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, including a number of local squads. CoBL was able to take in the action over the course of the weekend and catch up with some of the team's in (very early) preparation for next season.

Here's the second part of our high school 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 | High School Notebook Pt. 2 | Recruiting Notebook Pt. 1 | Recruiting Notebook Pt. 2

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Morris brothers, Bensalem coming together

Bensalem is playing a lot of hoops this offseason. A spring league, two summer leagues and four games during two weekends at Philly LIve have given the Owls plenty of time to gel — and pick up some quality wins.

Father Judge, CB East, Lincoln, West Philadelphia, Dobbins and Appoquinimink (Del.) are some of the programs Bensalem has taken down, giving the group a lot of confidence about what it can accomplish this upcoming season.

“I feel like we’re starting to gel as a team because we got a lot of people back,” senior guard Noah Morris said. “We lost two seniors, but we’re playing a lot this offseason. … We’re learning each other’s game, learning what each other likes to do, but it’s getting fun because we’re starting to win a little bit. We can’t get too over our heads, but it’s pretty fun right now.”

Bensalem's Noah, left, and Antonio Morris are hoping to lead the team on deep runs this season. 

Bensalem finished third in the SOL Patriot League standings last season and was the last team out of the District 1 6A playoff field, finishing the season No. 25 in the power rankings after a 12-10 regular season.

The Owls graduated first team guard Eric Gonzalez and honorable mention selection Jack Wineburg. Noah and older brother Antonio, the sons of head coach Rob Morris, both went off for 20+ against Appoquinimink in a 21-point comeback this weekend. Antonio, a 5-11 guard who said DeSales has reached out, was a first team All-SOL Patriot selection last season. Junior 5-8 guard Amir Drummond was another standout for the Owls on Friday.

“We’re tough,” Antonio said. “We’re not too big, but we’re tough and we’re never just going to play like we’re small. We’re always going to play like we’re bigger than them.”

His younger brother shared similar sentiment.

“We’re going to play really good defense,” Noah said. “We’re athletic this year. We like to get in people’s faces, play defense and we can shoot too.”

“It just comes from playing with a chip on your shoulder. We never have the tall 6-8 guys like some of these other schools. We never have the 6-4 athletic guard, but we just have this toughness and we play with heart because that’s how we win. We can’t just walk in the gym and win based off our athleticism and height. We just gotta play with our heart.”

They believe a Patriot Division title is within grasp and hopefully can continue to improve into one of the top teams in the district as well.

“I feel like we all believe in each other and feel like we can go as far as our team takes us because we’ve shown what we can do,” Antonio said.

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Frankford ready for Public League’s best

Though they didn’t accomplish some of their ultimate goals, Frankford’s 2024 class can hang itself on at least one thing from their junior seasons.

“We brought them back to the ‘A’ division,” 2024 6-4 forward Hasan Dawson said. “I’m real excited. I want everything. I want to come for everybody.”

The Pioneers put together a 10-1 mark to win the Public League ‘B’ Division last season before making a run to the Public League quarterfinals, where they fell 43-41 to Constitution. With eventual champion Imhotep, runner-up West Philadelphia and semifinalist Dobbins Tech all in the 5A classification, Frankford didn’t have a chance to compete in the state playoffs after that.

Now, a group led by Dawson, senior 6-4 wing Sa’ir Alsbrook and senior 6-2 point guard Laquan Harrison will be challenged by the likes of Imhotep, Constitution, West Philly, MCS and the other Pub powers on a nightly basis.

“It’s going to be tough,” Alsbrook said. “We gotta stick together and all that and get stronger.”

Leading scorers Travis Reed (12.1 ppg) and Zamir Parker-Barnes (12.0 ppg) are no longer with the Pioneers, but Alsbrook, Dawson and Harrison provide a group local small college programs should keep an eye on. 

Alsbrook, who averaged 9.8 ppg and 6.0 rpg last season, said he’s already heard from East Stroudsburg and Swarthmore. He’s a strong wing who can get to the hoop, rebound and play good defense. Harrison (5.1 ppg) is a fun bulky guard who never stops competing, and likes to drive and dish and finish strong. Dawson is a terrific rebounder and efficient when he gets the ball inside.

