City of Basketball Love

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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It’s been mostly chalk in the Philadelphia Public League Boys Playoff bracket so far with three of the top four seeds advancing to the semifinals. Imhotep, West Philadelphia and Constitution took care of business, while Dobbins, which was a No. 2 seed in its bracket, joined the party as an underdog. The boys semifinals take place at Temple University’s Liacouras Center on Tuesday with the first game at 4 PM and the second game at 6 PM. The winners will advance to Saturday's championship back at the Liacouras Center.

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West Philadelphia vs. Constitution, 4 PM

These two have played some tight games in the Public League playoffs the last few years, West Philadelphia getting the better of Constitution in the first round in 2020 and then in the quarterfinals — by just a point — last year as West Philly was building up momentum towards its PIAA Class 4A quarterfinal run, one which has them feeling super-confident this year. Constitution, coming off a run of its own to the PIAA Class 2A championship, has had plenty of long postseason stays under head coach Rob Moore, who always has his teams playing well this time of year.

Speedboys coach Adrian Burke has a few leftovers from last year’s group in senior guards Elijah Hester and John Fields, plus senior wing Jabrill Jackson and senior forward Jalen Williams. But the real difference-maker is sophomore wing Makel Butts, a 6-7 left-hander with a terrific ceiling, lanky and skilled, with a good touch from beyond the arc and ability to finish at the rim with authority. West Philadelphia lost to Imhotep in the league semifinals a year ago, and you can bet they’d love a rematch in the title game this year. 

Constitution booked its trip to the semifinals with a 43-41 win over Frankford. Junior 6-4 point guard Kyree Latimer (15.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg) is a dangerous threat, a good scorer at all three levels. He heads three double-figure scorers for the Generals, which also includes senior 6-3 guard Tymir Brown-Smalls (13.5 ppg, 8.3 rpg) and junior 6-5 wing Amir Speights (11.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg), who is the team’s top outside shooter. Senior guard Aamir Murray, sophomore guard Talasi Henderson and junior guard Kory Jones round out the rest of the perimeter-oriented group. The Generals won their matchup back on Dec. 13, 61-56.

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Imhotep Charter vs. Dobbins Tech, 6 PM
These two teams played a quarterfinal doubleheader at Imhotep last Thursday so they’ve had a chance to put eyes on each other despite not matching up during the regular season. Nationally ranked Imhotep, the defending Public League champions, continue to be the tournament favorites after a 79-17 win over Samuel Fels in the Panthers’ quarterfinal that Dobbins had a chance to catch some of. Imhotep senior 6-7 small forward Justin Edwards (Kentucky) is the top 2023 player in the country, according to some recruiting rankings. He was dunking everything against Fels. Classmate Rahmir Barno (Florida Gulf Coast) and junior Ahmad Nowell, who recently eclipsed the 1,000-point milestone, are the team’s other stars in the backcourt. Senior Yahmir Satterfield is a knockdown shooter and junior forward Makye Taylor is a potential D1 talent to round out the starting five. The talent keeps coming off the bench with the likes of freshman guard RJ Smith, junior forward Jeremiah White and senior wing Baasil Saunders.

Dobbins is in unfamiliar territory after losing by 50 in its only Public League playoff game last season. The Mustangs (24-1) avenged that defeat with their 56-50 quarterfinal victory over MCS. Senior 6-4 forward Kareem Diaz (21.4 ppg) and 6-foot senior Gabriel Galloway (10.8 rpg) will have to play large against a towering Panthers’ front line. Junior 6-3 guard Zach Campbell (17.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg) is the team’s other top scoring threat and another who will have to play big on the boards. Junior guard Saleem Hudson can make big shots, as he did against MCS, and junior Samuel Thomas and sophomore Jarrell Wright were important pieces of the quarterfinal victory as well. The odds are certainly stacked against them, but don’t expect the Mustangs to go down without a fight.

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2023 Philadelphia Public League Boys Basketball Bracket

Play-in Round (Tues., Feb. 7)
Martin Luther King 59, Simon Gratz 44
Parkway CC 65, Franklin Learning Center 59
Mastery North 55, GAMP 35
Strawberry Mansion 54, Franklin Towne 51
George Washington 75, KIPP 45
Mat II 53, Belmont Charter 52

First Round (Thurs., Feb. 9)
Imhotep Charter 83, Martin Luther King 34
Central 48, Vaux 44
Olney 87, Benjamin Franklin 36
Samuel Fels 74, John Bartram 50
Math, Civics & Sciences 77, Parkway CC 23
SLA Beeber 47, Northeast 45
Overbrook 81, Roxborough 45
Dobbins Tech 67, Mastery North 63
West Philadelphia 80, Strawberry Mansion 39
Abraham Lincoln 72, Engineering & Sciences 57
Boys’ Latin 54, String Theory 48
Sankofa Freedom 72, George Washington 31
Constitution 76, Mast II 43
Audenried 80, Palumbo 60
Maritime 78, Paul Robeson 69
Frankford 69, Kensington 46

Second Round (Tues., Feb. 14)
Imhotep 74, Central 32
Samuel Fels 65, Olney 54
Math, Civics & Sciences 62, SLA Beeber 58
Dobbins Tech 71, Overbrook 57
West Philadelphia 54, Abraham Lincoln 41
Boys' Latin 52, Sankofa Freedom 49
Constitution 63, Audenried 52
Frankford 65,  Maritime 63

Quarterfinals (Thurs., Feb. 16)
Imhotep 79, Samuel Fels 17
Dobbins Tech 56, Math, Civics & Sciences 50
West Philadelphia 74, Boys' Latin 65
Constitution 43, Frankford 41

Semifinals (Tues., Feb. 21 at Temple University)
West Philadelphia vs. Constitution, 4 PM
Imhotep Charter vs. Dobbins Tech, 6 PM

Championship (Sat., Feb. 25 at Temple University)
Semifinal winners