skip navigation

Philly Live I: Day Three Recruiting Notebook (Pt. 2) (June 19, 2022)

06/20/2022, 10:00am EDT
By CoBL Staff

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
––

The first weekend of Philly Live 2022 continued on Saturday with action taking place on four courts at Jefferson University and three at St. Joe’s Prep. 

The CoBL staff was on hand all day long checking out a mix of some of the area’s local talent as well as some teams from the Mid-Atlantic and beyond who came to town to show off their stuff in front of dozens upon dozens of college coaches, from Division I through Division III and more. 

Here’s Part 2 of a notebook full of recruiting updates from Saturday and Sunday’s action at Jefferson University:

~~~

Jackson Hicke (Radnor | 2023)
In Radnor’s early morning victory over St. Elizabeth (Del.) on Saturday, Hicke was the best player on the floor from start to finish, scoring 37 points grabbing nine rebounds and dishing out five assists. At 6’5, with a unique ability to handle the ball for his size and top tier vision, Hicke demonstrated why he is going to be one of the top players in Pennsylvania this upcoming season, after last year he was named second team all-state for 5A.


Radnor's Jackson Hicke shoots a free throw. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

With his long and lanky frame, Hicke is able to finish over defenders in the lane and is active on the offensive glass, getting a few putback layups in the game. While he shows the ability to score the ball at a high-level, Hicke’s overall feel for the game and ability to play at his own pace is what stood out most on Saturday.

Hicke’s recruitment is an interesting one at the moment as he is hearing from Division I, II, and III. His lone two offers are at the Division II level right now, from West Chester and Pitt-Johnstown.

“I have been in contact with a lot of high-academic Division III schools,” Hicke said. “I have talked to Johns Hopkins, UChicago, and Tufts at the Division III level. Patriot and Ivy League schools have been in touch as well. I have been talking to Cornell and Colgate mainly at that level.”

Hicke, a fantastic student with a 4.2 GPA and 1480 SAT, also added that in the spring he visited both Princeton and Cornell, but doesn’t have any more visits planned as of now. After talking to schools and receiving feedback from some coaching staffs, Hicke is working on his athleticism and body to get ready for the next level. 

“They have been telling me they want to see my lateral quickness improve,” he said. “because at that level I am going to be a guard and will have to match up against really quick players.” — Ryan Coyle

~~~

Williams, Neumann-Goretti teammates generating plenty of buzz

Neumann-Goretti 2024 wing Amir Williams received an offer from Albany at the start of the live period to begin his week. He ended the week with a bang, showcasing his full range of talents in loss to Camden on Sunday.

Williams is a terrific athlete and showcased that with two alley oop finishes against Camden and even more so on the defensive end, where he was proud of his effort.

“That game probably (helped me),” Williams said of the Camden game. “I was locked in the whole game. I played hard the whole time.”

Williams previously received offers from Wichita State and Binghamton in the fall before Albany’s offer this week. He said other schools to recently contact him include St. Peter’s, Penn, La Salle, Drexel and Hofstra.

He’s certainly an intriguing prospect who will have more teams reaching out. His defense and intensity are two attributes he believes will attract more programs.

Williams has plenty more to offer. He knocked down a pair of threes against Camden and flashed his range throughout N-G’s three games on Saturday and Sunday. 

As for where he’s trying to add to his game this summer …

“My handles and probably my strength,” Williams said.

Williams obviously isn’t the only Saints player involved in the recruiting process. 2023 forward Sultan Adewale announced an offer from Arizona State earlier this week. 2024 guard Khaafiq Myers’ recruitment seems to be heating up and classmate/backcourt mate Robert Wright III received offers from Bryant and Temple within the past 10 days, adding to a growing list that already included Maryland, Kansas State and Penn State within the last month and a half.

“It’s real fun. It’s a family and we’re all brothers over here, so we just play hard and play together,” Wright said.

“We talk to each other about it (recruiting), but right now it’s a little early for a lot of us, so we’re just seeing what we got. Keep our options open.”

Within the last nine months, Wright also has Division I offers from Syracuse, Wake Forest, Miami (Fl.), Wichita State, VCU, Delaware State, Seton Hall and La Salle.

He had a strong showing on Sunday, totaling 15 points, four assists, four rebounds and three steals against Camden.

“It was a great matchup. I loved the environment," Wright said. "We could have done better, but we’ll be back better.” — Owen McCue

~~~

More CoBL recruiting coverage


Camden's Cian Medley, left, goes up for a shot as Neumann-Goretti's Amir Williams defends. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

Medley, Mom excited about St. Joe’s offer

Cian Medley (2023 | Camden) wasn’t sure who was more excited when he received an offer from coach Billy Lange and St. Joseph’s at the start of the live period earlier this week — he or his mom.

“It was a school close to home and it was very exciting,” the Camden 2023 guard said. “My mom actually wanted me to get the offer, so it was very exciting.”

Medley said he also holds offers from Fairfield, Manhattan, UC-Santa Barbara, Robert Morris, Siena, Albany, St. Peter’s, Drexel among others. He announced offers from Florida Gulf Coast and Radford back in April.

Other schools to reach out to Medley include Appalachian State, George Washington and La Salle.

Medley’s never been to St. Joe’s. In fact, the scholarship offer came in his first full conversation with Lange. 

He hopes to change that in the near future.

“I’m planning to go to St. Joe’s soon, I think this upcoming week,” Medley said.

Medley has some familiarity with the Hawks’ program. Former Camden teammate Rasheer Fleming is part of the Hawks’ 2022 freshman class. 

He also said he is close with former Roman Catholic guard Lynn Greer, who transferred to SJU in January.

“There’s a connection,” Medley said.

