“I’m gonna bust his ass ALL night!”

“Bum ass nigga!”

That was the chatter on the court in the first quarter of the matchup between the two BEST teams in the BEST scholastic high school league in America.

Lots of disrespectful shit was said… Especially among the guards… I LOVE it!

Philly ain’t for everybody… I had to park damn near at the navy Yard… the gym was on broil… seats were unavailable… the ONLY way to get tickets was to see my man and ’em outside in the parking lot and pay well above face value…

I keep saying it… I don’t know if people are truly appreciating what we have here… This is the Golden Age… In ten years, we will be talking about the games being played this year.

Tonight’s game between the visiting Archbishop Wood Vikings and Neumann-Goretti Saints featured 10 starting players that will ALL receive Division 1 basketball scholarships. It was, in effect, a D1 game in that overcrowded HOT ass lil’ gym on 10th street. The quality of play was exceedingly high. Especially among the Philly guards…

It’s no secret, the Philadelphia Catholic League features some of the finest backcourt players in America. The coaches face a unique challenge every game. Last week, for example, Neumann-Goretti faced Roman Catholic and Head Coach Carl Arrigale had to devise a plan for dealing with one such HIGH major prospect, namely, Lynn Greer, III.

Some coaches spend countless hours reviewing film, scheming, planning, plotting and designing special contingencies for containing high major players like Greer.  Arrigale takes a decidedly different approach. Greer came into the game with a heavy rep… He has played exclusively on the EYBL… He participated in USA Basketball… He has been offered scholarships by Nebraska (Big 10), Georgia (SEC), Wake Forest (ACC), Miami (ACC), Iowa (Big 10), Marquette (Big East), UNLV (Mountain West), Florida (SEC) St. Joseph’s (A10), Penn State (Big 10) and Temple (AAC) among others.

A very capable offensive player, Greer is capable of dropping 30 or even 40 on a given night. He is able to score from all three levels. He gets to the rim, he pulls up for mid-range jumpers and he knocks down threes… So what was Arrigale’s strategy? How would Neumann-Goretti deal with Greer?

“Fabe… you got him.”

That’s good fucking coaching right there! No double teams… No traps… No zones…

“Fabe… you got him.”

It worked as Miller (16 points) more than held his own against Greer (17 points) and Neumann-Goretti escaped with a 77-69 win in double overtime.

Tonight Neumann-Goretti faced yet another high major guard… Rahsool Diggins is the MAN right now. In a city known for producing high quality point guards, Diggins has assumed the throne. In a game against Roman Catholic last weekend, Matt Griffin exhibited a tremendous amount of respect for Diggins. Whenever, he crossed half court with his dribble still alive, Roman ran a second defender at him. Indeed, they double teamed Diggins throughout much of the game.

Deploying this strategy, Roman ‘held’ Diggins to 28 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists in a one point, 94-93 loss to Wood.

Diggins is a bona fide HIGH MAJOR prospect. An EYBL stalwart, he holds offers from Seton Hall (Big East), Miami (ACC), UConn (Big East), Wake Forest (ACC), St. Louis (A10), Florida (SEC), UMass (A10), Xavier (A10), Virginia Tech (ACC) and La Salle (A10) are just some of his suitors. Earlier this season, he lit up Duke’s 5 star PG commit Jeremy Roach for 26 in a 7 OT loss.

Lil’ Sool is a fuckin’ problem… He gives opponents fits… He’s exceptional in clear out situations where he creates space with wicked crossovers and in and out moves… He’s perhaps the best in the city at running pick and rolls… He often finds Daeshon Shepard and/or Muneer Newton for easy alley oop scoring opportunities… He’s deadly from three, especially in crunch time… So what was Arrigale’s strategy? How would Neumann-Goretti deal with Lil’ Sool?

“Fabe… you got him.”

That’s good fucking coaching right there! No double teams… No traps… No zones…

“Fabe… you got him.”

So… Who is Fabe? Standing a chiseled 6’2” Hysier “Fabe” Miller is a defensive specialist with a strong and varied offensive repertoire. He transferred from Martin L. King, Jr. Neumann-Goretti this past summer. He has spent the first month and half of the current season firmly establishing himself as one of the premier guards in the Catholic League and the Greater Philadelphia region.

It should, however, be noted that Fabe’s not new to this… for the past few years, Miller has honed his skills playing for Harold Mackey Boswell and WER1 in the summer and Sean Colson and Martin L. King, Jr. HS in the Public League. He put in work far away from glaring spotlight. While Greer and Diggins were entrenching themselves as HIGH MAJOR prospects on the EYBL and in Catholic League, Miller toiled away on the UAA and in the PUB.

Every night, he trudged back home to Wilson Park.

A highly productive guard for Colson, Miller was not on the radar screen of Division 1 coaches until very recently. Since the onset of the new year, Rider University (MAAC) and Wagner College (NEC) have offered him scholarships. These are his first two Division 1 offers. It’s safe to assume that he will garner much more attention going forward. After his performance tonight, one of the Big 5 programs made it clear that they would love to have him.

Rather than spoil the moment for Miller, we won’t reveal the school until they are able to tell him in person.

The coach said he needs to get ‘tougher guards’ and Miller fits the bill.

That’s good fucking coaching… Fabe from Wilson Park is ‘tough’ and highly skilled!

Tonight, he played the very best point guard in the city head up and held him to 15 while scoring 24. As the clock ran out and the final buzzer sounded, Miller forcefully pounded to the ball into the ground sending it bouncing high into the rafters, signaling satisfaction with both his performance and the important Catholic League win.

That was his understated way of talkin’ shit! I heard it loud and clear… I LOVE it!

The HIGH major boys haven’t discovered the kid from Wilson Park yet… But, Big 5 programs have started to take notice.

Miller has squarely situated himself in any discussion of the best guards in the area. To their credit, Mackey Boswell and Sean Colson have been saying for more than a year now.