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Pete + Jameer Nelson PBP Classic: Day Two Standouts (Dec. 30, 2022)

12/31/2022, 12:30pm EST

By CoBL Staff

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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The second day of the Pete + Jameer Nelson Play by Play Classic brought six games to Widener University on Friday, with 12 teams from the area (including one from N.J.) playing over the course of the day and well into the evening. It was a day full of terrific games and a ton of future college talent, and an atmosphere to match.

Here are links to the game coverage, and our staff’s picks for standouts:

Bonner-Prendergast 62, Malvern Prep 57
St. Joseph’s Prep 73, Friends’ Central 61
Garnet Valley 65, Coatesville 63 (2OT)
West Chester East 67, Plymouth Whitemarsh 54
Lower Merion 75, Chester 60
Rutgers Prep (N.J.) 69, Neumann-Goretti 55

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Qudire Bennett (2023 | Plymouth Whitemarsh)
Bennett has become one of the best scorers in all of District 1, and he showed why and how in a 22-point effort against West Chester East. The solid-bodied 6-3 wing guard took a quarter to get going, missing all three of his shots in the first quarter, but recovered to go 9-of-18 overall and 2-of-7 from 3-point range, hitting a few mid-range jumpers and a couple layups as well. He also added eight rebounds, including three on the offensive end, plus an assist and a steal.

Sam Brown (2023 | Lower Merion)
The Sam Brown of a couple years ago wouldn’t have gone 1-of-6 from 3-point range and still made any standouts list. But even though the Aces’ point guard and Penn commit wasn’t his usual self from deep against Chester, he was so impressive in all other aspects, he gets a writeup anyways. Brown finished with 12 points, all in the second half, plus five rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block, which might have been his most impressive play, a chase-down pin on the fast break. His one triple was a fall-away catch-and-shoot type off an inbounds pass in the corner, and though Chester threw the kitchen sink at him, they couldn’t get Brown off his handle and the focus on his off-ball movement led to open opportunities for others.

K.J. Cochran (above) led West Chester East to a win over Plymouth Whitemarsh on Friday. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

K.J. Cochran (2025 | West Chester East)
From Cochran’s first bucket — a one-handed pull-up runner from about 15 feet — it was clear that the 6-3 sophomore guard was feeling good, and he backed that up with a 25-point, eight-rebound, two-steal performance in the win over Plymouth Whitemarsh. Cochran is a smooth operator, whether that was pulling up for a 3-pointer or in the mid-range, or with a couple reverse layups, or even just bringing the ball upcourt, then coming around a screen to lay it up and in. He did show he can finish through contact, as well, muscling his way through defenders on multiple occasions; he finished the game 10-of-14 from the floor (1-3 3PT, 4-9 FT).

Jadin Collins (2023 | Rutgers Prep, N.J.)
In a lopsided loss to Cardinal O’Hara earlier this week at Widener, the Marist commit was a non-factor in the first half, going scoreless in the first 16 minutes. He made sure he left his imprint on Friday’s upset win over Neumann-Goretti early, piling up nine first-quarter points and carried that assertiveness on both ends throughout as he finished with 26 points, four assists, six rebounds and four steals. Collins constantly had the Saints’ defense on its heels both in the half court and in transition, constantly attacking the baskets. He was a playmaker as well, whipping the ball all over the court and showing off terrific vision, including an assist on a no-look pass behind his head.

Jordan Ellerbee (2025 | St. Joe’s Prep)
Coming off the bench for the Hawks, Ellerbee wasted no time making his mark on the game. He scored 12 of SJP’s 25 points in the second period all within the flow of the offense. He got two feet in the paint for easy buckets and hit stand-still 3s during that stretch. He also created for his team with four assists. Ellerbee’s activity all over the floor and 16 total points gave the Hawks the momentum to build up a 28-point lead before taking their feet off the gas.

John Kelly (2024 | Rutgers Prep)
With Sultan Adewale missing from the Neumann-Goretti lineup, the 6-7 Kelly was a difference maker in Friday’s matchup. Kelly scored 15 points and grabbed eight boards. He blocked a pair of shots on the defensive and was aggressive on the glass, hauling in five offensive rebounds, and also took a charge as his energy and effort gave Rutgers Prep an edge. Kelly showed off some range with a back-breaking three in the second half and concluded his outing with a thunderous two-handed slam on the break.

Deuce Ketner (2024 | Bonner-Prendergast)
Ketner was the beneficiary of great ball-movement and unselfish play by the Friars, being in the dunker spot for quality looks at the basket. He made a three as well and got out in transition for a few more buckets as he finished with 15 points. Ketner’s biggest impact came from splash plays on defense. At 6-6, the forward erased three of Malvern’s shots in the paint, a couple coming from the weak-side. Such a large contribution coming from one who wasn’t the focal point of Bonner’s attack on either end makes it that much more significant.

