combine for closer to 30-35 a game for the Raiders to have a shot.  Coach Rogers should be a bit happy with the offensive presence that Rick" Shoulda been 1st Team All-Catholic" Ferraiolo has brought.  Through two games he's averaging 10 points a game and shooting 90 percent from the field.  Sophmore Kevin Hudgeons also played well under pressure, although he had a costly turnover in OT and the Raiders never scored again.  The Holy Ghost Prep crowd has to improve.  They should be embarrased that my self along with Sean Luke, Ed Root, Carlos Gonzalez, Jimmy Lew, and Mike McManus just OWNED their crowd.  If Ryan has some support this year, it will only help them.
   P.S.- It looks as though Brian Oakes is this team's version of Scott Jackson and John Kozole, as chants of WE WANT OAKES! were heard from the Ryan student section.

CATHOLIC NORTH PREVIEW
(Sorta; a little one-sided -- smile)
   For all intents and purposes, Cardinal Dougherty should go 14-0 in the division and go on and win the Catholic Title without much trouble. They have 4 major Divison 1 College Basketball players in 6'0 straight stud point guard Kyle Lowry, who we all know has committed to Villanova just days after teammate and best friend 6'7 power forward Shane Clark committed there. 6'8 center DeSean White (Providence) should have his way inside of the paint whenever he feels like making his presence known. But it doesn't stop there. In my opinion, I have never seen a better defender then Bilal Benn (Siena). Benn will get after anyone, at any time, in anyone's gym. If I could have 1 of these 4 players, It might be him because of the way he plays D and hustles. The 5th starter Dougherty will bring to the table is 5'10 guard Timmy Smith. Smith complements the "4 Stars" perfectly. He is able to shoot from anywhere on the floor and he excels in passing. ! Butttt here is why Cardinal Dougherty will not have an easy time in the CLN, and why they will NOT will the title
   1) 6'6 G/F Joe Mullin. Joe can shoot, pass, and use his crossover to drive past most guards and all forwards. Being 6'6 he has the abilty to cover 3 position on the floor. Joe was a First Team All-Catholic selection, and he should only get better.
  2) 6'0 PG Joey Zeglinski. Zig has the unique ability to score from outside and inside. He can defend, and is an above average rebounder. A lot was expected of Joe last year comming in and starting as a freshmen, many people thought he'd be the savior last year which wasn't always fair. I don't look for him to be the savior this year either. Just simply the FRANCHISE.
  3) 6'3 SG Jim Welsh. Early on in Jim's high school career he was labeled "just a spot up shooter." But to his credit, he worked hard improving his game, and hitting the weights. Drive by Comly playground at 1 A.M, and if you hear a basketball bouncing don't be alarmed, its just Welsie baby.
  4) 6'0 PF/C Rick Ferraiolo. Before I talk about Rick's bball skills it should be noted that he was basically "jobbed" out of a First Team all Catholic Selection. Don't get me wrong Peterson and Flack are both good recievers and should be recongized, but Rick might end up leading the city in receiving after Thursday game vs Washington for a team that has a run first offense. But on a back to bball, there's no one that works harder on the glass then Rick, if you don't hustle, I don't care if you're 6'9 220, you aren't getting the rebound.
  5) " The Bench Dawgs." For the first time since I've been at Archbishop Ryan, they have a little scoring depth. "The Butchman" Brian Oakes is a greater shooter and can hit you with a back door pass if you're sleeping. Point Guard L.B. Rebstock is a quick guard who can get to the lane and dish with ese. Tom Dolan, John Bruce, and Tom Manes are also expected to contribute.
  6) Coach Rogers and the Princeton Offense. Before Coach came back to Ryan to coach, the Raiders had finished 2-26 in 98' and 99'. Since he's been here they have gone to the playoffs each of the last 3 season. That should be a testament to the coach.
   I'm out, holla at me...