Latest / Committee 215 / Joe Zeglinski Interview

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Joe Zeglinski Interview · Committee 215

• Sinni: Okay. Welcome back to two committee two one five. today we have a friend of mine, Joey Zeklinski, Ryan basketball legend, player coach, he's also an AD, we'll talk with that a little bit. former Division One standout, Ryan Ledge, like I said. He's still the head coach at Ryan, doing a great job. so thanks, Joe, for coming. Yeah, thanks for having me. I'm looking forward to it. I think this just the start of something big for you, Joey. We'll sick. One interview at a time. the interviews aren't really what I'm gonna do. the real podcast, the intent is a weekly recap of PCL play and just go through all the games that happened that week and give our dumb opinions and people can get mad at us. That's the that's what we're gonna do. But these interviews I love. So No, I love it. Love the concept. Who do you have coming on during the PCL play? I have Chris McNesby, we have Tommy Salmon, North Guy, and Jim Hanratdy. We call them the committee when we were on our live. Yeah, they've heard heard about the committee. Just didn't know who was in it. So that'll happen. I think we're gonna do a segment on PCL All Catholic selections from last year, which I'm still pissed off about and don't understand. More about the process, not about the coaches who make the decisions and rank kids. we're also gonna do a recap of last year, last season. and then maybe do another segment on just the playoffs. but let's get back to you. So we have a different kind of layout today. I'm gonna talk to Joe. He's a Shao Font guy. From from my neighborhood as well. we're gonna talk about his family and his background and then go chronologically as a player, as a coach, A D, and then talk about the main reason why you're here is your team. the program, which has been lights out for so many years, but what to look forward to this year. It's got a lot of a core coming back. I'm excited. I know all the kids, which is great. Got some newcomers who are gonna have major impact. So I can't wait to go through that with you. All right, let's start off, Joey, your your bio here, which is pretty impressive. I'm gonna do my best. Again, most of this is from ChatGPT. Okay. I'm not lying. I have two pieces of paper here. So let's start off with playing resume and just keep me honest. class of 2006. Yep, that's right. Three time all Catholic, right? Yeah, yeah. First team. First team. Yeah, my senior year. It was like an honorary all Catholics since I only played, I guess four games towards the end of the season coming off ACL surgery. So three and a half, really. I was gonna ask you what happened that other year, but now I know it was injury, it wasn't performance. Yeah. Which makes me rattle because you're so good. your jersey is retired at Ryan. It's up in the rafters, as it should. Going to talk a little bit of football. early, 'cause you were a dynamic football player. your numbers also retired there, right? not the same number though. Twenty. Twenty. Barry Sanderson. Really? Yeah. That's a guy. What'd you play? R B and running back safety. Yeah. Like a sweetbird soccer. He just took care of business. not a lot of people do that. not a lot of all Catholics in two sports. That happens, but it's a it's an elite club for sure. then you take your talents to Harford. I have two th over two thousand career points. Correct? Yeah, it's correct. Vin Baker, behind B Ben Ben Baker. He was pretty good. Yeah, he was good. He was a pro. Yeah. He came back a few times. Good guy. Yeah. Yeah, he strained himself out now. He was at with the Bucks for a little bit and great player. Yeah. Yeah. And then he was coaching at a NBA ring with the Bucks a few years ago. Yeah. Okay. I know. Good to hear. not there's not a lot of people in that 2000 point club at the college level. in American East Conference. let me go through your stats really quick while you're there. Fourteen fifteen a game for rebounds. I think you would call yourself or I would call you, describe you as a three-point specialist. I wouldn't say that, no. As a college player, as a college player, yeah, yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And they knew you were call you were a three-point specialist and you still made all those threes, which is crazy. Tons of steals. one fifty, and then all the American East honors. four different years with first team, second team, you're kind of lighting a board up. and then your sophomore year is when you made the big run at Hartford, right? You guys won the chip? Yeah, no, we lost in the championship the UNBC. Jesus. Okay. That was a tough one. and then you had a short stint. You stayed up there in Connecticut and you coached for a bit? I coached for one year under Drew Dawson at Chote Prep, in Wallingford, Connecticut. Okay. Yeah, that was I yeah, started coaching November season ended, February and then I got the call that coach Rogers was stepping down and so I got a few phone calls from some friends, you know, pushing me or to go for it and here we are. say you got the Ryan and I I jumped over your professional career. Tell me that a little bit. what was that like? It was definitely like it was definitely sh a short stint. my knee injury really came back to cause problems for me in Denmark. I was in Italy before in the summer following my senior year of college. got to travel in Italy. It was awesome three, four months Italy just playing, top level talent and trying to get my Italian citizenship. My mother was born in Naples so I was working on that and then I got signed in Denmark that that August. I was playing for them for about two to three months. And I probably shouldn't have been doing this, you know, it's just it was in my nature, doing two of days, play through my injuries and it's it's it just blew up on me, my knee blew up and doctors said, this is never gonna get better. He told the GM and told the owner. So they kind of s they sent me home. definitely a tough day, what do you do next? Things like that. So that was all run through my head. but you know, it it it all worked out. but Denmark was, was it was a great place. I loved the loved the love love the whole summer and and just getting a chance that opportunity to go overseas and you know, explore the explore the world a little world a little bit and I'm just you know, grateful that, it ended it ended up this way, you know, coaching and that's why I think that yeah, you found a home. Yeah, for sure. where you came back home. So I again for people who are unfamiliar with and I think it's more prevalent today, you hear, that kid's playing overseas. what it was like being in a different country. was there a lot of Americans on the team, but a lot of people from the US? Yeah, I was roommates with Will Harris. He went to U VA actually with Sam my brother Sammy, so So that was a good connection we had. So we kinda knew I kinda knew him before you he went to UVA, then Albany. I played against him in college. So we we became good friends in that time. he was my roommate, every day, you know, you're waking up, you're right into workouts, team breakfast, you know, then another practice, two practices a day at least, walk through it, it's your life, you know, and you love it, you know. But for me it was it was tough 'cause I was battling that my knee, my knee injury kept flaring up on me, when I was in Denmark. But just the get to just see that part of the world and and just get that experience was I think beneficial for me, seeing different systems, offensive systems out there, European offensive system training