Nelson Lamizana (above) was one of four Bonner-Prendergast juniors in double-figures yesterday. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Nelson Lamizana (2024 | Bonner-Prendergast)
Lamizana played well off Ketner, his teammate and classmate, crashing the weak-side glass to great effect with six offensive boards, getting a few buckets that contributed to his 15 points of the put-back variety. A lanky 6-7 wing forward who mostly plays face-up rather than in post-up situations, Lamizana hit a couple pull-up jumpers in the mid-range and was also 5-of-7 from the foul line, missing his only 3-point attempt.

Jeremiah Marshall (2023 | Coatesville)
As Garnet Valley tried to put Coatesville away in the fourth quarter, Marshall kept his team alive. He aggressively pulled down eight rebounds in total to close out defensive possessions. On offense, he threatened CV’s defense with paint touches and drew fouls (7-of-8 FT) by relentlessly slashing to the rim. The senior guard’s effort ultimately wasn’t enough, but he did contribute 15 points and 3 assists to go along with the boards.

Khaafiq Myers (2023 | Neumann-Goretti)
Though the Saints ultimately ran out of steam, Myers and his backcourt mate Rob Wright did their best to try and carry N-G to win. Myers finished with 20 points and four assists and had the highlight play of the game when he turned an ankle-breaking crossover into an assist to Wright for three. Myers attacked the baskets, earning eight free throws and converting a pair of and-ones. His ability to break down a defense with his dribble is an elite skill and he also showed off some creativity scoring the ball with a floater, fadeaway and a handful of other offensive weapons once he got into the lane.

Logan McKee (2023 | Garnet Valley)
McKee brings an interesting mix of versatility to the floor for Garnet Valley; the 6-5 wing forward has a strong body and isn’t easily moved off his spot, and he’s been improving his skills over the last year. He was useful inside against Coatesville, giving the Jaguars a much-needed post presence with 12 rebounds (two offensive) to go along with 14 points, making one of his three 3-point attempts but mostly scoring around the rim, with a trio of free-throws in overtime. McKee wants to bring his game out to be a ‘3’ but right now he’s still most useful as a ‘4’ at the high school level.

John Mobley (above) had 14 points, six rebounds and six assists in LM's win over Chester. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

John Mobley (2024 | Lower Merion)
Mobley’s come out of nowhere to become a real weapon for Lower Merion, the 6-2 wing the most athletic member of the Aces, putting that to use against Chester. Mobley skies for offensive boards, attacking the ball at the top of its arc, grabbing four o-boards out of six total; he also scored 14 points, including a pair of three-point plays, finishing around the rim through contact on multiple occasions. In the open court, Mobley can run the fast break with his head up and made several great passes, accumulating six assists on the evening. If he can develop a 3-point shot, he could really break out.

Andrew Phillips (2023 | Malvern Prep)
Phillips fought tooth-and-nail to keep Malvern in the game versus Bonner-Prendie. He didn’t do anything fancy; he just played harder than everyone else on the court. His physical drives to the cup neutralized any runs BP tried to go on. Phillips’s tough shots and putbacks gave his team a spark when their offense stalled. The unsigned senior led all scorers with a whopping 26 points on 12-of-18 shooting (2-5 3PT), with seven rebounds (four offensive), three assists, a steal and a block.

Jose Ramos (2023 | West Chester East)
Cochran gets a lot of the headlines for East, and Jack Kushner has been a four-year varsity starter, but Ramos is another big reason the Vikings are off to a hot start this season. The 5-11 left-handed point guard has a nice stop-and-pop jumper in the midrange, and picks his spots to attack the bucket well, often with the defense spread out when he can use the threat of a kick-out to open up the lane; he was 5-of-8 from the floor against PW, though it was his passing — six assists — plus three rebounds and two steals that made him really stand out, Ramos finding shooters and cutters equally well.

Kevin Rucker Jr (2024 | Bonner-Prendie)
Rucker Jr. led the charge for the Friars in their win over Malvern Prep with his playmaking off-the-dribble. When his man went under ball screens, the 6-5 guard made them pay with the 3-ball, highlighted by two pullups. He also made excellent reads and threw some beautiful passes when he drew an extra defense while attacking the basket. Rucker finished with 17 points, three threes, 4-6 FT, 5 rebounds, and four assists.

Jake Sniras (above) had 33 points and a game-winner, the most of any player on Friday. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Jake Sniras (2025 | Garnet Valley)
In GV’s thrilling double-overtime nail-biter against Coatesville, it was the 6-4 sophomore who carried them to victory, including the game-winning 3-pointer in 2OT. He grabbed six rebounds (2 offensive, 4 defense) and had four steals. But it was the shot-making that made the difference for the Jaguars. Sniras started off with layups on cuts to the basket. Then, in the second half, he went on a run creating for himself. Even when contested, his pull up jumpers from the mid-range were impossible for the Red Raiders to stop. He added a couple triples as well. Sniras scored a hefty 33 points as GV gutted out the win.

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