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Post + Pivot Reindeer Games Preview (Dec. 18)

12/15/2022, 1:45pm EST
By Josh Verlin

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)

It’s showcase season in the high school world, with a number of great events taking place in the area (as well as across the country) over the next few weeks. While the Diane Mosco Classic is on Saturday, the Post & Pivot Reindeer Games, sponsored by Quick Abstract, are taking place at Cristo Rey on Sunday, with six quality matchups bringing together talent from across Pennsylvania and a couple from Maryland as well.

Here’s a look at all six games:

Haverford School vs. Cristo Rey (11 AM)

The only matchup of two local teams is the first one, where host Cristo Rey welcomes an intriguing Haverford School squad in a matchup of two young teams with a good bit of talent that are figuring it all out on the fly. The Fords start a senior, junior, sophomore, freshman and eighth grader, and most of them are getting their first major varsity minutes — but there’s talent there, to be sure, like 6-7 senior Luke Rasmussen, who’s grown seven inches in the last two years, and 6-7 freshman Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Butts. Cristo Rey is led by the program’s first-ever Division I signee, Josh Wyche (Lafayette), while sophomore wing Devin Booker is a high-level athlete, and juniors Amari Dow, Josh Patterson and Lamar Lovett are all back.

West Philly vs. North Catholic (12:45 PM)

It’s two games in two days for North Catholic, which makes the trip across Pennsylvania to first place Archbishop Wood on Saturday night at the Mosco event before the quick turnaround to an early-afternoon game against West Philly. The Trojans are a guard-heavy group that likes to play an uptempo, dribble-drive offense, led by junior guard Max Hurray, who had multiple 40-point outings as a junior; senior guard Matt Ellery is a knockdown shooter, seniors Max Rottmann and Andrew Maddallon are both committed to D-III Roanoke (Va.), while 6-5 sophomore Brady O’Hara gives them some athleticism in the post. West Philly made a surprise run to the state quarterfinals last year but has a lot to replace, especially after senior Nasir Washington transferred to Penn Wood in November. Still, they’ve been off to a good start, beating Chester in the opener and Simon Gratz/Constitution in their first two Public League ‘A’ Division games. Names to know include senior guard Elijah Hester, senior Jonathan Fields, and freshman Kabir Washington.

SCH Academy vs. Pharos Academy (2:30 PM)


Alassane 'Al' Amadou (above) is committed to Marquette. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

One of the favorites in the Inter-Ac, SCH Academy has a multifaceted attack of which 6-9 Marquette-bound forward Alassane Amadou is the difference-maker, though he’s not typically their leading scorer. Senior wing Jaren Morton, junior guard Camden Burns, and even freshman guard Patrese Feamster can all go for 20+, and sophomore point guard Keni’ Williams is emerging as another on-ball force. They’ll go up against a Pharos Academy squad from New York, featuring senior guard Alan Garcia, who has interest from a variety of D-I and D-II programs, plus 6-7 Jabi Alberto, who also has scholarship-level schools involved; this is Pharos Academy’s first year in the powerful New England Prep School Athletic Council (NEPSAC). 

Devon Prep vs. First Love Christian (4:15 PM)

The defending PIAA Class 3A state champs, Devon Prep’s strength is on the wings, with Army commit Jacen Holloway and fellow senior Lucas Orchard are a pair of sharpshooting, versatile guards who rebound at a high rate and play hard on both ends; point guard Ty Mishock is a three-year starter as a junior, Those three will do a lot of the work while sophomore wing forward Zane Conlon is 6-5 and has shown flashes of being next up at a program that’s still fairly new to high-level hardcourt success. They’ll have their hands full with First Love’s high school squad (it also has a prep team), which features 6-8 Long Island forward Will Sydnor up front, plus junior point guard Preston Edmead and senior Tariq Francis, all of whom have Division I offers. 

Archbishop Carroll vs. Bishop McNamara (Md.) (6:00 PM)


Jake West (above) and Carroll face a big test in Bishop McNamara (Md.) (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

This is going to be a high-level test for a fairly young Carroll squad, as McNamara is loaded and big. In last weekend’s National Hoopfest at DeMatha, the Mustangs were led by junior Martin Somerville, sophomore Jaren Curtis, and freshman Prince-Alexander Moody, but are a different team with the presence of returning All-WCAC seniors Jaden Johnson and Jeremiah Quigley (the latter of whom is signed to Fairleigh Dickinson), who both have been sidelined with injuries. Carroll’s led by a combo of sophomore guard Jake West, senior guard Dean Coleman-Newsome and senior wing Blake Deegan, though freshman point guard Ian Williams has been impressive as a day-one starter.

West Catholic vs. Mt. Zion Prep (Md.) (7:45 PM)

This is Mt. Zion’s high school team, not their prep team, so there’s no Malachi Palmer, James Moore, etc. But that doesn’t mean this is a group to sleep on — they don’t have a true post, but they’re long and athletic on the perimeter. They’re usually led by senior wing Fallou Koite (6-6), but also look out for junior Lynn King III (6-8) and sophomores Bobby Montgomery (6-7) and Francis Folefac (6-7), each of whom have shown flashes of some real talent. And point guard Logan Suber, a 6-1 junior, has D-I offers as well. West Catholic doesn’t have quite that length but they’re wing-oriented too, led by 6-5 Temple commit Zion Stanford and promising 6-6 sophomore Isaac Cole, with 6-4 senior MJ Branker out there as well. Their engine has been 5-11 senior guard Adam ‘Budd’ Clark, who could flirt with some triple-doubles this season.


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