differently. Yep. Definitely more holistic medicine, a lot of acupuncture I went through. I've never heard of that before when, you know, in college or in high school. So yeah, now it's yeah, so they that was, a two thousand eleven, twelve, that's becoming, the big thing over the last, ten years. But they were definitely ahead of the curve in that in that sense. Yeah, I was gonna say, was the was the basketball that much different? you said the training was a little different. Was that like take a while to get it ju used to it? Yeah, it was definitely no, I don't think it took me a while to adjust adjust. It was a lot of ball screen action, so I was really working on becoming a a true point guard at that point to be in on a professional level. And I was I was good, always good with ball screen offenses. So that I kinda yeah, the reading the reading screens and things like that, that was one of my strengths. So I kinda fit in pretty well and the coach was excited and just unfortunately I know the injury injury happened again and was at home. But, it was I was just happy that they that they took a chance on me and unfortunately it didn't it didn't pan out. Yeah. It sounded like you you took it, you put it in your pocket and you used it. Yeah. Yeah. I don't think a lot of people know what that's like. So thanks for kind of walk I don't know. So Yeah, 'cause as a you know, as a athlete your whole life playing basketball, football, then it just stops, suddenly, the first day I get back is when the Phillies I was actually excited to get back to watch the Phillies play off around two thousand eleven. Was it I think it was Red Holiday pitching they lost one nothing to the Cardinals. Yeah, well it was a it was a really bad loss. Yeah, and that was my first night back. I was like, Yeah, it a it was a brutal hell. Yeah, they got Yeah, it was it was yeah. So I was like sorry about the Phillies run, being home for it and then, that it's just that ended suddenly as well. what was it like to be back? you're over there, you're trying to make it work and then you're like, this is not gonna work out, it's gonna hurt me in the long run. And you get back to Philly. What was that? When you get off that plane and you're back in the the you you smell the Scepta s Yeah, it's excit it was exciting, to get back to Philly and, you know, be back, around my friends, family, things like that. but then I had to figure out what I'm doing with life, you know. So, I bounce around a couple jobs and, local sales and I was able to get a medical sales job up in Connecticut and I moved back up to you know, the Hartford and I knew some people up there with some connections, I was able to get in a good situation. up in Connecticut and I was doing that for a few years before Drew Dawson, who was my assistant co who was the connection there? He coached me at Hartford. He was assistant coach under Liebovitz, Dan Libovitz and and Gal for a year. And he took over the the Cho prep program and he asked me to to join. You know, it wasn't too far away. So so I d I did that for for a year and then, Coach Rogers moved on to Haverford and I got a call from a couple of friends that had connections at you know at the school and you know pushed me to go for it and I'm sure to get all contact. Yeah and and you know I always had in the back of my my my head was like I wanted to be a coach, when it was all said and done. So you know I I was I dropped everything like I I was moving back to Philly and I'll figure it out. I'm gonna go for this job once I got it and then I'll figure it out. And I was able to, you know, trans transfer my my job from medical sales to the Philly territory. So that was that was good. So let's go back up a little bit. and thanks for connecting the dots there. I'm going a little bit a different kind of style with this one. because again, it's the neighborhood connection. talk about your family. of course your mom and dad, your brothers. it's ridiculous all the talent under that roof. So talk about what it was like, as a youngster with your brothers. growing up it was it was competition every day, We would, you know, be in if it was basketball season, we're outside playing, in the in the front yard. obviously at the basket hoop. We had a big backyard playing football, you know, where we're every March May and it's me and Sammy play out the whole bracket when we're and just like b pick different teams and have fun with it. Zach was like when we played with Zach in the front yard it was like ultra competitive. It was like taking it a hundred per so serious, you know. So we tried to like Zach, you're out of this one, you know. but no, it was just fun. It was I couldn't ask for a better childhood, especially growing up in you know, Chaufon Calvary, you know how it is, just like a brotherhood with all your friends, going down the Chaufon courts every day. Football yeah, it was it was football, you know, football in the fall, being at Calvary Hill, watching some great players there, like Tony McDevin, guys like that. Tony went on to play a Duke at La Crosse, but just following the footsteps, my dad went to Calvary and I did not know that. Yeah. he moved up he was at Huntington Park up until seventh grade, moved to Calvary his eighth grade year and and up, for people who don't know your brothers, like tell them the order and who is first Yeah, Zach's a year older than me. he just turned forty last year, thirty nine, Sammy's thirty eight. So we're all in a three year span. So And then my my sister is is thirty, so so we're all three, in the same age range, three years three years apart. and it was just it was just fun growing up, with I had two of the best athletes, in the city, in the same house with me. So it just you know, all fun fun, friendly competition. We count the touchdowns we scored in the season, things like that. I I have questions on that. Yeah, outside of the house, very humble. Inside there's definitely bragging rights, Well, that's the way it should be, right? I'm gonna assume because of all that talent, and we're gonna get into your playing career at Ryan, but did you did you choose Ryan? Did Ryan choose you? I didn't have a lot of options. I could have went to like Ghost or something that, maybe if I if I pushed for it, but they they weren't like knocking on my doorjo saying, Sonai, come let's go to go to Ghost. Yeah. You no interacts were asking for me. was that an option for you? Well it was well Zach was went to Pen Charter. Okay. He got the Fox Scholarship from the little Quakers, full ride to Pen Charter in his eighth grade year. and I think Jimmy Flipper Phillips, yeah, who's a coach at Pen Charter, had a big hand in getting Zach, myself, and Sammy to go there. I went for eighth grade. Okay. my eighth grade year I ended up playing J V and Var actually J V, but mostly varsity when during the interact season because Robbie Kerr's and I ended up starting bar season that that eighth grade year 'cause Robbie Kerr couldn't play 'cause of the transfer rule at that time. I think there's what Interact Interact or something? It was Interact or Interact. He was at GA he went to Pen Charter junior year. So so I was able to get like valuable minutes, in eighth grade, playing Interact with a bunch of great players. And so after that, after that full year I The ride, down the boulevard was tough. It's rough too man. Hour at least every day. and it's a and remember, like Interrack is games after school, practice after school. You still didn't eat dinner. What time you getting home? Six or six. Playing for flip. another Calvary guy, Jimmy Phillips. Yeah. Yeah, football. I was trying to play J V in eighth grade. They