City of Basketball Love

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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CONSHOHOCKEN — The 2023 Donofrio Classic’s first round continued on Tuesday night with its fifth and final night of play, four more teams taking the court at the Fellowship House to see who completes the 16-team second round of the five-round, 26-team affair.

Here’s a roundup and notebook from Tuesday night’s competition; CLICK HERE for all of CoBL’s 2023 Donofrio Classic coverage:

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Game One: WeR1 98, BW Elite Blue 88
This one was back and forth, though in broader strokes rather than short ones. WeR1 led by double digits early and for much of the opening 15 minutes, before BW Elite’s older squad rallied to take a four-point edge into the half, holding that advantage for a solid run. But a Delaware-heavy contingent led by Isaiah Hynson (2024 | Salesianum School, Del.) pulled back ahead and held on down the stretch in a foul-heavy contest that saw the two teams combine to shoot more than 60 foul shots. Hynson led the way with 26 points, while his classmate Justin Hinds and Reid Belcher (2024 | Friends’ Central) added 17 apiece and Kevin Rucker (2024 | Bonner-Prendergast) had all of his 11 in the second half.. BW Elite got a standout game from Jalen Chiles (2025 | Friends’ Select), who had 24 points, and Keon Long (2025 | Martin Luther King), who had 21; Nasir Kelly (23 | League Bound) added 13 and Max Portnoy (2024 | Eastern Regional, N.J.) and Kareem Diaz (2023 | Dobbins) added 10 apiece. 

Game Two: Hunting Park II 86, L&L Running Rebels 78
The final game of the first round was an entertaining cap, Hunting Park II’s Imhotep-led core just a little too much for a talented group from the Lehigh Valley, Rahmir Barno (2023 | Imhotep) leading the way with an outstanding 18-point effort that also featured what had to be a double-double’s worth of assists. Quite a few of them wound up in the hands of Ma’Kye Taylor (2024 | Imhotep), who finished with 25 points in a standout performance of his own, while Chauncey Pressley (16 points) joined them in double figures. The Running Rebels got balanced scoring from their nine-man roster, with Jahrel Vigo (2025 | Allentown Central Catholic) leading the way with 14; Sebastian Fermin (2023 | Pocono Mt. East) added 13 points, and Nick Coval (2024 | Parkland) 12. 

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Neumann-Goretti’s Jerkins ready to get back in the game

Larenzo Jerkins did a lot of watching hoops over the last four months.

This spring and summer, he’s ready to get back out on the floor.

“Just to play basketball, that's all I literally want to do,” Jerkins said. “No summer job, just gym, gym, gym. That's what I'm excited for is to prove myself. Not to prove to other people just to prove to myself that I can like overcome everything that hit me this year and this season.”

Jerkins played at Chester during his sophomore high school season, earning all-state honors. He played with Neumann-Goretti during the June Philly Live periods, debuting in a Saints uniform against powerhouse Camden, and transferred to the school but was was deemed ineligible to compete at all for the Saints in 2022-23  — not just their runs to the PCL and PIAA title games, but the entire regular season as well.

“It's very depressing, you know, especially when everything's out of your control and you tried to do everything right,” said Jerkins, who was playing with BW Elite Blue at the Donofrio Classic on Tuesday.

“(My coaches) were busy a lot like throughout the game because you still got to worry about playoffs and states and all that but they still managed to make sure I was okay, and I was in the gym and I was mentally fine,” he added

Jerkins played with the Saints in the summer and fall before sitting out this winter. He still practiced with his teammates and lifted with them along with individual workouts throughout the winter, but during games, he was in street clothes and didn’t get on the floor except for putting up a few shots during pregame or at half.

Though he wasn’t able to showcase at all on the floor, he said his game took strides forward practicing with and against guys like Baylor commit Robert Wright, Sultan Adewale, Khaafiq Myers and Amir Williams. He said he’s moved his game from being primarily a post player at Chester out toward the wing. 

