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 3 of our 2022-23 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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2022-23 Alumni Roundup: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 4 | Freshmen

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Aaron Lemon-Warren (Fr. | Delaware State)
Delaware State’s second-year coach Stan Waterman has brought on quite a few faces that’ll be familiar to those who’ve paid attention to local high school basketball fans, including this product of the Catholic League. While at Archbishop Ryan, the 6-4 Lemon-Warren was one of the top scorers in the league, a three-level threat who was also a terrific rebounder and glue guy, averaging 18.8 ppg and 8.3 rpg as a senior; he then spent a prep year at Mt. Zion Prep (Md.), and wound up at Delaware State. Though he’s certainly something of a ‘tweener,’ there’s no denying his production, and if he brings that to the D-I level, the Hornets could have a steal.

Arion Lewis (Jr. | Delaware State)
Speaking of locals at Delaware State, Lewis comes back to the region after spending the last two years at Laramie Community College (Wyoming) and one at Cochise College (Arizona); he averaged 14 ppg and shot 43% from 3-point range at Laramie, plus 4.3 apg and 3.3 rpg this year, leading Waterman to give him a shot at DSU; he topped out with a 28-point, 10-rebound, 13-assist triple-double against Fort Carson Prep. The 6-3 Valley Forge Military Academy product was a productive-yet-inefficient scorer in the Bicentennial, but if he’s settled down around a higher talent level, he could be a big asset in the MEAC. 

Zach Lezanic (Jr. | Army)

The military academies have some of the deepest rosters in the country, their use of their prep academies and lack of tuition allowing them to carry upwards of 20 players, which can make it difficult to break into the rotation as an underclassman. Lezanic, a 6-1 point guard out of Conestoga and the Hill School, went from playing a single minute his freshman year at West Point to seeing some action in 11 contests a year ago, including his first 10 collegiate points. With 25 players on the varsity roster this year, and lots of experience returning, competition for minutes will once again be fierce, and it’s unclear how much (if at all) Lezanic’s role will increase.

Ny’Mire Little (Soph. | Albany)
Little played in 22 games off the bench for Albany as a freshman, averaging 2.5 ppg, his 3-point shooting (3-of-36, .083) hurting his overall production when he was able to get some court time, and he didn’t reach double digits once. But the 6-4 guard out of the Westtown School, who improved by leaps and bounds his last couple years of high school, still has a high ceiling, and the entire Albany program was new last year; don’t be surprised if he takes a significant step forward this winter.

Dom London (Sr. | Maryland Eastern Shore)
London’s final year of college hoops comes after two standout seasons at Harcum College, where he was one of the top scorers in JUCO basketball, and then a season at Florida Gulf Coast in which he took some lumps, followed by last year at Maryland-Eastern Shore, where he seemed to find the right fit. The 6-1 guard from Octorara, deep in Chester County, averaged 10.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg and 2.0 apg for the Hawks last season, shooting 41.3% overall and 34.3% from deep, starting 19 out of the 21 games he played.

Jordan Longino (Soph. | Villanova)
Longino wasn’t needed to play a huge role his first season on Lancaster Ave., averaging 1.8 ppg and 0.8 rpg in 26 games for the Final Four squad. But thanks to graduation and injuries, Longino’s going to see a significant step up this year,  and all indications are that he’s ready. A talented 6-5 wing guard out of Germantown Academy, Longino has terrific size, length and shot-making ability from the perimeter, and he fits right into the mold of Villanova’s run of wing/guards who have gotten better and better over the course of their careers, from Josh Hart to Mikal Bridges to Jermaine Samuels and more.

Seth Lundy (Sr. | Penn State)
A Swiss Army Knife wing during his years at Roman Catholic, Lundy has become exactly that for Penn State, the versatile 6-6 guard getting better and better each of his three years with the Nittany Lions; he’s got two years left if he wants to use them. As a junior, Lundy set new career bests in starts (30), plus minutes (32.4), points (11.9), rebounds (4.9) and steals (1.0) per game, as well as field-goal percentage (39.5%) and free-throw percentage (86.7%). He’ll be once again counted on to be one of the Nittany Lions’ most consistent and productive players.

Naheem McLeod (R-Jr. | Florida State)
The former Plymouth Whitemarsh big man is one of the tallest players in college hoops, a 7-4, 255-pound post, and he’s starting to really figure out how to use that to his advantage in the ACC. He’s a good example of sticking to it, after originally committing to FSU in 2019 though he was not eligible, forcing him to go to junior college — and sitting out the entire 2019-20 season — before getting back to his original destination two years later, where he’s still going to end up being able to play four years thanks to the COVID season. Last year, he played in 18 games with five starts, averaging 4.5 ppg and 2.1 rpg in 11.1 minutes, and seems primed for a larger role this time around.

Will McNair (R-Jr. | Mississippi State)

McNair is (presumably) finishing up his college career at Mississippi State after three years at New Mexico State, the Martin Luther King product having found himself quite a ways from home during his collegiate years. The 6-11, 285-pound center had his best season at NMSU last year, starting 27 out of 34 games and averaging 6.6 points and 4.9 rebounds in 22.9 minutes per outing. Most importantly, he got some NCAA Tournament experience, starting both games and playing a total of 57 minutes in March Madness.

