City of Basketball Love

Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue) & Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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MANHEIM — The courts at Spooky Nook were once again packed with talent as the Hoop Group finished out its Summer League championships on Saturday and Sunday. 

The CoBL staff was there to take in the action and talk to some of the prospects we watched. Here's the first part of our recruiting notebook:

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More coverage from Spooky Nook: Summer Jam Fest Standouts
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Brady Loughlin (2025 | Jersey Force 17U)

Despite having a father and brother to both play college football, Brady Loughlin has always been attracted to the hardwood.

Day after day, he put up shot after shot. Even after just two high school seasons, the 6-foot-5 sharpshooter looks like he has a future at the next level as well.

“They really like my ability to shoot the ball,” Loughlin said of what college coaches like about his game. “I think I can shoot with the best of them. I didn’t really showcase it that game, but I try my best. I work really hard on my catch-and-shoot. I think that’s something I can bring to the next level.”

Loughlin’s father Kevin played football at Iona and brother Kevin will be a sophomore at Fordham next season. Loughlin has two seasons of varsity hoops at powerhouse Don Bosco Prep under his belt. He received an offer from Fairleigh Dickinson lat May and added Fairfield and Iona during the course of the season.

He started to hear directly from college coaches on June 15 and received a fourth offer from Albany. Florida Atlantic, George Washington, William & Mary and several schools from the Ivy and Patriot Leagues are others who have been in touch.

“June 15, I had a bunch of schools calling me,” Loughlin said. “Albany called me and offered me that morning. It was a great feeling knowing that these schools are interested in you. Getting to play in front of all the colleges during the live periods is just a great opportunity.”

“I’m just trying to keep my head down, work hard, but at the same time try to show what I can do,” he added.

Loughlin shares the court with some high-end talent at Bosco, including five-star combo guard Dylan Harper, arguably the top 2024 player in the country. His role is mostly to knock down shots, hitting 27 threes as a freshman and 41 as a sophomore.

He knows there’s a lot more to his game, however, which he is displaying with the Jersey Force.

“On Bosco, I’m kind of more catch and shoot or catch and attack,” Loughlin said. “Here, I get a little more opportunity to facilitate, play on the ball, pick and roll, that kind of stuff. I’m just taking the chance to work on that this summer.”

There were plenty of college coaches courtside during Force’s games this past week. Loughlin said Yale came and saw him in the Atlantic and Iona was in attendance for one of his games Saturday at Spooky Nook. There will likely be plenty of eyes on the Ironmen as they chase a state title after falling in the NJSIAA Non-Public A semifinals a season ago.

“Personally, just keep playing at the highest level I can,” Loughlin said. “But this year I think is our chance to actually win a ring. We got cut off last year, so that’s the main goal for this year.”  — Owen McCue

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Arhan Lapsiwala (2024 | Texas Impact HGSL)

A trip to Spooky Nook from the Lone Star state was actually a trip home for Lapsiwala. 

The Coppell High School (Tex.) rising senior was born in Hershey, his family living in central PA for several more years before departing down to Texas more than a decade back, Lapsiwala spending most of his formative years in the Dallas suburbs. So even if was a young boy back when his family moved South, there was still an emotional connection to Lancaster county and the surrounding region. 

“I actually grew up here, about 13 years ago, so it’s good to be back and experience that,” he said. “We visited the house I grew up in for the first time in 13 years yesterday.”

Coming up this way is something Lapsiwala has in mind for his college years as well. A high-academic student, he’s been stopping by almost every Ivy League campus for visits and camps: Penn’s and Columbia’s last week, Princeton’s, Brown’s and Yale’s before that, Harvard in the future. 

It’s an exposure not just to the various I-95 corridor cities and towns but their hoopers as well.

“I don’t really come (to the Northeast) that often so it’s nice to see those places, checking out different styles of basketball,” he said. “All nice to be around, be a part of.”

