City of Basketball Love

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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The 2022-23 season was memorable for all the wrong reasons for the men’s side of the City 6, as none of the Philly-area programs made it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1977. Injuries and off-court problems derailed two of the city’s most promising squads, Temple and Villanova; Drexel and Penn both competed well in their conferences but weren’t the class of their leagues; St. Joe’s and La Salle both had some positives to take away, but sustained success was elusive for both. 

That being said, there were still plenty of talented ballplayers in the City 6, including an impressive number of non-seniors. Here are the CoBL staff’s picks for our All-City 6 men’s honors for the 2022-23 season:

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City 6 MBB Player of the Year

Jordan Dingle (Jr. | Penn) 

Dingle’s having a special career at Penn, and his junior season was his best yet. 

The 6-foot-3 lead guard out Blair Academy (N.J.) bumped his scoring average from 20.9 ppg as a sophomore to 23.4 ppg as a junior, the second-highest mark in the country behind only Detroit Mercy’s Antonie Davis (28.2 ppg). He’s already eighth on Penn’s all-time scoring list (1,537 points), in position to be the program’s first-ever 2,000 point scorer, needing only 295 points — less than half his output this season (656 points) — to pass A.J. Brodeur for the program record.

A tremendous athlete who can score from all over the court, Dingle scored efficiently, converting 55.5% of his 2-point shots and 35.6% of his triples (46.4% overall), plus 85.6% from the line, all the best marks of his career. He also averaged 3.6 rpg and 2.3 apg, playing nearly 34 minutes per contest. For his career — which started in 2019-20 before he took the following season off to retain his eligibility — he’s averaging 19.5 ppg, and he’s scored in double figures in 37 straight games dating back to his sophomore year.

The Quakers do graduate a few key pieces this year, but with their top three scorers back in the fold and some other promising youth in the mix, Dingle’s got one more chance to accomplish one thing he’s yet to experience: an Ivy League championship.

First Team All-City 6
Erik Reynolds II (Soph. | St. Joe’s)
The expectation for Reynolds was that he would take a big step forward after a strong freshman year, and he delivered, bumping his scoring average from 12.1 ppg to 19.6 ppg in 33 games, good for second in the Atlantic 10, hitting 43% of his shots and 37.9% from 3-point range, with 3.1 rpg and 2.5 apg. The 6-2 guard scored in double figures in all but one game, scoring 30-or-more five times, topping out with a 34-point outing against George Washington in the A-10 tournament.

Eric Dixon (R-Jr. | Villanova)
Through an up-and-down season for Villanova, Dixon was a steadying force. The 6-8 forward out of Abington has been the most recent example of a player who’s stuck it out and gotten better year after year, setting new career bests in scoring (15.4 ppg) and rebounds (6.6 rpg), making 49.2% of his shots and 37.8% of his 3s as he went from taking only 35 triples a year ago (9.1 ppg) to 111 this year. Though Dixon will be in his fifth year of college next year, he actually still has two years of eligibility left thanks to redshirting in 2019-20 and the COVID year the following year. 

Caleb Daniels (R-Sr. | Villanova)
The sixth-year senior had his best year in a Villanova uniform, averaging 14.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg and 2.5 apg, though his 3-point shooting (33.2) was the worst number of his career as he had to shoulder more of the shot-creating duties than had been expected of him prior to some injuries. Daniels his career, which began with two seasons at Tulane, with 1,783 career points in 154 career games, going from starter to sixth man to starter at ‘Nova without a complaint. 

Damian Dunn (R-Jr. | Temple)
It was an interesting year for Dunn, who started the first 13 games of the season, came off the bench for the next 11 and then went back into the starting lineup, though he played about equally well no matter the role; he topped out at 38 points against Vanderbilt, but also had a one-point outing against Richmond. For the season, he averaged a career-best 15.3 ppg and 3.0 apg, shooting a career-best 41.1% overall and 34.8% from 3-point range.

