City of Basketball Love

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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The final weekend of Philly Live brought a ton of talent to the courts at Jefferson University and St. Joe's Prep over the course of the weekend. CoBL was able to take in the action over the course of the weekend and catch up with some prospects to check in on their recruitment.

Here's the first part of our recruiting notebook from the event:

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More coverage from Philly Live: Day 1 Standouts | Day 2 St. Joe's Prep Standouts | Day 2 Jefferson Standouts | Day 3 St. Joe’s Prep Standouts | Day 3 Jefferson Standouts | High School Notebook Pt. 1

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Makye Taylor (2024 | Imhotep Charter)

If Makye Taylor needed an indication of how his first weekend of Philly Live went, he got it from the college coaches.

In the days after the opening weekend of the June scholastic live period, the 6-foot-7 forward went from one Division I scholarship offer (Fairfield) to six, adding Towson, Manhattan, Buffalo, North Carolina A&T and finally Hampton, which offered him Friday morning. 

“It tells me I had a pretty good weekend,” the 6-foot-7 forward said Friday night after helping ‘Tep beat Camden in one of the marquee games of the weekend. “A lot of them brought up the fact that they just like the passion that I play with, and they need that to win games. They bring up the fact that although I didn’t have a great offensive game, I impacted the game in other ways, and then I can really play at their program, even as a freshman.”

Taylor’s been a player to watch for the Panthers since his early days there, a mobile forward with pick-and-pop ability who never needs to dominate offensively to have an impact on the game. He’s been a key part of a lineup that’s dominated the Public League and PIAA brackets the last few years, even if he’s never needed to be the main piece: the presence of ‘23 grads Justin Edwards (Kentucky) and Rahmir Barno (FGCU) plus ‘24 high-major target Ahmad Nowell has kept Taylor a little bit hidden from the headlines. 

Now he’s just one of three seniors on a super-young-but-talented ‘Tep squad, one of three seniors along with Nowell and Jeremiah White on a team that’s got no fewer than five rising freshmen and sophomores in the main part of the rotation, including a pair of high-ceiling 2027s in Munir Greig and Zion Green. 

“Being one of the seniors, my leadership role goes up major,” Taylor said. “Now it’s my time to show the young guys the ‘Tep way. My leadership’s spiked in (a) big way.”

While Nowell dazzled all weekend, Taylor was solid throughout, the combo forward able to play just about every spot on the court in some way, whether that’s helping bring the ball upcourt against pressure, stepping out and knocking down a catch-and-shoot 3, or defending and rebounding inside. 

“This summer, I want to get more confident with putting the ball on the floor,” he said. “I feel like I would help my school in a big way by making plays off the dribble.”

With all the college attention so new for Taylor, it’s too soon for him to really get a feel for any of the new offers just yet. He’s taking an unofficial visit to Towson today (Monday), with plans to see the others after Peach Jam and the July grassroots season wraps up with Team Final; he said a college decision is “probably” coming before his senior year begins.

“I want to get out who has the best interests at heart with me,” he said. “Because a lot of guys [...] they pull a guy for his skill or his grit, and they don’t really want the guy for him being a guy. I want coaches to see me for the player that I really am.” — Josh Verlin

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Justin Bandy (2025 | Trinity Catholic, Fla.)

Justin Bandy found himself in a very unfamiliar position this weekend at Philly Live II: On the bench. 

Still recovering from an ankle injury, all he could do was watch from the sidelines as his team that traveled from Florida struggled throughout the weekend.

“It’s really really tough. I’m the leader of the team and without me, there’s a really big hole,” Bandy said. 

Bandy, a versatile 6-8, 220-pound rising junior from Trinity Catholic High School in Florida, sustained the injury recently when he came down with a rebound on an opponent’s foot. The extent of the injury is unknown, as it was too swollen initially to get a proper X-ray. 

The injury put a halt to what was supposed to be a big summer for Bandy’s development and recruitment. 

“It’s a struggle right now. It is a big summer for me heading into my junior year but you just have to keep it pushing,” Bandy said. Got to keep a positive mindset.”

It is easy to see why he is so disappointed. When healthy, there is a ton to like about his game — most recently gone off for 33 points, nine rebounds and four assists in a summer league game the last time he was on the floor. He describes himself as “baby Jokic”, an ode to the reigning Finals MVP known for his supreme playmaking ability at his size. While that is certainly a lofty comparison, he is cut from similar cloth. 

Versatility is king in today’s game, and playmaking bigs who can help space the floor are especially in demand. Bandy is comfortable operating in the pick-and-pop game or using his technically sound footwork to create opportunities on the low block. With his size and skill level, Bandy is a constant double-double threat with the scoring and playmaking ability to carry an offense. 

So far the only school Bandy has been in contact with is the University of South Florida and he is planning on taking a visit to the school in the Fall. Priority number one is to get healthy, but once he is back he knows he’ll face an uphill battle and must improve in other aspects of the game if he wants to receive the interest he wants from the collegiate level. 

“Conditioning,” Bandy said confidently when asked what area of his game he will focus on once he’s healthy. “Get smarter, make better decisions but right now if I was playing in these games it would be my conditioning”

How athletes respond to adversity is a lot of times what defines their success. How Bandy reacts to this time on the shelf will ultimately decide how far he can go. Watching his team struggle this weekend was hard, but Bandy is confident the experience will benefit his team in the long run. 

“I feel like this is a good opportunity for us to come together and become a family. But that takes time,” said Bandy. 

