Carl in 2014

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Neumann/N-G-Roman
Series, 1998-99/2019-20
 
  This story was written after Carl Arrigale claimed his first Catholic League championship in 2001. In quite the nail-biter.
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By Ted Silary
  Poignant basketball scenes are not limited to the moments before the final buzzer.
  To see them, and be touched by them, sometimes requires a wait.
  Saturday night at Temple's Liacouras Center, St. John Neumann High, battered and bruised but not bewildered, posted one of the more intriguing, stirring victories in Catholic League annals by edging Roman Catholic, 60-59, for the title.
  Wonderful freeze-frames:
  In the midcourt ceremony, senior point guard Cantrell "Man-Man" Fletcher, unable to play due to a recent knee injury, held aloft the championship plaque.
  As the players and coaches returned to the bench area and shared hugs with family and fans, senior center Brandon Brigman sat with his left hand, likely broken, buried in a bucket of ice.
  Next it was time to cut down the net. Brigman, obviously woozy from pain, had to be helped up the ladder. So, too, did Fletcher. Fletcher did his snip-snipping and up the other side of the ladder came coach Carl Arrigale. Arrigale cut the remaining strands, then reached out and placed the net around Fletcher's neck before the two exchanged a heartfelt, lengthy hug.
  How did this happen?
  How did the Pirates avoid getting pushed off the plank?
  This reason was first, second and third: the play of point guard Richard "Tabby" Cunningham, a 5-9, 150-pound freshman.
  While both teams' older players had problems with nervousness, Cunningham was poised throughout. He had a game-high 19 points while shooting 6-for-9 from the floor (one trey) and 6-for-7 at the line. He also dished a game-high four assists and penetrated at will before Roman adjusted.
  "We kept telling our guys to push him to the sides," Roman coach Dennis Seddon said. "We finally did. . .Too little, too late. "
   Fletcher, one of the city's top players and bound for Siena, ripped the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during Neumann's quarterfinal win over Archbishop Carroll.
  Cunningham would have been the replacement, but he was being disciplined for having missed the previous day's practice.
  "He had an excuse. Not a good one," Arrigale said.
  "I was a little sore," said Cunningham, likely the first frosh to start for a CL champ. "I had to baby-sit my little sister and by the time I got her fed. . .It was late. I just figured I wouldn't go.
  "Coach was trying to teach me a lesson. I do regret missing. After that I told him, 'I'm not missin' no practices. ' My coach made this happen. He had faith in me.
  "Everybody was talking to me these last few days. 'Keep your poise. Control the team. Do that and we'll be all right. ' I was having dreams that we won! Then I'd wake up and it was, 'Ah, game didn't come yet. ' I wasn't the hero in those dreams. Just one guy playing a role. "
  The whole night was emotional. Fletcher had a good crying session right before the Pirates came out for warmups.
  "It all hit me," he said. "I wanted to play so much. It hurt. "
  Fletcher then served as Cunningham's personal coach.
  "Mostly I was telling him to stay focused," Fletcher said. "I told him, 'If you turn it over, keep your head up. . .If you got your guy beat, take him. ' I knew Tabby last summer from playing against him. I knew he'd be tough. He's got heart and he doesn't have the body of a freshman. It was the biggest game of his life. I told him he handled it well. "
  Said Arrigale: "It's been a long process. This was the only school where Tabby wouldn't have walked in and started right away. He had to wait his turn and things were bumpy sometimes. But he was the only guy on our team who could play Cantrell straight up in practice. You can do that, you're a player. "
  For Brigman, the fires also were burning. He had missed six of the 14 South games with a broken left (non-shooting) hand, and this was his fifth game back.
  The heavy padding hindered his delivery and he shot just 1-for-11 from the floor. But he toughed out five boards and posted seven blocked shots while his point total (five) was leaving him seven short of 1,000 for his career.
  Brigman is scheduled to have a pin inserted in the hand tomorrow, so he's doubtful for the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament Thursday through Saturday at Frostburg (Md. ) State. (Roman also will be there. )
  Neumann's other prime contributors were Michael Haddix (10 points, seven rebounds), Robert "Beattie" Taylor (12 points, eight rebounds, three assists) and Chris Del Brocco (nine points). Also, forward Jeff Thomas had three rebounds, three steals and two blocks in 8 minutes.
  Tamal Forchion and Brent Welton scored 16 points apiece for Roman and Jim Kelly hit two gigantic, late-game treys to keep his team afloat.
  With 8.4 seconds left, Ramer Jones hit a free throw to make it 59-57 Neumann. Welton sped upcourt and drove hard down the left side of the lane. He collided with Jones and his too-short shot bounced out of bounds with 3 seconds to play.
  When asked about the non-call, Seddon said slowly: "After you've been in the championship game 12 times in 15 years, you think you've seen it all. But new things keep popping up. "
  He declined to elaborate.
  A free throw by Haddix at 2.1 made it 60-57. Roman's Scott Paxson threw a perfect three-quarter court pass to Forchion, and Kelly was right nearby behind the arc. But there was a tangle of arms and Forchion's momentum was taking him forward and the shot he hit to end it was doubtless from inside the arc.
  Afterward, handling interviews, Cunningham was as smooth as he'd been during the game.
  "I was nervous before," he said. "But when I stepped on the court and touched the ball, all those butterflies, they just flew away." 

