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Philly Live I: Preview & Schedule (June 18-20)

06/10/2021, 3:45pm EDT
By Josh Verlin


Philly Live 2021 will take place at St. Joe's Prep from June 18-20 and June 25-27

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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There’s been a different buzz around offseason events this summer, the basketball world finally getting back to normal after the long pandemic year.

The last two weekends in June are especially important: the first two Division I live recruiting periods since the summer of 2019. It's the first time D-I coaches can recruit in-person since going to high school games at the end of 2019-20 season, and while most of them have been watching games all spring through their computers, there's nothing that replicates in-person recruiting.

Put together by Imhotep Charter’s Andre Noble and Archbishop Wood’s John Mosco, the two Philly Live events held for the first time in 2019 drew rave reviews and hundreds of college coaches to the City of Brotherly Love. After taking the year off due to COVID, Philly Live is back this summer, and expectations are sky-high.

The first of two consecutive weekend-long events at St. Joe’s Prep, Philly Live I (June 18-20) features plenty of local programs but also teams from as far away as Florida and Colorado. There’s far too many teams and matchups to go over everything worth seeing, but here are a few non-local programs/players that we’ll be sure to see at least once over the course of the weekend:

  • Coming down from the northeast part of the state, Pocono Mt. West (Pa.) boasts one of the best forwards around in Christian Fermin. The muscular 6-10 forward, who plays with the PSA Cardinals on the EYBL circuit, has seen his stock soar over the last year, and has recently picked up offers from St. John’s, Drexel, Iona, Temple, St. Joe’s and VCU; he’s got an official visit to St. Joe’s planned for later this month and also is taking one to VCU. Look for plenty of local eyes on Fermin’s games.

  • The reigning D1 state champs, Centerville (Ohio) brings a bevy of talent down to St. Joe’s Prep. Three seniors: wing forward Mike Sharavjamts, wing Tom House and forward Rich Rolf all have Division I offers, as does junior guard Gabe Cupps, the son of head coach Brook Cupps; Gabe picked up an offer from Xavier earlier this month. (Thanks to T.J. Peatross for the info).

  • Always one of the top programs in the Garden State, Gill St. Bernard (N.J.) is under the direction of longtime head coach Mergin Sina, who played at both Seton Hall and Rhode Island then had a productive European career. Bernard’s put out a long list of Division I players, including Sina’s son Jaren Sina a few years back, but this group is led by rising senior guard Denver Anglin, a 6-2 sharpshooter with offers from the Big East, Big Ten, ACC, Pac-12, and more. A year behind him are rising junior Mackenzie Mgbako, a five-star prospect in the 2023 class, and rising sophomore Nahs Cunningham, a 6-8 wing.

  • Also from just over the river, Bergen Catholic (N.J.) is best known to local college fans as the home of former St. Joe’s standout Pierfrancesco Oliva. They’re still very much loaded with talent, including rising senior Will Richardson and rising sophomore Elliot Cadeau, both of whom are coming off strong performances at the Pangos All-American Camp last week. 

  • There’s several programs coming up from Virginia, all of whom have players to watch. But keep a close eye on King’s Fork (Va.), which features Jayden Epps, a rising senior guard, and Varina (Va.), which features rising senior Alphonzo Billups; the two are teammates on the AAU circuit with Team Loaded and both have plenty of high-major offers. On Menchville (Va.), rising junior Etienne Strothers is certainly on the Division I radar; his brother Allen Strothers is going to be a freshman at ETSU.

That’s on top of all the area teams that’ll be there, from Camden and top-rated junior D.J. Wagner to Imhotep Charter and its terrific juniors Rahmir Barno and Justin Edwards, Roman Catholic and rising seniors Khalil Farmer and Dan Skillings, and so many others. 

Due to capacity and space needs, the event is not open to the public; attendance will be limited to players, coaches, and media. CoBL will have full coverage of both weekends, including local and non-local standouts, recruiting notebooks, high school stories, and more. 

The complete schedule:

Friday, June 18

12:00 PM
Court 1: Cumberland Valley vs. Holy Ghost Prep
Court 2: Neshaminy vs. Sankofa
Court 3: St. Joe’s Prep vs. Chester
Court 4: Paul VI (N.J.) vs. Woodbridge (Del.)

1:10 PM
Court 1: Pennsbury vs. SLA Beeber
Court 2: DelCastle (Del.) vs. Engineering & Science
Court 3: Mastery North vs. Cardinal O’Hara
Court 4: Delaware County Christian vs. St. Elizabeth’s (Del.)

2:20 PM
Court 1: Central Bucks East vs. Cherry Hill East (N.J.)
Court 2: Cumberland Valley vs. Neshaminy
Court 3: Lincoln vs. Central Bucks South
Court 4: Octorara vs. Caravel Academy (Del.)

3:30 PM
Court 1: DelCastle (Del.) vs. SLA Beeber
Court 2: Abington vs. Holy Ghost Prep
Court 3: Delaware County Christian vs. Great Valley
Court 4: Woodbridge (Del.) vs. Pennsbury

4:40 PM
Court 1: Bensalem vs. Mastery North
Court 2: Cheltenham vs. Constitution
Court 3: Executive Charter vs. Bonner
Court 4: West Catholic vs. Salesianum (Del.)

5:50 PM
Court 1: Octorara vs. Council Rock South
Court 2: Neumann-Goretti vs. Plymouth Whitemarsh
Court 3: Roman vs. St.Thomas (N.J.)
Court 4: Archbishop Carroll vs. Rutgers Prep (N.J.)

