City of Basketball Love

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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It’s time for the 2016 CoBL PAISAA Awards, which honor the best young ballplayers in the Friends League, Inter-Ac League and other schools in the area that participate in the Pennsylvania Independent School Athletic Association.

(Ed. Note: We have already announced our award winners for the CoBL area of the PIAA, including Districts 1 and 12, which can be found here)

To come up with our end-of-season awards, we consider several categories, including individual performance, team performance and various intangibles beyond just the statistics.

So without further ado, our honorees:

First Team

*DeAndre Hunter (Sr./Friends’ Central)
Our choice for Most Valuable Player amongst the private school ranks is Friends’ Central’s dynamic senior, who’s ticketed for Virginia in the fall. A 6-foot-7, 200-pound wing, Hunter is an immensely talented player on the offensive end of the court, with a smooth shooting stroke as well as the ability to operate out of the high post and get to the bucket for easy lay-ups. Defensively, he’s able to use his long frame to guard all five positions, which is why he was able to average 2.5 blocks per game.

For the season, Hunter averaged 23.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per contest, leading the Phoenix to an 18-10 record and berth in the Friends’ Schools League championship game.

Nick Alikakos (Jr./Episcopal Academy)
Alikakos has been a productive force ever since his freshman season at EA, as he’s already piled up 1,208 points to move within striking distance of the top three in Churchmen history. The 6-foot-7 junior, who’s garnering offers from the likes of Ivy League and Patriot League schools, is a tough-nosed combo forward whose best work comes operating out of the high post, where he worked his way to a 22.7 ppg average this past season. Though he’s lead his team to 52 wins over the last three years, the one thing Alikakos still has left to accomplish is an Inter-Ac title after falling one game short to Germantown Academy the last two years.

Mohamed Bamba (Jr./Westtown School)
Undoubtedly the top college prospect in the area is this New York native, who just wrapped up his second year at the West Chester boarding school he helped lead to its first-ever athletics state championship in any sport. The 6-foot-11 forward, who’s ranked amongst the top three prospects in his class by several national scouting services, averaged 13.7 ppg, 11 rpg and 6 bpg as he showed off the well-rounded skillset that will give him his choice of colleges. More than just a raw athletic force up front, Bamba has the ability to face up from 3-point range and the foul line extended, and he’s a top student who’s still being pursued by Ivy League schools as well as Duke and Kentucky. Would be obvious MVP choice if not for all the talent around him at Westtown.

Devon Goodman (Sr./Germantown Academy)
Penn fans have a lot to be excited about in this soon-to-be-Quaker, who really refined his game from his junior season to his senior year. The Patriots’ on-court leader and three-year starter at point guard helped bring a fourth straight Inter-Ac championship to the Fort Washington school, averaging 19.8 ppg for head coach Jim Fenerty. A lightning-quick 5-10 guard, Goodman became a much better 3-point shooter, which will benefit him under second-year Penn coach Steve Donahue, but he’s still at his best in the open court, where he can utilize his elite high-end speed.

Will Powers (Sr./Malvern Prep)
The Friars’ high-tempo attack under head coach John Harmatuk was at its best yet this past season thanks to Powers, a 5-11 guard who went from a 3-point gunner as a sophomore to a versatile scoring threat as a senior. He averaged 19.3 ppg last year for Malvern, knocking down 80 3-pointers as one of the area’s leaders in that category, but also showed off his ability to get to the rim and finish. Also chipped in 5.7 rpg and 2.2 for a 16-win Friars squad, which finished behind EA and GA in the Inter-Ac standings but put good scares into both led by their fearless lead guard.

Brandon Randolph (Jr./Westtown School)
Capped off a breakout junior season with a 29-point performance to lift Westtown to the 2016 PAISAA state championship, shooting 11-for-15 from the floor in the win over Germantown Academy. That was a fitting end for Randolph, who entered the 2015-16 season with Division I looks but saw it pour on as he averaged 17.5 ppg, with schools like Florida State, St. John’s, Xavier, Louisville, Temple and more all offering over the last four months. It’s easy to see why, as the confident 6-6 shooting guard can really stroke it from distance and is a plus defender with his long reach.

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Second Team

Jair Bolden (Sr./Westtown School)
If we did an all-toughness team, Bolden would be the easy first pick. After all, the 6-foot-3 George Washington commit faced season-ending shoulder surgery and decided to play through the pain, putting off surgery until two days after Westtown’s state title win. Averaged five assists and fewer than one turnover per game for the Moose.

Chuck Champion (Sr./Friends’ Central)
Loyola (Md.) commit averaged 14.5 ppg for the Phoenix, serving often as the Robin to Hunter’s Batman. Sharpshooter knocked down 60 3-pointers and can play either guard spot; has really worked on his body since arriving at FCS in 2014.

Evan-Eric Longino (Jr./Germantown Academy)
Husky (6-4, 225) wing really came on as a scorer as a junior, averaging 16.9 ppg for the Patriots. One of the more unique players around, Longino plays anything from the '1' to the '5' for GA, but loves to attack off the wing and use his frame to get close to the bucket.

Kharon Randolph (Soph./Haverford School)
One of three underclassmen to watch to finish out our honors, Randolph is a talented 5-10 scoring guard with a mature game. Averaged 16.1 ppg to lead a Fords team that was much more competitive than expected under first-year head coach Bernie Rogers.

Cameron Reddish (Soph./Westtown School)
A name you'll be seeing a lot of, if you haven't already. Super-high ceiling on this 6-7 guard, who averaged 11 points, five rebounds and five assists for the Moose, and already has several high-major offers. Small wonder Westtown won 28 games this season.

Sam Sessoms (Soph./Shipley School)
Trailing only Hunter in the scoring column in the Friends' League was this 5-10 sophomore, who dropped 20.4 ppg for the Gators. Sessoms also got to the line 162 times during the season, shooting a nice 88.2 percent from the foul stripe.

#Bryce Allen (Sr./Hill School)
The Blues' senior guard has been their pace-setter for three seasons, and he put together yet another solid all-around season in his last at the Pottstown boarding school. The 5-10 guard averaged 10 ppg, 4 apg, 3 rpg and a pair of steals, with a 4-to-1 assist:turnover ratio, and was a first-team all-MAPL selection.

Honorable Mention: #Chase Audige (Soph./Hill School), Tarojae Brake (Grad./Phelps School), Michael Buckmire (Jr./Germantown Friends), Conner Delaney (Jr./Episcopal Academy), Mike Hollingsworth (Sr./Malvern Prep), Arvelle Jones (Sr./Shipley), Jack Marshall (Sr./Haverford School), Kyle McCloskey (Jr./Germantown Academy), Devon Moore (Grad./Phelps School), Sean Simon (Soph./Springside-Chestnut Hill), #Seth Stankiewicz (Sr./Hill School), Mason Williams (Soph./Penn Charter), Matt Woods (Sr./Episcopal Academy)

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# Ed. Note: our apologies for the initial omission!