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West Chester League Notebook: Tues., June 6

06/07/2017, 12:00am EDT
By Josh Verlin & Tyler Sandora

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin) &
Tyler Sandora (@tyler_sandora)
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Here’s a notebook from the West Chester University summer league’s action on Tuesday, June 6:

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Alex Salata III (above) is hoping he can help turn around Boyertown after moving into the district this year. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Boyertown aiming to make waves on hoops scene this year
When people think of Boyertown basketball, Jerry Kapp immediately comes to mind. The 6-3 guard is known for his knack to put the ball in the basket. In a game against Whitehall last year, Kapp exploded for 47 points, including nine 3’s.

Kapp’s scoring abilities weren’t enough to propel Boyertown in the right direction, as they finished the season 5-17.

For Kapp’s senior season, he will gain a fellow backcourt member to help him attempt a turnaround in Alex Salata III.

Salata, who previously attended Pottsgrove, moved with his family into the Boyertown district in March after the outgrew their old house.

As a junior at Pottsgrove, Salata averaged 8.0 ppg for the Falcons before moving. At six feet tall, Salata uses his quickness to get into the lane and create for others. With his powerful lower body strength, Salata can lock down opponents and jump up and grab rebounds, offensive and defensive.

“Alex is a huge addition to this team,” Kapp said about his new point guard. “The thing I really love about playing with him is that he’s not selfish, he’s a team player and I think we’re going to have a lot of fun this year.”

Although he possesses a great skillset, Salata hopes to perform some intangibles this season to help the Bears be more successful.

“I’m going to be doing the dirty work, attacking the basket, and I always want to guard the best player on their team,” he said.

Having bonded well with Kapp during open gyms and summer leagues, Salata not only hopes be successful on the court when playing with him, but he hopes the college coaches will notice him as well.

“Any time you play with somebody like Jerry, who’s already a 1000 point scorer, all the teams are going to key in on him which should open up easy buckets for me,” he said. “Colleges will be coming to our games to look for Jerry, so I’ve got to take advantage of that opportunity and play well.”

Besides Salata and Kapp, Boyertown will rely on fellow senior Marcus Thomas to help ignite the offense. A strong 6-2 southpaw, Thomas is not afraid to attack the basket with defenders in the way. Look for Sean Tamasitis and Zach Benning to also play valuable minutes for the Bears this season.

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Coatesville's Tyrel Bladen (above) will play in the Peach Jam next month with the NJ Playaz. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Coatesville’s Bladen sees recruiting heat up over spring

Last year, there’s no doubt it was the guards that powered Coatesville to the Ches-Mont championship and into the District 1 6A title game.

At West Chester, it was clear that the post is also going to be a strength for head coach Chuck Moore this upcoming season -- at least, when Tyrel Bladen is on the floor. The rising senior has grown to 6-foot-9, up a few inches from last season, and is creeping up on Division I territory at the right time: just before the July live recruiting periods.

The first five-day period in front of the Division I coaches in July will be the most insane of Bladen’s life so far, as he joined the EYBL’s New Jersey Playaz in May for the third and fourth of the Nike circuit’s sessions, with no D-I coaches present. But when he takes the court at the Peach Jam on July 12, it’ll be at arguably the biggest event of the summer, in front of literally hundreds of coaches over the course of no fewer than five games.

“I’m pretty excited,” he said. “Not going to let the nerves get to me, just go out there and play my game.”

Bladen is a reserve for the Playaz, backing up high-major targets Valdir Manuel, Marcellus Earlington and more, though he’s still getting minutes off the bench to show what he can do. A lengthy forward with good athleticism and the ability to put the ball on the floor in the open-court, Bladen is clearly an intriguing prospect in his own right, and schools are taking notice.

He looked very comfortable in two games on Tuesday night, helping Coatesville to wins over Perkiomen Valley and Downingtown West.

“The [EYBL] circuit is a lot, it’s a lot of competition,” he said. “I like the ‘up’ of competition, how you’ve got to speed your game up and you’ve got to give it your all. For situations like these, it slows the game down for me, I like it.”

The Red Raiders forward picked up his first full scholarship offer, from D-II Wingate University (N.C.), earlier in the spring; he’s also hearing from D-II Slippery Rock while he said D-Is Robert Morris and Binghamton have reached out to his coaches.

It’s quite a bit of attention for a rising senior whose phone was silent from a recruitment standpoint during his junior season.

“It’s just boosted my confidence,” he said. “Just pushed me to work even harder and just see how high I can go.”

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East's Andrew King (left) and Methacton's Jeff Woodward battled it out in the post. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Quick Hits

-- One prospect who showed major improvements to his all-around game was Downingtown East rising sophomore Andrew King. After having strep throat early in the spring and then working out nonstop, King dropped 30 pounds since last season. After playing a starting role as a freshman on varsity, King is working on integrating a jump shot into his arsenal as he prepares for his sophomore season. In a win over West Chester East on Tuesday, King poured in four 3’s. Starting the summer with Coatesville-based Rip City, King decided to join the North East Ohio (NEO) Shooting Stars on the EYBL’s E16 circuit for their last two sessions, hoping to gain more college exposure. Already standing 6-foot-6, King is the smallest out of his brothers and his father and he expects to grow a few more inches before the end of high school; his dad is 6-9 and his older brothers are 6-7.

-- One of the most polished low-post players in attendance Tuesday night was Bishop Shanahan’s Kevin Dodds. A 6-6, 225-pound bruiser, Dodds has a knack for scoring with both hands around the rim with his soft touch. In a win over Boyertown, Dodds scored 20 points, all of which came in the paint. High-academic Division IIIs like Washington & Lee, Franklin & Marshall, and Del-Val are schools that are seriously interested in the services of the rising senior. Also a baseball player, Dodds isn’t sure whether or not he will attempt to play baseball in college in addition to hoops; he’s mostly considering playing just basketball.

-- Boyertown's Jerry Kapp, one of the top pure scorers in the district, showed why D-II Slippery Rock plus D-IIIs Susquehanna and Ursinus are all in contact with him. Known for his ability to fill up the stat sheet, Kapp scored 23 points in a loss to Bishop Shanahan. A 6-3 guard, Kapp is quick enough to get by his defenders and into the lane, and also shoot over top of opponents from the perimeter; he’s a knockdown shooter from distance, even with a hand in his face. He’s hoping to improve on his handle and mid-range game before he moves onto the next level.

-- Malik Slay was at perhaps his best on Tuesday night, as the Downingtown East guard had a terrific all-around game to help the Cougars to a 71-43 romp over Methacton. The 6-2 rising senior had 20 points, seven assists, seven rebounds and two steals, making the vast majority of his shots in the contest, no matter from where on the court. East Stroudsburg (Pa.) and Catawba College (N.C.) are two D-II programs that have checked in on Slay, who’s also heard a bit from some Patriot League programs. The game also featured a matchup between talented 2020 forwards Andrew King (D’Town East) and Jeff Woodward (Methacton), and both had strong games, showcasing the ability to do much more than just score around the rim; King had 19 points and three blocks, while Woodward had 16 points and eight rebounds, including six on the offensive end.


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