“We’ve been playing together since middle school, so we’ve got a lot of chemistry, us three,” Alsbrook said.

Dawson and Alsbrook mentioned 2026 guard Mykel Owens as another player who has stepped up this offseason. They’ve impressed in a few watched with their physicality and strength as well as how hard they play.

The hope is to continue to the momentum of last season’s late run to a trip to the Liacouras Center for the Public League playoffs as well as a trip to states.

“We build off that by executing and just doing what we did last year,” Dawson said. “As a team, we stuck together through all the tough moments, we came together and we executed — because five fingers make a fist.”

“We hustle and in tough moments, we always stay together,” he added. “Even if the game is breaking down, we know how to come together as a team and execute.”

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Delco Christian returns strong group for state push

If the lineup Delco Christian trots out this season looks a little familiar, that’s because it is. The Knights had a young roster in 2022-23 with just one senior in the mix. The team’s top eight scorers are slated to be back in 2023=24, ready to make a little more noise in the Bicentennial and beyond.

“It’s really exciting,” said 6-foot 2024 guard Josiah Gaines. “We built a lot of team chemistry this year, so we’re looking forward to next year.”

Delco Christian reached the BAL quarters last season and the District 1-2A championship game before a first round loss in states. They’ll have 6-1 2025 guard Khamai Orange (13.2 ppg, 7.7 rpg), 6-1 2025 sharpshooter Caleb Jameson (11.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg), 6-foot guard Beau Lyren (11.7 ppg) and Gaines (9.6 ppg) to lead the way offensively.

Cole Pruessner, a 6-foot 2024 guard is also in the mix. Luke Bushra, a 6-5 2024 forward and Brad Berwick, a 6-4 2026 forward, are two front court pieces who will be important on both ends.

The squad knocked down 191 threes during a 14-13 (10-4 BAL) campaign last season, averaging more than seven makes from deep per game. Jameson hit 83 and Lyren 68.

The Knights will once again look for Orange and Gaines to drive and score as well as kick to their shooters, they’d also like to fortify other parts of their game.

“Threes, but a lot more defense this year,” Gaines said. “We have an emphasis on man-to-man and trying to move the ball more.”

A short postseason run last season has Gaines and his teammates feeling like they’re capable of more.

“We want to go far in states for sure, last year we got knocked out in the first round, so we want to go far in states and we’re just going to build more chemistry.”

“Win districts and go far in states.”

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Long-Mtume fitting in with Neumann-Goretti

Last season was a pretty big one for Keon Long-Mtume personally. 

After heading to Martin Luther King HS from La Salle College HS, Long-Mttme had a breakout sophomore campaign. The Cougars had a tough 2022-23 campaign, but Long-Mtume averaged 23.9 ppg to establish himself as one of the area’s top scorers.“This past year was a breakout. I feel like I got a little better,” Long-Mtume said. “That was just being in the gym more.”

Long-Mtume played with Neumann-Goretti during at Philly Live the past two weekends. He sprinkled in a few double-figure outings but certainly didn’t have the opportunity to put together any monster performances like last season. 

“Everything’s been very new, but I knew a lot of the guys before I came here, so it was a little bit of adjusting but it wasn’t as much of an adjustment as I thought it would be,” Long-Mtume said.

“It’s really different. I have to do other things, but I’m playing with better players, so I have to do things other than score better, like passing, rebounds, stuff like that.”

Long-Mtume is embracing his role with the Saints and the potential to have an impact at one of the area’s traditional powers. He’s super athletic, has some length and can get up and down the court with speed.

Neumann’s veterans like Amir Williams have been impressed with the defense of the team’s young players and newcomers and Long-Mtume is certainly buying into the program’s focus on that side of the ball.

“Defense. I play really good defense, but they say I could be a really great defender,” Long-Mtume said. “One thing I'm trying to work on in my game is defense because I know offense will come to me. I’m not really worried about that. 

“I feel like I’m very scrappy, I’m very aggressive and I don’t just let you get to the spots you want to get to. I really make you have to work to get the ball.”

Long-Mtume is excited to get to face friends like Archbishop Wood’s Deuce Maxey and Milan Dean and Archbishop Ryan’s Thomas Sorber in the Philadelphia Catholic League when the season rolls around this winter.

