City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
--

One of the first big high school preseason events in the area is the West Chester Big 64, which brings more than five dozen prep programs from Pennsylvania, N.J., Delaware and Maryland to West Chester, Pa. for a long weekend of basketball.

The four courts at WCU’s South Campus will feature games from 8 AM on Saturday through 8 PM on Sunday, with each team participating playing somewhere between two and six games over the course of the weekend.

Here are a few of the top teams to watch over the course of the weekend, all from the Keystone State:

--Abington, the defending District 1 AAAA champions, have a gaping hole to fill due to the graduation of guards Matt Penecale (West Chester) and Amir Hinton (Lock Haven), but some talented youngsters have head coach Charles Grasty feeling good about the future. Sophomore guard Robbie Heath, an Australia native, got a lot of experience as a starter last year, and incoming freshmen Lucas Monroe and Eric Dixon look like they’ll be able to contribute right away in the Suburban One League. Seniors like B.J. James and Jack Steinman will help ensure that the Galloping Ghosts have some guidance to boot.

--Archbishop Wood looks ready to make a serious run at Catholic League powers Roman Catholic and Neumann-Goretti in John Mosco’s third year as head coach. The former longtime N-G assistant might not have the high-major Division I talent up and down his roster that Roman and Neumann have, but they won’t let that bother them, as a monumental win at Roman last year showed. Sophomore wing Tyree Pickron might be the Catholic League’s breakout star this year after averaging double-digits as a freshman, but it’s senior point guard Tommy Funk, a West Point commit, who’s the engine that makes the Vikings go.

--Chester is back with a vengeance after last year’s disappointment of a season that saw the Clippers miss out on the state playoffs for the first time in more than two decades. Point guard Khaleeq Campbell is still working his way back from a December ACL tear, but the front line of senior Marquis Collins and juniors Jordan Camper and Jamar Sudan are all coming off strong summers with their respective AAU teams, and senior wing Stanley Davis looks like he could be in for a big year as well.

--Downingtown West enters 2015-16 with high expectations, and rightfully so. The defending Ches-Mont champions return their top three players from a year ago, all seniors: Ryan Betley, Josh Warren and Dom Guerrera. Betley, a 6-4 shooting guard and Penn commit, is a terrific all-around scorer who’s deadly from beyond the arc. Warren, who just got his first D-I offer, gives them size inside at 6-9 and 220 pounds that few area programs can match, and Guerrera is a 6-6 wing forward with bounce who can score inside and out.

--Imhotep Charter enters the year as the favorites in the Public League, coming off a Pub title and then run to the PIAA Class AAA semifinals. Though he’lll have to replace a few key seniors, including Wagner freshman Devin Liggeons as well as Cananchet Jordan and DeAnte Robinson, Panthers head coach Andre Noble has to feel good about who he’s got on the roster. Junior guard Daron Russell, one of the top scorers in the city (16.5 ppg) picked up offers from Temple, La Salle, East Carolina, VCU and more this summer, and classmate Jaquan Arrington looks primed for a big jump after seeing role minutes a year ago.

--Neumann-Goretti is on a mission after a six-year run as kings of the Catholic League ended at the hands of Roman Catholic. Rising junior Quade Green established himself as one of the best guards in his class this summer, while his classmate Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree, an athletic 6-9 forward, saw his stock rise from mid-to-high-major with a big AAU season as well. Senior Zane Martin, a Towson commit, made the Tigers look smart with a very productive offseason of his own--and look out for freshman Khyree Temple, a 6-4 wing forward with an endless motor and frame that suggests a ton of upside.

--Speaking of Roman Catholic, the Cahillites will also be at West Chester this weekend, in the same group as the Saints--although they won’t be playing each other. Penn State commits Tony Carr (a top-50 point guard) and Nazeer Bostick (an athletic 6-4 wing) are joined this year by 6-6 senior wing Lamar Stevens, another top-100 prospect who’s deciding between several high-major offers of his own. Throw in talented juniors D’Andre Vilmar and Dakquan Davis plus freshman stud Mikeal Jones and the Cahillites should be fun to watch all year.

The full Big 64 schedule can be found below:

~~~

Group A (Saturday): Bonner-Prendergast, Central Bucks South, West Chester East, Red Clay, Unionville, Cardinal O’Hara, Octorara, Brotherhood

8 AM
Court 1: Bonner-Prendergast vs. Central Bucks South
Court 2: West Chester East vs. Red Clay
Court 3: Unionville vs. Cardinal O’Hara
Court 4: Octorara vs. Brotherhood

10 AM
Court 1: Bonner-Prendergast vs. Brotherhood
Court 2: Central Bucks South vs. Cardinal O’Hara
Court 3: West Chester East vs. Unionville
Court 4: Red Clay vs. Octorara

12 PM
Court 1: Bonner-Prendergast vs. West Chester East
Court 2: Central Bucks South vs. Octorara
Court 3: Red Clay vs. Unionville
Court 4: Cardinal O’Hara vs. Brotherhood

~~~

Group B (Saturday): Bethlehem Catholic, Father Judge, The Family, Chester, Montgomery (N.J.), Methacton, Benjamin Franklin, Team III

9 AM
Court 1: Bethlehem Catholic vs. Father Judge
Court 2: The Family vs. Chester
Court 3: Montgomery vs. Methacton
Court 4: Benjamin Franklin vs. Team III