“When I went to work out with Neumann-Goretti, the days and days and days of working with them, I kinda like saw Rob dribble the ball every day, I just kind of followed by his footsteps and see how he drives, see how he cuts see how he moves with the ball, and it just affected my game as well,” Jerkins said.

Jerkins played with SK Elite last grassroots season and plans to play with BW Elite this spring and summer.Jerkins' uncle Novar Gadson, who played at Bartram and Rider, currently plays professionally in Brazil. He will be home this summer to help his nephew continue working on his game. 

More than anything, he’s ready for competition, getting back on the floor and showcasing what he can do.

“Energy, a lot of energy, my athleticism, my skill,” Jerkins said of what he hopes to show to. “Just like me being on the court, I think, like it just affects everybody's mood, makes them want to win. I just like being that person to be on the floor and everybody's excited to be with me. Energy, rebounding, putbacks, second chances. I'm all about energy.” — Owen McCue

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Coval adds Saint Joseph’s offer as he heads into April

One of the top players in the Lehigh Valley since his first game of his freshman year at Parkland, Nick Coval is hitting the stretch run of his high school career and his recruitment. 

The 6-foot-2 combo guard has been a Division I recruit since he started picking up offers as an underclassman, the son of DeSales head coach and William & Mary standout Scott Coval a no-brainer with his skillset, size, shooting ability, basketball IQ and more. He proved himself with Team Final on the Nike EYBL circuit as well, and has close to double-digit schools offering scholarships as he enters his final summer of grassroots ball. 

He picked up his latest offer a month ago, from St. Joe’s, after leading Parkland to the District 11 6A championship; the Trojans lost to Roman Catholic in the quarterfinals of the state tournament. 

“It was great, [head] coach [Billy] Lange came to the game and I played well and he just said he was going to offer, and my dad knows [assistant] coach [Justin] Scott for a long time,” Coval said. “They’re a really good program, they’re in a good conference, so I’m excited about that.”

Coval said he hasn’t been able to see the school’s City Ave campus just yet, but noted that the staff is trying to get him down for a visit soon. Otherwise, he’s been hearing “a lot” from Penn, Princeton, Florida Gulf Coast and Fairfield, all of whom have offered, along with local schools Lehigh and Lafayette; Davidson and Richmond, neither of whom have offered a scholarship, have also been in touch.

“I want a school where basketball is [important], they care a lot about it,” he said. “I’m getting recruited by high-academic schools, academics is important to me. A school where they care about development and basketball is really important.”

Coval said he doesn’t expect to make a decision until the fall, like many prospects in his class. He’ll spend the next few months working out and playing with Team Final on the EYBL’s 17U circuit, on a team that might be the last in a Team Final uniform. 

This year’s Final squad, all rising seniors, includes Coval, Imhotep’s Ahmad Nowell and Ma’Kye Taylor, Ryan’s Thomas Sorber, Perkiomen School’s Alfredo Addesa, Wood’s Jalil Bethea, Neumann-Goretti’s Amir Williams and Baylor commit Robert Wright III, who just announced he’ll be playing his senior year at Montverde Academy (Fl.) after spending the last three years at Neumann-Goretti. 

When he gets back out in front of the masses of Division I coaches who will be at the first EYBL stop in Atlanta from April 21-23 and then in Phoenix (April 28-30), Coval wants to show off his abilities to play point, something that’ll be key for him at the next level, where he’s got solid but not elite size on the ball. 

