Coming into the season, few teams appeared as set up for success as Paul VI.

Then, star 2020 guard Jeremy Roach went down with a torn ACL in a preseason scrimmage. In just the second game of the season, Roach’s backcourt mate - Virginia Tech-bound senior Anthony Harris - suffered an ACL injury of his own, and just like that it seemed like things were ready to go off the rails.

Except, they didn’t, as the Panthers responded to the setbacks in a way that impressed head coach Glenn Farello. He pointed to an early-season comeback victory over rival Bishop O’Connell as the game where he knew this team was different.

“We were down 22 points with four minutes left in the third [quarter],” Farello said, “and I’m thinking, ‘OK, we’re going to have to regroup and focus on getting these young guys ready to play. Then we go on a run and win the game [56-53]. That said a lot to me.”

The Panthers went on to capture at least a piece of the WCAC regular-season title for the third straight time, and Farello was named the WCAC Coach of The Year.

2021 guard Trevor Keels stepped into a lead role and went on to earn WCAC Co-Player Of The Year honors. Highly-touted freshman guard Knasir “Dug” McDaniel lived up to his pub and 2020 guard Josiah Freeman enjoyed a breakout year. 2021 forward Avery Ford showed what he could do while dropping a career-high 31 points in an Alhambra win over Gonzaga and 2020 guard Will Paige carved out a nice role for himself.

The team will lose Harris, George Mason-bound big man Josh Oduro and guard Xavier Joyner to graduation. PVI finished the season 27-9 after falling to DeMatha in the Alhambra final, but Farello saw enough growth from his young squad to be excited for the future.