“We couldn’t believe it,” he stated. “We’re blessed to be a part of this program and that our ability to play basketball helps us to go to those places. We’re just trying to enjoy it, to be in the moment. Because we know we won’t be in high school forever.”
The No. 1 Panthers, extensively considered the most effective highschool groups within the nation, are one in all a number of native groups to take part in glitzy showcase occasions. And in current seasons, because the Chantilly program’s profile has continued to develop, the Panthers have traveled particularly far to take action. The crew performed in an occasion in Hawaii final winter, and accepted an invite to the inaugural Basketball Hall of Fame London Showcase this 12 months.
The Panthers (4-0) gained the four-team match, beating New York’s Christ the King and California’s Mater Dei by 25-plus to convey a trophy again to the states. The match functioned as a celebratory begin to a season by which Paul VI will face as excessive a bar as ever, each within the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference and past.
On Saturday, on the National High School Hoops Festival held at close by DeMatha, Paul VI flexed its depth because it picked aside Baltimore energy Mount St. Joseph. In the center of a slate that includes a few of the finest groups within the space, the Panthers stood out with their medical dismantling of final 12 months’s Baltimore Catholic League champions. At halftime, Paul VI led 46-16.
“We’re versatile. We’re not lacking at any position. … And nobody is worried about getting their own. We’re all locked in on trying to see each other succeed,” senior guard DeShawn Harris-Smith stated after the 87-52 win.
Paul VI has lengthy been a producer of high-level expertise, however this 12 months the crew is much more closely stocked than typical. Coach Glenn Farello possesses a nine-man rotation of high-major expertise, plus loads of younger potential farther down the bench.
Perhaps the best strategy to grasp all the weapons on the Panthers’ disposal is to interrupt it down by 12 months: Harris-Smith is the lone senior starter, a four-year playmaker who’s headed to Maryland within the fall. The junior class has 5 key items: Hammond, Duke commit Darren Harris, ahead Garrett Sundra and two transfers from Virginia’s Highland School: Isaiah Abraham and Patrick Ngongba.
The sophomore class has two large males who noticed main minutes final season in 6-foot-9 Christian Gurdak and the 6-6 Jaquan Womack. And of the 5 freshman on the varsity roster, dynamic guard Jordan Smith has emerged as an early contributor.
“I’ve played with talent in the past but this much talent on the same team is crazy,” Abraham stated. “So I came in really practicing as hard I ever have just to get ready for the season. … Playing with these guys has helped my game a lot.”
Last season was a breakthrough for Paul VI, as senior guard Dug McDaniel led a younger group by means of the WCAC match. Womack’s buzzer-beating layup within the championship sport handed the Panthers their first convention title since 2014. Now, with McDaniel at Michigan and the roster even deeper and extra skilled than final winter, the Panthers are the crew to beat in a single the nation’s strongest conferences.
Perhaps their greatest benefit is the power to coach day by day with such a deep roster. With a lot expertise within the gymnasium, practices at Paul VI tend to get intense.
“It’s cliche to say, but iron sharpens iron,” Harris-Smith stated. “So in practice we’re trying to score on each other, trying to get stops, trying to beat each other in sprints. I don’t think any other team practices as hard as we do. And as a senior, I take my teammates’ development personally. So I want to see them get better every day.”
After the win towards Mount St. Joseph on Saturday, the Panthers hung round to look at Harris-Smith (19 factors) and Harris (22 factors) obtain co-MVP honors and then fortunately exited to the locker room with loads of smiles and excessive fives to go round.
“Playing in these types of environments, having this much on the fun on the basketball court — I don’t want to take this for granted,” Abraham stated. “I’m going to enjoy every moment of this.”