City of Basketball Love

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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CONSHOHOCKEN — The 2023 Donofrio Classic’s second round continued on Monday night with its third of four nights, as two more teams punched their tickets into the quarterfinals, which will take place on Wednesday and Thursday

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

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Game One: One of the tournament favorites, Philly Hoop Group was at near-full-strength on Monday night and it showed, as the high-level group ran away from Rome Runs for a 116-94 win. The nation’s top senior, Justin Edwards (2023 | Imhotep Charter) put on a show with a 32-point outing that featured no shortage of dunks; Roman senior Jermai Stewart-Herring (23 points), Imhotep junior Ahmad Nowell (22 points) and recent Montverde Academy (Fl.) transfer Robert Wright III (21 points) also had strong nights,and a solid Rome Runs group never really had a chance. Andrew Phillips (2023 | Malvern Prep) went off for a game-high 35 points, including four 3-pointers; Onyx Nnani (2025 | Phelps School) had 16 points, Gavin Doty (2025 | Phelps School) had 15 and Connor Shanahan (2024 | Downingtown East) had 16 for Rome Runs. 

Game Two: NEPA Elite’s squad made its 2023 Donofrio debut in fine form, the team from the Scranton area coming down to Philly and absolutely rolling a Lancaster-based Hoop Dreams squad 94-68 to advance into the quarterfinals. Penn commit Augie Gerhart (2023 | Hill School) was a force inside with 15 points and at least a double-double’s worth of rebounds, leading a balanced outing that saw eight different players hit multiple shots, including Gabe Tanner (2025 | Perkiomen School), who had a team-high 16 points, and Will Marion (2024 | Abington Heights), who had 14, as did his classmate Mason Fedor. Hoop Dreams also got a balanced output, led by 14 each from Nyle Ralph-Beyer (2024 | West Chester Henderson) and Larry Brown (2026 | Coatesville). 

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Episcopal’s Dennis a year-round multi-sport talent

Timmy Dennis is just following the family path at Episcopal Academy.

Like his older brother Tommy, a 2020 graduate, Timmy is a two-sport athlete at the Inter-Ac school. The freshman doesn’t take it easy either, going full year-round in both basketball and baseball so he’s not one to ever say he’s in or out of season.

Even now, in the heart of the high school baseball season, Dennis is putting in just as much work on the hardwood.

Monday, that put him and his Rome Run teammates up against a Philly Hoop Group team roster boasting some of the top players in the state. For Dennis, matching up with the likes of Justin Edwards, Robert Wright III, Ahmad Nowell and more was a good, but eye-opening, experience.

“I didn’t think I’d be seeing much time but it was definitely fun, especially being a freshman out there,” Dennis said. “You get to see it, it’s pretty humbling but it’s a look at what that next level of competition is.”

Dennis, who resides in the Avon Grove area, doesn’t necessarily look like a freshman at first glance. He’s already 6-foot-6 and while he has some room to build on his frame, he wasn’t getting pushed around on the floor Monday despite playing against mostly older competition.

Dennis caught a lot of eyes this past weekend with his East Coast Power 16U team at the Made Hoops East Warmup. While it was the squad’s first time out together, Dennis credited the team’s unselfish play as a reason for his standout showing.

On Monday, Dennis most often looked to pass when he got a touch on offense but his teammates were vocal about him putting up a few shots too. That was one of the things he had to adjust to in his first high school season as well.

“I learned to be confident in my shot,” Dennis said. “My teammates were welcoming, they encouraged me to shoot. We had a bunch of good players but even my coach was telling me to be comfortable and look to shoot.

“It’s being you and playing your game.”

The guard does have a sense of calm and control about him on a basketball court. That likely has to do with his main role in his other sport, where he’s a right-handed pitcher and first baseman when he’s not on the mound.

In baseball, a pitcher controls the game so that’s what Dennis most looks forward to.

“I’m working on a 12-6 (curveball) but I’m fastball, slider and changeup right now,” Dennis said. “It’s still a team sport but being in control is pretty fun.

“I’ve had success early, but I know that it can flip at any moment. I’ve pitched two games at the varsity level and three at JV and done pretty well, but I know it’s too early to say anything about it.”

Tommy Dennis graduated from Episcopal Academy then played two seasons of college baseball at Susquehanna University and now attends the University of Georgia. Timmy said his brother went to EA as basketball-first but baseball ended up winning out.

At the moment, Timmy said baseball’s just a little ahead of basketball but he really enjoys both and is glad he doesn’t have to pick one over the other. That’s a relief for his travel teams too, as Dennis is not only playing for East Coast Power in AAU but he’ll also be playing travel baseball with the Philly Bandits.

“My schedules line up pretty much,” Dennis said. “I think I’ll have to miss two basketball tournaments but my coaches are very understanding. I know I’ll be bouncing in and out all summer.”

