City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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We’re taking an in-depth look at the AAU major programs in the Philadelphia area, but there are many more smaller teams that are certainly worth watching this summer.

AAU Program Previews: Jersey Shore Warriors | Philly Pride | Team Final | Team Philly | WeR1

Here are some of the local programs whose names you’re sure to see pop up through our notebooks this summer; we’ll be updating this list as we continue to receive rosters:

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East Coast Power (17U)

Roster: Matt Carson (2017/Downingtown West), Avery Close (2017/Phoenixville), Matt Faw (2017/Upper Merion), Justin Jaworski (2017/Perkiomen Valley), Charlie Martin (2017/Coenstoga), Ethan Miller (2017/Upper Merion), Aiden Newell (2017/Upper Merion), Ethan Norton (2017/Hill School), Sean Owens (2017/Perkiomen Valley), Mason Ressler (2017/Radnor), Scott Shapiro (2017/Conestoga)

Outlook: This group, which played under the name Philly Edge last season on the 16U circuit, has the potential to draw some Division I coaches to its sidelines. Faw, a 6-7 forward, has the size and shooting ability to be a Division I stretch-'4' if he can show consistency from the perimeter; Jaworski, a 5-11 guard is coming off a monster junior season where he averaged more than 20 ppg for Perkiomen Valley. And many of the others will be playing basketball in college: Norton is a 6-3 combo guard with a smooth game, Miller is a 6-6 and wide-shouldered forward who plays tough inside but can pop out and knock down a jumper as well. Expect to see a lot of coaches, D-I through D-III, by their sidelines all summer long.

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Hoopdreamz Blue (17U)

Roster: Francisco Campo (2018/Frankford), David Giuliani (2017/Phil-Mont Christian), Rashon Johnson (2017/Simon Gratz), Tyler Michels (2017/Philadelphia Academy), Clifton Moore (2017/Hatboro-Horsham), Cordelle Swinson (2017/Franklin Towne Charter), Brandon Taylor (2017/Central), Osaze Thornton (2016/Phil-Mont Christian), John Tillman (2017/Wyncote Academy), Jesse Turkson (2017/Masterman)

Outlook: Another team sure to draw coaches from all different levels is Hoopdreamz' top squad, which features a number of talented prospects from some lesser-known area programs. That starts with Moore, a 6-9 forward who emerged as a D-I prospect during his junior year thanks to his size and ability to shoot out to the 3-point arc; if he can show some rebounding ability and post work during the summer, he should see a few offers. Thornton and Giuliani are two tough forwards that helped Phil-Mont Christian into the PIAA Class A semifinals; both stand around 6-3 and love to hit the glass, making the Falcons one of the best teams in the state in that category.

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Jersey Shore Warriors Blue (17U)

Roster: Deins Bergis (2017/Christopher Dock), Conner Delaney (2017/Episcopal Academy), Eric Dougherty (2017/Abington), Noah Fennell (2017/Lower Merion), George Gordon (2017/Downingtown West), Chris Kuhar (2017/Archbishop Ryan), Randall Leath (2017/Charter School of Wilmington), Keith Otto (2017/Archbishop Wood), Jesse Saul (2017/Bishop Eustace), Cole Storm (2017/Germantown Academy), Khari Williams (2017/Archbishop Carroll), Jack Zamichieli (2017/Southern Lehigh)

Outlook: The Warriors' secondary squad is chock-full of small-college prospects, including a few who are scholarship-worthy for the right programs. They've got plenty of capable ball-handlers, including Delaney, Fennell, Kuhar, Storm and Williams, so they should be fine against the press and various defenses they'll see on the circuit. Up front, they've got a few versatile bigs in the 6-7 Gordon and 6-6 Dougherty, two forwards with a lot of length who can also step out to the 3-point arc.

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Malvern Legends (16U)

Roster: David Angelo (2018/Bishop Shanahan), Shane Burke (2019/Salesianum), Shane Dever (2019/St. Joseph’s Prep), Kevin Dodds (2018/Bishop Shanahan), Luke House (2019/Archbishop Carroll), Dan Meyer (2018/Salesianum), Jake Nelson (2019/West Chester Rustin), Joseph O’Malley (2019/Bishop Shanahan), Jack Purcell (2019/Episcopal Academy)

Outlook: After going 31-6 last year as a 14U group, the Legends are jumping straight to the 16U circuit this year, where they’ll certainly be challenged as they play in several Hoop Group events as well as the Team Rio Under Armour event in May. A tough, scrappy group, what they have going for them is their familiarity with each other, as six of the players are from West Chester and the rest from nearby; they play hard, tough, share the ball with their teammates and look for the best shot.

