City of Basketball Love

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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(Ed. Note: This article is part of our 2022-23 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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As always, Philadelphia basketball is everywhere.

Year after year, more than 100 Philly-area ballplayers are spread around Division I rosters, from East Coast to West Coast, North to South, low-major to high-major and everywhere in between. Each fall, CoBL rounds up all of those local prospects to update you on how their careers are going and what’s expected of them in the year to come.

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 1 of our 2022-23 CoBL alumni roundup, featuring 20-some 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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2022-23 Alumni Roundup: Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Freshmen

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Chris Arcidiacono (Sr. | Villanova) 

Arcidiacono has yet to fully carve out a role in three full seasons with Villanova, but appeared in all 35 of the Wildcats’ contests last season, averaging just shy of 10 minutes. A few of the key guard pieces in Villanova’s 2022 Final Four run, including Justin Moore and Caleb Daniels, have returned for the 2022-23 season, so Arcidiacono will likely continue to provide similar bench minutes, but could see a slight increase in playing time as a senior following the departure of Collin Gillespie.

Griffin Barrouk (R-Fr. | Hofstra)
Barrouk redshirted during his freshman year at Hofstra following a major ankle injury at the end of his senior year at West Chester Rustin, and will have his first opportunity to earn playing time this season. Just two of the Pride’s rotation guards from a year ago return for this season, so there should be an opportunity for Barrouk to find minutes. The 2020-21 Ches-Mont League MVP averaged 19 points and 10 boards as a senior at Rustin. 

T.J. Berger (Soph. | Lafayette)
Berger has bounced around since finishing his career at Westtown, having started his career at Gerogetown before transferring to San Diego; he spent a year at each school. Now closer to home at Lafayette, Berger will look to find a significant role with the Leopards; he averaged 3.1 points and 1.5 rebounds a year ago in 15.6 mpg at San Diego. Berger, who holds the Westtown School single-season record for made three-pointers, has yet to see his shooting ability fully take hold at the college level, having shot 30 percent from deep last season.  

Allen Betrand (Sr. | Rider)
Betrand’s third collegiate stop should be his final one, as the Roman Catholic product has already played at Towson (2018-20) and Rhode Island (2020-22) thus far, though he missed last season at Rhody due to injury. Betrand’s best season thus far was his sophomore year at Towson, when he averaged 13.6 ppg and 2.7 rpg while shooting 44% overall and 38.7% from 3-point range; in his only season at Rhode Island, he averaged 4.7 ppg and 1.5 rpg in 18 games (nine starts). Assuming he’s healthy, he should immediately be one of the top guards in the MAAC, capable of putting up similar numbers to those at Towson.

Dahmir Bishop (Sr. | Florida Gulf Coast)
After a pretty productive 2019-20 campaign in his first year at St. Joe’s in which he averaged 7.7 points and 3.1 boards, Bishop’s playing time — and as a result, his numbers — diminished noticeably in 2021-22 prior to his transfer to Florida Gulf Coast. Now at his third school in four years after transferring from St. Joe’s this past offseason, Bishop — who originally started his career at Xavier after graduating from Imhotep Charter — should find himself a solid role for an FGCU program that won 22 games last year before coming up short in the Atlantic Sun semifinals. 

Tyrel Bladen (R-Sr. | Rider)
Now entering his fourth full season at Rider after redshirting in 2018-19, Bladen, a 6-foot-10 forward and Coatesville product, will look for a bounce-back year, having missed all of 2021-22 due to injury. Bladen’s injury came at quite the inconvient time; he appeared to be poised for a larger role last season — one he’ll be hoping to fill this year — after averaging a productive 5.2 points and 4.1 rebounds in 16.4 minutes during his redshirt sophomore campaign.  