Dennis is proud to not only be a two-sport standout but a year-round two-sport competitor.

“It’s very important, being able to enjoy both games and have fun,” Dennis said. “You see kids this day committed to one sport and that’s their whole life. I really have fun playing both and making the most of each game.”

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Nowell picks up UConn offer as live periods approach

On an impressive Team Final 17U squad, Ahmad Nowell has an advantage: he played up with the 17s a year ago, making this his second year playing with the oldest kids on the grassroots circuit. 

“The speed definitely picks up a lot between 16s and 17s, a lot of people are bigger and stronger and they’re older, due to what class they’re in,” he said. “People are more mature, (there’s) going to be a lot of players that’s going to be out there able to put the ball in the basket, it’s going to come down to toughness and playing defense.”

This year’s oldest Team Final group made its 2023 debut this past weekend at the MADE Hoops East Warmup event, Nowell part of a potent group that includes Jalil Bethea (Archbishop Wood), Robert Wright III (Montverde Academy, Fl.), Thomas Sorber (Archbishop Ryan) and others. 

He’s playing on a similarly-talented team in Donofrio with Edwards, Stewart-Herring and Co., and his analysis of what it’ll take for Final to make a run at Peach Jam also could apply to winning a Donofrio title next Tuesday.

“Obviously everybody on this team are the guys at their schools, so we have the offensive firepower,” he said. “So it’s going to come down to playing defense and playing gritty, locking in on defense, really.”

The powerful 6-foot-1 point guard has been a high-major target since his freshman year of high school, which he played down in Tennessee before returning home to Philly as a sophomore at Imhotep. Tennessee, which offered last April, continues to be heavily involved, but one new school on Nowell’s radar is UConn — the Huskies offered a scholarship on April 6, just a few days after winning the Division I national championship for the third time in 11 seasons. 

“It felt amazing just being able to be recognized coming off a big ‘W,’” he said. “At this point they should be on vacation, so them reaching out to me is just amazing.”

There isn’t anything else going on in Nowell’s recruitment, as he said he’s not planning on any visits in the near future, and doesn’t have any timeline yet on when he’ll be cutting down a list or thinking about making a decision. He said he’s wide-open going into the first live periods of the summer, which will take him and Final to Atlanta (April 21-23) and Phoenix (April 28-30) to play in front of college coaches.

Nowell has, however, thought about what’s going to matter when that decision-making time comes.

“It’s definitely going to be the brotherhood, the relationships I’ve got with the coaches,” he said. “It’s going to come down to the play style because that’s what’s going to help me getting to the next level, me being able to show my play style to the highest level. And definitely the training at the school, how they train their point guards.” — Josh Verlin

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Boyertown’s Ward headed to Penn State-Abington

Zach Ward comes from a Penn State family.

“I’m [from] a big Penn State family so like everything about Penn State was all I had,” he said.  

It’s only natural then that the Boyertown standout will continue his hoops career at Penn State-Abington. 

The 6-foot-5 combo guard had conversations with Albright, Arcadia, and Ursinus, but committed to Penn State Abington at the end of his senior season. They were always Ward’s main interest and his Penn State blood combined with head coach Ryan Van Zelst’s mentality made Penn State-Abington the right fit. 

“I love the way he coached,” Ward said after his Rome Runs team got eliminated from the Donofrio Classic by Philly Hoop Group. “I love the way those guys play for him so it just motivated me to want to play for him.” 

Van Zelst, who was in attendance watching Monday night, and Ward first met one another last summer during a grassroots tournament. 

“It was after one of my games at the tournament,” Ward added. “He introduced himself and said he would love to have me and [we] just kept communicating after that.” 

Penn State-Abington finished third in the United East Conference last season, winning a program-record 18 games, and lost in their first-ever conference championship game to No. 1 seed Lancaster Bible College. Contending for championships was a big factor for Ward in his decision. 

“One hundred percent,” he said when asked if playing for a championship factored in his decision. “I’m looking to win that next year.” 

Ward’s not entirely sure of what role he’ll play for the Nittany Lions, but he believes his versatility will provide an opportunity to step-in and contribute. 

“They told me I could play so many different spots with them,” he said. “I can handle the ball, I can shoot. I can catch and shoot with them. I can be a versatile defender with them. 

“They said I'll have plenty of opportunities to be able to fill a bunch of roles.” — Jared Leveson

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Nnani traveling all over for summer of hoops

Playing on the grassroots circuit is a major commitment taken on by players and their families each year. However, Phelps School sophomore Onyx Nnani may have beat everyone else. 

The 6-8 wing hails from Edmonton, Alb. but plays his grassroots ball with UPLAY Canada based in Toronto, Ont. The flight from Edmonton to Toronto is three hours and forty minutes which he makes weekly when he’s back home north of the border. 

