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CoBL-Area Men's Division I Alumni 2022-23 (Part 4)

11/03/2022, 2:45pm EDT
By CoBL Staff

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)

(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 4 of our 2022-23 CoBL alumni roundup, featuring 20-plus 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 3 | Freshmen

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Seth Pinkney (Jr. | Florida International University)


Arhcbishop Wood product Seth Pinkney is in his second season at FIU. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

A 7-1, 200-pound center who runs like a deer and protects the rim with length few other Division I centers can match, Pinkney seems headed into his third straight year as a starter, his second at FIU after beginning his college career with two years at Quinnipiac. He’s never been one to log a ton of minutes, averaging 23.2/game in 2020-21 at QU and 17.3/game last year, but he’s blocked 132 shots in his college career (1.6/game) and altered countless others; last season, he also averaged 4.0 ppg and 4.2 rpg. Physicality will always be an issue, but he makes his minutes count.

Yazid Powell (Jr. | Buffalo)
It has been quite a journey for Powell, who’s been connected to a bunch of mid-major programs over the last few years, though it was the commitment to Buffalo that stuck after two standout years at Harcum College. He previously had committed to Rider and Mississippi Valley State while in high school and a prep year at Olympus Prep, but ended up at Harcum, where he originally committed to NIU before that plan also fell through, leading him to finally find a spot at Buffalo. A 6-4 scoring guard, Powell gained notice when he matched Kobe Bryant’s output with an 81-point game his freshman year at Community College of Beaver County, then averaged 13.5 ppg and 5.4 apg as a sophomore at Harcum.

Nisine ‘Wooga’ Poplar (Soph. | Miami)
One of the cooler stories in the city over the last decade, Poplar went from not playing organized basketball as a high school freshman to a spot on an ACC roster within a couple years, proving in his first season at Miami that he belonged at the highest levels of college hoops. The uber-athletic 6-5 wing guard played in 34 games as a freshman, averaging 2.3 ppg and 1.4 rpg in 8.6 mpg, topping out with a 12-point outing against Florida Atlantic in November. If he steps into the starting lineup, it could be an all-Philly backcourt with Poplar and Bonner grad Isaiah Wong, who we’ll get to later on in this roundup.

Allen Powell (Sr. | Rider)
Powell is certainly a success story — one you should expect to see on CoBL before too long — as the former La Salle College HS guard was a late-bloomer as a Division I prospect. He’s gotten better and better each year, putting up career-best numbers as a junior: 12.1 ppg and 2.5 apg, making 36.7% of his shots and 36.0% from 3-point range. An equally strong senior year would give him 1,000 points in his college career, and considering his progression, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him as a first-team All-MAAC selection come March.

Marcus Randolph (Soph. | Richmond)
One of four Division I players to come out of Wood’s 2021 class, Randolph is one of two who are staying put after their freshman years. It wasn’t much of an on-court year to speak of, as Randolph scored just five points in nine games, playing a total of 28 minutes. But the 6-5 left-hander is a terrific scorer, and we’ve seen enough of him at the high school level to know he’s capable of bringing that skill to the A-10, especially with the Spiders having to replace their No. 2-5 scorers from a year ago.

Christian Ray (Sr. | Delaware)
Though he was never one of La Salle’s statistical leaders, the 6-6 Haverford School product was seen as one of the Explorers’ leaders all three of his years there, no one ever questioning his work ethic or attitude. Following Ashley Howard’s firing after four years, Ray transferred down to the defending CAA champs, where he’ll slot into a major role right away with two years of eligibility remaining. As a junior at La Salle, Ray averaged 5.0 ppg (2.5 less than the year before) but set new career bests in rebounds (6.9.game), assists (1.6/game) and minutes (28/game), playing in 29 games with 18 starts.

JJ Riggins (R-Jr. | Quinnipiac)
One of two Imhotep Charter products on the Quinnipiac roster, Riggins is entering his fourth collegiate season, though thanks to a redshirt and the COVID year, he still has three seasons left to play including this one. His sophomore year numbers were similar to his freshman ones: 3.6 ppg and 2.2 rpg in 11 mpg, seeing action in 29 contests. The thing the 6-6, 245-pound wing forward hasn’t shown much of yet in his college years has been his 3-point shot, a reliable weapon of his when he was wearing a Panthers uniform; he’s only taken 11 and made one thus far.

