Three times the charm
for Zeglinski

By Melissa Yerkov
Times Sports Editor

Throughout the Archbishop Ryan High School community, Joe Zeglinski is a household name.
The 2006 graduate is the all-time leading scorer for the Raiders basketball squad with 1,300 points, and also leads the school in steals with 192. He was named a first team All-Catholic athlete three times, and after four years of excellent play and unforgettable accomplishments, Zeglinski’s jersey number was retired at the school.
Now he’s playing for a new team, but Zeglinski is scoring the same old reputation on the courts.
The former Raiders’ standout is now a sophomore guard at the University of Hartford, were he leads his Division I squad in scoring with more than 16 points per game. He’s bucketed 94 treys, leading the America East conference this year.
Most recently, Zeglinski sunk 13 points in the Hawks’ battle against University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) on Sunday in their last regular season game.
Finals score: Hartford, 58; UMBC, 57.
Zeglinski was one of four Hartford players to score double digits on the board. Guard Michael Turner had 12 points and 10 rebounds with forward Warren McLendon contributing 11.
For UMBC, Covell Johnson had a game-high 24 points, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Hawks.
With the triumph, Hartford will finish the season at 16-15 overall — marking their first winning record in six years. And although they have not ended their season higher than third place in 22 years, the Hawks are now the second seed in the America East playoffs. They are scheduled to play New Hampshire on Saturday at the Binghamton University Events Center in Vestal, N.Y.
"We got ourselves in a position to get the number-two-seed and that’ll be big for us," said Zeglinski, who also had five assists against UMBC. "We knew that we would be a very good team this year. We had a lot of guys returning who could shoot. I want to win the American East tournament and then we’ll see what happens from there."
Last year during his rookie season, Zeglinski got plenty of experience on the collegiate courts, starting and playing in every game. He averaged more than 12 points per outing with 69 treys — setting the record for most three-pointers made by a freshman in school history.
"It was a rebuilding year," said Zeglinski. "There was a new coach and a lot of new players. But we were a tough team and we played hard."
And this year isn’t much different.
Zeglinski is still sinking the most treys on his team. And he is still leading the Hawks with minutes played.
"I’m playing a lot but I think coach does a good job resting us for practice," said Zeglinski, referring to coach Dan Leibovitz, who had his debut season with the Hawks last year. "We all really came together this year. We’re a real tight group off the court, which helps us on the court."
There are two seniors on the team this year — guards Brian Glowiak and Rich Baker — one of whom is out with an injury. And despite being one of the younger Hawks flying through Hartford University, Zeglinski, 21, decided to step up into the leadership role.
After all, he knows what it’s like to be in their shoes.
During his senior year at Archbishop Ryan, Zeglinski fell victim to a serious injury as well, which almost killed his career.
While playing football with the Raiders, Zeglinski tore his ACL, missing his entire senior season. By the time basketball rolled around, he was still undergoing physical rehabilitation, but he made it back in time to play in the final four games of the year.
"It was actually still bothering me a little last year," said Zeglinski, who rushed 3,289 yards at Archbishop Ryan, a school record, and also had his jersey number retired. "I came back for the end but I was nowhere near one-hundred percent. It took about a year and a half to fully recover."
After the injury, Zeglinski underwent surgery, followed by a long and grueling recovery process. It’s now been two years, and he is finally back to normal
"This year it’s one-hundred percent," he said. "At first I was a little hesitant, but last year and this year not at all."
Following his high school glory days, Zeglinski decided to concentrate solely on his basketball career and give up the intense life of football.
These days the Northeast Philadelphia native is enjoying the student athlete life at Hartford, where he earned a 3.0 last year and continues to improve his career on the courts.
"I really like the coaches a lot here and the school is great," said Zeglinski. "I miss Philadelphia, but I see my parents a lot. They come to almost all my games. I miss home and my friends and family, but I’m happy here." ••
Sports editor Melissa Yerkov can be reached at 215-354-3035 or myerkov@phillynews.com