By Ted Silary
  Hello? John Huggins? Is anybody home? Are you still with us?
  There were many times this basketball season when Dennis Seddon, Roman Catholic High's wildly successful basketball coach, had to wonder.
  Huggins, a 6-2 junior guard, figured to be a major factor for the Cahillites off performances in the 1998-99 season that were mostly good and were sometimes outstanding.
  Then a not-so-funny thing happened. Huggins found himself in a small wooden structure, barely wagging his tail.
  "Early," Seddon said, "we gave John a number of chances and he wasn't responding. Analyzing it now, I think he was taking his spot for granted - and that's never a good thing. We had to get him out of that perception, so he'd work hard again.
  "He took a lot of junk from the coaches. There were times when we thought maybe we'd lost him. But I am surprised by what John did here tonight? Not at all. He's a very athletic kid. And he can play. I know it's a cliche. But he can play. "
  What John Huggins did last night at Temple's Liacouras Center was, in effect, jump out of a box filled with mothballs - or, the doghouse, if you prefer - and help Roman collect yet another Catholic League championship.
  In 26 minutes off the bench, Huggins posted 15 points, four rebounds, four assists and one gi-huge-ic steal as the Cahillites edged gutty St. John Neumann, 58-55.
  Huggins shot 3-for-8 from the floor and 8-for-9 from the line. His one missed free throw, a front end of a one-and-one, came with 45.2 seconds remaining as Roman was trying to pad a 54-53 lead.
  "I was nervous," he admitted. "I was like, 'Everybody's depending on me. I messed up. ' "
  After Brandon Brigman, a 6-8 junior, claimed his 13th rebound, Neumann had the ball in the frontcourt when point guard Cantrell "Man-Man" Fletcher threw a short horizontal pass to wing guard David "Meatball" Crawford. The ball went through Crawford's hands, Huggins gained possession, got fouled and went to the line for another one-and-one at 32.4.
  Swish. Swish. A 56-53 lead.
  "That time, I wasn't nervous," he said. "Guess I got it all out of me on the other one-and-one. I said, 'This is nothing. You've hit two free throws lots of times. Just step up there and do it. '
  "When I was near 'Meatball,' I was just trying to guard the three-point line. He did a great job all night. But that one play. . .I was shocked to get the ball. "
  In some ways, it's amazing Huggins maintained even a sliver of confidence through the season.
  "With all the in-and-out-of-the-lineup stuff going on, I just had to keep working hard at practice," he said. "People kept telling me, 'Your time will come. ' I guess they were right. It did.
  "After a while, coach said I looked like one of those people who does better off the bench. I minded some; everybody wants to start. It was frustrating. But when the team is using only six or seven players sometimes, you're still going to get decent playing time. "
  Strong efforts by Huggins and fellow guard Michael Wild (17 points, three treys) were highly necessary on a night when 6-9 star Eddie Griffin was throttled somewhat (15 points, 6-for-17 shooting) by the junk-defense efforts of muscular forward Chas Bailey, and 6-6 Tamal Forchion also had trouble converting inside opportunities (six points, 3-for-12).
  "It wound up being good for us," Griffin said. "I was proud of John and Mike. We got to show we're not a one-man team, like a lot of people say we are.
  "John's a good player. He never quit through his slumps. You'd see him working hard every day at practice. That's why he came out on top. "
  With the score at 56-53, Bailey tried to create a tie with a 21-foot, straight-on trey. It missed, but Fletcher scrambled for the rebound and his follow-up was swallowed underneath by Griffin, who didn't jump. Brigman immediately stole the ball and scored at 2.9 to make it a one-point game.
  Brent Welton converted a double bonus at 1.5 and Fletcher - it's got a chance!. . .Oh! - hit the right side of the rim with a heave from almost the right edge of the halfcourt line.
  As Roman's fans rushed the court, Neumann's fans pelted them with trash. The missiles were mostly partially filled cups of soda, but well-filled plastic bottles were also involved. A few Roman fans returned fire.
  Liacouras officials at first were not going to permit Roman's players to cut down the nets. They finally relented, but by then not many Roman loyalists remained.
  Afterward, Neumann coach Carl Arrigale was bitterly disappointed. Overall, though, Arrigale had to be buttons-bursting proud.
  Guard Robert "Beattie" Taylor toughed out 9 minutes on a sprained ankle (injured early) that made him look like a guy with a wooden leg. Crawford also injured his ankle during the game. He played 27 minutes. Meanwhile, Brigman was playing with a broken bone in his foot.
  "After getting efforts like that, what can you say to the kids? " Arrigale said.
  Said Huggins: "Neumann always comes to play. Even when they were getting those injuries, we weren't taking them lightly. "
  For Roman, the championship was the 26th in 81 league seasons, the 17th since 1969 and the ninth in 14 seasons for Seddon. In the five non-title seasons, each time the Cahillites fell to the eventual champion.
Last night?
  "You had a team with a great player and a decent supporting cast," Seddon said, "and another team with a lot of really, really good players.
  "As far back as Labor Day, I saw this game happening. It didn't surprise me the way it went or how it turned out. "

    By Ted Silary
    TYREEK DUREN isn't thinking about the day when he'll say "I do" or welcome his children into the world.
    He's a here-and-now kind of guy and the words that came pouring out of his mouth last night were, "This is the greatest feeling in the world! "Pause.

