City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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(Ed. Note: This article is part of our 2016-17 season coverage, which will run for the six weeks preceding the first official games of the year on Nov. 11. To access all of our high school and college preview content for this season, click here.)

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Earlier today, we published our preseason Super 7, ranking the top Division II programs in the area heading into the 2016-17 season. Now, we’ll take a look at some of the players to watch.

Last year’s Player of the Year, Holy Family’s Reggie Charles, graduated along with three of the other five members of our all-area First Team, leaving plenty of space available for some talented underclassmen to move onto the lists. And though there’s still plenty of senior representation this year amongst the area’s top D-II talent, there’s a clear youth movement happening with numerous sophomores going to challenge for honors as well.

We won’t be naming a preseason Player of the Year, but let’s take a look at our preseason all-area teams:

CoBL All-Area Preseason First Team
Josh Johnson (Sr./F/Kutztown)
-- Johnson, a 6-foot-8 Norristown native, has been an impact player since his freshman year at KU, when he put up 13.2 ppg, starting 24 of 27 games for the Golden Bears. He’s only gotten more and more well-rounded as his career as gone on, winning PSAC East Player of the Year honors as a junior after averaging 14.4 ppg and 8.5 rpg, shooting 53.8 percent from the floor. His impact for the talented Golden Bears goes well beyond the stat sheet.

Anthony Lee (R-Soph./G/Kutztown)
-- Through the first five games of his redshirt freshman season, the 6-2 Abington grad was averaging 5.8 ppg in about 12 minutes off the bench. Then he was inserted into the starting lineup, and took off, finishing the season averaging 13.0 ppg and 4.8 rpg, shooting 57 percent overall and 43.4 percent from 3-point range. Averaged 17 ppg during one 10-game stretch, which is a big reason why we think he’s first team material.

Christian Mortellite (R-Jr./SF/Bloomsburg)
-- For the most part, the Bloomsburg offense was balanced last year, with six players averaging between 5.6 and 9.7 points per game. Then there was Mortellite, who poured in 19.0 ppg on 44.2 percent shooting and 41.3 percent from deep, adding in six rebounds per game to boot. A 6-5 native of Hammonton (N.J.), Mortellite is already at 871 career points and is on track to finish amongst the school’s top three in scoring when it’s all said and done.

Tyaire Ponzo-Meek (Sr./G/Wilmington)
-- It was a tough season for Wilmington (9-19), which lost nine games by fewer than 10 points, but Ponzo-Meek was undoubtedly a highlight. The 5-11 guard, a Wilmington native, averaged  23.6 ppg -- good enough for 13th nationally -- plus an astounding 7.4 rpg as well as 3.8 apg. A true one-man show, he’ll need some more help this year for the Wildcats to end his college career on a positive note.

Kaison Randolph (Jr./SG/Philly U)
-- Fully recovered from an injury that cut short his sophomore year to just 20 games, Randolph is ready to become the primary scoring option for Herb Magee’s Rams. And that’s a scary proposition, considering the 6-3 guard and Pennington School (N.J.) product averaged 17.7 ppg a year ago on 38.2 percent from 3-point range, chipping in 5.1 rebounds and two assists per contest as well.

Dustin Sleva (Jr./F/Shippensburg)
-- After starting every game as a freshman, Sleva took the jump towards “stud” territory with a monster sophomore year: 15.8 ppg and 11.0 rpg, making exactly half of his shot attempts and a terrific 39.2 percent from beyond the arc. At 6-8, he could be the most dominant D-II player in the area over the next two years with another step forward, though he will see a lot of attention from opposing defenses this year.

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CoBL All-Area Preseason Second Team

Will Gregorits (Jr./F/USciences)
-- Solid and versatile in the post, this 6-9, pick-and-pop big man averaged 16.0 ppg and 8.0 rpg as a second-year starter, connecting on 46.3 percent of his attempts from the floor. That was a big step up from his freshman year, when he only averaged 6.0 ppg as a complimentary piece; it remains to be seen how high his ceiling is as he gains confidence and shapes his body.

Malik Jackson (Soph./SG.West Chester)
-- One of two impressive WCU freshmen a year ago, Jackson stepped right into the Rams’ starting lineup and did exactly what he did at Penn Wood: score the basketball. The 6-2 guard led West Chester with 15.7 ppg, shooting a not-amazing 37.5 percent overall, though he did make 36.2 percent of his 3-pointers. Now to improve his auxiliary numbers (2.8 rpg, 1.3 apg).

Abe Massaley (Sr./PG/Shippensburg)
-- The 5-11 Imhotep grad, who most memorably hit the game-winning shot to lift the Panthers past Vaux in the 2013 Public League championship game, is getting ready to close out a terrific four-year career at Ship, where he’s helped them go from three wins to 20 in three years. Averaged 13.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg and 4.8 apg as a junior.

Edward McWade (Jr./F/Chestnut Hill)
-- A tough, versatile two-way player, McWade took a big step from freshman to sophomore year, averaging 13.5 ppg and 5.0 rpg a year ago, shooting 44.6 overall and 36.4 percent from 3-point range. With leading scorer Luke Dickson now graduated, it’s the 6-5 Wildwood Catholic’s time to step up and become the go-to option for the Griffins for the next two years.

Rasheed Moore (Sr./F/East Stroudsburg)
-- One of two returning forwards for ESU, Moore isn’t flashy but he’s more than solid in the post for the Warriors, averaging a team-best 13.1 ppg and second-best 7.1 rpg as a junior, hitting more than half of his shot attempts (.517). Once again, ESU won’t need him to be a hero but just continue to bring that post presence and toughness while a talented guard group brings the fireworks.

Matt Penecale (Soph./PG/West Chester)
-- The other half of the West Chester backcourt, Penecale didn’t put the scoring numbers that Jackson did (10.3 ppg) but was arguably more instrumental in their overall success. The Abington grad, who started at point all year long, averaged 4.9 apg with an assist-to-turnover ratio above 2:1, shooting 45 percent overall and 36 percent from distance.

Kitt Najee Walls (Soph./PG/East Stroudsburg)
-- When likely starter Jakwan Jones went down before last season with an ACL injury, Walls got the call instead -- and all he did was lead the league in assists (5.4/game) while also chipping in 7.7 ppg and hitting 36.3 percent of his 3-point attempts. Now the La Salle College HS product has to figure out how to build on that while also meshing with the now-healthy Jones.

Preseason All-Freshman Team
Zach Bare (G/West Chester)
Nasir Bell (G/Chestnut Hill)
Amir Hinton (G/Lock Haven)
Sean Griffin (F/Holy Family)
Christian Kelly (SF/Kutztown)