Hysier Miller (Soph. | Temple)
Miller came along quietly over the course of his high school career at Martin Luther King and then Neumann-Goretti, erupting during a monster senior year at N-G to prove he belonged at Temple. His college career started off slowly, as he averaged 2.9 ppg over his first 17 collegiate games. But thrust into a starting role due to injuries late in the year, the 6-1 guard known as “Fabb” (pronounced “FABE”) averaged 10.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg and 3.0 apg over the closing six games, hitting 45.8% of his 3-point shots. Now either a starter or sixth man, those numbers will be expected to be the norm for the Philly native.

Gediminas Mokseckas (Jr. | Campbell)
Mokseckas had a solid debut season at Campbell two years back, starting 11 of 23 games and averaging 4.8 ppg while making 54% of his shots. His minutes were cut in half last year and he only averaged 1.5 ppg in 19 appearances, but he’s back for a junior year on a team that’s going to have to replace two of its top three leading scorers from last season. If he stays at Campbell for his senior season, Mokseckas will likely make his return to Philly, as Campbell will make the move over the CAA.

Lucas Monroe (Sr. | Penn)
In his three seasons at Penn, Monroe has become one of the leaders of the Quakers, keeping the program together during the missed COVID season and now serving as a second-year team captain. The 6-6 wing guard out of Abington has played in 55 games with 13 starts in his Penn career, and while he’s never been a significant scorer — he averaged 4.8 ppg and 4.5 rpg a year ago — the Penn staff says stats show he’s their best wing defender. If his 3-point shooting (31.8% career) comes around, he could really put it all together.

Clifton Moore (Gr. | Providence)
Moore wasn’t ready to be a high-major player out of Hatboro-Horsham, the 6-10 forward too easily drifting to the perimeter, playing only spare minutes in two seasons at Indiana before heading to La Salle. But he bought into being a big man in North Philly, putting together a strong senior season at 12.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg and 2.8 bpg, occasionally stretching the floor but playing much tougher around the rim than he ever had before. Now he’s finishing up his career in the Big East, and this time, he should be quite ready.

Rahmir Moore (Jr. | Wagner)
A native of Philadelphia (and the younger brother of former Temple star Ramone Moore) though he went to high school in Canada, Moore is a 6-3 combo guard who will now be eligible for Wagner after sitting out last season. Previously at St. Joe’s, Moore averaged 6.0 ppg in two years, playing a fairly significant role for most of his 50 games (20 starts), though he wasn’t quite an A-10 level guard. He’ll still bring a good mix of experience and playmaking | scoring ability to the NEC.

Justyn Mutts (Gr. | Virginia Tech)
Mutts has had an interesting collegiate path, starting off at High Point as a freshman in 2017-18, then transferring to Delaware, where he averaged 12.2 ppg and 8.4 rpg as a redshirt sophomore in 2019-20. He then graduated in just three years and did a grad transfer to Virginia Tech, with whom he’ll close out his collegiate years, a couple Master’s degrees later. A bouncy, versatile 6-7 wing forward out of St. Augustine Prep (N.J.), Mutts has averaged 9.9 ppg and 7.0 rpg in two years for teh Hokies, starting 57 out of the 58 games he’s appeared in.

Jameer Nelson Jr. (R-Jr. | Delaware)

It certainly seems like Nelson has found his spot, after a terrific junior year at Delaware, helping lead the Blue Hens to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014. The 6-1 Haverford School product and son of the former St. Joe’s standout/longtime NBA guard put up career-best numbers with 13.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg and 2.2 apg, shooting 44.6% overall and 36.4% (56-of-154) from 3-point range, a significant step forward from the 25.0% he hit in two years at George Washington. He’s got two years of eligibility left, and the Blue Hens should yet again be in the mix at the top of the CAA.

Dean Noll (Gr. | Stony Brook)
Noll made impressive strides in each of his three years at Cornell, going from a barely-used freshman guard to averaging 6.4 ppg and 2.4 rpg as a sophomore, then returning after the COVID season to average 10.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg and 2.7 apg in starting 14 of Cornell’s 26 games a year ago. He elected to use his final season of eligibility at Stony Brook after graduating from Cornell (Ivy schools do not permit redshirt seasons), but Tweeted that an injury will cost him the 2022-23 season; the 6-2 guard from Shawnee (N.J.) did say he plans to return for 2023-24 to finish out his master’s degree and his college career.

Jacob O’Connell (Sr. | Princeton)
A 6-11 center out of St. Joseph’s Prep, O’Connell has yet to make a significant on-court impact, playing a total of 57 minutes spread over 20 games in his first two seasons (not counting the missed COVID year), scoring a total of 16 points. He will have one year of eligibility remaining after this season, if he elects to use it. 

Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson (Gr. | Rider)
Ogemuno-Johnson, who went by Ajiri Johnson when he was starring at Bonner-Prendergast, has had a positive career path in his four years at Rider. After playing in 55 games almost entirely as a reserve as a freshman and sophomore, averaging around 2.6 ppg, he’s spent the last two as a full-time starter, improving his production to 7.7 ppg and 5.1 rpg as a junior and 8.6 ppg and 7.0 rpg a year ago. He’s been a steady presence for the Broncs, with four double-doubles and 14 other games with at least seven points and seven boards.

Sam Onu (R-Fr. | Florida Gulf Coast)
A native of Nigeria, Onu arrived in the US for high school, going to the Phelps School in Malvern, where he ultimated was adopted by the family of former Archbishop Carroll wing John Camden. The two were teammates last year at Memphis but both have headed their own ways; Camden to Virginia Tech and Onu to FGCU, where the 6-11, 270-pound post should immediately be an impact player in the Atlantic Sun. After not seeing a minute of action a year ago, however, Onu’s still an unknown at the D-I level.