7:00 PM
Court 1: Bensalem vs. Pope John Paul II
Court 2: Camden vs. St. Mary’s (Colo.)
Court 3: Downingtown West vs. Archbishop Wood
Court 4: Lincoln vs. Methacton

8:10 PM
Court 1: Council Rock South vs. Upper Darby
Court 2: First Love vs. Imhotep
Court 3: East Catholic (Ct.) vs. Archbishop Ryan
Court 4: Math Civics & Sciences  vs. Bonner-Prendergast

9:20 PM
Court 1: Radnor vs. Jefferson (W.Va.)
Court 2: Windsor (Conn.) vs. La Salle
Court 3: Devon Prep vs. Florida Christian (Fla.)
Court 4: Council Rock North vs. Pope John Paul II

Saturday, June 19
9:00 AM
Court 1: Cherry Hill East (N.J.) vs. Father Judge
Court 2: Abington vs. Conestoga
Court 3: Central Bucks East vs. Sankofa
Court 4: Central Bucks West vs. Engineering & Science

10:10 AM
Court 1: Jefferson (W.Va.) vs. Unionville
Court 2: Reading vs. Windsor (Ct.)
Court 3: Bishop Eustace (N.J.) vs. Constitution
Court 4: Cheltenham vs. Cardinal O’Hara

11:20 AM
Court 1: Upper Darby vs. Caravel (Del.)
Court 2: Centerville (Ohio) vs. Roman Catholic
Court 3: Conestoga vs. Pocono Mt. West
Court 4: Seaford (Del.) vs. Christian Brothers (N.J.)

12:30 PM
Court 1: Bishop Eustace (N.J.) vs. Bethlehem
Court 2: East Catholic (Conn.) vs. Archbishop Carroll
Court 3: Reading vs. Math Civics & Sciences
Court 4: Potomac (Va.) vs. Downingtown West

1:40 PM
Court 1: Columbia vs. Seaford (Del.)
Court 2: Gill St. Bernard (N.J.) vs. La Salle
Court 3: Roman vs. Bergen Catholic (N.J.)
Court 4: Florida Christian (Fla.) vs. Windsor (Conn.)

2:50 PM
Court 1: Unionville vs. Boiling Springs
Court 2: Central Dauphin vs. Pocono Mt. West
Court 3: Menchville (Va.) vs. Don Bosco (N.J.)
Court 4: Varina (Va.) vs. Lower Merion

4:00 PM
Court 1: Hayfield (Va.) vs. Christian Brothers (N.J.)
Court 2: West Catholic vs. Bergen Catholic (N.J.)
Court 3: Bethlehem vs. Columbia
Court 4: Harrisburg vs. Lincoln

5:10 PM
Court 1: Chichester vs. Boiling Springs
Court 2: Gill St. Bernard (N.J.) vs. Imhotep
Court 3: Camden (N.J.) vs. Centerville (Ohio)
Court 4: Varina (Va.) vs. East Catholic (Conn.)

6:20 PM
Court 1:Lenape (N.J.) vs. Potomac (Va.)
Court 2: Florida Christian (Fl.) vs. Sanford (Del.)
Court 3: Don Bosco (N.J.) vs. King’s Fork (Va.)
Court 4: St. Joe’s Prep vs. Harrisburg

7:30 PM
Court 1: Bonner-Prendergast vs. Hayfield (Va.)
Court 2: St. Mary’s (Colo.) vs. First Love
Court 3: Menchville (Va.) vs. Central Dauphin
Court 4: Rutgers Prep (N.J.) vs. Archbishop Wood

8:40 PM
Court 1: Radnor vs. Chichester
Court 2: Methacton vs. Sanford (Del.)
Court 3: King’s Fork (Va.) vs. Salesianum (Del.)
Court 4: Executive Charter vs. Lenape (N.J.)

Sunday, June 20
8:30 AM
Court 1: Council Rock North vs. St. Elizabeth (Del.)
Court 2: Howard (Del.) vs. Great Valley
Court 3: Allentown CC vs. St. George’s (Del.)
Court 4: Paul VI (N.J.) vs. Sankofa

9:40 AM
Court 1: Central Bucks West vs. Notre Dame-GP
Court 2: Menchville (Va.) vs. Lower Merion
Court 3: Imhotep vs. Centerville (Ohio)
Court 4: Math Civics & Sciences vs. Salesianum (Del.)

10:50 AM
Court 1: Allentown CC vs. Cherokee (N.J.)
Court 2: Neumann-Goretti vs. Rutgers Prep (N.J.)
Court 3: Devon Prep vs. Plymouth-Whitemarsh
Court 4: First Love vs. Camden (N.J.)

12:00 PM
Court 1: St. George’s (Del.) vs. Scranton Prep
Court 2: Gill St. Bernard (N.J.) vs. St. Mary’s (Colo.)
Court 3: St. Thomas (N.J.) vs. Archbishop Ryan
Court 4: Palmyra (N.J.) vs. Howard (Del.)

1:10 PM
Court 1: Holy Redeemer vs. Notre Dame-GP
Court 2: Lower Merion vs. West Catholic
Court 3: Poly Tech (Md.) vs. Archbishop Wood
Court 4: St. Augustine (N.J.) vs. Father Judge

2:20 PM
Court 1: Cherokee (N.J.) vs. St. Joe’s Prep (Pa.)
Court 2: Scranton Prep vs. Plymouth-Whitemarsh
Court 3: Neumann-Goretti vs. St. Thomas (N.J.)
Court 4: Archbishop Ryan vs. Executive Ed.

3:30 PM
Court 1: Palmyra (N.J.) vs. CB South
Court 2: Chester vs. St. Augustine Prep (N.J.)
Court 3: Poly Tech (Md.) vs. La Salle
Court 4: Father Judge vs. Holy Redeemer


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