City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin) &
Zak Wolf (@ZakWolf_22)
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Between the men and women, there are more than 150 Division I ballplayers who hail from the greater Philadelphia region. While not all of them are stars for their respective teams, there are quite a few that are off to strong starts to the 2022-23 season, either putting up career-best numbers or continuing a run of play that goes back a year or more. 

Here’s a few highlights of some D-I standouts with local ties, who aren’t playing for City 6 teams: (All stats as of Dec. 20)

Mikeal Brown-Jones (Jr. | UNC Greensboro)
The Philadelphia native, who started his high school years as a dominant force at Girard College, has seen his career take him to IMG Academy (Fla.) and then Virginia Commonwealth, where he only averaged 3.2 ppg in 54 games across two years. Now a featured reserve for UNC Greensboro, he’s having by far his most productive minutes yet, averaging 10.5 ppg and 4.5 rpg, hitting .593 from the floor, with a career-best 20-point effort coming in a win over Elon earlier this month, one of seven double-figure outings for the versatile 6-8 wing forward.

Andrew Carr (Jr. | Wake Forest)
Carr’s had no trouble making the jump up to the high-major world, as the former Delaware forward is putting up similar numbers to last year in a starting role for the Demon Deacons: 10.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg and 1.3 apg while hitting 47.1% from the floor. The 6-10 stretch-big has started all 12 games for Wake, which is off to an 8-4 start, and he’s already come up a hero for his new program, hitting a fall-away jumper at the buzzer in a win over Appalachian State, capping off a season-high 20-point outing; he also had a 15-point, 14-rebound double-double against Utah Valley.

Noah Collier (Jr. | William & Mary)
Collier spent the last two years at Pitt, where he played in 44 games with two starts, though he only averaged 1.3 ppg and 1.6 rpg in 9.3 mpg. The 6-7 wing out of Westtown then transferred to William & Mary in the CAA, where he’s jumped right into a starting role, averaging 9.1 ppg and 8.2 rpg, making exactly half of his shots while taking nearly eight shots per game, having already taken twice as many shots in a W&M uniform in 12 games as he did in his entire Pitt career. His best game thus far has been a 14-point, 14-rebound outing against UMBC, with six offensive boards.

Tyree Corbett (Sr. | Denver)
Corbett’s playing for his third program in the last three years, going from Alcorn State to Coppin state and now a solid jump up into the Summit League with Denver, where he’s immediately slotted in as an efficient and productive part of their rotation, whether in a starting or reserve role. He’s not averaging as many points (10.4 ppg) as he did last year (13.0 ppg) but he’s taking about four fewer shots per game and shooting 51.9%, up from 46.8%, and his rebounds per game (8.8) has stayed steady. His best game was a 30-point, 12-rebound performance against The Citadel, where he shot 11-of-13 from the floor.

Ed Croswell (Sr. | Providence)
Croswell’s having a career year, his third at Providence, which took going from being a full-time starter at La Salle in 2019-20 (10.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg) and then going down to a deep reserve the following year (2.3 ppg). The St. Joe’s Prep grad kept working, averaging 5.3 ppg in a slightly larger role last year (14.8 mpg), and now he’s back to being a full-time starter, averaging 12.6 ppg and 6.8 rpg in 23.5 mpg, making 63.0% of his shots. Scoring in double figures in nine of Providence’s 12 games, he just had a season-high 21-point outing against Seton Hall in the league opener, adding nine rebounds (five offensive). Certainly a tale of resilience from the 6-8 forward.

Gabe Dorsey (Soph. | William & Mary)
The second area product to start off at a high-major program and then find much more success at William & Mary, Dorsey scored a total of 15 points in 22 games at Vanderbilt last season; the Hill School product has started every game for W&M, averaging 10.2 ppg and 3.2 rpg in 26.8 mpg. A big wing at 6-8, Dorsey has hit 42.7% of his shots, mostly as a 3-point specialist, where he’s 35-of-79 (44.3%) from deep, making multiple triples in all but one game and getting the vast majority of his product from beyond the arc, going 6-of-17 on 2-point attempts.

Andrew Funk (Gr. | Penn State)
The Archbishop Wood product turned himself into a bona-fide star in the Patriot League, averaging 17.6 ppg as a senior at Bucknell last year; the Nittany Lions didn’t need him to shoulder quite the same kind of load, but he’s proven himself plenty capable of producing at the high-major level. The 6-4 off-guard is hitting a career-best 40.6% from deep (28-of-69) and averaging 11.0 ppg while starting 10 games for the Nittany Lions (8-3), including a 20-point outing on 6-of-9 from deep in a big win over Illinois last week; he had 21 against Virginia Tech earlier this season.

Hakim Hart (Sr. | Maryland)
After three years of a limited role with Maryland, Hart is averaging double figures (12) for the first time in his career. The former Catholic League First-Teamer and Roman Catholic alum has been efficient throughout the season, shooting above 50 percent from the field (52.3). Hart is shooting a career best 39 percent from 3-point range on four attempts per game. Hart has been a key contributor for Maryland who started out the season 8-0 before losing three straight. Against Coppin State, the senior scored 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Terrapins. 

