City of Basketball Love

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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The Diane Mosco Classic takes place at Archbishop Wood on Saturday. The showcase event, held in honor of Vikings’ coach John Mosco’s late wife, has seen some terrific games over the years, like a 7OT thriller between Wood and Paul IV (Va.) in 2019. This year’s slate is loaded once again, with some of the best teams from Philly plus a few visitors from out-of-area making for what should be an excellent day of hoops.

Here is a preview of the event:

Downingtown West vs. Bishop Eustace (N.J.) (11:30 AM)

The day starts out with a PA-NJ match up. Downingtown West has been shorthanded this season with senior guard Dylan Blair (Army) missing time with a hip injury. A big night from senior guard Joey Suarez (26 points) helped them to a big win over Chester last weekend. Sophomore forward Donovan Fromhartz is also one of District 1’s top stock risers. New Jersey high schools don’t start play until this week so Saturday will be the first official contest for Bishop Eustace. Last season’s leading scorer Reggie Selden is now playing at Bonner, but senior guard James Ianelli averaged double figures a season ago and classmate Joey Callahan (29 threes in 2021-22) looked like another college-level talent when we saw him at the CoBL Interstate Shootout in September.

St. Joe’s Prep vs. St. John’s (D.C.) (1:15 PM)

The young Hawks get a tough match up with a St. John’s squad that’s nationally ranked. Junior Daquan Davis is a shifty 6-1 guard with Butler, Kansas State and Mississippi State among his most recent suitors and 6-1 senior guard Malik Mack is committed to Harvard. Junior 6-8 forward Donnie Freeman is considered a Top 30 prospect nationally and has a top five of Texas, Iowa, Maryland, LSU and Rutgers. It will be fun to see him matched up with St. Joe’s 6-9 junior big man Tristen Guillouette, who holds D1 offers from locals St. Joe’s and Drexel as well as a handful of others. St. John’s guards will be a good test for the Hawks sophomore-laden backcourt led by Olin Chamberlain and Jaron McKie before PCL play begins next month.

West Catholic vs. Reading (3:00 PM)

There’s a good chance this one could be the game of the day with two energetic coaches and teams’ known for their toughness. If the gym isn’t already buzzing, it will be after this one. Reading knocked off Cardinal O’Hara last weekend and has a history of taking on and taking down some of Philly’s finest, knocking off Imhotep, La Salle and Archbishop Wood during the regular season a year ago. Reading 6-2 senior guard Ruben Rodriguez can score in a hurry and senior 5-9 guard Myles Gray can fill it up and knock shots down from deep, going for 20 against O’Hara. West Catholic answers with arguably the top unsigned player in the city in senior point guard Adam ‘Budd’ Clark. Classmates Shemar Wilbanks-Acqui and MJ Branker are scholarship-level talents as well. The difference in this one should be Temple commit Zion Stanford, a powerfully built 6-5 wing who Reading might not have an answer for.

Archbishop Ryan vs. Radnor (4:45 PM)

Mark this as the most intriguing game on the schedule. Radnor seems like the top team in District 1 this season, while Ryan is one of the PCL favorites. Most would probably favor Ryan, led by high-major big man Thomas Sorber, who is not just one of the best big men but best overall players in the Catholic League. But Radnor, led by Princeton commit Jackson Hicke, has a deep group as well with 6-7 wing Jackson Gaffney added to the mix this season along with the return of 6-5 senior wing Charlie Thornton (a D-II offeree), senior guard Danny Rosenblum (Rochester) and Cooper Mueller (Princeton lacrosse). Ryan goes deep too with junior guard Darren Williams, another D-I prospect. Senior guard 6-foot guard Michael Pari and junior 6-6 wing Jaden Murray are a few others.

Father Judge vs. Central York (6:30 PM)

This one should be a fun one as well with some talent on both sides. Central York is paced by two tall, long D-I prospects. Junior wing 6-7 Greg Guidinger is a lethal shooter and scorer with locals Drexel and La Salle among the list of those in pursuit. Sophomore 6-8 forward Ben Rill was at Westtown last season but is back in his hometown, able to do a lot of different things on the floor and still growing his game, and look out for his classmate, lead guard Ben Natal. Senior guards Kyle Jones and Ernest Shelton set the pace for Judge. The Crusaders also have sophomore guards Kevair Kennedy and junior Laquan Byrd capable of going off and solid senior forward Anthony Lilley as an experienced presence down low.

Archbishop Wood vs. North Catholic (8:00 PM)

As always, the hosts get the nightcap, the Vikings welcoming a North Catholic squad from the other end of the state for what should be a high-paced, high-scoring affair. The Trojans are led by junior guard Max Hurray, a 6-1 combo guard who’s strong and physical and likes to get downhill; he scored 26 points against Devon Prep and had a few 40-point outings last year. They also have a pair of guards committed to D-III Roanoke (Va.), Max Rottmann and Andrew Maddallon, as well as an athletic 6-5 forward in football standout Brady O’Hara. Wood’s no stranger to playing uptempo, downhill basketball, with a quartet of guards — juniors Jalil Bethea and Josh Reed and sophomores Milan Dean Jr. and Deuce Maxey — who thrive in the open floor, with the high-major target Bethea also capable of putting up massive scoring numbers. Don’t be surprised if the winner needs 80+.