wouldn't let me. I was playing s for CYO c at Calvary at the time. So I was d going back and forth with that. And then heading into that ninth grade year, I just wanted to get closer to the home and and be able to go down the street and build a legacy, you know, with my friends and and where my dad went and where I kind of grew up thinking I was going. and, I think it was it w for me, it was it was one of the best decisions I made. Yeah. well we're glad you went to R I appreciate it. Yeah. so let's talk about you as a player. as a kid, now again, you're in a house with your two brothers that are spectacular athletes around your age, you're you're beating the shit out of one another every day. you said in eighth grade you're playing varsity. basketball wise, when did you know I'm gonna be a good athlete if I do what I need to do in high school? when did that click in? it it was always something like that inside inside I knew I knew I was going to be great. I like that was my, my self-motivation pretty much every day. Like first it was like I'm gonna get a banner in Calvary's gym. That was like you know I didn't talk about it, but yeah to myself I did, Yeah, exactly. So so that's like Growing up, being on those Calvary teams with my boys and we won champ so many championships in football, baseball, basketball. Everything we did was like we were winners. And, that came from a lot of great coaching, just the the culture Calvary provided at the time. and, I didn't think it was gonna stop, So that's what, every day, every drill I'm trying to win, and that's why I try to kind of preach to our kids like That's super competitive. be in the moment and win this win this sprint. don't take any anything off, Every everything you do, you're trying to win. That's how I kinda approach everything I was doing growing up and and still do. well we all know you don't like losing. Yeah, no, not at all. I couldn't imagine playing against you in pickup and you were serious. so talk talk about your high school years. Who was your coach, your teammates, the league at that time, like that era. Talk about your years at Ryan Yeah, co I was Coach Rogers, was the b was our was our basketball coach, Coach Gallio was football, and two great coaches. Coach Rogers a lot I think I learned a lot of discipline playing for him. you had to run his style offense, had to get the the best shot, every possession, it really valued the bait valued every possession on the offensive end. Yeah, so we were sc scoring forty, fifty points a game. but it was it was a great experience. Played with a lot of a lot of great players and some of my best friends growing up on the team. Give me some names. Jimmy Roachy, besides Rodney. Roach, yeah, Jimmy Roach, obviously. my man. Mike Baron Average. Yeah. He ended up going to Bloomsburg, being defen defensive player of the year there. he that's one one of the guys that really pushed me to be the like best player I could be. Every practice, it's one of the guys I you couldn't stand. as competitors, not many guys I can say he's as competitive as me and he was and Mike Mike and we would go at it and practice holding my shirt and practice, face guarding me ninety four feet. he's got fired. and that was that was an open gym. That was just an open gym and every practice I did deal with that. And I would just that just that that definitely got me better just like figuring things out how to get open and just mentally tough, And I credit credit allowed that to to him and some of my other teammates, Tommy Mannis. playing St. John's across division one. So we had a we had great group of during that it was like a great group of athletes that were together at Ryan. And unfortunately I got a tourman ACL the senior year, which which hurt our hurt our chances of getting even further that year. But I'll I'll talk about Coach Rogers. I mean he was gonna say what kind of influence did he have he was very detailed oriented. he wouldn't let anything slide in practice every day. He was consistent, bringing energy and and not letting, you take a day off. and sometimes you wanted to, 'cause you're running, you're on fist offense or chin, you're running that for thirty, forty five minutes of practice and you want to take it, take a take a playoff or two, but he wouldn't allow it. you come to Appreciate that. so that was I think that was a big influence on the way I coach details and and being disciplined on both ends of the floor. yeah, Bernie was a year ahead of me. he was a tough player. I had a card in every practice, it was not fun. Yeah, he was still playing back then in practice like an open gym, we go four on four and Bernie would be out there playing with us. Yeah. He was great. teammate too. so good. Made it made it look easy. now i in those years in high school, your senior year was cut short. How how far did you guys go? What kind of success did you have? You get in the playoffs, did you fall short? also that error, who were the players in the Catholic League besides yourself? names that you know folks would recognize later on. that you played against. Yes. So my f my freshman year, I think we beat Judge in a playing game and we got to the quarterfinals. We lose to LaSalle, if I remember correctly. sophomore you get to semifinals, lose to Doherty with Kyle, Shane, Deshaun, White, those guys were pretty good. Yeah they're great great team obviously. junior year. I'm sorry, I I switched that. Stop where we lose at the buzzer to LaSalle in the quarterfinal. junior year we lose to to Doherty. And then senior year I come back for the playoffs and leave one game in the regular season, played against McDevitt. We beat Judge in the quarterfinals, then we lost to Roman with Wanamaker and those guys. Yeah, bro. Yeah. Yeah, that Docker team was loaded. Timmy Smith. man, they were good. All right. let's segue into your college career. Now you go from art so let me go back up. I assume you could have played football in college. Yeah, that was like the goal heading into my senior year. I I was receiving calls for both sports. George Mason called me. I tell them, I'm playing football in college. You they they stopped recruiting me. for football is Georgia Tech, Penn State. I went to Penn State camp, had a great camp, ran a grade forty, meet with Joe Joe Pa in his office, which is like surreal for me growing up, loved Penn State, Kajana Carter, like all those guys. I watch every Penn State game growing up and I'm in his office and he's telling me he's gonna offer me. Coach McQueer, he Loved me, wants wanting to offer me that at the camp. Could return turnout. said we're gonna wait three three or four games, send film, then you'll pr you'll get an offer. in s in one way or another, he's in those words. third game, fourth game of the season, I tear my ACL against St. Joe's Prep. So when after I tear my ACL, all those schools, Georgia Tech, Penn State, R Virginia, back then I was two thousand six. Two thousand five, two thousand six. It what ACL was like not as you're not gonna offer a kid, that just toured their ACL. So they all tell me to walk on. So I'm planning, that was obviously a tough year for me and watching my teammates in football and basketball, Yeah, not sure what I'm doing, College I tried to stay like in the moment, help help be a leader on those teams, but internally it was tough dealing with that injury and not sure what was going on. that was one of the things I came back in three and a half months from the ACL, which I was pushing for, for the from the doctor, I was, jumping and I was like, Hey, I can go, I can go, and he finally gave me the clear, not finally, but in right end of the basketball season, which