Archbishop Wood to play Camden in a basketball showcase of national powers

Archbishop Wood and Camden, two local high school basketball teams that are expected to be among the top squads in the country next season, are scheduled to meet in a showcase event in December.

The showdown at the fourth annual Diane Mosco Foundation Shootout on Dec. 19 would match the projected best team in Pennsylvania against the projected best team in New Jersey and feature several of the area’s top college prospects.

The clash between Wood, which won the Philadelphia Catholic League regular-season title with a lineup of five juniors, and Camden, which went 29-1 with just one senior in its top-seven rotation, has been highly anticipated by local high school basketball fans.

The showcase event, which is tentatively scheduled and will need approval from Archbishop Wood school officials as well the Diocese of Philadelphia and the PIAA given COVID-19 concerns, also is slated to feature local powers Neumann Goretti and Imhotep Charter as well as DeMatha Catholic of Hyattsville, Md., and Mount St. Joseph of Baltimore.

The showcase, put together by Wood coach John Mosco as well as local basketball scout Allen Rubin, traditionally is held at Wood but could be moved to another location to allow for a larger crowd. Bensalem also is scheduled to participate.

Wood will be led by senior guard Rahsool Diggins, a UConn recruit and the reigning Catholic League player of the year. Other returning starters for the Vikings include senior swingman Daeshon Shepherd, a La Salle recruit, as well as senior guard Jaylen Stinson, senior swingman Marcus Randolph, and senior forward Muneer Newton.

The 6-foot-2 Diggins averaged 20.2 points as Wood went 22-5 and reached the PIAA Class 5A quarterfinals when the state tournament was canceled because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Camden will be led by sophomore guard D.J. Wagner, recently rated by ESPN as the nation’s No. 1 player in the class of 2023. Other returning starters for the Panthers include senior forward TaQuan Woodley, a Penn State recruit, as well as senior swingman Jerome Brewer Jr. and sophomore guard Cian Medley.

The 6-3 Wagner, the son of former Camden star DaJuan Wagner and grandson of former Camden star Milt Wagner — both of whom played in the NBA — averaged 18.5 points as a freshman and scored in double figures in every game as Camden reached the NJSIAA Group 2 semifinals before the tournament was halted by COVID-19 concerns.

In MaxPreps’ Way-Too-Early Top 25 national rankings for the 2020-21 season, Camden was projected as the country’s No. 7 team and Wood was No. 16.

Mosco said the Wood-Camden game is the only matchup that is set.

DeMatha Catholic also is ranked in MaxPreps top 25, at the No. 17 spot. DeMatha is led by senior guard Jordan Hawkins, who like Diggins is a UConn recruit.

Mount St. Joseph was 26-7 last season and won the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference championship.

Neumann Goretti is the defending Catholic League champion and will be led by senior guard Hysier Miller, a Temple recruit.