City of Basketball Love

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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(Ed. Note: This article is part of our 2021-22 season coverage, which will run for the six weeks preceding the first official games of the year on Nov. 9. To access all of our high school and college preview content for this season, click here.)

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Philadelphia basketball is everywhere.

More than 100 student-athletes who are from the Philadelphia area are playing Division I hoops this year, spread throughout many of the country’s 30-plus conferences and 350-plus D-I programs. There are players in their seventh year of college, those primed for a breakout year, those who’ve already become legends at the schools they attend, and everything in between.

We’ve split the area’s D-I alumni into a five-part list, including four segments of returning players and one of the true freshmen who are going off into their first year of D-I hoops. Here’s Part 2 of our 2021-22 CoBL alumni roundup, featuring 20 players who aren’t in their first year of collegiate basketball:

(If we’re missing someone, let us know: cityofbasketballlove@gmail.com)

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2021-22 Alumni Roundup: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Freshmen

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Matthue Cotton (Jr./Yale)
After missing last season with the Ivy League being shut down, the 6-5 guard and the Bulldogs will fight to have another impressive season. Yale finished at the top of the Ivy League (11-3) two seasons ago, with Cotton appearing in all 30 games, averaging 7.6 pts and 2.6 reb. Cotton was one of the top three-point shooters in the Ivy League, ranking 11th in 3’s made (45) and 3-point field goal percentage (.352). Two seasons ago Cotton was a top-five scorer for the Bulldogs and will get right back to work this upcoming season. 

Zach Crisler (Jr./Fairfield)
A graduate of La Salle High School, Crisler started his college career at Rice, where he played in 23 games but saw his role fade down the stretch. His first year at Fairfield was solid, as the 6-9 stretch-forward started 20 out of 21 games and played 21.0 minutes, averaging 4.5 pts and 3.5 reb for the Stags (10-17, 7-11 MAAC). The key will be getting more efficient from the floor (32.6 FG%).

Ed Croswell (Sr./Providence)
Croswell made a surprising decision to leave La Salle after two productive seasons, as the 6-8, 240-pound forward seemed a good fit in the A-10, averaging 10.0 pts and 7.3 reb as a sophomore for the Explorers. His first season in the Big East saw him confined to a reserve role (6.9 mpg), and his averages of 2.3 pts and 1.9 reb were the lowest of his career thus far. But the St. Joe’s Prep grad is giving it another shot on the Friars’ talented roster.

Mike DePersia (Jr./IUPUI)
This South Jersey native has certainly found himself at home in the Midwest. DePersia, a 5-11 point guard out of Haddonfield (N.J.), was a captain at IUPUI as a sophomore, starting all 18 games and playing nearly 30 minutes per contest, averaging 5.0 pts, 3.4 reb and 3.9 ast. His assist-to-turnover ratio (3.74:1) was third best in the country.

Eric Dixon (R-Soph./Villanova)
After Jeremiah Robinosn-Earl decided to enter the 2021 NBA Draft and was selected in the second round by the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree being ruled out for the season, Dixon is one of the only returning Wildcats big men with experience from last season’s Sweet 16 run. The 6-8, 255-pound redshirt sophomore avg. 3.0 pts and 1.6 reb in 21 games last season, which included his first career double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds) against Hartford. Villanova is loaded on the perimeter once again but, if Dixon can showcase the talent that made him a two-time Pa. All-State Class 6A Player of the Year, it could be the difference between a deep run in March or an early exit.

Caleb Dorsey (Soph./Penn State)
A 6-7 wing out of the Hill School, though originally from Maryland, Dorsey only appeared in five games as a freshman, playing a total of 11 minutes and scoring six points on a pair of 3-pointers. The Nittany Lions lost a few players to transfer but still have depth on the wing, so it remains to be seen what Dorsey’s role looks like this year.\

Matt Faw (Gr./NJIT)
Faw spent his undergraduate years at Holy Cross, where he played in 109 games with 58 starts over the course of four years. The 6-9 stretch-forward out of Upper Merion increased his scoring and rebounding production each season, averaging 11.4 ppg and 5.4 rpg as a senior, while shooting 36.4% from 3-point range for his career thus far.

Mark Flagg (R-Sr./St. Francis Pa.)
The former Pennsbury standout enters his final season of collegiate basketball after putting together the most successful year of his career. The 6-9 forward avg. 8.0 points and 6.1 rebounds, which led the Red Flash. He posted 11 points against No. 15 Virginia, and then a pair of double-doubles in contests with Mount St. Mary’s and LIU. He should be St. Francis’ top post presence and force within the Northeast Conference.

Jack Forrest (Jr./Saint Joseph’s)
Granted immediate eligibility at SJU after a transfer in from Columbia, Forrest had an up-and-down first season in a Hawks uniform. Playing in 14 games (7 starts), Forrest scored 33 points over his first two games and 69 over a four-game stretch later in the season, but also had eight single-digit outings, averaging 10.4 pts and 3.3 reb on the season. The 6-5 Lower Merion grad, a 3-point specialist, hit 33.8% of his 3-pointers, a tick downward from his freshman year (35.2%).

