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Roman Catholic teammates Wayns and Wanamaker to reunite, on opposite sides of the court

It was the day before the Catholic League championship game in 2007, and Roman Catholic's players were edgy. The coaches had shown them newspaper clippings that said they had no shot at beating Neumann-Goretti, the two-time defending champion, or of containing Rick Jackson and Scoop Jardine, both of whom were heading to Syracuse.

Villanova's Maalik Wayns played with Pitt's Brad Wanamaker at Roman Catholic. (Henny Ray Abrams/AP file photo)
Villanova's Maalik Wayns played with Pitt's Brad Wanamaker at Roman Catholic. (Henny Ray Abrams/AP file photo)Read more

It was the day before the Catholic League championship game in 2007, and Roman Catholic's players were edgy. The coaches had shown them newspaper clippings that said they had no shot at beating Neumann-Goretti, the two-time defending champion, or of containing Rick Jackson and Scoop Jardine, both of whom were heading to Syracuse.

Senior Brad Wanamaker was hot. Sophomore Maalik Wayns was eager. They were diving for loose balls. Competition was intense. There were a few scuffles.

"The kids weren't thinking about winning the championship the next day - it was winning the drill," said Roman head coach Chris McNesby, who was an assistant at the time. "As a coach, you love that, but then it's like, 'Whoa.' It almost went too far; it was unbelievable."

The next day at the Palestra, Wanamaker overcame serious foul trouble to lead Roman on a 17-4 fourth-quarter run that erased a 10-point deficit and gave the Cahillites their first Catholic League title in seven years.

"Toughness," Wayns said on Thursday when asked to describe Wanamaker.

"Just tough," Wanamaker said of Wayns.

The former teammates will face each other at the Pavilion on Saturday night at 9 when Wanamaker's fourth-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers play Wayns' ninth-ranked Villanova Wildcats in another in a string of pivotal Big East games. It is just a game to most, but it will be special to Wanamaker, a senior, and Wayns, a sophomore.

They have remained close friends, calling each other before big games and getting together in the summer at Roman to play pick-up ball. Wanamaker is an unofficial mentor to Wayns, who said he has learned from the even-keeled Wanamaker to never get too excited after a win or too devastated after a loss, and to always keep your head up, no matter what is going on.

"I will always look up to him, no matter what our career paths are," Wayns said. "He did so many great things for me in high school. I learned so much."

Such as how to be unselfish, and how to put team goals ahead of personal ones. Wanamaker did it all at Roman, and for two years, Wayns watched, and learned. If Roman needed the 6-foot-4 Wanamaker, a natural guard, to play center, he did. If it needed him to guard a center, he did. If it needed him to score, he did.

Villanova coach Jay Wright described Wanamaker as "a classic Philly guard." Unafraid. Strong. A good ball handler. And tough to keep away from the rim.

"Bradley is a throwback guy, since he's completely blue-collar," McNesby said. "He'll do whatever it takes to win."

At 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, Wayns is the more naturally gifted athlete. "He's special," McNesby said of the guard who is creative and crafty with the basketball, quick, and a nightmare for a defender.

"To have those two together, it was a great finish to Brad's senior year," McNesby said.

After beating Neumann-Goretti, 59-56, to boost its record to 25-3, Roman went on to the national Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament in Maryland. There, it defeated prestigious DeMatha High School in the semifinals and then crushed Neumann-Goretti by 20 points in the final. The Cahillites ended up as the 15th-ranked team in the country, according to USA Today.

Wright said Villanova "missed" on Wanamaker, who chose to play for Jamie Dixon at Pitt, but it was during the recruiting of Wanamaker that Wright discovered Wayns.

Wanamaker tried to convince Wayns to join him at Pitt. He thought Wayns would fit Pitt's style.

"I wanted to play a couple more years with him," Wanamaker said.

Wayns considered it, but he had always wanted to stay home and play for Villanova, like Kyle Lowry, another North Philly product.

It has worked out for both players. Wanamaker emerged last season as the Panthers' key perimeter playmaker, starting 34 games at small forward and leading the team in assists and steals while averaging 12.3 points per game. He has been equally productive this season, averaging 12.3 points and 5.1 rebounds, with 123 assists. And the Panthers are 22-2, and 10-1 in the Big East.

Wayns is still learning and growing and figuring things out. He started the first 20 games of this season, hurt his forearm, and in a lineup change has come off the bench for the last four games. Wayns' minutes have not significantly changed, and Wright said the Wildcats need him to play and play well to be successful.

Against Rutgers on Wednesday night, Wayns was 0 for 6 from the field and finished with three turnovers, three assists, and only four points in a 77-76 loss.

"It's no biggie," Wayns said when asked about not starting. "It's what's best for the team. I just try to embrace my role and do whatever it takes for us to win."

It sounded like something Wanamaker might say.

"He's a tough guy," Wanamaker said. "He's improving and is very focused on his job. He's improving every game."

This will be the first of two regular-season matchups between Wanamaker and Wayns. Beforehand, at the Davis Center across the street from the Pavilion, their families will get together with McNesby and other folks from Roman, to celebrate and reminisce.

Wanamaker and Wayns will be opponents, but they will always be like brothers. After what they did at Roman, that bond can never be broken.

Ashley Fox: Two of a (Roman Catholic) Kind

Villanova's Maalik Wayns and Pittsburgh's Brad Wanamaker, who meet on Saturday at the Pavilion at 9 p.m., both played high school basketball at Roman Catholic. Here is a look at their storied careers:

Maalik Wayns, 2009 graduate

He was named a Parade and McDonald's all-American as a senior despite missing three weeks of the regular season with a knee injury.

He was a two-time most valuable player of the Philadelphia Catholic League and the 2009 Inquirer Southeastern Pennsylvania player of the year.

He averaged 19.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game as a senior.

As a junior in a 2007-08, he averaged 22.4 points, 5.1 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.1 steals.

Brad Wanamaker, 2007 graduate

He was the 2007 Inquirer Southeastern Pennsylvania player of the year.

He ended his career with 1,306 career points and a 76-18 three-year varsity record.

He averaged 17.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 2.1 steals as a senior.

Sources: Villanova University, University of PittsburghEndText