Jhamir Brickus (Jr. | La Salle)
Also a Coatesville alum, Brickus heads into his third year at La Salle as a bonafide starter, having already logged 46 starts in his first two seasons. Brickus’ freshman and sophomore numbers are nearly identical — he averaged 8.8 points and 3.4 assists in 2020-21, followed by 8.9 points and 3.3 assists in 2021-22. The former Atlantic 10 all-rookie selection will likely be looked to build on his production this year, as two of the Explorers’ top scorers from a year ago are no longer with the program. 

Jon Bol Ajak (R-Jr. | Syracuse)
Originally touted as a three-star prospect upon his 2018 commitment to Syracuse, Ajak has struggled to find a major role within the Orange’s rotation. Since redshirting his first year, the Westtown School product has appeared in 22 games over two active seasons at Syracuse. Now with more experience under his belt and Syracuse lacking frontcourt depth, Ajak may have the chance to find more minutes this season, but he’ll have to contend with a slew of newcomers amongst the Orange’s six-deep freshman class.   

Mikeal Brown-Jones (Jr. | UNC-Greensboro)

After averaging about 10 minutes over his first two years of college ball at VCU — where he went for 4.0 and 2.6 rpg as a sophomore last season — the Philadelphia native and IMG Academy alum found a change of scenery this offseason in Greensboro. The Spartans have been a top contender in the Southern Conference for several years and have an experienced 2022-23 squad with six seniors and two graduate students. Two of UNCG’s top three scorers are no longer with the program, though, so there may be room for Brown-Jones to find his niche in the rotation.

Rasheed Browne (R-Sr. | North Texas)
Browne has risen through the college basketball ranks over the course of four years since graduating from Neumann-Goretti. Now at his fourth school — and second at the Divison I level after two years of JUCO ball — the 6-foot-2 guard enters his second year with North Texas looking to build off of a 2021-22 campaign in which he received just a handful of minutes over the course of 12 appearances. The Mean Green, which was a top Conference USA contender last season with a short bench — six consistent rotation players averaged at least 28 minutes — returns its top two guards from a year ago. 

John Camden (R-Fr. | Virginia Tech)
Camden, a former Top 100 recruit out of Brewster Academy and former Archbishop Carroll Patriot, will look to get some momentum building on his young college career this season at Virginia Tech. The talented 6-foot-8 forward originally committed to Memphis after his prep year at Brewster, but played in just one game — the Tigers’ season opener against Tennessee Tech. He now joins a Virginia Tech team that made a miracle March run to last year’s ACC Tournament championship title and an NCAA Tournament bid, and returns just one of its five starters. Those five started in every single game last season, so there’s plenty of open room in the Hokies’ rotation.

Alex Capitano (Jr. | Colgate)
The Episcopal Academy alum enters his third season with the Raiders, having taken part in a pair of NCAA Tournament squads during that time. That said, he watched 2021-22’s run to the postseason from the sidelines, having appeared in just one game before suffering a season-ending injury. Captaino logged 10 productive minutes in that game — a step up from the previous season’s 3.6 mpg — so the 6-foot-4 guard will likely be looking to re-enter the consistent rotation as a healthy junior. 

Andrew Carr (Jr. | Wake Forest)
Carr spent two productive years at Delaware — in his second, the 6-foot-10 West Chester East product averaged double-digit points and just over five rebounds as a consistent starter. Now, he’s a new face on a Demon Deacons’ team that fell just short of last year’s NCAA Tournament and lost the top two players that ultimately led it to an NIT quarterfinal berth. Of the six Wake Forest players who saw 15 mpg or more last year, just two return this season, so there’s plenty of room for Carr to carve himself a role as a new transfer at the ACC level. 

Jack Clark (Gr. | NC State)
After four years and three seasons — one having been lost to injury — at La Salle, Clark left his home state to compete at the power-five level with an NC State team that struggled last season. A 6-foot-8 Cheltenham grad, Clark brings consistent starting experience to the Wolfpack; he averaged double-digit ppoints in each of his last two season at La Salle, both of which saw him start the vast majority of the Explorers’ contests. NC State had an eight-deep rotation a year ago; five of those eight return in 2022-23.