Simeon Fryer (Sr./Texas A&M Corpus Christi)
It’s been a long road for Fryer, who sat out his senior of high school at Upper Dublin in 2015-16 following a near-transfer to Plymouth Whitemarsh, then eventually played a couple seasons at Beaver County JUCO before landing at Texas A&M Corpus Christi for his first year of D-I hoops last season. A 6-6 wing guard, Fryer started 18 out of 22 games for the Islanders, averaging 7.5 pts and 3.1 reb and topping out with a 29-point effort against Abilene Christian.

Andrew Funk (Sr./Bucknell)
A graduate of Archbishop Wood, Funk — whose older brother Tommy was a standout guard for Army for four years — is entering his fourth year at Bucknell, where he’s averaged 8.5 pts over the course of his career. Last year was his best from a raw scoring standpoint (12.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg), but surprisingly his worst from 3-point range (26.9%), something he did well at the high school level. Has started 44 of 45 games the last two years.

Jalen Gaffney (Jr./UConn)
A product of the powerhouse Westtown School program, Gaffney has played in 54 games in a UConn jersey the last couple years, with 15 starts, averaging just around 19 mpg in both seasons. The 6-3 point guard did increase his scoring a couple points to 6.1 ppg last year, making 41.0% overall and 36.2% from 3-point range. 

Collin Gillespie (Gr./Villanova)
Villanova’s most important player, Gillespie has started 87 games in a Wildcats uniform over the last four years (118 total games), but it was the few he missed at the end of the 2020-21 season due to a torn MCL that kept him coming back for one more. The 6-3 guard out of Archbishop Wood enters his final year of college hoops with 1,264 points to his name, having averaged 14.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg and 4.6 apg his senior year before he went down. Villanova’s counting on a monster year out of one of the area’s best.

Jordan Hall (Soph./Saint Joseph’s)
The 6-7 swingman started off his career as a Hawk in impressive fashion. Hall appeared in all 20 games for the Hawks, starting in 18 of them. He showed his capability to score the ball, averaging 16.8 pts in the final five games of the season, but it is Hall’s ability to distribute the rock that really stands out. Hall led all freshmen nationally in assists per game (5.7) and led his team and conference in total assists (113). Hall is a very versatile player, as he became the fifth Hawk in program history to record a triple-double (22 pts, 12 reb, 10 ast vs. La Salle 2/20/21). After nearly transferring to Texas A&M this offseason, St. Joe’s is more than happy to have Hall back in the fold.. 

John Harrar (Sr.+/Penn State)
One of the Nittany Lions' big men, Harrar is heading into his fifth and final year at Penn State. The 6-9 forward started in all 25 games for the Nittany Lions last season, averaging 24.8 mpg. The big man scored a career high in pts (219), led the team in reb per game (8.8) and led the team in fg pct (54.9). Harrar will be a starter once again for Penn State and will once again look to dominate down low in his final year in blue and white.   

Marlon Hargis (Sr./St. Francis (PA)
After two seasons at Holy Cross, Hargis will be heading into his second season with St. Francis (Pa.). Hargis joined the Red Flash midseason last year, appearing in 15 games. After gaining midseason eligibility, the 6-7 forward averaged 8.3 pts, 4.0 reb and shot 51.3% from the field in 19.7 mpg. Hargis started in four games last season and will have a good opportunity to get even more playing time as a senior this season.   

Zahree Harrison (Soph./St. Francis (PA)
From West Philadelphia (born and raised), the 6-0 guard is another member on this Philly alumni list playing for the Red Flash. In his freshman campaign, Harrison played in 16 games and started in three of them. He averaged 18.7 mpg but saw his minutes increase by the end of the season, averaging 37.5 minutes in the final two games of the season. Harrison tallied just 50 pts and 31 ast, but will have a good chance at increasing those numbers for the Red Flash heading into his second season.  

Hakim Hart (Jr./Maryland)
Heading into his junior season, the big 6-8 guard appeared in 31 games for the Terps last season. Getting to start in 19 of them, the combo guard averaged 7.1 pts, 3.5 reb and 1.9 ast in 25.5 mpg. Hart made his first collegiate start against St. Peter’s (Dec. 4) and scored a career high 32 points in that affair. In that game Hart shot 80% from the field, which was the most points for a Terp on that shooting percentage since Melo Trimble in 2017. In his third year, Hart will play to have yet another breakout season for the Terps. 

A.J. Hoggard (Soph./Michigan State)
Out of Coatesville, Pa., the 6-3 guard is heading into his second season with the Spartans. Hoggard played high school ball at Archbishop Carroll for two years, but then transferred to Huntington Prep for his junior and senior years. Hoggard played for the same prep school as former Spartman Miles Bridges. In 26 games played, Hoggard got the chance to start in eight of them, seeing about 13.2 minutes of action per game. Hoggard has the chance to be a solid two-way player for the Spartans this season, aiming to get increased minutes in his sophomore season.  

Tariq Ingraham (R-Soph./Wake Forest)
Ingraham played high school ball at Bonner-Prendergast, becoming a 1,000 point scorer while there. The Philadelphia product's career at Wake Forest has been off to a rocky start due to injury setbacks. Ingraham missed the entirety of his freshman season because of an Achilles injury he sustained in a preseason practice. Standing at 6-9, the forward was able to get back on the floor last season and made his debut against Delaware State (11/25), scoring a team high 19 points on 7-7 shooting. Ingraham would play just one more game after that, but would then sit out the remainder of the season due to medical reasons. If the redshirt-sophomore can stay healthy, expect him to make an immediate impact this season for Wake Forest.