Photo courtesy of Dave’s Joint.
By David Cordova
This month, we are starting a series called, “Coming Into The Season,” in which every week, we will chronicle some of the best players in the tri-state area and beyond. This fourth installment is on Rahsool Diggins, a native of Philadelphia, who plays his high school basketball at Archbishop Wood High School in Warminster, Pennsylvania and is one of the toughest guards in the Philadelphia Catholic League. He also has at least more than a dozen Divison I college offers at the present moment.
In the city of Philadelphia, guards come a dime a dozen. However, they also bring one thing that cannot be taught, which is toughness. If a guard is small or skinny, they have this inner toughness that will get them through.
Rahsool Diggins is a tough guard and he uses his will as a way to get into the lane and also facilitate to his teammates. The 6-foot-3 junior point guard is one of the best players in the Philadelphia Catholic League and is making a name for himself with his effortless play.
Also, another thing about him is the origin of his name. “Rahsool means messenger, every time I get on the court, I send a message,” he replied.
When asked about what motivates him on the court, he replied, “Coming from Philadelphia, I want to get my mom a big house, take care of my family, [and] make money.”
On the basketball culture and being from the City of Brotherly Love, he replied, “It’s real tough, real gritty, every day you got to compete no matter what.”
At Archbishop Wood High School in Warminster, Pennsylvania, a Catholic, private school located 13 miles away from the city of Philadelphia, Diggins has been one of the key pieces of his squad. Last season, as a sophomore, he averaged 17.6 points per game and led the Vikings to a 20-9 record.
When asked about playing at Wood, he replied, “We ain’t get that much success yet, but this year and next year, I got my team going back-to-back, District champions, Class 5A state champions, city champions, all of that.”
On playing in the Philadelphia Catholic League, which is one of the most historical high school basketball leagues throughout the nation, he replied, “Every day, you’ve got to compete, practice. Every game is really even, it’s an even league, so all good guards, real competition.”
This spring and summer, alongside Daeshon Sheppard, his teammate from Wood, Diggins was a force for Team Final’s 16U squad, which led him to earn various offers from schools such as LaSalle, Hofstra, Siena, Quinnipiac, Virginia Tech, Xavier, Florida, UConn, UMass, Saint Louis and other schools.
When asked about playing for Team Final, he replied, “Every game [is a] competition, you gotta play every game no matter what. We had a good wing, top player, great coaches, crazy atmosphere.”
On what a school has to have in order to land his services, Diggins replied, “Dogs [on the court].”
Back in mid-September, during the All-City Classic at Neumann-Goretti in South Philadelphia, he played in both the junior and senior games for the Philly team against teams from New York. In both games, he held his own and showed why basketball in the City of Brotherly Love is respected and revered, as he hit teammates for passes and made smooth moves with his crossover.
When asked about the performances at the All-City Classic against the competition from New York, he replied, “It’s always fun because they always compete. Even though they went zone, it was still good, still good competition, no matter what.”
This season, now that he is getting offers and making plenty of noise in his area, it is time for the world outside of Philadelphia to find out who Rahsool Diggins is.
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