Donta Scott (Sr.. | Maryland)


Imhotep product Donta Scott has 79 starts in three seasons at Maryland. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Hard to believe it’s the senior year already for this Imhotep Charter product, who does have another year of eligibility beyond this one if he chooses to use it. The 6-8, 230-pound combo forward has played in 94 games (79 starts) in three years, averaging north of 30mpg the last two, with a stat line of 12.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg and 1.2 apg as a junior. The biggest issue from sophomore to junior year was the drop off in his 3-point shooting from 43.8% (49-112) to 29.1% (39-134); if he can become more efficient from outside yet again, he could be in for the huge year the Terps need him to have.

Sam Sessoms (Sr. | Coppin State)
Sessoms has had quite the interesting college career. First, the 6-foot-tall Shipley School product scored more than 1,100 points in two seasons at Binghamton, including 19.4 ppg his sophomore year. He then spent two years at Penn State playing under two different head coaches, averaging 8.2 ppg as a junior and 11.6 ppg in a major role as a senior, making a career-best 42% from downtown. But he wanted to end his college years on his terms, and so he’s using his fifth seasons and doing a grad year at Coppin State, where he should instantly be one of the favorites for MEAC Player of the Year and has eyes on getting the Eagles back to March Madness for the first time since 2008. 

Daeshon Shepherd (Soph. | La Salle)
The start of Shepherd’s college career was slowed due to a summer injury, and though he recovered in time to play 19 games as a freshman with the Explorers, he averaged 2.1 ppg and only scored four points in his last six outings. Now it’ll be interesting to see how he adjusts to a new head coach in Fran Dunphy and a new system; it would seem likely he’ll have the opportunity to play a much larger role this year, with so many unknowns on the La Salle roster.

Ray Somerville (R-Soph. | Delaware State)

A late-blooming big man, Somerville came on strong in his last year or two at Shipley, and picked Cal-Bakersfield out of a dozen Division I offers, but wasn’t able to make much of an on-court impact out west. In three years, including a redshirt freshman season, Somerville only played in 15 total games, scoring 20 points in 91 minutes of D-I action thus far. Now he’s closer to home at Delaware State, one of a number of local players brought onto the Hornets’ roster, and he’s got the size, talent, athleticism and mobility to be a real problem in the MEAC.

Jaylen Stinson (Soph. | Merrimack)
A 6-2 point guard out of Archbishop Wood, Stinson started his college career at James Madison, where he only played in four games for second-year head coach Mark Byington before leaving in the offseason and transferring to play for Joe Gallo at Merrimack, which is in its first year of full Division I eligibility after transferring up from D-II. Merrimack’s got an opening at the point guard position thanks to graduation, so there’s a spot to be won.

Elijah Taylor (Jr. | Quinnipiac)
A 2020 graduate of Imhotep Charter, Taylor’s only gotten a limited chance to show what he can do on the college floor, redshirting his freshman season due to injury and then only playing a total of 11 minutes over three games last year at Notre Dame. Now he’s at Quinnipiac with three years left to play (despite the “junior” designation), and the 6-8, 240-pound left-hander should find himself a much more productive role in the MAAC than he had in the ACC. He’s also not the only Imhotep grad, as he’s reunited with former three-year teammate Jamil ‘JJ’ Riggins on the Bobcats’ roster.

Myles Thompson (Gr. | St. Francis Pa.)
Thompson has been rock-steady for the Red Flash for the last three seasons, averaging 10-11 ppg, a handful of rebounds and an assortment of other stats over the course of his last 73 games, all but four of which have been starts. The versatile 6-6 wing/forward out of Camden did improve his overall field-goal percentage from 36.8% as a junior to 43.6% in his first senior year, as he hit a career-best 40.9% (27-66) from 3-point range, up from 24.6% (17-69) the year before.

Christian Tomasco (R-Fr. | Hofstra)
A 6-9 forward from South Jersey, Tomasco redshirted his past season, and enters this fall with four years to play. As a senior at Archbishop Ryan, Tomasco averaged 12.7 ppg and 7.5 rpg, making 61.4% of his shots, with a mid-range jumper his bread-and-butter. He should vie for minutes at the ‘4’ and ‘5 ‘ this year, but the Pride graduate two posts after this season.

Kieves ‘Deuce’ Turner (Soph. | San Diego)


Malvern Prep product Deuce Turner is back at the D1 level with San Diego. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

The former high-scoring guard at Malvern Prep has traversed the country, going from a freshman year at Bucknell to time at South Plains (Tex.) JUCO and now at San Diego, where he’s got three years of eligibility remaining. The 6-2 guard, who finished his time at Malvern Prep with 2,452 points, hit the 50-point mark in a game at South Plains last year and San Diego is hoping he can come right in and show that scoring touch at the D-I level once more after averaging 8.3 ppg in 11 games at Bucknell. 