Tyree Corbett (R-Sr. | Denver)
Before missing the last few weeks of the season — including Coppin State’s surprising run to the MEAC title game — the 6-foot-7 forward and Abraham Lincoln product was the Eagles’ second-high scorer with 13.6 mpg, started in 22 of his 23 appearances, and tacked on a team-leading 9.2 rpg. Corbett now arrives at Denver, transferring for the second time — he started his career at Alcorn State. The Pioneers went 11-21 and 7-11 in the Summit League a year ago.

Noah Collier (Jr. | William & Mary)
After two seasons at Pittsburgh, Collier — a Westtown School product — made the decision to transfer this offseason ahead of his junior year. Collier received minimal playing time at Pitt, averaging just 9.3 mpg over 44 appearances for the Panthers — during which time he averaged 1.5 points and 1.8 rebounds — so he’ll likely be looking to carve out a larger role with the Tribe. William & Mary struggled a year ago, going 5-27 overall.  

Matthue Cotton (Sr. | Yale)
Cotton, a 6-foot-5 guard, enters his fourth and final season at Yale this year, looking to build off of a junior campaign in which he finished among the top four in scoring on a Bulldogs team that won the Ivy League and earned a No. 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Eastern Regional (N.J.) alum started in just 13 games in 2021-22, but appeared in all 31, averaging 7.1 points and 3.6 rebounds in 22.5 minutes. Yale’s top two players in terms of points and minutes both graduated, so Cotton will likely be called upon to fill a larger role this season. 

Zach Crisler (Jr. | Fairfield)
Now heading into his third season with Fairfield after starting his college career at Rice, Crisler — a La Salle College grad — is fresh off a junior year in which he earned 14 starts and averaged 12.5 minutes, down from 21.0 minutes his sophomore year. Crisler was decently productive in limited playing time last season, contributing 3.5 ppg and 1.8 rpg. 

Ed Croswell (Gr. | Providence)
Croswell was one of many bench contributors to a Providence team that won the Big East regular season title and reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen as a No. 4 seed last season. The 6-foot-8 forward logged time in all 33 of the Friars’ contests, averaging a very efficient 5.3 points and 4.7 rebounds in just 14.8 minutes — nearly a double-double average when extrapolated over starter-level minutes. There’s a decent chance Croswell will see that kind of playing time this season, as both of Providence’s starting bigs from last season were in their final seasons. 

Da’Kquan Davis (Gr. | Albany)
Davis made a major leap this offseason, transferring from local Division III Arcadia to Albany for his final year of eligibility. A Roman Catholic alum, Davis was tabbed as a MAC Freedom first-teamer after leading the league at 23.1 ppg last season while tacking on 6.5 rpg. What kind of playing time he’ll garner at a brand-new school and level of play is yet to be seen, but it’s hard to imagine a player with four years of experience not earning at least some minutes. 

Rahsool Diggins (Soph. | UMass)
Originally touted as a four-star, top-75 recruit by 247Sports, Diggins saw the floor in limited stretches as a freshman at UConn last season. Now at UMass, the 6-foot-2 Archbishop Wood grad should have more room to find playing time; ranking second on the Vikings’ all-time scoring list, Diggins brings plenty of scoring ability to a UMass team that finished in the bottom half of the Atlantic 10 a year ago. Diggins won’t be the only Minuteman trying to find his footing at a new home; UMass features eight incoming transfers, all but one of which come from power conference schools.

Tre Dinkins (Soph. | Canisius)
A graduate of Cardinal O’Hara, where he was an all-Catholic selection by his senior year, Dinkins spent the last two years at Harcum College, where he transformed himself into a Division I recruit. Last year, the 6-2 guard averaged 15.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg and 2.7 apg for the Bears, earning third-team All-American honors amongst junior college players; he shot 45% from beyond the arc, with 81 3-pointers, as Harcum went 32-3. And because of the COVID year, he’s got three seasons to help Canisius build out of their 11-21 (7-13 MAAC) season from last year.