Amari Williams (Jr. | Drexel)
Williams has turned himself into the city’s best true big man. The 6-10 center from England had a career year in scoring (13.7 ppg), rebounding (8.8/game), assists (2.3/game) and blocks (2.2/game), making 52.3% of his shots while playing 27.9 mpg in 30 games (all starts); his advanced numbers were also the strongest they’ve ever been, confirming that Williams is indeed a two-way force for the Dragons, who put up their best defensive analytics numbers in a decade. 

Second Team All-City 6

Cam Whitmore (Fr. | Villanova )
A highly-touted five-star freshman, Whitmore missed the first seven games of the season and then came off the bench for the next six, but proved himself worthy of a starting spot. For the season, the 6-7 swingman averaged 12.5 ppg and 5.3 rpg, shooting 47.8% overall and 34.3% from 3-point range; it’s widely expected he’ll turn pro, though that hasn’t happened yet.

Clark Slajchert (Jr. | Penn)
A 6-0 guard from California only in his second year on the court thanks to the Ivies skipping the 2020-21 season, Slajchert averaged 13.6 ppg, shooting 44% from the floor and 34.5% from 3-point range. He had a strong start to the year, averaging 17.8 ppg through the first 13 games, but had a slow stretch in the middle (6.9 ppg over seven games) before finding his scoring touch again in the final weeks of the season.

Cameron Brown (Sr. | St. Joe’s)
Brown averaged double figures as a freshman but had seen that drop to around 8.5 ppg the last two years; he put it all together as a senior, putting up career highs in scoring (13.3 ppg), rebounding (6.0/game), assists (1.7/game) and steals (1.3/game), shooting 36% from 3-point range and 40.8% overall. He made a lot of Hawks fans happy when he announced a few weeks after the season ended that he will be returning to Hawk Hill for his fifth and final year.

Lynn Greer III (Soph. | St. Joe’s)
The Roman Catholic product had a solid year, his first as a significant contributor at the Division I level, averaging 12.5 ppg and 5.0 rpg, shooting 41.4% overall and 33.3% from 3-point range. Certainly a good sign that he improved as the year went on, averaging 16.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg and 3.9 apg with .483/.473/.685 shooting splits over the final 17 games of the season. 

Khalil Brantley (Soph. | La Salle)
The talented lead guard from Brooklyn took a nice step forward in his second year in college and first playing for Fran Dunphy, leading the Explorers in scoring (14.3 ppg), while adding 4.8 rpg, 4.1 apg and 1.6 spg, all improvements over the year before. His shooting numbers (38.1% overall, 33.3% from 3) need improving, but they do turn to him when they need a bucket in late-clock situations.

Nick Spinoso (Soph. | Penn) — 30g/26s, 8.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 22.0 mpg, 3.1 apg, .516 FG%
The Quakers’ sophomore post spent most of the season splitting time at the ‘5,’ so he only played about 22 mpg, but he was quite productive with those minutes, averaging 8.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg and perhaps most impressively 3.1 apg, the Penn offense clearly benefiting from his presence. Over the last 16 games of the season, he averaged 10.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg and 2.4 apg, shooting 55.6% from the floor.

Third Team All-City 6

Khalif Battle (R-Jr. | Temple)
There’s no doubt Battle is one of the most talented players in the city, averaging 17.9 ppg and 3.6 rpg while shooting 41% overall and 35% from 3-point range. But his clashes both public and private with Owls coach Aaron McKie led to multiple benchings and his eventual departure from the team before the season ended.

Max Martz (Jr. | Penn)
Martz had a solid season, averaging 10.8 ppg and 4.2 rpg, while his 3-point percent — which had fallen from 43.2% as a freshman to 35.6% as a sophomore (on similar attempts) went back up to 41.2% this year, putting him at 39.9% for his career. Per KenPom, his 124.5 individual offensive rating was 53rd in the country.

Justin Moore (Sr. | Villanova)
There’s no denying Moore’s impact in there 13 games he was able to play in his return from a torn Achilles tendon, the Wildcats looking much more down the stretch like an NCAA Tournament-caliber team, even if the overall resume wasn’t there. Moore averaged 13.5 ppg and 3.5 rpg, and has another year of eligibility if he wants to use it.

