City of Basketball Love

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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The first weekend of Philly Live 2023 tipped off at Jefferson University, with four courts of action going from noon until after nine o’clock at night, featuring dozens of teams from the Philadelphia area and quite a ways beyond, dozens upon dozens of Division I coaches gathering to see them.

CoBL had writers at the majority of Friday’s action; here’s a notebook of action focused on some local high school squads:

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More change coming for Council Rock North

There’s a few teams playing at Philly Live this summer in a state of transition, waiting for their administrations to pick a new head coach. Among them are Council Rock North, which will be playing under its third head coach in three years this season due to tragic circumstances: former head coach Jesse Krasna stepping aside after his wife’s passing, assistant coach Tyler Sessa-Reeves filling in as interim coach this past season.

Now the North players are in limbo, waiting for the administration to fill the position, playing this weekend under the guidance of some parent-coaches.

“They’re going through that whole process,” junior guard Oliver Schaefer said, “and hopefully there’s a new coach within the next week.

“We’ve been looking forward to (Philly Live) a lot,” the 6-foot-tall guard added after the event’s opening set, which saw North fall to a quality Montgomery (N.J.) squad. “Definitely going to be different with a lot of younger guys coming in, a lot of seniors leaving. Just looking forward to a good season.”

Schaefer, a reserve as a sophomore, looks ready to slide into a major role as a junior. The 6-foot-tall guard led the way with 19 points against Montgomery, the team’s primary ball-handler and scorer hitting his first two shots, a smooth pull-up and a deep 3, to set the tone for a strong game for him from the floor. 

That’s quite a difference from last Philly Live, when he mostly sat on the bench and waited his turn.

“Last year, I don’t think I got too many minutes here, but this year it’s looking a lot different,” he said. “You see the coaches, you’re like I’ve got to perform for them, got to put on a show.” 

North was playing shorthanded on Friday morning, without 6-8 rising junior Andrew O’Keefe, likely their starting center, and a few other potential rotation members; there wasn’t a single 2024 on the roster. But rising sophomore Riley Haggerty, rising junior Josh Erman and others all hit some shots against Montgomery, showing that whoever gets the job will have some pieces to work with to help North improve on a 11-11 (7-9 SOL) team from a year ago.

In the meanwhile, they’ll be playing in the Charger Nation league and several other offseason events to start to sort through the blocks of what’s next and figure out what way to put it all together.

“Just working [on playing] together as a team, really, becoming more of a team,” he said. “A lot of us haven’t played together out there — we’ve just got to become more of a team.” — Josh Verlin

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Upper Dublin has PW in its sights

After Upper Dublin missed out on a Suburban One Liberty title by a few games, the Cardinals want to take the next step. UD finished 13-3 in Suburban One (17-5 overall), unable to overcome a 16-0 regular season from eventual District 1 champions Plymouth Whitemarsh. The Cardinals graduated three key contributors from last season, but have a good mix of guys with enough experience and some fresh faces.

Last season, Upper Dublin had a one-two punch, led by point guard D.J Cerisier, a Duquesne football commit, along with big man Seaton Kukla. Wings Griffin and Mason Pensabene also contributed, providing energy on the defensive end. Kukla and Cerisier were both three-year starters, making them hard to replace. 

Rising senior guard Brady Fogle is tasked with leading the Cardinals after losing a few key pieces. Fogle excelled in his first taste of varsity basketball last season as a knockdown shooter from the outside, while also crafty in the lane using numerous fakes to get by defenders. On Friday, Fogle finished with 17 points in a 66-59 win over Sankofa, knocking down four 3-pointers.

“Last year it took a while to get used to the game speed because I played JV the whole year before. Once I got used to it I felt comfortable,” Fogle said. “I'm a senior now, so I'm trying to take control of this team and lead them to victories.”

Ryan Mulroy is the other starter who returns along with Fogle. Mulroy is a slashing wing with good length and athleticism as well as the ability to knock down shots from the outside. Mulroy saw minutes as a freshman, but had an increased role last season.

“We're not going to replace just one guy scoring all the points. We're going to try to share the ball and replace it by committee,” Fogle said. “We don't have to replace one player, we can just get points from everyone and share the rock more.”

