City of Basketball Love

Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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PRINCETON, N.J. — The Mid-Atlantic Independent School Shootout brought 28 teams to the Hun School this weekend for the second of two high school live periods, three days of hoops with Division I coaches able to join their small-college brethren to evaluate prospects for the second weekend in a row. After extensive coverage on Friday, CoBL returned on Saturday to put eyes on the local teams we didn't get a chance to check out.

Here’s some of the prep school prospects the CoBL staff caught up on Saturday:

Nzeh looking to find next life changing landing spot

As Kachi Nzeh looks to find the next stop on his basketball journey, it’s hard not to look back on the impact the most recent stop has had on him.

The 2023 George School forward came to the program as a former track star with just one year of organized basketball under his belt. The 6-8 forward will leave next spring as a high-major recruit.  

“Basketball here changed my life at George School,” Nzeh said.

“It amazes me where I am,” he added. “All this time, I look at the old footage of me playing my sophomore year at Upper Darby and I was awful. It’s a blessing where I am now in terms of basketball. Basketball can take you a lot of places, it sure has for me. It’s all about making things easy for my parents in terms of school, seeing what I can do to help them in the future.”

Nzeh was a track star in the 400-meter at Upper Darby as a 6-5 freshman. He didn’t play organized basketball until his sophomore season at Upper Darby when his mother pushed him into the sport after a growth spurt that also negatively impacted his performance on the track.

The early morning workouts and sometimes three sessions a day with George School coach Ben Luber have turned the former track star who could run and jump into someone now mulling offers from close to 20 Division I schools.

At the next level, he's looking for a program that can help him similarly grow his game.

“Just a school that’s going to help me develop,” Nzeh said. “I’m all about getting better. I want to be the best player I can be. I don’t really care about scoring or anything like that. I just want to go to a program that will let me be me and do what I have to do.”

Nzeh was re-offered by Seton Hall’s new coaching staff on June 20. He added an offer from Xavier on Saturday — one of the schools he said had recently been in touch. He mentioned Cal-Berkley and Virginia Tech were two other schools to recently enter the mix.

He received an offer from Saint Louis in late March and said they are one of the schools most in contact with him along with Iowa and Miami (Fl.).

Nzeh doesn’t have any visits scheduled and doesn’t plan to visit any campuses until at least after the July live periods. He will play for K-Low Elite on the Adidas Circuit.

“Right now, I’m just trying to play,” Nzeh said. “I’m not thinking about bringing it down to like a top five or anything like that. My coach is going to tell me when that’s right, and when it happens, it happens. … For now,  I’m open to everybody. I’m going to keep playing, doing my thing and see how it goes.”

When he does find his college home, what will they be getting?

“I’m just a complete player,” Nzeh said. “I try to do as much as I can, assist, score, put my team in a position to win.”

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Amadou hopes to have landing spot decided before season

Alasanne Amadou plans to figure out where he will play basketball next season at some point before he suits up for Springside Chestnut Hill Academy this winter.

There’s still plenty left to do, however, before that decision is made.

”Definitely right now I’m just seeing what I’ve got to explore,” said Amadou, a 6-9 2023 forward. “But my coaches said to keep an open mind until my summer’s over and then decide right before the season starts so I don’t have to think about it during the school year.”

Amadou noted he will start to narrow his list after playing for Philly Pride this summer. New schools are still reaching out, including Virginia, Virginia Tech and Xavier. Marquette, St. John’s and Iona are three schools he said have shown significant interest in him as well.

Marquette offered him last August and Miami offered last October, while St. John’s extended a scholarship offer in May. Marquette and Iona both had assistants at Hun on Saturday, and St. John’s head coach Mike Anderson and associate head coach TJ Cleveland were also in attendance. Marquette head coach Shaka Smart was at Hun last weekend.

Amadou mentioned he has a strong relationship with Miami assistant DJ Irving, the former Archbishop Carroll star and Roman Catholic coach, who coached Amadou with Philly Pride.

He visited Marquette’s campus last fall and is trying to schedule visits with St. John’s, Iona, Miami and Georgia Tech, who he picked up an offer from in April.

”I’m going to wait until the summer’s over to see what I’ve got, then I’ll narrow it down some,” Amadou said.

Amadou brings a lot to the table as lanky big, showing off the ability to play out on the wing and even knock down an outside shot against Germantown Academy.

He transferred to Springside Chestnut Hill Academy and reclassified in 2021 after his former high school Bishop McDevitt closed.

His time at SCHA has given him an opportunity to grow his game and as a person and it looks like plenty of those at the next level have taken notice.

”Definitely my confidence and how vocal I am,” Amadou said of what’s changed in the past two years. “I’m more poised. I’m patient, making my shots, making plays, offensive rebounds. I’ve always been doing that but I think I’ve been really dominant at that and defensive especially. My defense is definitely something that’s involved, guarding 1-5.”

”Me coming to Springside-Chestnut Hill taught me a huge skill, leading. It gave me a different mentality.”

Muhammad drawing more interest after switch to 2024

The Friends’ Schools League’s reigning scoring champ Muhsin Muhammad (2024 | Friends’ Central) will be terrorizing the league for not one but two more years.

Muhammad averaged 21.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game at Germantown Friends last season. There was some interest in him as a guard in the 2023 class, but he thought a move to 2024 would present him with more options at the college level.

So Muhammad, a 6-4 guard, will once again be in the Friends League next season, just exchanging his GFS uniform for a Friends’ Central one.

“Me and my family felt that I was ‘right there,’ on the cusp of getting some offers,” Muhammad said. “We said, ‘Let’s get another year still get a good education and play under a good coach.’”