~~~

Quick Hits

Jadin Collins (2023 | Rutgers Prep, N.J.)’s offensive game has already landed him on several college coaches’ radar, evidenced by his six offers, including Lehigh, Marist, Drexel, La Salle, Saint Peters and Rider. The 6-1 guard’s game is predicated on him finishing around the rim, and against Centerville (Ohio) on Saturday, he did just that en route to 23 points in a 52-50 loss. Collins is spending the summer with Rio University on the Under Armour circuit, working on his perimeter jump shot to become a more effective three-level scorer.

“I wanted to get my range up because once I get that consistently, it’ll be hard to stop me going to the basket and shooting,” Collins said. 

The rising Argonauts senior isn’t leaning in any direction regarding where he wants to play at the next level, but he says wherever he plays in college, he wants to be able to play through his mistakes.  “I’m looking for a coach that’ll coach me but at the same time let me play freely,” he said. “Let me play through my mistakes, and at the same time tell me what I did wrong but let me play my game.”

— After picking up his first Division I offer this spring, Adam ‘Budd’ Clark (2023 | West Catholic) is still trying to prove that he deserves to be a D-I player. The 5-10, 150-pound West Catholic guard knows he isn’t the most physically imposing player on the floor, so he’s got to bring it every time out. Which is why he appreciated what Lafayette coach Mike Jordan said to him when they offered in May.

“He said he honesty didn’t care about me being a small guard — if you can play, you can play,” Clark said after dropping an efficient 17 points on nine shots in a 30-point win over Don Bosco Prep on Sunday. “It made me feel good.”

Clark said he’s been hearing lately from Rider, Robert Morris and UNC-Asheville in addition to Lafayette, which continues to stay in contact regularly. He hopes to make his college decision before his high school season, but said that’ll depend on what he’s got at the end of the July live periods, where he will play for Philly Pride.

— After a strong junior season that saw Radnor advance to the PIAA District 1 5A title game and win a game in the state tournament, Charlie Thornton (Radnor | 2023) is attracting attention from high academic Division III programs. The 6-4 forward, who will most likely be more of a guard at the next level is a long, wiry athlete who is still filling into his body and improving his skills. He is an active defender and showed the ability to go up and dunk the ball on a backdoor cut in the halfcourt. He has solid shot mechanics and an arc to his jumpshot and with more repetitions it is likely to improve. 

Thornton mentioned that he has taken a visit to Division III Gettysburg and has heard from other Division III schools such as Randolph Macon (Va.), Wesleyan (Conn.), Colby (Maine), and “a few other NESCAC schools.”


PW's Jaden Colzie heard from Lafayette, Columbia and Princeton last week. (Photo: Owen McCue/CoBL)

Jaden Colzie (2024 | Plymouth-Whitemarsh) earned his second Division I scholarship offer during the 2021 Philly Live event. He’s hoping to garner similar college interest during this June’s live periods.

Colzie holds an offer from North Texas he received at the beginning of his freshman year and the St. Bonaventure offer from last summer. He said that Lafayette, Columbia and Princeton reached out to him on June 15.

“They said they love my ‘point guard-esque’. They love how I control the game and also how I can shoot it at a high clip,” Colzie said of what the interested parties liked about his game.”

Colzie had one of the biggest offensive performances of the weekend in a loss to Father Judge on Sunday. The 5-11 guard scored 30 points, knocking down four threes and going 10-for-11 from the foul line in the monster outing.

“It was just like last year when we played Father Judge,” Colzie said. “It was the same high intensity, same high scoring. Those are the games that you live for. I love those type of games. High energy, high intensity, those are my favorite type of games.”

— Colzie’s high school teammate Jahseir Sayles (2024 | Plymouth-Whitemarsh) is still looking for his first scholarship offer. The 6-foot-5 wing sat out last high school season after transferring from Bonner-Prendergast and appeared to fit right in with the Colonials on Sunday, chipping in with seven points.

He’s got some size and length that helps him out on both ends of the floor and looks fluid with the ball in his hands. He had a few really nice offensive possessions on Sunday, knocking down a contested jumper to highlight his performance.

Sayles joined the Philly Pride UAA 16U team in April and plans to return in July, where he hopes to build some recruiting momentum after a lost high school season.

“I was new so I only played one tournament, two tournaments, still finding my role,” Sayles said.


D-I Coverage:

HS Coverage:

Small-College News:

Tag(s): Home  Recruiting  High School  Neumann-Goretti  West Catholic  Radnor  Plymouth Whitemarsh  Camden