Outside of Mulroy and Fogle, sophomore Koby Bazemore provides a spark for Upper Dublin as a pesky defender. Bazemore will have a more concrete role for the Cardinals in his sophomore season after mostly being on the bench last year. Idris Rines will help fill the void which Kukla left with his ability to be a stretch big and knock down shots. The rising junior will be the anchor down low while junior James Castronuovo and sophomore Noah Cohen provide shooting from the outside.

Fogle said that last season Upper Dublin played at a slower pace, but this year they’re going to turn it up and play fast. At times the Cardinals played through Kukla in the post, but without him they’re going to push the ball in transition more. 

“We're trying to play up tempo but want to play with discipline and not turn the ball over,” Fogle said “If it's not there pull it back out, get into our offense, not force shots.” — Zak Wolf 

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Dobbins doesn’t want to be one-hit wonder

Zach Campbell and his teammates got a taste of success last season and they’re not ready to give it up. 

Dobbins was a big surprise in the Philadelphia Public League, finishing with a 25-3 record while playing a high-paced and frenetic style. The Mustangs made it all the way to the Pub semifinals, getting a chance to play at Temple. Even though Dobbins fell to eventual champions Imhotep, it was a moment the players would never forget. 

“It was unbelievable,” Campbell said. “I'm still trying to process it all. I'm hoping we can do the same thing this year.” 

Campbell attributed the team's success to its discipline starting in the offseason. Everyone bought in and decided to be more committed than ever. Going to practice was no longer seen as a chore, but something the team looked forward to. Campbell also mentioned that the team was committed in the classroom so nobody was ineligible because of grades. 

“Everybody was disciplined. We all wanted to work hard and get in the gym.” Campbell said. 

Dobbins won 24 of their first 25 games, led by point guard Kareem Diaz (Cheney). Diaz was the Mustangs leading scorer averaging 21 points per game along with 5.3 rebounds and 2.8 steals. Diaz’ scoring will be difficult to replace and the Mustangs are trying to adjust to life without him, with Campbell explaining that the team is still getting used to playing without him.

“He drew so much attention so it opened the floor for everybody else. Right now we don’t have that anymore.” Campbell said.

Luckily for the Mustangs they didn’t lose much outside of Diaz. Dobbins returns Campbell along with fellow rising senior Saleem Hudson, as well as rising juniors Jarell Little and rising sophomores Haneef Davi and Makaii Akridge. Campbell said each guy is ready to step up a little more in Diaz’s absence to make up for his scoring. Dobbins also added Germantown Friends transfer Darius Frazier who provides a spark on offense. 

The Mustangs like to speed the game up utilizing their full-court press. Dobbins pressed all game using it to cause chaos on the court. Against William Allen, they turned a close game into a 54-38 win because of the turnovers they caused in the latter part of the game. The press led to easy offense preventing Dobbin from playing against a set defense. The Mustangs aren’t a great outside shooting team so the transition opportunities help. Dobbins keeps the press going all game because they stay in good shape in the off season. In the fall the entire team runs cross-country to keep their fitness levels high. 

“It’s hot and boring, but it works.” Campbell said.

It all comes back to the fact that everyone on the team is locked in. Even though they don’t enjoy running, the team still does it because they want to perform well. It’s that kind of attitude that Dobbins is hoping will lead them to another deep run in the Pub playoffs. — Zak Wolf

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West Catholic figuring out follow-up act

The 2022-23 season will be remembered forever for Miguel Bocachica and West Catholic. Even more so, the last two years will live in Burrs basketball lore as two trips to the Philadelphia Catholic League and the first district title in 70 years culminated in the first state championship in program history. Adam “Budd” Clark, who was on-hand to watch the Burrs play Bergen Catholic (N.J.) on Friday night, is headed to Merrimack and Zion Stanford will be staying home to play at Temple. The two seniors were the key pieces to the state title run but have moved onto the chapter in their basketball memoir. 

Bocachica’s vision for the program was realized in March but he’s ready to turn the page toward the future.

“Everyone except the incoming freshmen and Saaid [Lee] are state champions,” Bocachica said. “We are state champions and I want to keep reminding them of that, but it’s time to write their own chapter. The Budd and Zion chapter is over. When the Watson twins’ time was over, it was time for Budd, Zion and Whop to write their own chapter. It’s time for a brand-new chapter.”

