City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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The July live recruiting periods are less than a week away, and the area’s AAU programs are getting geared up for the three consecutive Wednesday-to-Sunday periods where Division I coaches can watch them play at events across the country.

This weekend, the majority of the high-level AAU programs in the area will be participating in one of two events taking place locally, with the Battle for the Bell on Saturday and the Philly Pride Bump-N-Grind on Sunday.

Here’s a quick look at both:

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Battle for the Bell
Saturday, July 8
Imhotep Charter

Participants
Team Final (Nike EYBL) and K-Low Elite (Adidas Gauntlet)

Breakdown
This one is simple: two programs, head-to-head, three games. It’s the Philly area’s only representative on the Nike circuit against its only Adidas-backed program for some bragging rights that are sure to be talked about all summer long, no matter the result. The first two games will be a good chance to look at the plethora of young talent in both programs; in particular, look out for recent Penn State offeree Dahmir Bishop and mid-major target Christian Ray leading the K-Low Elite 16s against Khalif Battle (Trenton Catholic), Ray Somerville (Shipley School), A.J. Hoggard (2020/Archbishop Carroll) and the rest of the Final 16s. In the 15U game, the K-Low Elite backcourt of Ahmad Fair (Neumann-Goretti) and KeShaun Hammonds (Constitution) will go up against a talented group of wings led by Noah Collier (Westtown), Eddie Evans (Trenton Catholic) and Roman Catholic point guard Lynn Greer III.

Unfortunately, Team Final’s two biggest stars, 6-8 wings Cameron Reddish and Louis King, will both miss the event as they help USA Basketball in its quest for a FIBA U19 championship; the quarterfinals will be played Friday morning. But Final still has plenty of pop left on its 17U squad: Shipley point guard Sam Sessom will shine with an increased role, as should Girard College sophomore forward Mikeal Jones and Archbishop Carroll senior Justin Anderson. Making his step up to the 17U squad will also be Church Farm’s 6-11 junior Jon Bol Ajak, who’s primed for a big July.

They’ll face a K-Low Elite squad at full strength, including former Team Final shooting guard Matt Cotton (St. Benedict’s), as well as the Archbishop Wood trio of 6-11 center Seth Pinkney, 6-7 Karrington Wallace and 6-3 shooting guard Tyree Pickron; all four are Division I targets at various levels. There are a couple really strong point guards in Doane Academy’s Damon Wall and Haverford School’s Kharon Randolph, both on the Division I fringe, plus 6-3 Rahmir Moore out of Mastery North, 6-6 Tymere Bennett from Cherokee, N.J. and 6-8 Will Colleran from Valley Forge Military Academy.

Schedule
12:00 PM -- 15U
1:30 PM -- 16U
3:00 PM -- 17U

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Philly Pride Bump-N-Grind
Sunday, July 9
Cardinal O’Hara

Participants
D.C. Blue Devils (Under Armour), Jersey Shore Warriors, NY Jayhawks (Adidas Gauntlet), Philly Hurricanes, Philly Pride (Under Armour), Team Ak, Team PYO, Team Speed, Yellowjackets

Breakdown
There’s not a bad set in the entire event -- each one of the teams here has multiple players worth watching, and the matchups should provide for relatively competitive games all day long.

The hosts, Philly Pride, bring both their 16U and 17U squads, which have sights on winning Under Armour Association championships during the first live period. The 16s are led by an impressive group of wings, including Imhotep Charter’s Donta Scott and Jamil Riggins, as well as Roman Catholic’s Seth Lundy, all of whom stand at least 6-6 with an array of skills, with another Roman guard, Hakim Hart, as the team’s 3-point specialist. The 17s are deep and versatile; Neshaminy’s 6-3 guard Chris Arcidiacono, Friends’ Central’s 6-6 wing Justin Steers and Cheltenham’s 6-6 guard Jack Clark are all being pursued by quite a few schools -- Clark has more than a dozen offers, including Penn State and other high-majors -- while 6-3 guard Allen Betrand (Roman Catholic) and 6-7 forward Ed Croswell (St. Joe’s Prep) each have a few as well.

The Jersey Shore Warriors also bring their two oldest teams to the table, and both groups are sure to compete for championships at various tournaments in the area over the next month. The 16s don’t have one true star but have several guards who can all dribble, pass and shoot: Shawnee’s Pat Kernan, Cherokee’s Anthony DiCaro, Archbishop Carroll’s Luke House and Episcopal Academy’s Alex Capitano (recently reclassified to 2020) tend to be involved most often. Moving up from the 16s to the 17s was Lower Merion’s Jack Forrest, but he joins a talented group that includes Archbishop Wood guard Andrew Funk, Bethlehem Catholic big man Ryan Young and State College sharpshooter Drew Friberg, all of whom have a half-dozen D-1 offers or more.

Coming from out of the area will be two of the strongest programs in the Mid-Atlantic, the Under Armour Association’s DC Blue Devils and the Adidas Gauntlet’s New York Jayhawks. The Blue Devils, whose alumni include recent 76ers draftee Markelle Fultz, finished 7-5 in UAA play and are led by St. Joe’s pledge Jared Bynum. A 5-foot-11 point guard, Bynum averaged 10.9 points and 3.9 assists per game over 12 Association contests.

The Jayhawks, who were inexplicably placed in the Adidas Gauntlet’s Silver Division despite a plethora of high-major talent, have enjoyed an undefeated spring. Led by a pair of high-major caliber wings in Frankie Policelli (New Hartford, N.Y.) and Samba Diallo (Pope John XXIII, N.J.), along with 7-footer Majur Majak (Roselle Catholic, N.J.), the Jayhawks have run through the Silver Division thus far. In the backcourt, look out for local product Darius Kinnel, who’s started the last two seasons for St. Joe’s Prep, as well as Syracuse-area native Charles Pride, who holds several low-to-mid major offers.

Finally, rounding it out will be a trio of local 17U teams with players to watch. Team PYO features 7-footer Naheem McLeod (2019/Plymouth-Whitemarsh) plus the senior P-W duo of twins Ahmad Williams and Ahmin Williams; Team Speed’s Jersey-based group, a mix of 2018 and 2019 prospects, features Cherokee 2019 Owen McGlashan, Camden Catholic 2019 Babatunde Ajike and Haddonfield 2019 Mike DePersia.

Schedule
10:30 AM
Court 1: Philly Pride 16U vs. NY Jayhawks 16U
Court 2: Jersey Shore 16U vs. Elite U 16U

11:45 AM
Court 1: DC Blue Devils 17U vs. NY Jayhawks 17U
Court 2: Jersey Shore 17U vs. Philly Hurricanes 17U

1:00 PM
Court 1: Team PYO 17U vs. Team Speed 17U
Court 2: East Coast Power 16U vs. Elite U 16U

2:15 PM
Court 1: DC Blue Devils 17U vs. Jersey Shore 17U
Court 2: NY Jayhawks 16U vs. Jersey Shore 16U

3:30 PM
Court 1: Team PYO 17U vs. NY Jayhawks 17U
Court 2: Philly Pride 16U vs. Philly Hurricanes 16U

4:45 PM
Court 1: Philly Pride 17U vs. Team Speed 17U