City of Basketball Love

Ari Rosenfeld (@realA_rosenfeld) &
Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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New Penn head coach Steve Donahue hasn't wasted any time building his first recruiting class.

Germantown Academy's Devon Goodman verbally committed to the Ivy League institution following a visit to the school on Friday, becoming the third member of Donahue's incoming class of 2016.

“Penn was my first offer and they’ve been on me ever since. I felt like they showed the most interest in me and they believed in me the most, so that’s why I chose Penn,” Goodman told CoBL. “[Friday night] I visited their practice and watched their practice, and after talking to the coaching staff and watching their practice, I just felt comfortable and thought it was a good fit.

“It’s an honor to attend such a prestigious school and also have the opportunity to play at the Division I level. Plus I’m able to play in my hometown.”

The 5-foot-11 point guard, entering his third year as a starter for the three-time defending Inter-Ac champions, joins Downingtown West shooting guard Ryan Betley and Northfield Mt. Hermon (Mass.) big man A.J. Brodeur, who both committed to Donahue over the summer.

The Quakers first offered Goodman last July, when former head coach Jerome Allen was still at the helm. Donahue apparently hit the ground running upon his hiring in March, making Goodman a priority as soon as he took charge of the program.

“As soon as he got the job, he called me, and I just had constant visits with him and communication,” Goodman said. “I just liked the way that Coach Donahue coached, the style he coached. I felt really comfortable with him.”

Germantown Academy head coach Jim Fenerty gave a lot of credit to one Penn assistant for recruiting Goodman over the last few years, even through the change in head coach from Allen to Donahue.

"Nat Graham is the guy that's been on him all along," Fenerty said. "When [Donahue] took the job, he said that 'I'm told that I should be looking at your players'...and they've been on him all along, which is terrific."

Before ultimately choosing the Quakers, Goodman had picked up three Division I offers: Penn, Yale, and Lafayette.

Although he told CoBL in July that he had hopes of adding to that list over the summer, he knew all along that he would have a nice set of schools to choose from.

“The schools that I had, I could see myself playing at,” Goodman said. “Even though I didn’t get more offers over the summer, just sitting back after the summer, I just looked at the schools I had and Penn really stood out to me as a good one that I had and I couldn’t let it go.”

At Penn, he'll join a talented group of guards that includes current sophomores Antonio Woods and Darnell Foreman as well as incoming freshman Jake Silpe, all of whom are likely to see minutes at the position this year for the Quakers.

His commitment also grants him the opportunity to reunite with Betley, an AAU teammate of his with Team Philly during the last two summers.

The two complement each other nicely, as Goodman loves setting up his teammates and Betley, a 6-foot-5 sharpshooter, excels spotting up for three-pointers.

“I made sure to let him know we would love to have him before he went on his visit,” Betley said. “I loved playing with him during the past two years in AAU and I’m glad we will be playing together for the next four.”

“Ryan and I are good friends,” Goodman added. “I had an opportunity to play with him during the summer in AAU and I’m just looking forward to us being teammates and playing together.”

As a junior, Goodman averaged 13.0 ppg, as Germantown Academy went 22-6, including a 9-1 record in league play. A jet-quick guard, Goodman excels in transition but is a very capable scorer in the half-court, with the ability to break down Division I level defenders and get into the lane.

Even with his elite quickness, he is seemingly always under control, doing a nice job of dictating tempo while orchestrating his team’s offensive attack.

Goodman will most likely need to take on more of a scoring load this year in GA’s quest for an Inter-Ac four-peat, as the Patriots’ two leading scorers from the last two seasons are now playing college ball, with Tim Guers now at D-II Saint Anselm's and Sam Lindgren at Colgate.

However, fellow two-year starters Evan-Eric Longino and Kyle McCloskey, both juniors, also figure to help fill that void, along with some young guys that have apparently begun to show promise already.

“We have a great group of underclassmen coming in that are going to help us, and we have a core senior group that’s also strong,” Goodman said. “I think we’re going to be able to win the Inter-Ac this year.”