Josh Nickleberry (Sr. | La Salle )
Nickleberry put up similar numbers to his first year at La Salle, the athletic 6-4 wing guard averaging 10.9 ppg while shooting 40.7% overall and 40.1% from 3-point range, appearing in 34 games with 19 starts. His best stretch came mostly off the bench, in 11 games (1 start) from Jan. 28-March 4, averaging 14.8 ppg while hitting 50.6% of his 3s. After the season, he entered the transfer portal for his final year of eligibility.

Jamille Reynolds (Soph. | Temple) — 22g/11s, 10.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 20.0 mpg, .604 FG%
Reynolds was the offensive option the Owls had been missing out of their ‘5’ man, averaging 10.1 ppg in just 20 minutes, shooting 60.4% from the floor, but he missed a good chunk of the season due to surgery on a broken thumb, limiting him to 11 starts in 22 games. He’s in the portal right now along with most of Temple’s roster. 

Zach Hicks (Soph. | Temple)
A 6-8 wing out of Camden Catholic, Hicks went from a valuable reserve to the Owls’ starting ‘4’ man, the big wing averaging 9.6 ppg and 5.1 rpg while making 35.6% of his 3-pointers, which was more than he made from inside the arc (32.4%). Still Hicks has a high upside, which is why it’ll be a priority for whoever gets the Temple job to re-recruit him out of the portal. 

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City 6 MBB Rookie of the Year
Cam Whitmore (Villanova)

It’s becoming tougher and tougher to be a freshman at the Division I level, with so many teams able to rely on the transfer portal to add instantly-eligible veteran talent. But there were still a handful of collegiate rookies who were able to have instant impacts in the City 6, though none moreso than Whitmore. The 5-star recruit and likely one-and-done NBA Draft selection scored only seven points in his collegiate debut but then poured in 40 points over the next two games, hitting double figures 14 times during a season where he averaged 12.5 ppg and 5.3 rpg. 

All-Rookie Team
Mark Armstrong (Villanova)
Rasheer Fleming (St. Joe’s)
Rokas Jocius (La Salle)
Justin Moore (Drexel)
Christian Winborne (St. Joe’s)

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MBB Most Improved
Luke House (Sr. | Drexel) 

Even though he only played sparingly last year, the Drexel coaching staff always raved about what House brought in practice, talking like it was only a matter of time until he made an impact. At the time, it was taken with a grain of salt; after all, House had started his career at D-II California (Pa.), and while he put up good numbers there (13.1 ppg, 6.0 rpg), there’s a significant jump to the mid-major Division I level, and it wasn’t like the 6-4 House was a surefire D-I kid when he was at Archbishop Carroll. 

But after playing a grand total of 68 minutes in his first two years at Drexel, House proved himself a capable reserve for the Dragons early in the season, playing about 20 minutes per game off the bench over the first 11 games. But he rewarded a move into the starting lineup with a 25-point outing against Delaware on Dec. 17 and started the final 21 games of the season, averaging 8.7 ppg and 3.4 rpg for the year while making 46.6% of his shots and 38% (49-of-129) from 3-point range, taking about 50 more 3s than 2s. Thanks to the COVID waiver, he’s got one year of eligibility remaining.

MBB Coach of the Year
Fran Dunphy (La Salle)

Dunphy took over a La Salle program that had won just 11 games the year before and had to replace three starters plus a couple key reserves, the cupboard not totally bare when he arrived at 20th and Olney but pretty darn close to it. He convinced a few potential departures to stay and then brought in some useful pieces, like Hassan and Fousseyni Drame from Saint Peter’s and a promising young forward in Rokas Jocius, and then led that ragtag group to a 15-19 season, including a couple wins in the Atlantic 10 tournament, a non-league win over Penn and a few solid A-10 victories. It’s unclear how long the 74-year-old Big 5 legend will be at the helm of the Explorers, who know he’s not a long-term option, but if he can bring them back to a place of competitiveness and then turn the reins over to a younger coach to keep it rolling, that’ll be a fitting third and final act to cap off his career.

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