was grateful, ended up I think giving getting me a chance to get a scholarship at at Hartford, which came in in late May. Before that I was visiting schools with my brother Sam, who was getting recruited by a lot of the biggie schools, Villanova, Virginia. So my go my plan was to walk on to Virginia and play both. So I when I was on those recruiting visits. Yeah. Which I was in the back of my head, I was like, I don't know if I can, that's gonna be tough 'cause it in high school it was tough, going from football to basketball. It doesn't happen today. Yeah, no. What is it pro it's probably less than one percent of Yeah, yeah. It's usually a tight end or a defense end that, just a big guy on the basketball court. yeah, so that was my plan to walk on then late after that Roma game and you know Chris McNesby called John Gal and Dan Libavitz who just got the job at Hartford and and told about me. So I was always grateful to to to Chris for that. and they offered in May. had it in my senior year and it gave me a chance saying you have a chance to start freshman year to build something at Hartford. At the time I didn't even know Hartford was a school, So yeah Division One school and, you have a chance to build something special. And I think we got that started my freshman, sophomore year. We had a great momentum going in and get to the championship game my sophomore year for the first time in school history. So we had a lot of buzz and did some special things, together. So I was, proud to be there and had a great time. that's a dramatic change. So you get football like you're again, in our neighborhood, it's football. It's always been football. It's always first. they have good coaches growing up. Gives you a little bit of toughness. I think helps you with basketball. Yeah, for sure. But you got a kind of a little bit of a change there in your direction. when you go to Harvard, played high school, you just had the knee injury. What did it take time to adjust? did it like the speed, you're playing against division one kids, the size, or was it physicality or were you did it just did you have to acclimate or you were just Joe Z just slides in and figures it out? it was it was well, nerves going into like the first open gyms, meeting new guys, like you're from northeast Philly, you're don't get out, of that area much, in high school and So you're meeting guys from Texas, California, who ended up being some of my best friends. He recruited the whole yeah, the whole country. Yeah. Coach G, who yeah, Chris Car Farlson, he's the head coach of San Francisco, but he had a big connection in Texas. So we had like four or five guys from Texas. We had me, Anthony Minor, who's now my one of my assistants who's for the last eleven years. Great. he's been here for the whole time, right? Pretty much from the start. So we had three I think at the time when I was a freshman, three guys from Philly, two from California, and we just had we had just had great chemistry, we had great time and yes we built that up, pretty quickly at Hartford and fortunately my my junior year I tear a ligament my my my foot from the team and we had most of our guys back from the championship team. So we're thinking we're gonna run. I tear my ankle up after being first team all conference, being the leading square on the team. So obviously it's big hit to the team and we had a guy leave That was was our big guy. So that year was a tough year for us. and then Liebovitz stayed for one more year, before going to Penn. And funny thing, Coach Gal was that he was our assistant coach for two years at Hartford. He left for for Penn and then Libavitz and Gal kind of switched positions. Gal took over as a head coach back at Hartford and Lebo went to Penn. For my senior year. you speak of it you enjoyed your time there. Yeah, for sure. Proud of what you did. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, team wise, of course. and then you it isn't like you didn't produce or we went over your stats earlier and it's Incredible. I'm familiar with how Bernie played. Like I said, I've seen it. I'm not gonna bore the audience with it. But as far as Hartford, how I'm just curious, the system was it much different than I'm assuming it's very different than what Bernie was right. Yeah, it's it's more of a passing offense as Fran O'Hanlin created the offense, a lot of read and react stuff. There's that wasn't much different. I think The Princeton really helped me be ready for that kind of offense. So everything was read and react, ball screens, handoffs, pass cut for round one lot. and then quick hitters. Franklin Halen was at Lafayette and Gal was under him and he learned the offense from him and brought it brought to Hartford. I always loved the read and react. I love watching it. especially when the kids figure it out. if you have a lot of high IQ guys, which we did my first my especially my first two years, some really good guards who can shoot it and high high IQ guys that can re read the game well, the ball gets popping around and you're making you're making plays inside out. it was fun to play and and definitely fun to watch. Yeah. It just it just makes it so much easier. It's again so fun to watch. Okay, so I'm gonna kind of pivot from your playing career, Joe, now and talk about slide into coaching. But like when did you know I want to be a coach? you had your stint in the pros, you come back, you connect in Connecticut, was it when you were overseas or you always knew like that's what I'm gonna do. as a player in high school, I think I'm going, the highest level I'm playing, for a long time, in college I started, feeling my knee my knee injury kinda came a problem my senior year, especially after I t tour my meniscus going to my senior year. They tell me I don't have an ACL. So I played without an ACL in my senior year, still don't have one. So that's why I still have problems. Yeah, it's just gone. Just disappeared. when I know I think it was I think it was that in college, talk to Coach Liebovitz a lot and after practice, just yeah, just like during Scouting Report, I used you know, when the leisure team I have a voice, I'll say, should we do it this way? And, you know, he was able he allowed me to kinda ask questions and why we're doing things a certain way and junior year when I was hurt, the coaches, allowed me to be part, you know, of drawing up plays in practice sometimes and situational stuff. at the end of the bench, you know, if they if I saw something I I was able to go down and talk to them, you know, it's run the we should run this. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Which is like, that's that's an awesome environment. Yeah, for sure. For sure. Yeah. And it's your bounds through them. He could take it or leave it. But respected your input. Okay. Yeah, it wouldn't be much, you know, a couple of times maybe once or twice a game, I'd say, yeah, I'm seeing something with this defenders. You know, he's he's you know he's attacking like the gap too hard. We get a backdoor something you know, something things like that. Yeah. that's that X's and O's, what you are superior in. so so you you've always known you went to go on that path. You did a little bit at a stint in Connecticut like said. What's it like to get that call, like a couple calls, probably a couple million text saying Bernie's taking off. You know what? There's an opportunity to come home, man. Yeah, I I didn't think, did I have a chance? I thought I had a chance. I didn't think it was absolute I was getting the job at all. You know, I really prepared for it. I went after it really hard, you know, with my interview and become preparing a plan for the program. And I was thankful, you know, George Toad at the time, the A D and Jim Meredith, the principal at the time. believed in me and and kinda took a risk. I coached for three months. Yeah. as an assistant coach in Connecticut. And I was twenty seven years old. Now they took a risk and I was I'm always grateful for, you know, them being able to do that. And that's what I try to do as an A D, like, see, 'cause I I was given a chance. So like as long as I know it's someone can get build a a a culture and have things in order and, you know, have 'cause it's hard to know how they're gonna be like in game interview. You know, it's interviews are not tough are tough. Like unless you're at the college level and you've seen them coach before. Yeah. You don't know. You don't know how they're going to be, but you can get that feel of are they a good person? Are they going to build that culture? you know, the way you want it to be built or the right way. And and and I, you know, I was always thankful for for them giving me a chance. Yeah when you walk out interview where you're like I got it I or you're still like I don't Yeah, I don't know. There's a few really good candidates and I was like I I thought, you know, I I did a good job, you know. Obviously you always have some doubts, you know, coming out of the interview, but yeah, I wasn't sure at the time. And I would say it's a good hire. Yeah, so you talked about A D a little bit, and I think I I told you earlier before we went on that I don't think a lot of people know first of all that you do that, that you're the A D. And I know people don't understand what goes into it. So again, I don't want to go in a rabbit hole. We're here today to talk about your team, the program, and like what we're look forward to this year, which I'm super excited about. But just, you know, tell me a little bit about like that role at the highest level. Like I know you like it's a boys and girls school. So you're probably like two X everyone else in most schools. Yeah. So tell me about like you said, you talk a little bit coaching and how you kind of pick people, give them some chances, but like what What is a day in a life in an A D and primarily responsible for it? It's a lot of managing your coaches, managing, issues with, parents or players, making sure they're on top of their academics and making sure they're the the schedules are right and you the worst thing you could do is not schedule a bus or not have the refs ref scheduled, when you have as an A D. As an yeah. So we're you 'cause you ca you're not getting much love for anything, but you are getting killed if if that if that happens, and that fortunately that hasn't happened. maybe once back in six five, six years ago. But you know that's like you said, like to kinda slow you down, it's it's you're coordinating all that for all the sports, boys and girls side. And like you said, if you if w one, you know, missed kind of task, if you will, is a team not getting to their game. Yeah. Or the big deal is that if you're if you're the coach of that team, you're you know, you're pissed, you know, and that's you know, I try you you have to take that really serious, and be very organized and and just making sure you're staying in communication with your coaches and making sure, building a good culture where where kids wanna want to be there and you know and want to be you know part of the community, part of the school. And I think we've done a good job hiring good coaches. It goes more not just me hiring, it's you know the president, principal all involved and are you think you guys are locked in step? Yeah, we're yeah, we're definitely locked in. Very good support. Yeah, we do. Yeah, yeah. They're at all the games, Couldn't ask for more support from from administration for sure. Yeah, I'm sure that eats a lot of clock. again, Joey's not just a basketball coach. That A Day is an important job at Ryan and has a lot to go with it. Yeah, and I think that like what you have around like around twenty five. Twenty five. Give or take a year. Yeah, at least twenty five coaches, right? At least Yeah, at least and then so you just gotta make sure yeah. Make sure everything's in a line, clearances, all the c coaching staff is, in line 'cause things can happen that, get out of control of some program, if you're not, always on top of things. And like you said, if a parent's not happy with a coach about anything, they're gonna find their way through. yeah. Right. They're gonna just jump over the coach and they come to you. Yep. And then you gotta say, Well, you gotta talk to the coach. Yeah, and I'm usually in those meetings with the coach and parent, so I can't imagine that. Yeah, they're fun. Big segue in the A D world. I c I think a lot of people don't understand how critical that a role is to a school. and Joey does it well. Yeah, and the P the A D's we we meet once a once a month and it's everyone does we wanna make the PCL keep getting better and better, and that's common goal. Yeah, common goals and it's and we're a pretty tight fraternity there and I think I think everyone's doing a good job of kind of keeping the thing going, trying to build it. That'd be the best it can be. Which A D is the most annoying? Just college as we go. All right. So A D okay, let now let's get into the the the what we're here for. So talk about your program, you know, talk about, you know, what you built, and you know the the Ryan kind of brand for the basketball side. and then we'll get into the team. Okay, yeah. you know, when I first got the job it was It was a few goals I had in mind was get to the plester, every year. No, I've to play often. and it was, want to be judge every year, as just like if you don't play in that game, you'll understand it, and I've been part of both football and basketball. So you you wanna win that game, one of the best rivalries still out there. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. Yeah, and just building a culture where you're proud of and the the alumni will come back to support you and the program and the kids. just and just kinda I wanted to get a buzz about the the program in the community where it put a product out there they can be proud of. and then just toughness. We talk about energy togetherness. that's what you preach every day. I've been in your practices. now talk a little about your staff. I think you said you y you you already mentioned a a few guys already. just a little bit like how how do those guys help you? like the individuals. I know there's guys that are there on the bench forever to your to your left, if you will, but you're pacing. Yeah. Yeah. So I you know I it takes a lot. You can't do it all yourself. Yeah, for sure. So so we don't like Anthony Minor, John Bryant, these are guys like Anthony was my teammate in in college at Hartford. John was, one of my best friends growing up. Jimmy Roach, who was on my staff when I start first started one of my best friends growing up. So guys that are like loyal guys, that aren't we're gonna have each other's backs, that's what I think you need in the high school level. that we talk about being positive with the kids, not, talking negatively about our team, or other teams, in public and things like that that, can come back and hurt your program. So our current staff, it's Anthony Minor, who's been with I think Anthony Minor who's been here twelve years going on twelve. Yeah, your this this will be your twelfth, right? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, Pat Riley who's you know went to Ryan. His dad was our freshman coach and J V coach when I first started. Knew the family for yeah, yeah, Mr. Riley Calvary teacher, yeah. Clayton Brothers who just joined the staff this year. He was also a teammate at at Hartford. He coached at Penn. So I know I'm excited to have him on board. Interesting. Yeah. Good actor. Yeah, yeah, definitely. fr Frank Weibel, who's in the a teacher at the school. He's our our strength coach. Mike Palumbo has been here since two thousand seventeen. Great guy. Matt Miller and Sean Miller. Mills. They've been coaching J V. I think they started on the freshman level with me when I started or my second year. They've been the J head head and f head J V and Sist J V coach now for eight years. so we we keep everyone everyone's been together, loyal, for for the whole time. And I'm not a big guy going out to get like an AU guy that's gonna be, recruiting kids and things like that. Like I'm not about that. No. That's not the trend. No, that yeah, I'm more about, keeping everything in house and keeping everything, tight together. And being, having each other's backs and and trying to build this thing up where something we can be proud of. And I think we have done that, We want to get that that championship. But what I that's coming. Five you've been there at least five times? Yeah, five in the one year was a covert year, si would be six semifinals, yeah. It's hard to people don't understand how hard it is to get there. and I know that I've you know, of course I follow but I think there's teams you got there that you definitely should not have you had no business. so you talk about AAU a little bit. let's say you have a kid that goes to their process and you know, you really would like him to be part of the program. What you say to sell to the parent or the kid? Like vi we like your kid, we think he has an opportunity here. How do you sell the program or to a a mom and a dad and the family? Yeah. I think it's more than just our program. It's a school. We're we're selling, I I don't want our players to think they're just basketball players, when they're at Ryan. I want them to be ingrained in the community and in the school. and somewhere they're making a lot of connections that will better themselves and later in life. and and just, we're gonna do everything we can to get you ready for the next level. and we've had, obviously I was gonna ask you guys development and, getting to college and then, at that level, you're making so many connections if you're playing a high level basket high level basketball on the college level, no matter what, division one, two or three, you're gonna make connections that are going to help you in life. So And then just learn that work ethic and determination, attitude, to do to do great things in life. And that's what what it's all about at the end of the day. Yeah, we you talked about development. I was gonna go a little bit in that, but I I don't know if we need to, but I was like I remember looking at your stats. I didn't mention this earlier, but this might be a little bit old, but eleven division one players. Sound about right. Yeah, it might be yeah, I think it's like fourteen now. Fourteen. I got ten division two. Yeah. Sounds about right. Sounds about right. AI. Again, that's that's a little bit older, Yeah, and that was that was another goal. Like we want to get the when I when I first started was we want to get kids to the next level and and kind of get the same opportunities and experiences that I have and some of our assistants have had when getting to to travel and things like that. So So that's what's helped with fundraising. We're getting, to different pla places like this year. We're going to Atlanta, we went to City of Palms, yeah, did you say I'm in on that? But that's it, Georgia. You're in, you're in, yeah. Atlanta. It's a great tournament. Yeah, they have a really good setup. Yeah, Coca Cola classic. Yeah. All right. Well, you heard that. He said I'm in. So back at the camera. So we could go back before we get into this year's team, I have couple more questions. or actually just gonna explore with you. I was very I'm sorry, I I was so lucky to be part of the broadcast team with Teddy. you guys brought me in and I I absolutely love it. It's been a a great experience. and I know there's a lot of games and kids and teams that we could go back over, but it'd be like a rabbit hole, we could be here for three hours. yeah, right. But I want you to talk about that PCL chip appearance. That magical run. and I guess just start off with like maybe the kids. Yeah. And then the journey. I think that's the best part. and like I said, I was super lucky. My favorite game at Ryan call on games was that one at prep. I was unbelievable. But why don't you talk about the kids that made that magical run? that just fell short to Roman. Yeah. And McNesby should have called time. Yeah. He had one left. Yeah. Yeah, th those kids, they're always gonna be special. I love I love my teams, every year. if someone's asked me now, yeah, we're gonna win the championship, that's every year. That's what, I go in, expecting to get better every day and at the end of the year playing your best basketball, which we've fortunately have been doing. but that with that team it was it was guys that have been, through our program three years, four years, that were together and just had like a determination to get back to the plestra and to win a championship. and credit to them, obviously every year, every season you're gonna have your up and down, but if there th when you have the teams that get there, they get to play on that floor, it's always a belief from the start, and that's what I try to instill in them and they they've had they had it, their sophomore year they were there, junior year, fall short, that we lose the West at home. So it was kinda like a redemption type story for them and they they weren't going to be denied to get there, and I think you that showed like with how they played. especially, down there, we're losing to Newman at halftime. they come together, Darren Williams, gets hot like usually does in the second half. And and that that championship game, I was so proud of because like every big play they made, It's just it was six seconds. We won that game. Yeah, it was just six seconds that yeah, exactly. Talk about the kids. Yeah, the kids obviously Thomas, Darren were leaders, guys that, you dream of the coach, guys that showed up every day consistent. They never cared about rankings. That's why I love the bell. Never cared about the social media stuff, like Which is rare today. It's it it really is and so important. And that's when you get I I've gotten the feel like who's gonna really make it. And I try to appreciate these guys just stay, run your own race, to only takes one year, just keep getting better, keep getting better. And Those guys from the start, were were leaders. And Thomas, as a sophomore, really proud of him. he matured so much. Remember his sophomore year always getting into it with the refs. He was getting beat up, but learn to play, get to the next play. and he he developed changed his body too. Changed his body, yeah. He worked worked his butt off to get to get to where he was. and just a great leader, consistent every day. Always walked around the school, everyone loved him. Smile on his face every day. love to be in the gym. Love to be a great teammate, and that's the one thing that I loved about that group. used to see our our bench every game, like our stars would be out and you see Greg Weiss, dunks on senior night, the everyone goes crazy and things like that. Just that was a special year. It was a yeah, it was. It is definitely crazy. And that whole team, I loved from top to bottom. Everyone was just bought