A sweet-shooting wing guard with good length and athleticism, Lapsiwala played a big role on Coppell’s 24-11 season this past year, helping make up for the graduation of Ryan Agarwal (Stanford). He said he averaged “around 17 (points) and six (rebounds),” and is looking to improve on his physicality and his ability to handle the ball against pressure while continuing to hone his shooting.

Lapsiwala’s been talking to various Ivy programs as well as Patriot League schools as well, but he’s also being heavily recruited by the high-academic D-III types. He cited recent contact with Williams and NYU; at a win on Saturday morning, assistants from Swarthmore, Franklin & Marshall and more were courtside.

“They’re pretty much [saying] the same [things] — they like what they see, they want me to spend more time with them, connect with them, especially while I’m here,” he said, adding that when it comes to his college search, “I’m looking academically for a great business school, and definitely a great fit [...]  I don’t want to go somewhere where I’m not going to play, [I want to be] somewhere who wants me as much as I want them.” — Josh Verlin

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Rashad ‘RJ’ McKinnie (2024 | Young & Reckless)

There’s a long line of Division I talent that’s come out of Chicago’s Simeon Career Academy, most famously Derrick Rose and Jabari Parker, both top-two selections in the NBA Draft and longtime pros. 

McKinnie might not quite be the one-and-done type, but the 6-foot-2, 185-pound rising senior certainly looks the part of a Division I guard, especially as he dropped 18 points with nine rebounds, three assists and a steal in a win over East Coast Power in the 17U HGSL Round of 16 on Saturday morning.

After playing two years of JV ball, McKinnie moved into the varsity rotation this past year, serving as the sixth man for a team that went 34-4, making it all the way to the Illinois Class 3A championship game before losing to Metamora. That season included a win over Philly powerhouse Imhotep Charter and a win over Archbishop Stepinac (N.Y.) at the HoopHall Classic, both in January.

“It’s really good, it’s a lot of pressure, putting on a Simeon uniform,” he said. “Whoever you play, they’re going to play their best. It’s really a lot of pressure when you’re putting on a Simeon jersey.”

He picked up his first offer at the end of June, from SIU-Edwardsville, which plays in the Ohio Valley Conference; he said a few other schools were talking to his coaches, but wasn’t sure of the specifics. He’s not the first hooper in his family — his older cousin is former Wisconsin-Green Bay standout Alfonzo McKinnie, who’s current in the G League, with more than 180 NBA appearances over the course of five seasons with the Raptors, Warriors, Cavaliers, Lakers and Bulls.

With Simeon this fall, McKinnie expects to have the ball in his hands much more thanks to the graduation of Jacksonville-bound point guard Jalen Griffith, one of nine seniors on the 2022-23 roster. 

“This year, I really couldn’t handle the ball much,” he said, “so I’ve got to work on handling the ball against pressure.” — Josh Verlin

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Oliver Jones (2024 | WeR1 Select 17U)

In just a few minutes watching Oliver “Ollie” Jones on the basketball court, it’s pretty easy to identify why college programs might be interested in his services.

Very few players are as committed to Jones on the defensive end. The 6-foot-1 guard from Middletown, Del. hounds his man on and off the ball and has the speed to quickly recover if someone can shake him.

“He really liked how I have that dog in me on defense,” Jones said of the feedback from one college coach. “I keep people in front of me. As you can see, when the game’s on the line I just pressure, try to win the game, get the ball. As a point guard, I make the right plays. I can get downhill and make the right decisions.”

“It’s always been a big part of my game,” he added. “I just want that ball, do whatever to get it. Me and my other point guard Reid (Belcher), we can get after that ball and we can steal it.”

Jones won a state championship at the Sanford School (Del.) as a freshman before spending the past two seasons playing in the NEPSAC at South Kent School (Conn.). He was often tasked with guarding Kansas commit Elmarko Jackson in practice this past season.

“It’s definitely different from Delaware basketball,” Jones said. “The competition is good, definitely a lot of high recruits. Just the way everyone plays, it’s different and it prepares you for the college level.”