“Definitely my vision and passing,” he said. “I think I’ve shown I can make shots, I can make plays for my teammates, but really proving my vision off ball screens and in the open floor.” — Josh Verlin

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Quick Hits
— Alex Cercado (2023 | Bethlehem Catholic) was one of the top point guards in the Lehigh Valley the last few years, the speedy 5-10 ball-handler a confident and capable scorer and passer, smooth with the ball in his hands, if not a little on the slight side. So that’ll be a priority for him this summer as he prepares to head off to Alvernia College, where he committed in the middle of his senior year. Cercado, who knocked down a few shots but did more distributing in the L&L Running Rebels’ loss on Tuesday night, picked Alvernia over Arcadia, Del Val, St. Mary’s (Md.), Lebanon Valley and more D-IIIs, and said he’d heard from D-II Bloomsburg as well before making his decision. Alvernia head coach Mike Miller and his assistant and son, Mike Miller Jr., were both in attendance Tuesday night, and the pair is a big reason why Cercado committed. 

“When I got in there, made my official visit, it just felt like family right away,” he said. “I’ve known the coaching staff for maybe like two years, and they have a really good relationship with my high school head coach, so it played a part and everything just came together and I felt like that was home.”

— Ma’Kye Taylor (2024 | Imhotep Charter) said there weren’t too many new developments for him on the recruiting trail this season, but the 6-7 forward still has multiple Division I teams pursuing him. Taylor received an offer from Fairfield last summer during the June live periods back then and told CoBL then that Rider was another program in frequent contact with UMass, Florida Gulf Coast and St. Peter’s. Over the course of the season Taylor said Fairfield has kept in touch, while Robert Morris and UTEP are two programs that have kept in touch. UTEP, who was in touch for most of the winter, reached out to him earlier in the day Tuesday. 

As previously noted, Taylor, who suited up for Hunting Park II on Tuesday will play on a loaded Team Final team. He won City of Palms, Public League, District 12 and PIAA titles with Imhotep this high school season and is hoping to add a Peach Jam title to an already loaded resume. Putting the ball on the floor and improving his strength are two areas the unselfish big man hoops to improve to enhance his game and recruiting profile as well as position himself for a much more featured role at Imhotep next season.

“This summer, definitely a Peach Jam, I want to take a couple visits to see where my options are as far as committing and really pick up some high-major offers,” Taylor said.

— Kareem Diaz (2023 | Dobbins) is starting to hear from scholarship-level programs, so the 6-4 senior wing is taking one more April to play grassroots ball and see what comes of it. He’s been hearing from D-IIIs all year long, but is now also hearing from West Florida, Winston-Salem State, Cheyney and Payne College (Ga.), all of whom he said will come see him play with BW Elite at stops in Pittsburgh and Spooky Nook later this month; he’ll make his college decision in May. Diaz showed why he’s an intriguing prospect at the next level, hitting a couple 3-pointers and also coming up with a handful of rebounds and a few impressive blocks. 

— Marcus Edmond (2023 | Middletown, Del.) has a solid list of small-college programs on his tail: D-II Davis & Elkins (W.Va.) has reached out, along with D-IIIs Rosemont, Marymount, DeSales, Arcadia, Cabrini, Kings, PSU-Abington, Albright and McDaniel (Md.), giving him plenty of quality options as he gets nearer to decision time. When exactly that is is still unclear, Edmond said he’ll be playing this month out and seeing what happens, though he did just enjoy a recent workout with DeSales. The 6-4, 185-pound wing guard is a versatile perimeter piece who hit a few mid-range pull-ups and made things happen in transition, both making quality passes and getting to the rim.

— Chauncey Presley (2023 | Math, CIvics & Sciences) is still unsure what his plans are for next season, though it sounds like he has two top contenders to take his talents. He recently took an unofficial visit to Paine College, a Division II program, in Augusta, Ga. after they reached out to MCS coach Lonnie Diggs following the Mighty Elephants' state playoff run. Local D-III Rosemont College has also stood out to Presley, whose older brother Charles Presley was a standout there before finishing up his career in 2018. 

“That’s what’s been the biggest thing for me,” Presley said. “The tradition, I know how it is. My brother graduated from there, played basketball there, won CSAC Player of the Year, won some championships. … I think it would just be great for my family to go back there and continue what he did. … I’m just trying to find what’s going to be the best fit for me.”