Luckily for “baby Jokic”, time is on his side. — Justin Procope

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Dior Kennedy (2024 | Coatesville)

Dior Kennedy had a pretty good role model at Coatesville High School growing up. 

His first cousin Jhamir Brickus, who is now at La Salle, starred for the Raiders as Kennedy started to come into his own as a basketball player. 

He hopes to be the next Coatesville star playing D1 hoops.

“It’s really special to put on for your hometown and your city,” Kennedy said. “There’s a lot of people looking up to you, lot of kids looking up to you, walking around. It’s really special.”

Kennedy’s plans for the next level gained quite a bit of momentum earlier this month when Highlanders coach Grant Billmeier extended him his first D1 offer.

“It was really exciting,” Kennedy said. “When Coach Grant called me, it was a fun experience. I was so happy I got my first offer.”

NJIT has been watching Kennedy since last summer and likes what he can bring to the table as a player.

“They just said they like how I play defense aggressively, how I get to my spots, find my midrange and they just liked my film, liked the way I played and offered me a scholarship,” Kennedy said.

During his team’s final game at Philly Live against Lenape (N.J.) during the final set of Sunday’s 

action at St. Joe’s Prep, Kennedy had an assistant from Fairleigh Dickinson watching him play. He took an unofficial visit to Hackensack last week.

Kennedy noted Siena, Sacred Heart and Dartmouth are the other schools that have reached out.

He took an unofficial visit to Fairleigh Dickinson last week.

“It’s really exciting because I would classify myself as an underrated player in my class. It’s really exciting to finally get recognition for all the hard work I’ve been putting in.” — Owen McCue

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Anthony Lilly (2024 | Father Judge)

Winning is contagious. For Anthony Lilly and the Father Judge Crusaders, they are hoping to continue the winning momentum they have earned at Philly Live, going undefeated in six games. 

“We just have the best chemistry right now and I don’t want it to stop,” said Lilly. 

In their last game on Sunday, Lilly finished with 12 points, knocking in one three-pointer and doing the little things inside necessary to win. 

At 6-foot-6, the rising senior has a lot to like about his game. He can space the floor with his shooting and is comfortable grabbing rebounds and scoring inside. After a disappointing playoff exit at the hands of Archbishop Caroll and a minor hamstring injury, Lilly is focused on getting his body ready in the weight room so that he’s prepared to battle with all the talented bigs the PCL has to offer. 

“I lift every day,” says Lilly. “I think it’s so important because coming to the PCL, these teams are so big”

That work ethic is something Lilly is also trying to instill in his little brother, who also attends Judge and is currently playing AAU ball for Philly Revolution. 

“I just tell him to keep a good mindset and your time will come,” said Lilly.

A good mindset is very important when dealing with an injury. Lilly says this is the first time since his hamstring injury that he has felt back to normal and he will continue treatment for the foreseeable future. Therapy and getting stronger are his priorities for the summer, but with collegiate interest growing, Lilly knows it will take more than that if he is going to hold his own and stand out this Fall. 

“Everyone has different talents, so I have to know my personnel…if they can shoot, if they can’t shoot, and make sure I box out every time to grab a rebound,” said Lilly.

So far, Lilly has received interest from a handful of DIII schools including Arcadia, American, Brandywine, and Wilkes. There are no official offers at the moment, but he has visits planned to Arcadia and WIlkes. 

For Lilly, education is set to be one of the main factors he will consider when making a decision for his future. While he is still not decided on what he will study, he insists that what he wants to do outside of basketball will be just as important as the on-court factors. 

For now, the focus is on this season, with a goal of a deep playoff run in mind. 

“Everyone wants to go to the Palestra,” Lilly said. “I think we have the talent to do it, so I’m excited for the season.” — Justin Procope

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Pearse McGuinn (2024 | Cardinal O’Hara)

McGuinn doesn’t think of himself as your average Philadelphia Catholic League big man.

The 6-foot-7 forward, who averaged 12.4 ppg and 6.0 rpg for the Lions a season, hasn’t had a lot of time to show it this summer, but his game has continued to extend out to the wing..

“I think I’ve evolved from more of a big to a big guard,” McGuinn said. “I’ve worked on my dribbling, my slashing and I’ve always been able to shoot it, but never been able to shoot it off the dribble. Now, I’ve been kind of getting better with being more confident in my shot and my dribble.”

McGuinn is definitely emerging as someone who can play the stretch four position at the next level. He did a lot of good things for O’Hara during the last scholastic live period this weekend, even if he didn’t always get to show off his arsenal.

He showed confidence from deep as well as putting the ball on the floor, even dribbling into the lane and throwing down a monster dunk in traffic during a game against Trinity Catholic (Fla.) on Friday night.

”I don’t really get to shoot as much recently because I have to play the big,” McGuinn said. “I’m the biggest guy on the team. But I feel that once we get into the season, we could isolate. I could screen and pop and screen and role and the bigs just won’t be really able to defend it.”

McGuinn said the levels he’s heard from most are the Patriot and Ivy Leagues. He received a Division I offer from NJIT last September and even after a change in coaching staff with Seton Hall assistant Grant Billmeier said Billmeier reached out to let him know that offer still stands.

He’s waiting until August to try and visit schools with a busy June with O’Hara and returning to K-Low elite in July — which has a core group that’s played a ton of hoops together over the last three seasons.

As for what college coaches like about his game?

“They just say they like my ability to defend and block shots but also shoot the ball,” McGuinn said. “I’m a tall kid who can shoot the ball. That’s going to be a huge asset to their basketball program.” — Owen McCue