City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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The difference in this year’s Imhotep squad from the last few iterations can be seen clearly by the young man running point for Andre Noble’s Panthers.

The previous four seasons had seen Daron Russell on the ball for the Panthers, and the 5-foot-11 guard -- now with Rhode Island -- went on to become the leading scorer in Imhotep’s relatively short but impressive dozen years as a hoops program. The wiry lead guard, with a game reminiscent of former Sixers star Allen Iverson in the way he would throw his wiry frame around, was a blur up and down the court and a dribble-drive perfectionist who could finish with the best of them when he wasn’t trying to create for his teammates.

With Russell already putting up 20-point efforts in college, Noble has quite a different-looking presence who’s serving as the primary ball-handler. Junior wing Donta Scott, all 6-foot-7 and 210 pounds of him, has become Imhotep’s go-to offense-runner in the early part of the season, and it’s a match that Noble is happy with thus far.

“Between how tricky he is with the ball and his court vision, that made us go “Hmm, can we do this?” Noble said. “He’d never really played point guard, but he’s like ‘coach whatever you want me to do.’ And when you have a really good basketball player that’s willing to do anything, it really, really helps.”

Scott showed off his point guard abilities plenty on Sunday evening, as Imhotep held off Roselle 56-53 in a battle of powerhouse programs featuring no fewer than a dozen Division I prospects.

Though teammates Fatayn Wesley, a 5-9 point guard, as well as 5-11 senior Bernard Lightsey and 6-4 junior Dahmir Bishop all had their turns running Imhotep’s offense, it was Scott who was in control more often than not, including down the stretch as Imhotep held off a Roselle side that clawed its way back from down 14 at half.

Scott finished with a game-high 14 points and 10 rebounds. He also handed out three assists, showing he could

Even if Scott is the primary point for the next two years, it’s not the position he’s likely to play at the next level. Still, with programs like South Carolina, UConn, Penn State and others having already offered, his ability to handle the ball against high-level defenders will come in handy if he’s to play on the wing in a high-major conference.

“I’ve got to get used to it,” he said.  “It’s not that bad. My teammates are helping me work through it and everything.”

Russell and Scott certainly bring different approaches to the position. Russell was a blow-by guard who loved to utilize ball screens to get the defense on its heels, taking advantage of his slick handle to get into the lane and dish out. Scott is crafty off the bounce as well, but doesn’t need to rely so much on his foot speed, thanks to his ability to see over most guards defending him -- as well as a few bigs.

“Daron had to get (into the lane) fast before (the defense) got there,” Noble said. “Donta can get there, and he’s as tall as the guys in there.”

The Panthers were able to limit the effectiveness of five-star forward and LSU commit Nazreon Reid, who went for 10 points but only hit two shots and was held to just six rebounds. No player on Roselle, considered a top-25 prep team in the country, scored more.

Junior wing Chereef Knox had 12 points for the Panthers; Lightsey added 11 while Bishop and junior wing Jamil Riggins Jr. had six apiece.

The win improves Imhotep, the defending Public League, District 12 4A and PIAA Class 4A champions, to 3-0 on the young season. But without Russell, South Carolina guard David Beatty and Robert Morris wing Koby Thomas, all of whom graduated from a team ranked in the top 10 nationally a year ago, there’s plenty of this year’s edition left to prove.

“This was a big win for this group of kids, I’m really proud of them,” Noble said. “We hadn’t played great the first two games...that’s a good basketball team, for us to defend them the way we did tonight, I was impressed by how we defended them.”

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A spirited second-half comeback effort by Girard College wasn’t enough, as the Cavaliers fell to Wings Academy (N.Y.) 54-48 in the second game of the evening’s tripleheader.

Girard was down 35-20 midway through, as Wings Academy -- behind a terrific outing from senior wing Mohammed Fofana -- had limited Girard star sophomore Mikeal Jones to just four points and no field goals.

Jones got rolling with eight points in the third quarter as Girard closed the gap to six, and it was never more than a couple possessions the rest of the way. Ultimately, Girard couldn’t stop Fofana, who went for a game-high 28 points, hitting four 3-pointers along the way.

Jones finished with 16 points and just as many rebounds, while junior wing Rodney Carson had 11 as the other Girard player in double figures.

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After showing off his offensive skillset all game long, Dymir Montague’s clutch defensive play ensured Neumann-Goretti left South Philly with a 58-56 win over Our Savior New American.

Montague, a 6-3 senior wing, dropped 18 points, collected four rebounds and dished out five assists in the comeback win, which saw OSNA surge ahead by as many as a dozen thanks to a 17-4 third quarter that put the visitors in control.

The Saints slowly worked their way back, getting a big-time three-point play from Montague and then a 3-pointer from junior Jac’or Smith -- off a dish from Montague -- to get within a point with 20 seconds to play.

Junior guard Christian Ings then picked off the inbounds pass, knocking down two foul shots to put his team up for the first time since early in the third. He hit one more with eight seconds to play following an OSNA turnover, providing for the game’s final points.

Montague then made sure OSNA wouldn’t send it to extras, blocking Fousseyni Drame’s layup attempt with under three seconds left to seal the victory.
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