“They said it’s one of the best leagues in the country, so I’m looking forward to it,” Long-Mtume said.

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Cheltenham looks for bounceback campaign

Even with the departure of several key players via graduation and transfer year after year, the Cheltenham boys basketball program has been a model of consistency, entering the District 1 tournament as one of the top seeds or favorites most years.

The Panthers saw that standard fall off last season, just sneaking into the district postseason as the No. 23 seed. 

With first team All-SOL Freedom Josiah Hutson guard heading elsewhere and second team selection Yakeen Respes graduated it’s a similar story for Cheltenham once again. The Panthers hope they can tap back into the formula that worked so many times before last season.

“Have a way better season than last year,” said 6-4 senior wing Kamani Healy, a second team all-league selection last season. “We had a lot of flaws last year with selfish basketball and we just gotta get away from that and get into the new and create a whole different brand of basketball where we play as a team to win, which is what we were doing in the successful years that we had with a lot of big-time players coming out of Cheltenham.”

Healy and classmate Nile Tinsley, another 6-4 wing/forward, will guide a group that has a lot of talented underclassmen. Malik Hughes (6-5) and Milak Myatt (6-4) are versatile players in the 2026 class with classmates Mark Hill and Chris Harmon, both 5-10 guards, set to lead the way in the backcourt.

“Definitely with me, Malik, Nile, we’re all 6-4 with big wing spans, so we definitely gotta be on the glass and being destructive with our hands,” Healy said. “We’ve got more smaller guards, and we’re the big guys, so we definitely gotta be destructive with our hands and contesting a lot.”

Healy is certainly one of the more talented players on the roster, but he’s not afraid to do the dirty work and provide a positive example for some of the younger players on the team. The goal is ultimately to win the division and make deep runs in districts and states.

“Just to be an energy guy, come in and do what I need to do,” Healy said of his role. “Get rebounds, score, get assists, but also bring my team together as a whole and make sure that we’re doing what we need to do to get the win.”

“Just coming in and just setting the tone with defense, talking and going up and getting rebounds, talking on defense. We’ve got a younger core group of guys, so I definitely need to be more vocal now because they follow the energy that I bring. Me being the older guy, I gotta see that and I gotta pick my intensity up when I get in the game.”

PJP eyes postseason return

Pope John Paul II’s Pioneer Athletic Conference fate was decided in the Golden Panthers’ final regular season game. With a chance to win the Frontier Division with a win over Upper Merion, PJP fell short and a loss to the Vikings paired with some other results around the league dropped the Golden Panthers from a first-round bye to out of the postseason completely.

“We were one game away from winning the Frontier and one game away from getting into the playoffs,” PJP coach Brendan Stanton said.

It was the first time in Stanton’s five-year tenure (next season will be the sixth) the Golden Panthers (10-11, 7-3 Frontier) missed out the league’s postseason. They followed with an opening semifinal loss to Bishop Shanahan.

Last season’s PJP team had a tough act to follow as the likes of JP Baron, Jaden Workman and Kevin Green were part of one of the best stretches in program history. Trey Rogers and Dom DeMito (12.9 ppg) emerged as first team All-Frontier players, with DeMito, a 5-11 point guard, and Chase Mondillo, a 6-1 guard, returning as starters from last season’s group.

Braden Reed, a standout wideout on the school’s football team, has emerged as one of the team’s top scorers this season after playing the role of sixth man last season. Bradey Bass (6-2) and Caleb Zavertnik (6-5) are two other pieces back with Jason Green, Logan Fish and Jake Robinson the other consistent players in the summer rotation at the moment.

“Last year was probably the worst shooting season we’ve had in a long time,” Stanton said. “We’ve had flashes this offseason where we can make shots again and obviously being the small team that we are, a lot of our success will come down to how many threes we can make a game.”

The Golden Panthers aren’t the only ones who have talent back with Rogers one of just two first team All-Frontier players to graduate. Keeping turnovers down, rebounding above their size and moving without the ball on offense will be some of the keys as the program hopes to be a factor both in the division, league and District 1 Class 4A.

“The Frontier’s a lot better, we just hope to be in the mix for that and get back to the playoffs,” Stanton said. “That’s the goal.”

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