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N.J. Soldiers (17U)
Roster: True Alton (2017/Hopewell Valley), Julian Boykins (2016/Randolph), Conor Bresnahan (2017/Cinnaminson), Austin Crafts (2017/Shawnee), Alec DiPietrantonio (2017/Bishop Eustace), Pat Fish (2018/Bishop Eustace), Christian Ford (2017/Trenton Catholic), Keionis Hearns (2017/Atlantic City), Rajae Muhammad (2017/Pennsgrove), Alex Nordenholt (2017/Council Rock South), Trey Smith (2017/Wildwood Catholic), Chris Tracey (2017/Cherokee)

Roster: This is a very interesting group of 17's, considering the entire roster is brand-new to the NJ Soldiers. This team has the potential to be playing in the later rounds of any tournament they enter, but it will all depend on how quickly they can gel together. The Soldiers have great size in 7-1 Hearns, 6-9 Tracy, 6-8 Muhammad, and 6-7 DiPietrantonio; plus, they have two guys that can really fill it up out of the backcourt 6-2 Alton and 6-2 Boykins. Most of the players are good students so expect some high-academic D-IIIs and D-IIs to be in the mix for recruiting.

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Philly Heat (17U)

Roster: Ryan Boyd (2017/Council Rock South), Addison Howard (2017/Pennsbury), Kar’ron Johnson (2017/Conwell-Egan), Chase Lewis (2017/Princeton Day), Mike McFadden (2017/Holy Ghost Prep), Joey Monaghan (2017/Pennsbury), Luke Olshevski (2017/Robbinsville), Danell Snelling (2017/Harry S. Truman), Austin Thomas (2017/Council Rock South), Billy Warren (2017/Neshaminy)

Outlook: This is a group with plenty of potential, with a roster full of players who know their roles and play them well. There's certainly size, between the 6-7 Boyd, 6-7 Warren, 6-5 Olshevski, and those three as well as others could see themselves the recipients of some scholarship offers before their senior years are done. Monaghan, a 6-4 forward, also plays tougher and bigger than his frame would suggest. When Thomas, McFadden and the rest of the guards are feeling it from the perimeter, this is a squad capable of making some deep runs in the Hoop Group tournaments.

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South Jersey Jazz (17U)

Roster: Kristian Alexander (2016/Appoquinimink), Nick Amechi (2017/St. Augustine Prep), Ah'rod Carter (2017/Chester), Myles Cale (2017/Appoquinimink), Walter Harvey (2017/St. Augustine), Cameron Hoffman (2017/Liberty), Austin Kennedy (2017/St. Augustine), Ryan Legler (2017/Wildwood Catholic), Ja'Zere Noel (2017/Woodbury), Joseph O'Brien (2017/Abington), Tim Perry (2016/Cherry Hill East), Luis Reyes (2017/St. Augustine)

Breakdown: This group, which will play on the Under Armour Association circuit, would have had high-major coaches flocking to its sidelines--and then 6-foot-4 high-scorer Myles Cale committed to Seton Hall last month. So it might be a bit of a smaller group than expected, but Cale is still leading a talented group led by former La Salle and NBA sharpshooter Tim Legler. Cale's second fiddle tends to be Noel, a 6-4 slasher, or Harvey, a 6-1 point guard; the younger Leger, Amechi and Kennedy can all really shoot it. This is a team with plenty of size as well, led by the 6-8 O'Brien and 6-7 Hoffman, and they'll be joined by 6-9 Perry Jr., another son of a former NBA player, for the April live periods. Expect the high-level D-II and low-major D-I programs to track them all summer long.

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Team Final Black (17U)

Roster: Miks Antoms (2016/Archbishop Carroll), Matt Cerruti (2017/Archbishop Wood), Collin Gillespie (2017/Archbishop Wood), Evan-Eric Longino (2017/Germantown Academy), Jesse McPhearson (2017/Archbishop Carroll), Mike Millsip (2017/Neumann-Goretti), Matt Paulus (2017/La Salle College HS), Mike Power (2017/Father Judge), Marc Rodriguez (2017/Father Judge), Antone Walker (2017/Friends’ Central)

Outlook: The Team Final 'B' squad always has several potential Division I prospects, and this year's no different. Gillespie is a 6-2 combo guard who plays tough and can really shoot it; Longino is a scoring machine of a 6-4 wing and Millsip is a still-unknown prospect who's come off the bench his first three years at Neumann-Goretti but should be a big piece as a senior. This could be one of the better 3-point shooting teams around this summer; between Rodriguez, Paulus, Power and Cerruti, they've got plenty of options to burn teams from beyond the arc.

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York Ballers (17U)
Roster: DeAireus Brown (2017/York Country Day), Jacquez Casiano (2017/York ), Donovan Catchings (2017/Dallastown), Evan Czulada (2017/Central York), Timmy Edwards (2018/Trinity), Jalen Gabbidon (2017/Harrisburg Academy), Kris Johnson (2016/York HS), Matt Kachelries (2017/Emmaus), Brandon McGlynn (2018/Dallastown), Tommy Sekunda (2017/State College), Theo Braddy (2017/Central Dauphin)

Breakdown: Coming out of the central part of the state is this group, which has a few Division I prospects in the fold. Brown, a 6-1 guard, was a first-team all-state selection after leading York Country Day to the PIAA Class A second round. Edwards, a 6-4 wing, is one of a few high-academic D-I prospects on a loaded Trinity squad. And there's Gabbidon, a 6-3 wing who was the leading scorer in the state this season at nearly 38 ppg. They're surrounded by a very strong supporting cast that will be looking to show they're just as tough as their counterparts from the southeastern part of the state.