"Well, so far," he added with a smile. "But this is all I'm really thinking about. "

Duren and Ss. Neumann-Goretti High did not merely win the Catholic League basketball championship last night in front of maybe 7,000 spectators at the Palestra. The Saints stormed to it. Bullied their way to it. Took no prisoners en route to seizing it.

The final was N-G 86, Roman Catholic 53. And the outcome was "final" long before 32 minutes elapsed.

It was the 15th CL title for Neumann-Goretti (and its forerunners), and its fifth this decade (three against Roman).

Primary among the major reasons for the decisive victory was Duren, a junior point guard.

Another junior guard, Tony Chennault, who already has committed to Wake Forest, is the Saints' best-known player and was selected the coaches' MVP of the Blue Division. But at the west end of the floor, as they awaited their chance for TV interviews, Chennault walked over to Duren, put his arm around his shoulder and roared, "That's your MVP right here! "

Let us recount the reasons . . .

Penetrating, and finishing, pretty much at will, Duren scored 26 points, shooting 10-for-16 total with a pair of treys. For most of the night, though Mustafaa Jones and Lamin Fulton provided occasional help, Duren also stalked Roman's leading scorer, junior guard Rakeem "Rahk" Brookins. And there's no other way to put it - stalked.

Though Brookins did finish with 24 points, he needed to launch 31 shots from the floor. Only eight succeeded, he went 2-for-11 on treys and during a period that spanned late first quarter to early fourth, he hit just two of 18 attempts.

"I was ready to play him,'' said Duren, who added six rebounds, five assists and five steals. "I knew defense was going to be much more important than offense.

"I tried to make things as uncomfortable for him as I could. I don't know if I did that great on him, but it didn't seem like he was making too many shots. He's a great player. If you think you're going to win, you can't let great players beat you.

"I drank a lot of water all day. I knew I'd be working hard tonight. "

Muffling Brookins was paramount because he was Roman's only headliner in uniform. The senior franchise guard, Villanova signee Maalik Wayns, was unavailable, as he has been for several weeks since undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus.

Wayns saw his doctor at 4 p.m. yesterday. Thumbs down.

"He was cleared to run and jump, but not to play," said coach Chris McNesby. "The doctor said he couldn't even suit up. We were prepared for that likelihood. We saw the chances he'd play as maybe 75-25, against. "

During warmups, wearing a Boston Red Sox hat, Wayns stood at the back of the layup line and offered encouragement to his teammates. N-G's fans at one point during the game chanted toward Wayns and Roman's bench, "How's your kneecap? How's your kneecap? ''

Long after the game ended, Wayns and Chennault could be spotted near midcourt, having a lengthy and friendly discussion.

Let's say Wayns had been given the go-ahead. Would Duren have guarded him?

"Don't know,'' Tyreek said. "We never even talked about it. The whole time in practice, we just assumed he wouldn't be playing. Coming off an operation that fast? Would have been tough. "

"If he'd been out there, we would have dealt with it," said coach Carl Arrigale. "But we didn't expect to see him. ''

Duren scored 15 of his points in a 35-23 first half. Then and later, almost every single time he exploded past a defender, he did so to his left. He's righthanded.

"I don't know why people haven't figured that out," he said, laughing. "I guess they think I'll come back to my right hand. But I like going left. I'm comfortable with that. Until people start stopping me, I'll keep doing it. "

Roman missed 31 of its first 43 shots from the floor. Aside from Brookins, only freshman Andre Horne reached double figures in points (15). Koron Reed and Kevin Regan did claim nine rebounds apiece.

After a slow start, Chennault got rolling and finished with 19 points (in addition to seven rebounds and four assists). Danny Stewart (16) and Niagara-bound Andre "Scooter'' Gillette (14) also hit double digits while Gillette added nine boards and four blocks.

Deep subs were on the court as the final buzzer sounded. They scrambled up into the the east stands to celebrate with cheerleaders and buddies (mostly cheerleaders; they grow 'em smart in South Philly) and soon, the net was being cut down. It wound up around Gillette's neck since he's the only senior member of the rotation.

The championship plaque, of course, made the rounds and when it got to Duren, he exclaimed while pressing it against his chest, "I need to hold that tight! "

Then he kissed it.

Arrigale loved soaking in the various scenes.

"The kids really didn't like what happened to us last year,'' he said, referring to a loss in the quarterfinals. "They dedicated themselves to doing this going back to last summer. They worked hard. Stayed together. "

Won together, too. In quite the breeze. *