Nnani is currently flying from Philadelphia to Toronto for UPLAY practice in Toronto. The flight time is only an hour and forty minutes, but when one factors in travel time to and from the airport, Nnani is traveling a significant amount of time. 

“They fly me out for practice in Toronto,” he said. “I've been flying out from Phelps to Toronto for practice and the tournaments.”

His commitment is yielding some results early on. Nnani came off the bench last season for Phelps but his playmaking, rebounding, and floor spacing abilities at his size have led to offers from NJIT and Kansas State and interest from Miami and Tulane. 

Kansas State offered him after an open gym in September and NJIT followed suit in January. Miami and Tulane introduced themselves in December and January as well. 

With the high school season over, Nnani is traveling every week, either on a Thursday or Friday, and then returning to Phelps on Monday. He’s doing his best balancing his strenuous course workload. 

“My school is a very high academic school so there's a lot of homework,” he added. “So just trying to balance that with basketball and being away in the hotel [it’s pretty hard].” 

Nnani’s got a chip on his shoulder coming from a place where curling and ice hockey are king. 

“I'm excited to show coaches, scouts, recruiters that I can play here,” he said. “Last year I was a nobody in Edmonton, Alberta. No one probably knew about me.

“This summer I'm just ready to prove myself and get better.” — Jared Leveson

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Hurst weighing options after first Donofrio experience 

Camden Hurst refused to give up on basketball.

The Lancaster Mennonite guard has lost a lot of time on the court due to illness and injury but he just kept coming back. Even this year, Hurst saw an offseason of hard work almost ruined by an injury at the start of the season but he only thought about coming back.

Hurst’s future is still in flux but his recent past certainly made up for some of that hardship, the guard playing a key role as Lancaster Mennonite won the PIAA Class 2A title last month - the program’s first.

“I haven’t figured things out yet but I am planning on playing,” Hurst said after playing with Hoop Dreams on Monday night. “There’s a few decisions to make.”

The 6-foot-2 guard said he’s been talking with Mansfield in the PSAC plus a few programs out of Ohio with a mix of Division II and Division III interest. 

Hurst had his first taste of the Donofrio Classic this year as a player, playing both games with Hoop Dreams after being relegated to the role of spectator last year due to a wrist injury. Even sitting in the bleachers last spring, Hurst was impressed and getting on the floor did little to dampen it.

“It was definitely fun, a cool environment for sure,” Hurst said.

Coming from a hoops family - his father and brother also played at Lancaster Mennonite - Hurst naturally gravitated to the court. When he wasn’t dealing with a setback, he made a lot of noise in a four-year varsity career with the Blazers.

Even with the time he lost, Hurst was still able to surpass 1,000 points for his career and even losing 18 games this season with a broken hand that required surgery, he was there when it mattered most. 

Hurst had 23 points and 10 rebounds in the state title game win over Aliquippa despite not being the same player he had come into the season hoping to be.

“A lot of ups and downs, I broke my hand near the beginning of the year and sat out 18 games,” Hurst said. “I broke my third and fourth metacarpal and needed surgery. I had gotten in really good shape, I was up a few pounds with muscle and to lose it all in eight to 10 weeks from sitting out, I felt like I missed a good bit.”

Hurst is taking of the AAU circuit to play this spring with Team PA including this weekend’s WPA Bruins Tip-Off event in Pittsburgh. He’s hoping to maybe catch the eye of a few more programs before taking some campus visits and making a final decision.

Wherever he ends up, Hurst knows he’ll have earned it. The scar on his right hand is proof enough of that.

“It makes you stronger once you come out of it,” Hurst said. “It’s part of life.

“I just love basketball, I never want to get away from it.” — Andrew Robinson

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Marion impresses in return to Donofrio

It’s Will Marion’s second year playing at the Donofrio Classic with NEPA Elite. The junior guard and his teammates from Abington Heights don't mind the two-hour drive to and from. 

“None of us really care about the drive,” he said. “We all have an awesome time coming up here. Just the energy of everyone [and] playing with some seniors that I won't be able to play with again.

“It's just awesome to be able to play with all of them for one more time.”

Marion is also playing at Donofrio in preparation for this spring and summer’s grassroots gauntlet. The 6-foot-1 guard has garnered interest from D-III programs like the University of Scranton, amongst others. 

He’s a high IQ guard that finds the open man often and always makes the one-more pass. Marion also showed off an effective mid-range pull up jumper. The rising senior hopes to improve his ball handling and add some size via the weight room this offseason. 

The Clarks Summit native wants a program that has a strong bond with one another, like his teammates at Abington Heights. 

“We’re all really close so I think that helps us become the team that we are,” he added. — Jared Leveson