A.J Hoggard (Jr. | Michigan State)
In his third season under Tom Izzo, Hoggard has established himself as the starting point for the Spartans. Hoggard spent his first two years at Caroll before transferring to Huntington Prep (W.Va.) for the rest of high school, The point guard is averaging career bests across the board, upping his scoring average to 13 points per game, almost double his total from his sophomore campaign. The point guard scored a career high 23 points against Penn State on Dec. 7. Hoggard is third in the Big Ten in assists dishing out nearly six per game. The junior has shown improvement as a shooter and more of a willingness to shoot threes, attempting three triples per game. Hoggard has led Michigan State to a 7-4 start including wins over Kentucky and Villanova.

Seth Lundy (Sr. | Penn State)
The former Roman Catholic standout has provided consistent offense for the Nittany Lions this season, scoring double digits in 10 out of 11 games. Lundy has become a knockdown shooter hitting threes at a 44 percent clip on nearly five attempts per game. The senior is averaging less minutes (29.1) than last season (32.4), but his efficiency has improved. Lundy is shooting over 50 percent for the first time in his career (53.9%) after being under 40 percent in his first three seasons. Lundy’s best game came in a double OT loss against Clemson, recording a double-double (23 points and 12 rebounds).

Jameer Nelson Jr. (Sr. | Delaware)
Nelson clearly had found his spot at Delaware last year, averaging 13.6 ppg in what was then a career-best year for the former Haverford School standout. But that was only a table-setter for this year, when he’s become one of the best players in the CAA, averaging 19.5 ppg while shooting 46.6% from the floor, with 4.8 rpg and 3.3 apg, with a positive assist:turnover ratio for the first time in four seasons. He’s scored 30 points twice this season and double figures in every game for the Blue Hens (8-4), dishing out five assists four different times.

Yazid Powell (Jr. | Buffalo)
After a year at Beaver County and two seasons at Harcum, Powell’s brought his high-flying, high-scoring act to the Division I level, where he’s wasted no time putting together a highlight reel. The 6-4 guard from Philly, whose high school years brought him to a number of different programs, is averaging 12.7 ppg through 11 games for Buffalo, plus 4.0 rpg, 2.8 apg and 1.9 spg, making 43.1% overall though only 5-of-29 (17.2%) from 3-point range. So far, his high-water mark came in his season opener, a 24-point, six-assist, five-steal effort in a win over a very good Colgate squad.

Christian Ray (Sr. | Delaware)
After starting 42 games and playing in 84 overall during three years at La Salle, Ray brought plenty of experience down to Delaware, where he’s playing more than 33 mpg in a starting role for the Blue Hens. He’s putting up career-best numbers in multiple categories, including points (8.3 ppg), rebounds (10.2 rpg), field-goal percentage (.567) and assists (2.6), while his turnovers (0.9) are a career-low. The 6-6 wing forward out of the Haverford School has put up a few gaudy rebounding numbers, including two games with 15 and another with 14, with a 22-point outing at Princeton his high-water mark.

Sam Sessoms (Sr. | Coppin State)
With his third program in five years, Sessoms is having the best season of his college career. The point guard spent two seasons at Binghamton before transferring to Penn State for the next two. Now at Coppin State, Sessoms is a top five scorer in the country, averaging 23.7 points, while shooting 53.9% (career high). Sessoms also leads the Eagles with over 5 assists per game. The senior scored a season high 35 points against Loyola (Md.), shooting 15-22 from the field, including a step-back game-winner with one second left.

Donta Scott (Sr. | Maryland)
Scott is in the fourth year of a terrific career at Maryland, where he’s played in 105 games with 90 starts, and is putting up his best numbers yet, even though they’re only slight improvements over already-strong numbers from a year ago: 13.9 ppg and 6.5 rpg are both career-bests, and he’s shooting 45.3% overall and 32.7% from the 3-point arc, a major piece for a Maryland squad that’s on a three-game losing streak against great competition but is still in the top 25 on KenPom, a 31-spot climb from their initial ranking.

Isaiah Wong (Sr. | Miami) 
Wong had an eventful offseason, almost entering the portal and thinking about the 2022 NBA draft, before deciding to return to Miami. Ever since his time at Bonner, Wong has been known for his scoring. His senior year he led the Catholic League, averaging 27 points per game. As he’s done for the past two seasons, Wong has put the ball in the hoop for the Canes. Wong is Miami’s leading scorer, averaging 16.7 points, shooting 46% from the field, his best efficiency in four years. Wong has improved his playmaking, dishing out a team high 4.4 assists per game, including a 10 assist performance against St. Francis (Pa.). The senior exploded for a career-high 36 points against Cornell, going 11-17 from the field and 5-8 from three.