Columbia, Brown, Princeton and Penn are the schools talking with him right now, mostly for at least a few months now. He said he took a visit to Columbia. 

While the coaches love his defense and ability to run the show at the point guard spot, Jones is hoping to continue to improve as a shooter — noting both his 3-point shot and midrange game. 

He’s also enjoying playing with guys like Kareem Thomas and Justin Hinds, who he went to Gunning Bedford Middle School with. — Owen McCue

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Quick Hits

— There’s no doubt that his teammates had Alexander Mostashari (2024 | VA Premier HGSL 17U) to thank as Premier beat Philly Revolution’s 17s by a point to advance to the quarterfinals of the 17U HGSL championship on Saturday afternoon. The 6-5, 195-pound wing guard was 6-of-7 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from downtown, and 3-of-3 from the foul line (getting fouled on a 3-pointer) for a highly-efficient 18 points, including the go-ahead bucket with 30 seconds left as his team held on, as well as a 30-footer just ahead of the halftime buzzer.

Not bad for someone who literally just joined the team.

“Yeah, my first tournament was in Atlantic City, we started a couple days ago, it was brand-new,” he said. “It was a fun, tough game but we came out with the win.”

A rising senior at the Maret School (D.C.), Mostashari has a smooth outside shot and good size at his position, which is why he’s hearing from a few Division I programs (Iona, Air Force) as well as some high-level, high-academic Division III programs (Middlebury, Gettysburg); he’s waiting until after the grassroots season ends to set up his visits.

“Definitely [working on] finishing around the rim,” he said. “Everyone knows I can shoot it already, so just keep getting shots up, work on my ball-handling, becoming more shifty, stuff like that, so I can get around guys.”

— Justin Hinds (2024 | WeR1 Select 17U) shot up from about 6-3 to 6-6 in the past calendar year and the added size and length is making a noticeable impact on his game. Hinds said he is playing more above the rim and blocking shots on the defensive end.

“I’ve been playing well, just really trying to attack, get downhill, get my shots in and open it up for my teammates,” Hinds said.

Hinds, who has a 3.9 GPA, said he plans to study biology in college, so he’s looking for program that can challenge hims academically as well.

Colgate started reaching out after the spring grassroots live periods and Drexel started reaching out after he impressed at Philly Live. He took an unofficial visit to University City in late June.

“They like how I play out on the wing and how I’m long and how I can guard 1 through 4. They could definitely put me to good use,” Hinds said.

Hinds isn’t the only Salesianum wing having a really good spring/summer. Salesianum and WeR1 teammate Kareem Thomas has seen a similar ascension in his game. It’s no coincidence as the two train together.

“I see him everyday, pushing each other, getting each other better,” Hinds said. “I’ve been working on my shot, guarding him, playing good defense. It makes both of us better.”

— Dan Civello (2024 | Rise Above 17U) was certainly one of the eye catching prospects in Manheim, physically standing out with his long 6-10 frame. He said the college interest started to pick up at the end of last summer. Coaches from the NESCAC and University Athletic Association are those reaching out to him right now. He said Colby College, his No. 1 right now, was there to see him play this weekend.

“Just the length and the shooting, the combination of both is the first thing they say,” Civello said about what intrigues college coaches.

He's definitely a shooter and not just a big man who can shoot. Seeing the 6-10 forward smoothly step into a transition three was a thing of beauty. That stems from playing out on the perimeter in middle school when there was someone taller than him on the team.

“He’s still 6-4, but I was 6-3 at the time,” Civello said. “I had to learn to play outside a little bit and that sort of just carried through high school.”

Civello said he grew from 6-5 to 6-8 between his freshman and sophomore seasons and was listed as 6-10 on the Rise Above roster this weekend. He said he’s really started feeling more comfortable with his size over the course of the year, which showed with some deft footwork in the post to free himself down low. He’s a talented shot blocker as well. His focus is adding some strength to his frame for the next level.

“Just get in the weight room, get more physical and more athletic,” Civello said.