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Kobe Bryant Classic Preview (Jan. 20-21)

01/19/2018, 12:30pm EST
By Josh Verlin

Stephen Payne (above) and Lower Merion play host to the 11th annual Kobe Bryant Classic this weekend. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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The 11th annual Kobe Bryant Scholastic Play-by-Play Classic takes place this Sat.-Sun., Jan. 20-21, at Lower Merion High School.

The eighth-game slate features three girls’ varsity games, followed by three boys’ varsity games on Saturday and then one of each on Sunday.

Here’s the event schedule, followed by a look at the four boys’ games over the course of the weekend:

Schedule
Sat., Jan. 20
*Abington Friends vs. Bishop McDevitt (10:00 AM)
*Life Center (N.J.) vs. Shipley (11:30 AM)
*North Penn vs. Council Rock North  (1:00 PM)
Shipley vs. Coatesville (2:45 PM)
Westtown vs. Camden (4:30 PM)
Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. Haverford School (6:15 PM)

Sun., Jan. 21
*Lower Merion vs. Springside-Chestnut Hill (11:00 AM)
Lower Merion vs. Neshaminy (1:00 PM)

* = girls’ varsity game

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Shipley vs. Coatesville
Two of the top scoring guards in the area will go head-to-head in this one, as Shipley’s Sam Sessoms and Coatesville’s Jhamir Brickus will both showcase their ability to put the ball through the hoop. Sessoms, a senior and Binghamton commit, is a shifty 5-11 guard with a terrific change-of-pace and ability to get to the rack. Brickus, also on the shorter side at 5-9, is a speedier end-to-end guard who also can pull up and knock down 3-pointers at a high rate. So this one might come down to the supporting casts. Each has a developing big man; Coatesville’s 6-9 senior Tyrel Bladen, bound for Eastern Kentucky, and Shipley’s 6-10 junior, Ray Somerville, but neither has yet gotten to the point where a double-double is a guarantee. Shipley also utilizes sophomore Khai Champion, junior wing Chaz Owens and senior guard Tommy Sobelman; Coatesville has sophomore guard DaPree Bryant and senior Hassan Young, both football standouts and terrific athletes, plus scoring guard Chuck Smith.


Duke signee Cam Reddish (above) and the Westtown Moose bring their show to LM. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Westtown vs. Camden
The Cam Reddish era at Westtown is coming to an end in a few months, so get a chance to see the Duke commit and projected first-round NBA Draft selection up close while you can. Reddish has had a tremendous senior year, as the 6-8 wing makes his case for the No. 1 prospect in his class, going for 40-plus points on multiple occasions. Seth Berger’s Moose have plenty of talent around him as well, including Indiana commit Jake Forrester (6-9) up front, impressive junior guard Jalen Gaffney, 6-7 sophomore Noah Collier and more; they’re projected to win both the Friends’ Schools League and PAISAA championships. Camden has a state title chance of its own, led by St. Francis (Pa.) commit Myles Thompson, a super-versatile 6-4 wing guard, as well as senior guard Cory Greer plus twins Nasir and Nasim Hinson. "The High" also boasts one of the area's highest-ceiling prospects, 6-9 wing Lance Ware, a left-handed sophomore who can play inside and out.

Plymouth-Whitemarsh vs. Haverford School
Rounding out Saturday’s slate is this matchup of the top team in the Suburban One League’s American Conference and the title favorite in the Inter-Ac. P-W is 12-0 and headed for the No. 1 seed in District 1 6A, led by an all-senior backcourt of Ahmad Williams and his twin Ahmin Williams, Ish Horn and Danny Cooper, plus wing Alan Glover, now fully recovered from a knee injury suffered last season. In the middle is 7-2 junior Naheem McLeod, who’s taken leaps forward in his production this year, though he still has his rough patches. The Haverford School doesn’t have that size in the middle, but Bernie Rogers has plenty of toughness and scoring ability in 6-5 junior Christian Ray, 5-11 senior Kharon Randolph, 6-1 junior Gavin Burke and 6-4 senior Asim Richards, plus their supporting cast. The Fords will need to survive P-W’s tough press and avoid getting sucked into the Colonial’s tempo to come away with the win here.

Lower Merion vs. Neshaminy
The host Aces finally take to the court on Sunday, in a matchup of 6A schools that could very well see each other in the district playoffs several weeks from now -- both certainly are going to qualify. Neshaminy (9-3) is led by senior guard Chris Arcidiacono, and the younger brother of the former Villanova standout has turned into a Division I prospect in his own right; he also recently went over 1,000 career points in a Neshaminy uniform. But head coach Mark Tingle has experienced players around Arch, including senior guards Charles Dominick and Anthony Papeo plus lanky 6-7 senior Danny Bodine inside, and they’re a patient team that doesn’t force the issue but can get points from up and down the lineup -- though obviously Arcidiacono does the heavy lifting. Lower Merion (10-3) is once again right in the running for a Central League championship, and Gregg Downer’s Aces have similar depth, though mostly in the junior class. Jack Forrest, Stephen Payne, Darryl Taylor, and Josh Martin are all a year away from graduating, but they form the heart and soul of this team; Forrest, a 6-5 wing with a Penn offer, has missed the last few games with the flu, and his status is still TBD for this one. Like Neshaminy, LM is just fine playing a slower pace to get the best possible shot. This game could be played in the 30s or in the 60s, and neither team would have a problem.


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