Roman Catholic coach Chris McNesby’s search for a starting five marks a unique preseason.

Roman Catholic faces another tough call this season after winning the Catholic League basketball championship and attempting to win a state title in 2022-23.

However, this year’s starting five will have a new look. Point guard Xyvier Brown (17.0 ppg, 4.6 apg) and forward Anthony Finkley (8.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg) graduated and are new to St. Joseph’s. Jermai Stewart-Herring (13.2 ppg) and Eric Oliver-Bush (8.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg) transferred to prep schools.

As a result, junior Sharif Jackson will lead the attack as the Cahillites attempt to repeat last year’s success.

“First of all, Xavier Brown showed that it is quite simple. I’m not going to lie, it’s pretty hard,” Jackson said about taking on a leadership role. “But I feel like with the new and younger guys coming into the team it’s a total bust, so we can start to build our own team little by little.”

» READ MORE: Imhotep Charter’s Makye Taylor lands in Albany after ‘rough’ start to basketball journey

Jackson, a 6-foot-8 forward, is entering his third year on the varsity team. In 2022-23, he averaged 10.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks and earned second-team All-Catholic League honors as Roman went 27-4 overall and 11-2 in the league .

The team will work through Jackson both on and off the court.

“He’s excited about it,” coach Chris McNesby said. “He has improved and is a lot better. He’s put a lot of time into his game and has played a really good role for us the last two years. And now, even though he is a junior, this species is becoming his team a little. He’s still learning how to be a leader, but he has leadership qualities.”

Senior guard Robert Cottrell (6.2 ppg) was the team’s best player off the bench before breaking into the starting lineup during last season’s playoffs.

6-1 junior guard Will Felder, a standout defensive tackle on the football team, played in 24 games, including six late-season starts, and 6-3 junior forward Sebastian Edwards played in 19 games. Shareef Jackson’s younger brother Sammy, a 6-5 guard/forward, appears ready to make the leap after being the team’s swing player last year.

This group received some playing time during the state playoffs as Stewart-Herring and Oliver-Bush were ineligible due to PIAA rules.

» READ MORE: Episcopal Academy boys ready to take ‘a step forward’ in conference basketball

As the senior point guard, Cottrell will also be around Jackson at times to steady the ship.

“It’s going to be a little difficult,” Cottrell said. “But when we are closed, it will be good.”

Over the past two seasons, the Cahillites have fielded some of the strongest rosters with true Division I talent. With a rotation around six deep, McNesby said the depth of this group could make it unique.

“Our preseason is going to be huge,” he said. “Just gaining experience, training, and then believing in each other. Because there are talents that can be good, so now we just have to believe in each other and not take a backseat to anyone. Like, why not? I think we have enough talent to compete, just get some experience and do it.”

It may take a more collective effort to match last season’s accomplishments, but the Cahillites are determined to defend their PCL title and finish things off in the states this time around.

“It was fun and I want to do it again,” Cottrell said. “This is my senior year. I want to go out with a bang.”

This story was produced as part of a partnership between The Inquirer and City of Basketball Love, a nonprofit news organization that covers high school and college basketball in the Philadelphia area and helps mentor the next generation of sportswriters. This collaboration will help expand coverage of the city’s vibrant amateur basketball scene, from high school to the Big Five and beyond.