Muhammad said college coaches who have reached out to him are excited about his move to 2024. Friends’ Central head coach Mike Cook said the coaches reaching out to him have said the same thing.

American, Navy, Princeton, Penn and Lafayette have all been in contact within the past two weeks. Penn and Princeton were in touch last summer as well. He took an unofficial visit to Navy.

“I definitely have more coaches talking now,” Muhammad said. “Recruiting-wise a lot of coaches have been talking to me and they said they’re happy to hear that I’m reclassifying and they get another year to see me. On the court basketball-wise, I’m definitely more in control and more of a complete basketball player than I was this time last year.”

Cook said he is trying to push the Ivy League schools onto his high academic guard. 

Muhammad will play for WeR1 on the Under Armour circuit this summer. He said he is a “swiss army knife” on the court.

“I bring a lot of things,” Muhammad said. “I’m very athletic, I defend, and I can shoot. I can handle. I just feel like I’m very multiple so I can play any position you want me to play, guard any player 1-5."

With two more high school seasons now ahead of him, he’s hoping more college coaches can begin to see that too.

“I’m just hoping to make a name for myself, become a better player and get some offers,” Muhammad said.

“I’m still playing hard, trying to get my first one.”

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— Bahsil Laster (2024 | Academy of the New Church) was one of several players at the Prep School shootout playing for a new team this weekend. The 6-6 forward averaged 8.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists as a junior for Archbishop Wood last year before deciding to reclassify and transfer to ANC.

“He brings a lot to the table, ball handling skills, he can shoot, and is a terrific passer,” ANC coach Kevin Givens said. “He can really see the floor. I’m excited about him, and I think we haven’t seen the best of him. He’s going into his junior year with us, and we’ve got two years to turn him into a pretty good basketball player.”

Laster received Division I offers from St. Peter’s last summer and Drexel in January but he noted interest from those schools has cooled significantly.

Marquette, Rhode Island and Pittsburgh all reached out to him after last weekend’s Prep Shootout at Blair Academy. Givens said Lafayette and Delaware have inquired about his new talented guard as well.

“I need to get my jump shot better,” Laster said. “I feel like I got a good game, but it’s not complete yet. I’ve got a lot to work on.”

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— Trey O’Neil (2024 | Hill School) has heard from 11 schools since the start of the live period June 15, including Army, Lafayette, Lehigh, Columbia, Penn, Brown, Longwood, Radford, Cornell, Delaware and Princeton.

O’Neil added to his offer list in April when Bucknell extended him a scholarship. He has a visit scheduled to Columbia on Monday and a visit to Bucknell scheduled a week or two after that. A number other schools are also interested in getting the 6-2 point guard on campus. 

“They know I can shoot it and I’m improving on defense for sure,” said O’Neil, who will play with Team Rio this summer. “That’s one of my main focuses. I’m trying to become a more versatile player. I think they’re seeing that and seeing my energy going up.”

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— Josh Cameron (2023 | Hill School) had a strong second half in Hill’s win over Springfield Commonwealth Academy (Ma.) on Saturday, knocking down a pair of clutch threes. 

Cameron received offers from Manhattan, Bryant and Fairfield during his sophomore season but hasn’t heard from those schools recently. 

Division I coaches are still keeping tabs on Cameron. Central Connecticut State recently reached out about the powerfully built 6-7 wing, though Cameron admits there’s work to do to reach his Division I goals.

Cameron is putting a lot of time and effort into sharpening his shooting stroke. He said he’s spent ‘countless hours’ working on form shooting with his dad and Hill coaches. The shot looked good on Saturday and Cameron also showed off some strong driving ability to the basket.

“I think one thing coach (Seth) Eilberg and I have been talking about is if I’m able to shoot the ball, as long as my body is in better condition and I’m able to run up and down the court that opens a lot doors for me for college and anything after that.”

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— Friends’ Central coach Mike Cook said plenty of Division II schools are interested in 2023 guard Collin Bowman and that some Division I schools have also inquired about the 6-2 lefty shooter going into his second season at FCS.

East Stroudsburg and West Chester are the Division II program’s Bowman has heard from so far. He said he has been in touch with Lafayette and Drexel, is “looking into” Florida Gulf Coast as well and is trying to set up an unofficial visit to Lafayette, but there’s nothing too serious yet.

Bowman transferred to FCS from Upper Merion last season to prepare himself for the next level and said the move has paid off thus far.

“It was way harder competition,” Bowman said. “I had to pick up defensively wise. I remember the first games coming out, I couldn’t even guard. The guards we’re playing against, so I had to pick up defensively. For me to go to the next level, it was great for me to go to the Friends’ League.”

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— Dante Weise (2023 | George School) is on several programs’ radars at the Division 1, 2 and 3 level. Weise is an unselfish 6-0 guard who can also knock down shots.

Division 2 programs East Stroudsburg and Seton Hill reached out to Weise after last weekend. He also has a visit to Division III Babson College scheduled for next weekend. Weise said Division I’s Mount St. Mary’s and Saint Francis (Pa,) have reached out to coach Ben Luber.

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— Dior Carter (2026 | Academy of New Church), Justin Bobb (2026 | Academy of New Church), Joesph Tererri (2026 | Hill School), Keni’ Williams (2025 | SCHA), Patrese Feamster (2026 | SCHA), Ellis Johnson (2025 | Germantown Academy), Bryce Presley (2026 | Germantown Academy) are some of the youngsters from the local prep schools who should be worth keeping an eye on this season and drum up recruiting interest down the line.