Lance Ware (Jr. | Kentucky)
It seems like there are two primary paths to success at Kentucky: the one-and-done route, and the raw-but-intriguing players who stick around for four years and develop. There was a time when Ware, a 6-9 forward from Camden, looked like he’d be the former, and while his college years haven’t gone quite as well as expected thus far, credit certainly belongs to him for sticking it out and becoming at minimum a veteran presence on a national championship contender. A defensive specialist, Ware played in 28 games last year (6.3 mpg), averaging 1.5 ppg and 1.3 rpg — he only took two shots over the final month of the season, despite playing 36 minutes in that time.

Jalen Warley (Soph. | Florida State)
Westtown’s produced some high-level prospects in the last few years, including current NBAers like Mo Bamba and Cameron Reddish, and Warley’s got a chance to join them by the time it’s all said and done. The 6-5 Mt. Airy native is a talented point guard with great size (6-6, 200) and a smooth two-way game, and he should see a much-expanded role with the Seminoles in his second collegiate season. As a freshman, Warley averaged 3.7 ppg and 1.9 rpg as one of only three players to see action in all 31 games (5 starts), with a season-best game of 15 points and seven rebounds at Duke in February.

Zaakir Williamson (R-Fr. | Buffalo)
Williamson spent his first college year at Buffalo on the sidelines, recovering from a right arm | shoulder injury (the exact injury wasn’t disclosed, but he had his arm in a sling), so now it’s time for the 6-7, 255-pound forward to show what he can do on the court. The Philly native began his high school career at West Catholic and then went to Maryland for a couple years before returning home to finish his HS career at Neumann-Goretti, averaging 15 points and five rebounds per game as a senior. Nimble with great hands, Williamson is a mismatch problem who should be able to play his style of game in the MAAC.

Isaiah Wong (Jr. | Miami Fl.)
This was certainly an interesting offseason for Wong, who at one point looked like he might leave Miami over NIL money, but ultimately decided to return to Coral Gables for his fourth season under Jim Larranaga. Wong had a breakout sophomore campaign in 2020-21 (17.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg) and then followed it up with just about as strong a junior season; his scoring average dropped (15.3 ppg) but his shooting percentage rose from 43% to 45% (even as his 3-point shooting dropped from 34% to 30%). Wong’s already got 1,268 points, 22nd in Miami history, and should end up in the top five if he equals his junior year numbers.

Ta’Quan Woodley (Soph. | UMass)
A bouncy, physical 6-8 forward out of Camden (N.J.), Woodley spent last season at South Carolina, where he averaged 2.0 ppg and 3.0 rpg in 26 games, playing about a dozen minutes per contest. He’s now one of a few new faces with local ties at UMass (following head coach Frank Martin to the Minutemen following his firing at USC), where he should immediately be one of the more punishing ‘4’ men in the Atlantic 10 with his ability to play above and defend the rim as well as clean the glass. Don’t be surprised if his numbers take a nice jump upwards.

Jeff Woodward (Jr. | Colgate)
Woodward has been a solid part of a two-man duo at the ‘5’ spot for the last two seasons with Keegan Records, and the pair of 6-foot-10 centers are back for one more year for Colgate as a problematic 1-2 punch up front. Woodward’s scoring number actually dipped from freshman (8.0 ppg) to sophomore (6.4) year, though he still played right around 16 mpg, though he only played Patriot League opponents as a freshman and saw a full 35-game schedule as a sophomore. In the Patriot League tournament, he scored in double figures in every game and grabbed 20 rebounds over three contests as the Raiders defended their league crown.

Sean Yoder (Sr. | Navy)
Yoder’s had an interesting career at Navy, going from a 15 mpg sub as a freshman (2.9 ppg) to seeing his playing time drop as a sophomore, but then he bounced back into the starting lineup as a junior, where he averaged 5.3 ppg and 3.2 rpg in 21 minutes. An academic senior with two years of eligibility remaining thanks to COVID, the 6-3 guard out of Pennridge hit double figures four times last year, setting his season mark in the opener as he went for 15 points and six rebounds at Virginia as the Midshipmen pulled off a shocking upset over their ACC foe. With the team’s top two scorers graduated, there’s an opportunity for Yoder to step up.

Cameron Young (Jr. | Saint Peter’s)
An athletic 6-7 swingman out of Neumann-Goretti, Young spent his first two years at Bowling Green, where he played an average of 10 minutes over 47 games, averaging 2.7 ppg and 1.7 rpg while making 40% of his shots, getting to double figures a few times each year. Now he’ll play for new Saint Peter’s coach Bashir Mason, the former Drexel great taking over from Shaheen Holloway after SPU’s magical Elite 8 run this March. Young should have an opportunity to play a much larger role on this squad that’s full of unknowns heading into the season.


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