Kareem and Kaseem Watson are now playing at Cal State Bakersfield while Nasir Griffin is at East Stroudsburg where he will be joined by incoming freshman Shemar Wilbanks-Acqui, who was integral to the Burrs’s success over the last two seasons. Amyr Walker is headed to play at Arcadia University and Marcus Branker Jr. will play at California University of Pa. As one chapter ends, the next begins and that has always left Bocahica hopeful for the next crops of players.

“You don’t get experience unless you’re playing and the guys who are playing are guys I trust,” Bocachica said. “At one point in time, no one knew Zion, and no one knew about the Watson twins. We have a lot of kids who are great players and students, but we’re taking it one day at a time.”

Some of those players include Lee - a transfer from Math, Civics & Sciences where he avg. 2.9 ppg last season - Micah Waters, Isaiah Muhammad, Tariq Jennings and Kingston Wheatley. Lee scored 14 points in the 51-45 victory on Friday while Muhammad sank three three-pointers and finished with 11 points. Waters had 11 points in the state semifinals against Trinity and figures to be one of the lead guards this season while the 6-5 Jennings is the lone senior on the roster whose role will be as robust as any. Wheatley played sparingly as a freshman but will be expected to handle the load in the post. 

It’s a group similar to the one Bocachica had in 2020-21 with Clark, Stanford, Griffin, Branker and the Watson twins. The potential is there even though there are no results go off of just yet, but as he learned with that group, there is much to be excited about. — Rich Flanagan

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Quick Hits

— Impressive showing by Conestoga in a 64-18 win over William Allen on Friday afternoon; the Pioneers opened up 24-8 thanks to some hot shooting, and then, as if that wasn’t strong enough, pulled away from there; it was 40-8 at halftime, the entire second played to a running clock. Rising junior point guard Ben Robinson led the way with 18 points, including a transition dunk; notable also was the ‘Stoga debut of Rowan Miller, the 5-11 rising sophomore coming to his local school after starting at Malvern Prep a year ago. 

Miller, whose older brother Jerry Miller graduated from ‘Stoga in 2021 after a starting role as an upperclassman, had nine points and seven assists, fitting right in and giving them another talented ball-handler and defender. The Pioneers, who are trying to build on an 11-12 (6-10 Central) season, won’t complain about adding him to the mix.

“Rowan’s a tremendous talent — he’s a better kid, to be honest,” head coach Sean Forcine said. “He’s got a great attitude, came in here ready to work hard like everybody else. He prides himself on defense and that’s the staple of the program; if we can defend, good things will happen and we can score with ease, but defense is key.”

— Devon Prep’s developing a reputation, and it’s on the wings. This year’s Tide lose Lucas Orchard (Perkiomen School) and Jacen Holloway (USMAPS) but have a deep group of perimeter players with significant size who will make up 80% of the starting lineup next year, and they shined in a win over Central York on Friday afternoon. Senior Ben Costello (6-5) and juniors Zane Conlon (6-5), Reece Craft (6-5) and Shane Doyle (6-3) all have overlapping skill sets with a combination of shooting, rebounding, ball-handling and interior scoring, with senior point guard and four-year starter Ty Mishock running point one last go-around. That’s a group which will give teams a lot of mismatch problems this year. — Josh Verlin

— To say Radnor lost a lot would be an understatement. Radnor finished 28-1, winning the Central League and District 1 5A titles while making the PIAA state quarterfinals, falling to Archbishop Ryan. Now, the Raiders have some work to do. As of now Radnor doesn’t even have a coach, after Jamie Chadwin stepped down last month. Without a coach and without the majority of their rotation from the year before, Radnor finds itself in a tough position. Radnor graduated Jackson Hicke (Princeton), Danny Rosenblum (Rochester), Charlie Thorton (Randolph Macon), Jackson Gaffney, Cooper Mueller and Nick Monty. That leaves Henry Pierce and Elijah Sellers as the only players left that got minutes during the year; rising senior Michael Savadove is also back, though he’s playing for a state championship in lacrosse this weekend.

Losing a lot of key guys, Sellers knows it's going to be tough. He feels his team needs to be sharper because of the players who left. 

“Last year we had a lot of talent so we didn’t have to rely on the small things as much so I think this year, we're gonna have to rely on the small things.

Sellers said guys like Kyle Krug, Harrison Ceppa and Connor Flynn have been stepping up in open gyms and spring league games despite not having varsity experience. The rising senior explained that Radnor’s defense needs to improve and play with more intensity  if they want to be competitive. Sellers said that the offense will come once they gel as a team. — Zak Wolf