Neumann-Goretti's Green wants the No. 1 spot

Quade Green wants to be the best basketball player to ever come out of Neumann-Goretti.

That's why the 5-foot-11, smooth-shooting guard spent time after practice Thursday taking extra jump shots and doing drill work.

It didn't matter that he has been nursing a lower-back injury or recovering from a recent illness. All that matters is becoming the best, a title currently held by Ja'Quan Newton, the Catholic League's all-time leading scorer.

"That's what I think about every day," said Green, still sweating after his workout. "That's why I come to the gym to work. I just think about how to be better than Ja'Quan. Not even just Ja'Quan, but Scoop [Jardine], Tony Chennault, all the good guards. I just want to be better than everybody. I want to be the best to come out of here."

Green, who lives near 80th Street and Buist Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia, said he has yet to accomplish anything. But the city has certainly taken notice.

Entering Friday, Green led the Saints (19-1, 10-1 Catholic League) in scoring at 17.7 points per game, while shooting 58 percent from the field and 53 percent from beyond the three-point line. He already has offers from Providence, Temple, Villanova, and Maryland, among others.

"I see as confident a young man as I think we've ever witnessed in the Catholic League," said Archbishop Carroll head coach Paul Romanczuk. "He just carries himself with a confidence you see from some juniors and seniors, but not a sophomore."

Last month, in one of the season's most compelling games, Green stunned Romanczuk's Patriots with a game-winning three-pointer in Carroll's packed, boisterous gym.

Green finished with 26 points on 9-for-12 shooting and knocked down all five of his threes in the 71-69 victory.

"I see greatness," said St. Joseph's Prep coach William "Speedy" Morris. "He's a flat-out, knock-it-down shooter. A guy like that on a team like that, he's surrounded by good players, so that helps him. Concentrate on him and they're just so good, they all can score."

In fact, even without Newton, Green and Co. are still tied atop the standings with Roman Catholic.

The Saints also lost Division I players Troy Harper and Tony Toplyn (both to Campbell University), and Jamal Custis (Syracuse, football) to graduation.

However, perhaps it is too easy to credit Green's emergence for Neumann-Goretti's success.

Junior wing Zane Martin and sophomore forward Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree have been key additions, while senior Lamarr "Fresh" Kimble has stepped into a leadership role. Kimble, a 6-foot guard, is signed to play at St. Joseph's.

"A lot of people think [Green's] the only reason we're good, and he knows that's not true," Arrigale said. "But he's a big part of it. A lot of these guys just waited there turn to step up and be in that role."

Green desired that role as a freshman and he refused to back down in practice.

"I saw a kid the first day of preseason workouts that wanted to guard Ja'Quan, wanted to play against Ja'Quan, and was a enough of a pest that Ja'Quan wanted him on his team a lot," Arrigale said.

Going against older players wasn't new. Green grew up playing on the competive courts at Eastwick Park in Kingsessing.

"That's where I get my toughness from," he said. "Playing every day on concrete, if you get hit you have to get up and be a man. And your mom can't save you, so you have to save yourself."

His mother, Tameka Johnson, revealed another side of her son's toughness.

"Well, he was about 80 percent deaf when he was born," Johnson said. "So he had issues from that, like learning how to talk and learning how to do other things academically."

Doctors surgically implanted tubes into Green's ears when he was 6 months old. Doctors never pinpointed what caused the problem, but Green has not needed the implants since middle school. His hearing is fine now and simply needs yearly checkups.

"He's overcome a lot, and I'm more proud of him about that than about basketball," she said.

Since Arrigale took over as head coach in 2001, his Neumann-Goretti teams have forged their success on great guards. Tony Chennault, Tyrek Duren, Scoop Jardine, Ja'Quan Newton, and D.J. Rivera helped the Saints become a league powerhouse. Each of those guards won multiple league championships.

Does Green really have a shot to go down as the best?

"He's still only a sophomore and he's got some more winning to do," said Arrigale. "But, certainly from an ability standpoint, work ethic, and from what he's all about, I can't see why that's not an attainable goal."

Of course, expectations and distractions will abound. Those are topics Green has discussed with Jardine, Chennault, Arrigale, his mother, AAU coaches, and Newton.

"I learned a lot from [Newton]," Green said. "All the politics and stuff. He taught me how to contain it and not worry about it. And on the court, I just watched him. Every time I went against him in practice, he cooked me, so I just learned a lot from him."

Green said it's harder to keep in touch with Newton now, but it seems he has no shortage of guidance.

"It's deserved, but I don't think it's changed him at all," Arrigale said of the attention. "He's one of the last guys here. He's been banged up a little bit and he's still putting up extra shots. I think he gets it."

It sounds as if he does.

"It's a good feeling to have," Green said. "All my hard work is paying off, but I'm still working. I still need to get better. [Newton] is still the best player to come out of Neumann, so that's where I'm trying to get. To get better than him, that's what I'm working for."

Carl Arrigale's Neumann-Goretti squads usually have two things in common: They win and they have great guards. The Saints head coach has won a record-tying 10 Catholic League titles since taking over in 1998 and has coached some of the city's best guards. Sophomore Quade Green said he plans to be the best yet. Here's how he stacks up:

Name               Points    Graduation      Championships   College

Ja'Quan Newton   1,972      2014            Four               Miami

Tony Chennault      1,621      2010            Two               Wake Forest/Villanova

Scoop Jardine       1,299       2007            Two                Syracuse

D.J. Rivera         1,122       2006            Two               St. Joe's/Binghamton

Cantrell Fletcher    1,195**    2001            One               Siena/Towson

Earl Pettis         1,045       2006            Two               Rutgers/La Salle

Tyreek Duren      1,045*    2010            Two               La Salle

Lamarr Kimble      1,034***    2015            Three               Committed to St. Joe's

Quade Green      502      2017            One               ???

*Duren spent his freshman season at the Haverford School

**Fletcher spent his freshman season at West Philadelphia

***Kimble's and Green's point totals are through Friday.

- Statistics from TedSilary.comEndText

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