Christ The King’s backcourt on the rise
BY ZACH SMART
As a 6-foot-3 guard who has opened up a steady outside shooting presence to balance his forays to the rim, Class of 2028 guard Skyler Ragoo is steadily emerging into one of the city’s intriguing young prospects.
Playing alongside Class of 2027 LaSalle commit Johnny Magna and Class of 2028 stock riser Aaron Ellis--who was named Game MVP during the recent MADE Hoops Jordan Holiday Classic following a 24 point showing on the strength of six 3-pointers–Ragoo has been a supreme table setter.
He had several games of double digit assists playing for the Long Island Lightning this summer.
With Christ The King re-tooling its roster, now featuring 6-foot-10, 250-pound behemoth Filip Runjo, Ragoo has been a critical table setter adapting to a go-to role.
While Magna is the stabilizing source who makes everything happen for Joe Arbitiello’s team, Ragoo has been stepping into a more prominent role this season.
He was offered by St. John’s last year, prior to Hall of Fame head coach Rick Pitino’s statement about the program shying away from recruiting high school players. Ragoo was also offered by LaSalle, the program which has tapped into the local market and also recently offered Ellis.
The radiant triumvirate of Magna, Ragoo, and Ellis thrived during a win over Bishop Loughlin at home this weekend.
Magna, who impacts winning as well as any player in his class in the local area, finished with 18 points, eight assists, eight rebounds, and four steals.
Ragoo proved he can hit the outside shot with consistency and turned in a performance of 20 points and seven assists.
Angry Darius Prospers
Southern California-signee and 7-foot Class of 2026 Stepinac HS Center Darius Ratliff may have been being too nice during the first half of the Crusaders’ 59-50 victory over rival Iona Prep during the SLAM Dunk/Crusader Classic at the Westchester County Center.
And the reality is, you can’t consistently win in New York’s Catholic Leagues by being nice. Ratliff played both possessed and seemed to channel some much needed aggression during the second half, showing physicality and changing shots.
Ratliff, who will play for Eric Musselman alongside his twin brother, Adonis Ratliff (who was on the shelf with an injury) as part of a Top-10 national recruiting class, wound up with 19 points and 12 rebounds. He took home MVP honors for the Showcase game of the event.
Darius Ratliff and Adonis Ratliff, the sons of 16-year NBA veteran and 2001 NBA All Star Theo Ratliff are both on the Naismith Boys’ High School POY Watch List. Stepinac’s Michigan State bound 6-foot-5 guard Jasiah Jervis, who helped catapult the Crusaders to a third consecutive city title with his clutch shot making last season, is also on the list.
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