11 AM
Court 1: Bethlehem Catholic vs. Methacton
Court 2: Father Judge vs. Chester
Court 3: The Family vs. Benjamin Franklin
Court 4: Montgomery vs. Team III

1 PM
Court 1: Bethlehem Catholic vs. Benjamin Franklin
Court 2: Father Judge vs. The Family
Court 3: Chester vs. Montgomery
Court 4: Methacton vs. Team III

~~~

Group C (Saturday): Kennett, Wissahickon, Bishop Eustace, Coatesville, Strawberry Mansion, Oxford, Upper Darby, Bartram

2 PM
Court 1: Kennett vs. Wissahickon
Court 2: Bishop Eustace vs. Coatesville
Court 3: Strawberry Mansion vs. Oxford
Court 4: Upper Darby vs. Bartram

4 PM
Court 1: Kennett vs. Strawberry Mansion
Court 2: Wissahickon vs. Coatesville
Court 3: Bishop Eustace vs. Upper Darby
Court 4: Oxford vs. Bartram

6 PM
Court 1: Kennett vs. Bartram
Court 2: Wissahickon vs. Strawberry Mansion
Court 3: Bishop Eustace vs. Oxford
Court 4: Coatesville vs. Upper Darby

~~~

Group D (Saturday): William Allen, Bowie (Md.), Constitution, Lower Merion, Conestoga, Cheltenham, Del-Val Charter, Abington

3 PM
Court 1: William Allen vs. Bowie
Court 2: Constitution vs. Lower Merion
Court 3: Conestoga vs. Cheltenham
Court 4: Del-Val vs. Abington

5 PM
Court 1: William Allen vs. Conestoga
Court 2: Bowie vs. Abington
Court 3: Constitution vs. Cheltenham
Court 4: Lower Merion vs. Del-Val

7 PM
Court 1: William Allen vs. Cheltenham
Court 2: Bowie vs. Constitution
Court 3: Lower Merion vs. Abington
Court 4: Conestoga vs. Del-Val

~~~

Group E (Sunday): Collegium Charter, Garnet Valley, Friere Charter, Archbishop Ryan, Chichester, Downingtown East, Avon Grove, Conestoga

8 AM
Court 1: Collegium Charter vs. Garnet Valley
Court 2: Friere Charter vs. Archbishop Ryan
Court 3: Chichester vs. Downingtown East
Court 4: Avon Grove vs. Conestoga

10 AM
Court 1: Collegium Charter vs. Avon Grove
Court 2: Garnet Valley vs. Freire Charter
Court 3: Archbishop Ryan vs. Chichester
Court 4: Downingtown East vs. Conestoga

12 PM
Court 1: Collegium Charter vs. Conestoga
Court 2: Garnet Valley vs. Chichester
Court 3: Friere Charter vs. Avon Grove
Court 4: Archbishop Ryan vs. Downingtown East

~~~

Group F (Sunday): Boys’ Latin, Pelicans, Pottsgrove, Pennridge, Audenreid, Penn Wood, Spring-Ford, Constitution

9 AM
Court 1: Boys’ Latin vs. Pelicans
Court 2: Pottsgrove vs. Pennridge
Court 3: Audenreid vs. Penn Wood
Court 4: Spring-Ford vs. Constitution

11 AM
Court 1: Boys’ Latin vs. Pennridge
Court 2: Pelicans vs. Spring-Ford
Court 3: Pottsgrove vs. Audenreid
Court 4: Penn Wood vs. Constitution

1 PM
Court 1: Boys’ Latin vs. Penn Wood
Court 2: Pelicans vs. Audenreid
Court 3: Pottsgrove vs. Constitution
Court 4: Pennridge vs. Spring-Ford

~~~

Group G (Sunday): Friends School (Md.), Archbishop Wood, Roman Catholic, Lakewood (N.J.), Imhotep Charter, Central Bucks West, Neumann-Goretti, Downingtown West

2 PM
Court 1: Friends School vs. Archbishop Wood
Court 2: Roman Catholic vs. Lakewood
Court 3: Imhotep Charter vs. C.B. West
Court 4: Neumann-Goretti vs. Downingtown West

4 PM
Court 1: Friends School vs. C.B. West
Court 2: Archbishop Wood vs. Downingtown West
Court 3: Roman Catholic vs. Imhotep Charter
Court 4: Lakewood vs. Neumann-Goretti

6 PM
Court 1: Friends’ School vs. Neumann-Goretti
Court 2: Archbishop Wood vs. Imhotep Charter
Court 3: Roman Catholic vs. Downingtown West
Court 4: Lakewood vs. C.B. West

~~~

Group H (Sunday): Ridley, Imhotep Charter, Cedar Cliff, Camden Elite, Conwell-Egan, Eleanor Roosevelt (Md.)

3 PM
Court 1: Ridley vs. Imhotep Charter
Court 2: Cedar Cliff vs. Camden Elite
Court 3: Conwell-Egan vs. Eleanor Roosevelt

5 PM
Court 1: Ridley vs. Cedar Cliff
Court 2: Imhotep Charter vs. Eleanor Roosevelt
Court 3: Camden Elite vs. Conwell-Egan

7 PM
Court 1: Imhotep Charter vs. Camden Elite
Court 2: Cedar Cliff vs. Eleanor Roosevelt