A signing day to celebrate at Neumann-Goretti

Zane Martin has grown accustomed to being a late arrival.

The 6-foot-3, 190-pound senior guard for Neumann-Goretti was even a tad tardy Wednesday returning to the school's South Philadelphia campus for a signing day ceremony with several other athletes.

Martin, who barely played varsity basketball until last season, was still talented enough to earn a scholarship to Towson.

"I know people who have been playing their whole life," said Martin, who focused on football during his freshman and sophomore years. "It's just big for me to have started so late and still be able to do what I did."

Martin's accomplishment wasn't the only notable one on display at 11th and Moore Streets on Wednesday.

The girls' basketball team, coming off a remarkable two-year run, had four players sign with Division I programs: Morgan Lenahan (Wagner), Kamiah Smalls (James Madison), Alisha Kebbe (Syracuse), and Jada Russell (Longwood).

It was the second year in a row that four girls from the team committed to Division I schools. The Saints have gone 59-1 in the last two years, winning a state championship last season and finishing as the consensus No. 1 team in the nation.

"It's great for the school," Saints coach Andrea Peterson said. "The boys have always had it. Now with the girls having the opportunity, you have two teams that are really successful at the same sport and bringing publicity to the school."

Peterson added: "It says a lot about these young women. All the work they put in."

The boys' team also won a state title, and Martin played a key role.

At 15.5 points per game last season, Martin finished sixth in Catholic League scoring, just six points behind his nationally sought-after teammate Quade Green (16.0 per game), who is now a junior fielding dozens of Division I scholarship offers.

Martin also scored a team-high 26 points last year in the Saints' PIAA Class AAA state title victory against District 12's Archbishop Carroll.

"Everyone counted me out when I didn't play those first two years, but they didn't know that Neumann-Goretti is a process," he said. "I played behind Ja'Quan Newton [now at Miami] and Troy Harper [now at Campbell University]. It was a process. I just waited for my time and made the most of it."

On Wednesday, Martin's time was short as he tried to rush to his West Philadelphia home to retrieve his Towson T- shirt in time for the festivities. The shirt, however, was at his grandmother Elain Roberts' home near Lower Merion.

The packed meeting room inside the school was none the wiser. Proud families snapped photos as gleeful athletes readied to ink national letters of intent.

In addition to the basketball players, that also included baseball players Ethan Pritchett (Wagner), Nicky D'Amore (Wagner) and Jeff Ciocco (Western Kentucky) penning letters.

Martin started his high school career as a football quarterback and then later became a wide receiver. Freshman year he played football only. As a sophomore, he went out for basketball but started the season late because of football overlap.

Before last season, Martin said Saints head coach Carl Arrigale encouraged him to focus on basketball.

"What he did last year was even more than we could ever have expected," Arrigale said. "He's got a great deal of confidence. He's a very good player, he's strong, but he's improved a lot since he started."

Martin, a shifty lefty with a knack for scoring, figures to be one of the city's most versatile players as the Saints try to unseat defending champion Roman Catholic.

"I'm excited," Martin said. "I've waited to be a Division I athlete all my life. I've been working for it and I'm just happy to get it all over with."

cartera@phillynews.com

@AceCarterINQ

Kate Harman contributed to this article.