Thomas Sorber is the epitome of the Archbishop Ryan High School boys basketball team.
Might sound crazy, right?
The star center stands nearly 7 feet tall. He was a lottery pick in the NBA Draft. He could have played at any college in the country, and when he was on the court, both at Ryan and Georgetown, he was almost always the best player on the court.
So when it comes to talent and ability, Sorber might be the best basketball player to ever come out of Ryan.
But it’s his love and dedication to the school that makes him the flag bearer of the Ryan basketball program.
At this year’s NBA Draft when Sorber was selected by the NBA-champion Oklahoma City Thunder with the 15th pick, the center was styling and profiling like all the newest pros do on draft night.
But it wasn’t the suit that stuck out the most for Sorber. It was an Archbishop Ryan pin that he proudly displayed on the biggest night of his life.
On Saturday night, the school gave back to the big guy by retiring his jersey at a ceremony at the school prior to Ryan’s huge nonleague victory vs. Academy of the New Church.
Before this year’s squad took center stage, Sorber was honored for being one of the biggest stars in the Catholic League over the past decade (and it was a loaded decade!) and a perfect representation of what it means to play basketball for Archbishop Ryan.
While there have been a lot of great players who were on the team since Joe Zegliniski took over the program 11 years ago, Sorber would probably be the face of the program.
The heart of the team would have to be the head coach Zeglinski, who returned to the program after being one of the greatest players in school history.
He came back and almost immediately turned Ryan into one of the top programs in the city. He took over for his former coach Bernie Rogers and it’s safe to say he didn’t let his former mentor down.
Here are some stats from Ryan stat man Bill Zeits on what Zeglinski has done since taking over the program:
Since Zeglinski took over, Ryan has qualified for the Palestra six times, playing eight games there. He’s won seven Catholic League playoff games, 15 wins in the PIAA state tournament, a District 12 championship, two appearances in the Catholic League finals, one PIAA state championship appearance and he’s done it every way possible.
When he had Sorber, Ryan won a lot of games.
But even when they don’t have the horses, they somehow find a way. How’s this for a stat: Since 2015, the higher seed in the Catholic League quarterfinals are 29-8. Exactly half of those upsets were by Ryan teams coached by Zeglinski. So four times when everyone expected the Raiders to be home for the semifinals, people had to make the trek from Academy Road to the University of Pennsylvania to cheer on the Raiders.
They’ve done it with talent, they’ve done it with grit, they’ve done it by using their basketball ability and they’ve done it by outfoxing more talented opponents, especially when the lights are the brightest.
So maybe that’s why Sorber’s ceremony was so special. It shows that no matter where Raiders end up, they always end up returning to the program.
It’s because it transcends basketball.
It started with Izaiah Brockington, the first player Zeglinski ever coached to the NBA. When Zeglinski took over, Brockington was a great prospect who flourished under Rogers. He thought about transferring after his coach departed, but after meeting with Zeglinski, he decided to stay.
He turned into a dynamic player and was the face of the franchise.
There were others.
Guys like Darren Williams, Aaron Lemon Warren, Ja’quill Stone, Austin Slawter, Devon Vargas, Colin Reed, Brendan Scanlon, Matiss Kulackovskis, Fred Taylor, Gediminas Mokseckas, Christian Isopi, Jalen Snead, Dom Vazquez, Luke Boyd, Dave Wise, Christian Tomasco, Ryan Everett, Jaden Murray, Brandon Russell and Mark Gallaher, among some other great players and hard workers all bought in.
They all wanted to play hard and represent Archbishop Ryan basketball.
And they did.
Sorber’s celebration was perfect because nobody deserves to be in the spotlight more than him. The Trenton native started his basketball career in New Jersey and didn’t play varsity as a freshman. He came into Ryan and became a star.
And when you factor in all the great stuff he did on the court and mix it in with what a good person, mentor and role model he is off the court, he deserves everything he’s gotten, including the honor of having his number retired by the school.
But it goes much deeper beyond Sorber.
What Zeglinski and his Raiders have accomplished since he took over the program 11 years ago is special. And all of the guys who played for Ryan over those 11 years know that the wins were nice. Sitting in traffic on the way to the Palestra was fun. Seeing jerseys retired is nice.
But the most special thing about those teams has nothing to do with stats or wins or banners or trophies.
They were part of a family, a family that continues to grow, just as it did last night when the Raiders defeated ANC.
The names and faces change, but the mission and how they proceed never does.
Sorber might be the most precious gem to come out of the program, but for the past 11 years, it’s been loaded with diamonds.
