New coach Bowe plans to keep Carroll success going
For as long as Francis Bowe can remember, he has been around spectacular high school basketball players. As the new head boys coach at Archbishop Carroll, he doesn’t expect that to change.
“I grew up in Conshohocken,” Bowe said. “My mother and father were both from Conshohocken. I grew up around the Donofrio Classic. There is no shortage of talent there. I think I got my first autograph from Al Harrington, when he played there for the Roadrunners. The best of the best in the Catholic League play in that tournament.
“I wasn’t able to play in it in high school. But now, as a coach, I have reached my dream. And this is an amazing opportunity that Archbishop Carroll has allotted me.”
Bowe, 33, spent the last five seasons coaching the high school team at Valley Forge Military Academy. His Trojans were 24-6 last season, winning the District 1 Class 3A championship and advancing to the second round of the state tournament. His teams were 50-11 over the past two seasons.
From 2009 through 2013, Bowe was the head coach at Upper Merion. Previously, he was an assistant there and at Radnor.
An eighth-grade social studies teacher at Abington Junior High, Bowe played at Gwynedd-Mercy College. As the captain in his senior season, he helped the Griffins reach the NCAA Division III Tournament. He played for St. Pius X High in Pottstown and holds a master’s degree from Villanova.
“We are thrilled to have Francis become a part of our Carroll family,” Carroll athletic director Tom Quintois said in a statement. “He brings a wealth of experience, enthusiasm, and a strong basketball pedigree to our basketball program.”
Bowe will replace Carroll and Penn grad Paul Romanczuk, who coached the Patriots from 2003 through 2018 and won the PIAA Class AAA championship in 2009. Carroll reached the Catholic League semifinals last season, falling to Bonner & Prendergast in the Palestra. Romanczuk won at least 20 games in each of his last 10 seasons at Carroll.
“Replacing Coach Romanczuk after 15 successful seasons was a daunting task,” Carroll president Francis E. Fox said in a release. “Our selection and investment in Coach Bowe is made with every confidence that the new era of Carroll basketball will build on our past successes.”
Bowe believes the Catholic League is the best league “in the United States, from top to bottom,” an opinion shared by plenty. One reason for that is the depth of talent that seems to find its way into the league from many directions and locations. Bowe, however, insists he will build the Carroll program organically and that recruiting will neither be used nor necessary.
“I feel Carroll has the kids that come in,” he said. “I think that they come in on their own doing because they know what the name of the program is all about. And I don’t think it (recruiting) is something you have to do. You are technically not allowed to recruit in the PIAA. So that’s a no-no. So we try to do everything the right way. I know Carroll has done that for years and we will continue to do it. And I know the other schools bring in kids, but I don’t believe they do the recruiting, either.
“I think these are just schools that are excelling academically and athletically and young men are looking to be a part of the full get-up. They want to make sure that they get the overall education that these schools provide, and the Catholic League does a great job of doing that at each of the high schools.”
With that, the challenge will be difficult. Bowe, though, is convinced the Patriots will have the talent to excel in the coming season. Among the returning Patriots will be A.J. Hoggard, a first-team All-Delco guard as a sophomore.
“If the pieces are there that I’ve seen, it’s a really athletic team, a team that shares the ball well,” he said. “Paul did an amazing job. Those are huge, huge shoes to fill. I am just hoping to build upon that.
“When I watch film of them, I really like the style that they play. They play hard and with intensity. They can shoot it. They can take it to the basket. They’ve got some thickness to them, some strength. And I look forward to getting out there and getting in the gym for them.”
Bowe, who lives in Langhorne with his wife Amanda and son Connor, called Carroll a “dream opportunity,” and laughs that he found it “just a stone’s throw away” from Valley Forge.
“I feel like we are going to have a lot of success,” he said. “And I really love the diversity that the school offers. So we think we are going to have a great mix of kids here. I’m sure there are going to be incoming kids who are going to do great and do wonders for us. So I just look forward to it.”