City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Saleem Payne thought he knew what it meant to play fast.

The 5-foot-10 point guard’s quickness was his primary weapon as an underclassman at Cheltenham, when he was a ball-dominant scoring guard for one of the top programs in District 1. But post-pandemic, with just one year left in high school and so much uncertainty in the world of high school and collegiate basketball, Payne decided he was better off going to prep school and joining the class of 2023. 

It was at the Phelps School that he learned from John Harmatuk that playing fast is about so much more than just being quick with the ball in your hands. 

“It was the hardest thing I had to learn,” he said. “I feel like me and Tuk used to argue because I always needed the ball in my hands.”

What Payne didn’t understand was the difference between being fast and playing fast, that the ball can always travel faster than the player, and that the player without the ball is faster than the ball with it. To really play a transition game, the way Harmatuk wanted it, meant getting the ball out of Payne’s hands and up the court — or, if someone else grabbed the rebound, for him to book it to the other end.

“Ironically, he didn’t want to play fast,” Harmatuk said. “He wanted to have the ball in his hands and handle it and do those kinds of things. It’s funny, [because] he’s fast [...] the ball needs to be fast, not just him, you know what I’m saying?

“If Saleem can’t get all the way to the rim, then it’s a ball screen, then it’s a hand-off, then it’s three or four dribble moves, and that slows our offense down.”

Payne’s figuring it out, finding that balance of taking advantage of his ball skills and scoring ability — and being fast without the ball — to help Phelps School get within two wins of a state title. He was excellent on Monday afternoon as Phelps took down Academy New Church, 86-67, in a Pennsylvania Independent School Athletic Association (PAISAA) quarterfinal, showing exactly how important he’s become in his two years with the Lions.

In working his way to a 20-point, four-assist outing, Payne shot 7-of-11 from the floor and 2-of-5 from 3-point range, plus 4-of-5 from the foul line. His 3-pointers were both of the catch-and-shoot variety, his other buckets on a combo of acrobatic layups and his signature mid-range pull-up, a shot he’s loved since early in his freshman days, whether he’s moving left-to-right or right-to-left.

“They’re [good shots] for him,” Harmatuk said. “I hate ‘em — you know I want layups, free-throws and 3-pointers, but I’ve always said this, if you’re going to make it, you can shoot it, and he (makes) it at a high clip.”

Phelps’ attack got stronger and stronger as the game went on, the Lions wearing down ANC (also the Lions), who were left with only a five-man rotation after Dior Carter suffered an injury in the first half. 

Almost the entire rotation had significant contributions. Sophomore guard Will Riley, a lanky 6-5 combo guard, finished with 28 points and four assists of his own; his classmate, shooting guard Gavin Doty, added 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Senior guard Malcolm Wrisby-Jefferson, a Brown commit, added 11 rebounds and seven assists, plus three points, two steals and two blocks, with his future head coach Mike Martin in attendance. Sophomore forward Justin Houser had nine points, seven rebounds and four blocks, and post-grad guard IV Pettit added nine points on three second-half triples.

It’s a group that’s got a ton of talent in the top eight, but 20 assists on 32 buckets shows they’re playing together, moving the ball. The eye test is all you need to know they’re playing fast, the ball flying all over the court, the 30-second shot clock rarely a problem.

“That’s the hardest part about being the coach here [...] is all the egos and [managing] the sharing of the ball and all those kinds of things,” Harmatuk said. “(Saleem will) be the first to tell you, we still fight about it all the time, but I think he’s embraced it and bought into it. He’s the difference with how we’re playing right now.

“We had a great start to the year, we had a horrible middle, and his leadership is what’s fixed it. [...] On both ends of the floor, offensively and defensively, he’s been fantastic.”

A college decision is coming soon, and Payne seems likely to be playing in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) next fall. He named three Division II programs as being involved in his recruitment: West Chester and East Stroudsburg, two PSAC schools, plus Augusta (Ga.). WCU head coach Damien Blair and assistant Ben Kay were both at Monday’s game, and Payne did call West Chester the “favorite” with a decision coming soon.

“I feel like if I can go in there and show I can play, they’d trust me,” he said. “I like the facility, I like the school, I like the players, players are cool. I like the coaches, they’re showing me a lot of love, they’re showing me the most love. I go where the love is.”

Academy New Church, which finished as the runner-up to George School in the Friends’ Schools League tournament, got 24 points and 10 rebounds from junior guard Bahsil Laster, plus 15 points and 10 rebounds from senior Jarell Keel, 14 points from junior guard Nolan Waldon, and nine points, seven rebounds and six assists from senior guard Deywilk Tavarez.

Phelps will play either George School or Malvern Prep — who play Tuesday afternoon — in Friday’s semifinals, the championships just two days later at St. Joe’s Hagan Arena against either Perkiomen School or Hill School.

The Phelps program hasn’t been in a PAISAA championship since beating Westtown for the state title back in 2015 on a team led by future Penn State standing Mike Watkins. They lost in the semifinals to Malvern Prep in 2020, and last year, as the No. 3 seed, lost to the sixth-seeded Hill School in the quarterfinals.

“We won the league at Cheltenham, [but the] league was a piece of cake,” Payne said. “If I win a state ‘chip now, here, against two tough teams, that’s a great look, great look. I can’t wait, that’s the only thing on my mind.”

By Quarter
Phelps: 18  |  17  |  21  |  30  ||  86
ANC:    18  |  10  |  20  |  19  ||  67

Shooting
Phelps: 32-65 FG (9-29 3PT), 13-16 FT
ANC: 26-63 FG (4-16 3PT), 11-16 FT

Scoring
Phelps: Will Riley 28, Saleem Payne 20, Gavin Doty 15, Justin Houser 9, IV Pettit 9, Malcolm Wrisby-Jefferson 3, Charlie Bell 2

ANC: Bahsil Laster 24, Jarell Keel 15, Nolan Waldon 14, Deywilk Tavarez 9, Dior Carter 5