in. and I'm I'm not a big fan of prep. So when you li that's the one game I want to talk about a little bit. and and then I wanna just dive into sorber a tiny bit, but we have to talk about him, right? He's you know in the pros. but that play call to win the game. So take me back to that huddle or before that huddle, you call timeout and you set up that play. just walk us through the X's and O's because for folks who don't know, I I think that I'm a homer, openly admit it, but I think Joey is one of the best X's and O's coaches in the league. ATO is gonna be something special. You're gonna get someone you want, a good opportunity, some kind of advantage. if they execute, which they normally do your kids, that's gonna happen. But tell me about like what you're thinking in that particular side out out bounds. it was a tie game. It's forty seven, forty seven, eight seconds left. I believe we called timeout eight seconds. they were playing zone in the second half. You know, my thinking, like, are they gonna switch defenses? we did have another timeout that I was gonna use if they switched, and then we would have two plays called. But I I I was thinking about drawing something up that was new. that was my first thought. Which I love to do, just be just creative. Yeah, yeah. And but then I just I just looked up and I just it just came in my head the game winner we we beat Gonzaga and the Gonzaga tournament. So it was it was same play I came up with earlier in the season against Zone. We call it an X where where Jaden and Thomas were at the top. we go into a little handoff and J Jaden dives first, then Thomas follows it and then Darren goes in between those guys, catch the ball at the go catches the ball at the elbow or or at the foul line and then Jaden's supposed to take that left guy out and then Thomas it's either a lob for Thomas or Darren if he's open he shoots it. Both were open, and at that point I knew Darren was shooting it. and he's made so many big shots and if there's no one else you want the ball you're making that decision. So yeah, that was a that was a great win And all those kids, they they they earned it. They did really deserved it, to get there and and finish the job. But, it's basketball, That was a great win. So much fun calling that game. Yeah, the other guys, Brian Everett coming off the bench, giving just a special playoff run he had, 'cause we weren't shooting the ball well at all all season, up until probably the last two weeks of the season that we s we started clicking when. Ryan started making shots. Rocco was playing well. and Jaden had a great, great senior year, just solid all around. So we made a big jump that summer, I feel like. Jay Yeah, he he definitely like became a leader and mature and took the game I wanna say more serious, but just like more he wanted to win, he really wanted to win, he would do anything, to win and he would he could have scored more, he could've shot the ball more, but he was just a a great teammate and he was kind of our glue guy out there. Yeah, it was a nice piece of Then Maddie, you Maddie did a great job running the point, controlling the pace. Yeah. okay, so and then one more question just to talk about Sorber a little bit. I just want to know. he is interested in going to Ryan. Like when we did you ever think, and if you did when, dude, he's gonna be a pro. you used you didn't see him till it's sophomore year, right? Yeah, so is sophomore year or Trent and Catholics supposed to close down. So He visits our school on a him and Deuce Jones both both applied and they were both coming and they both played in Philly Live with us. And then Trent Catholic, someone I guess bought out the school Thrive Academy and Deuce ended up getting pressure from the alumni and things like that to go back. And me and Thomas, we sat down and talked about it, and what he could do for us and what he could do being the The guy, 'cause he's always had been the second kind of fiddle to a a point guard that was ball dominant. and Thomas didn't re even play really his freshman year at Trent Catholic. And we got him in the summer and when I knew he was gonna be special, it's probably, you know, late in that summer, in the fall, where like everything started coming together for him. just as like the game starts slowing down and you could tell his his mind was like a little further along than his body. He wanted to do things out there, but No, his body wouldn't let him at times. and then it was the right read. Yeah, it was the right read. And so cool when you see that stuff. Yeah, isn't it? Yeah. He I mean his IQ was it was when the ball was in his hands, everything just settled down. Yeah, great pass or great and that's what he did in practice, which was was great. He always in wanted his teammates to score and give them confidence in practice. And he could have dominated every practice. we had times where We had two guys on him in practice, beating him up and he never no that was the game Yeah, so we had six guys out there in practice and trying to stop him. So So it was that early. Yeah, it was early. early that I knew he was like I think it was that summer I was like this guy's gonna be PCL MVP, and be big time MBA, I that's that's probably when maybe his senior year when he started getting really athletic. His body changed a lot. He started, running the floor better, Be able to get that second jump and muscle. Yeah. Yeah. You could yeah, I'm like, he looks like a he looks like a college player now. I remember saying that. the baby face was gone, looked like a man. He really matured. Okay. All right. So why are we here? Let's let's tell me about this year's team, Joe. tell me what we should be excited about. who's coming back, who's new. Let's get into that before we wrap up. Yeah, no, I really like this team. Similar to the team of I think comparable to team when Thomas was a sophomore where it was seniors that have been there, in our program three or four years that know what our culture is supposed to look like, that are leading already, you know, Seth Gay, CJ Williams, Jeremy Thompson, guys like that that have been, they could have no, they played J V last year, CJ and Jeremy for a lot of time. Jeremy started getting men in far so, he played both, but those guys, Jack McMullen is a junior, been there for two years. Gavin Capan, which you know, he's not playing with us right now in the fall. I'm really excited to see how he looks with our with Kyrie Knight. So Kyrie Knight transferred in six eight. Yeah, tell me he's a he's a beast. He's a beast, yeah. Yeah, he's and the best part about him, he wants to be inside, he wants to bang, he wants to, you know, do those small little things that I think if he's open he'll shoot a three. Yeah, yeah. He shot one last weekend. Yeah. And he plays really hard, and that's the best part about this group. I don't have to coach effort at all. togetherness is there right now. it's it's gonna be a it's a long season, things are gonna go up and down, but we have that, belief that, they have that mentality of, playing hard with effort and and playing together, they really like playing with each other and that's a that's a huge upside this early, So who who's the leader then? Seth Gates, I think, is definitely the leader. he's been through it. yeah, by example. Yeah, he's yeah, similar like Darren was how Darren was a great leader. And I think Seth learned Seth was on that team freshman year and he practiced with us and he would light up, the varsity at the time he was playing J V, he would light up and practice and he was always learning and studying like, our leaders, such as Darren. Matt Johnson who's led in a different way. But Seth vocal and he's a guy that you don't have to question, his intentions ever. he's always he wants to win, he wants to play hard, he's he's gotten really good on the ball, changing pace now and being a more of a true point guard. he can score it when he needs to, but he's getting guys involved and if that's where you're gonna have him. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I noticed that at the last at the Haver Three Games. Yeah, and J Jack McMullen, He broke his finger last year, so that that hurt us towards the end of the season. and he's back. He's gotten stronger, looks good, he's rebounded really well. Jack's like six six, yeah. He's gotten bigger. so we're long, and yeah, now yeah, athletic, long Kyrie, you know, Kyrie obviously adds a big piece in the middle where Gavin was kinda playing the underside five for us, which if he needs a Kyrie needs a break, we can do that. But it'll be interesting to see how defensively I think we'd be really good with, you know, Gavin in the mix there with Jeremy Seth. Kyrie, you know Jeremy Seth are both elite on ball defenders and athletic guards. Yeah. Get after it. So yeah, I I was I was thinking about this the other day. and you this this doesn't happen anymore. Or but you have a couple kids from Region One, right? You got Catherine's, Cal. And Jerome's. Yeah, no, yeah, for sure. they're all most mostly northeast Philly kids, they grew up, I don't know where Seth's from. I didn't know Seth's from, yeah, he's he's close by. Okay. Yeah, he's he's that's very rare. Yeah, and they're they're And then it's not it's not like on purpose or not on purpose every year, just where it works out and these and the best part about these kids stuck with our program and didn't transfer, and now they're getting their opportunity and they've they've earned it and you love to see that, and that's what s some of our best teams, that's what it was. They were together for, three years and really built that those relationships on and off the court. And I think that's huge. having a guy for three years, two years, three years, four years, it's it you can really you didn't instill the program. For sure. Yeah, for sure. Shapes the way you look at kids and how you manage the program. so a couple more questions and we can So what do you where do you see the area where you think your team is solid, you liked what they are gonna what they bring right now, you're comfortable they can do, and what are some areas where you think like we're gonna have to get better here. I can see us improving in in this other area with this with this group. I'm sure you're gonna play differently, right? every year you gotta change your approach, but What do you think you don't have to rework with them? You can count on them every day. And what do you think where you can really improve and make a difference by the time the season gets here? Yeah, I think our our our defense is going to be there, we played Camden in the this last week in the f in the fall event, and it was it was like a real game, sixteen minute halves, not as many timeouts, no quarter breaks. but they stopped the clock on everything, so it's a full thirty-two minutes with stop clock. we held them to forty five points. and we sh I don't think we played well on the offensive end, but our defense seems to be there and these guys are getting after it, rebounding well. And I think that if we can have the potential to be a really great rebounding team with the guys we have and how hard they play. I think that's that's what will our foundation will be on the defense end and then we can shoot it. we have guys can really shoot. CJ might be the best shooter in the in the Catholic League and I'm not saying that like just to say, but he He can really shoot shoot it. and he's gotten bigger and tougher. So and Jack McMullen, same thing. He's gonna make a big jump, CJ. CJ will make a big jump. Jack's gonna make a a big jump. he can really shoot as well. Seth will be, scoring at all three levels. Jeremy, he's gonna get to the rim and he can, he can knock it down as well. So we are gonna have four guys, at at times that can really sp spread the floor down. Now we have a a dominant inside presence and it's tough to stop Kyrie one on one. So They help, he's a willing passer. he's a junior. He's he's probably the strongest kid we've had and I've seen and in a while. So I've seen him and he's a man. Yeah, he's a good teammate and he wants to get better every day. So it it's I think that our finish product could be really good, but you you have to have to put the work in. Okay. All right, we're gonna kinda do my press out. humor me here. I'm gonna I'm gonna recite a question, you're gonna answer, and I'm gonna go right to the next one. and then we kind of wrap up. I think we covered a lot. do our thank yous and roll. So tough edge coach to prepare for. Today. in the league? Mm hmm. PCL. I'll say Jason Fisher. Their zones a little tough, yeah. Okay. Mo most points you scored in a PCL game thirty three. Most points you scored in a a college game? Thirty six twice. That's crazy. Thirty six. Nine for ten from three. Day before my twenty first birthday. Yeah. Played New Hampshire. Yeah, we we set the record for New Hampshire. I know it's crazy. Yeah. And then our s our team like hit like twenty four threes. It was one game? And you said it was your twenty first birthday? Yeah. Awesome. Levis took me out with like eight minutes left. So also, let's go high school football. Most T Ds in a game. High school four. Jesus Christ. all running, receiving. I think one receiving. Yeah. Okay. I knew that was gonna be high. What program do you well play and knock it off two sides judge. It has to be wood, I think. Yeah, because we had some battles, They got us a couple of times at our place. We got early, my first couple of years at their place. get to the pleasure a couple of times and it's always been a a friendly battle. Yeah every time. best shooter you ever coached. Tough one. Luke Boyd. I knew you were gonna say that. My guy. Best player ever coached against. Taylor Duran. You're second person, so yeah. Yeah, yeah, I don't want to count him 'cause the only he left PCL, toughest player you ever guarded as a play. John Wall. your father judge record in your eleven years. Ten and two. Ten and two. best athlete names at Glensky. Hm. It's a tough one. Yeah. Yeah. Me. Yeah, that's me. How many times have you beat McNesby? Not many. Not enough. maybe twice. Once maybe. Yeah, okay. who's more competitive? Joe Easy, the player or the coach? Player. one word to describe the Raiders. So tough. Tough. Okay. All right. Before I'll let you thank anybody you want to thank, put it out there and then I'll we'll wrap it up. Yeah, just I just want to thank, our alumni, always comes back, comes back to support, I know, that that Rome game was tough on all of us. that's what we want to win that for those our team, but it's the alumni as well. and we're working towards getting that championship. one thank you and Teddy, I think that has brought a lot to our program, the broadcast. Thank our my coaching staff that, has remained loyal and always had my back, for eleven years, family. I know my parents are are great, they're crazy. They go they go to every game. My nephew's games everywhere right now. Like they they're still going to went to all our games in college, me and Sammy. So yeah. Alright, so Joey Zaglinski, head coach, athletic director, PCL guy through and through, runs the Arctic Ryan basketball squad. thanks for coming on, Joe, and good luck to see you. I appreciate it, Joe. All right, bro. Thank you so much. All right, see ya.