City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin) +
Matt Gaffney (@GaffReports)
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MANHEIM — The final Hoop Group boys’ tournament of the summer is going on at Spooky Nook Sports this weekend, the Summer Finale bringing a good number of the Hoop Group Summer League squads as well as a few Nike, Under Armour and Adidas programs together for a couple days of brackets and showcase games.

Here’s the first part of our recruiting notebook from the weekend:

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Summer Finale Coverage: Day 1 Standouts 

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Izaiah Pasha (2024 | Philly Pride UAA 17U)

Even though he’s leaving Philadelphia for this season, there’s a real chance Pasha comes back in 2024.

Temple head coach Adam Fisher has made the recent Cardinal O’Hara grad one of his top targets in the 2024 class, and it’s no secret. Fisher was courtside with assistant Bobby Jordan watching Pasha and the Pride 17s play a pair of games on Saturday, and has made it clear to the 6-4 guard that they’re not going away.

“They’ve been at all my games, they’re recruiting me really, really heavy,” he said. “I love it. They are definitely a good fit [...], they just want me to come in, be ready to play. They say I have a bright future and they want me as soon as possible.”

He did stress that he was keeping his recruiting “wide open,” as he gives schools time to re-evaluate his status as an available 2024, with the knowledge that the new world of college hoops recruiting means situations are always changing.

Pasha was originally committed to Iona as a member of the 2023 class, but opened things back up when Rick Pitino left Iona for St. John’s, then elected to do a prep year. He’s headed to St. Thomas More (Conn.) this fall to play for legendary head coach Jere Quinn, who’s been running the program since 1978. 

At STM, Pasha will play in the New England Prep School Athletic Council (NEPSAC), widely recognized as the best post-graduate basketball league in the country. He got his first taste of that action during one of the June live periods, where he played with his new squad at Avon Old Farms (Conn.).

“It reminds me of the PCL a little bit, but more,” he said. “More exposure, bigger, more talent, but again just a lot of Division I talent, playing every game against Division I talent.”

In addition to his offer from Temple, Pasha has ones from East Tennessee and Hofstra, while he said some high-major programs — mentioning Minnesota — had been in touch as well.

With no timeline on his commitment, he’s focused on continuing to round out his game, making the transition from wing to combo guard that he started a couple years ago, which he showed this weekend with his ability to create his own shot off the bounce and make plays for his teammates.

“Just being a leader, showing everyone that I can do everything at all levels,” he said. “Handling the rock, finding my teammates and just getting wins “ — Josh Verlin

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KJ Cochran (2025 | K-Low Elite 3SSB 17U)
KJ Cochran may be young, but he is a mature young man with an advanced level game. In the age of reclassification, he’s a true rising junior, only 16 years old, but his body, game, and mind continue to expand and evolve well beyond his age.

Those characteristics might explain why he has handfuls of current D1 offers in hand including Mississippi State, St. Joe’s, Temple, Kent State, George Mason and George Washington among others.

Cochran is pushing himself to take his game to another level and challenge himself not only on the court, but in the classroom as well. It’s why he made the move from West Chester East to the Perkiomen School for the new school year.  

“The main reason I went to Perkiomen is academics,” he said. “They had three guys in the last two years go to the Ivy League. My mom is an academics coordinator at West Chester University, and she’s been on top of me regarding academics so that’s my main reason.”

He recently spent a live period with his new teammates and Cochran is excited about his future school and teammates.

“I was up there for a week and stayed with the guys on campus and it was great.” said the 6-4 point guard. “The guys were welcoming and the first day, they were talking to me about how they have  a goal, and they want to reach that goal.  They trust in the coaches that they’ll bring in the right players to help them reach it and I trust them.”

While talking to Cochran, it’s easy to see why he will be a good fit at his new school and whatever college he eventually chooses down the line. But the wise beyond his years Cochran is simply enjoying the ride of being a standout basketball player with a bright future. He does spend time worrying about making a college decision.

“I’m just enjoying the process. I’m not about all the offers – I just love playing the game,” said Cochran.

For Cochran, the journey is the destination.

“I have grown in my game and in my leadership, playing up. There are guys who are older and letting them know ‘I got you’, having trust in each other, that’s important. Playing up against guys who are bigger and stronger and as someone who is not a ‘reclass’, it’s harder but I’m trying to get bigger, stronger and improve my game. But I love it.” — Matt Gaffney

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Nelson Lamizana (2024 | Philly Pride Select 17U)

West Chester Henderson’s shot at a 2023-24 Ches-Mont championship just got a lot more powerful.

After spending his junior season at Bonner-Prendergast, Lamizana is going back to Henderson for his senior year, where he’ll provide a major boost for a team that already had just about everybody returning from a PIAA 6A state playoff appearance this spring. 

“Going back there, that’s my hometown, I just want to show out there, finish where I started and stuff like that,” he said Saturday morning. “Just felt right to go back.”

Just how long into the season Lamizana would be eligible to play will depend on a PIAA eligibility hearing; he was not eligible to play in the district and state postseason for Bonner this past year. 

No matter what, he’ll be able to play in the regular season and the Ches-Mont league playoffs, where the Warriors will be one of the league favorites along with Unionville and Coatesville. His classmate Nyle Ralph-Beyer has picked up multiple Division I offers, while Connor Fleet is one of the best lead guards in District 1; the trio will be one of the best in the district as well.

“I’m very excited,” Lamizana said. “I’m pretty sure if I get cleared for states and stuff like that, that we can make a state run and stuff like that. That’s the goal, make a state run, with the championship.”

A 6-7 wing forward who can step out to the 3-point arc and is improving with the ball in his hands, Lamizana has also decided that the upcoming year of school will not be his last before he heads to college; following his graduation from Henderson, he’ll be doing a prep year and is considering himself a ‘25 for recruiting purposes. 

“Just maturing, all-around,” he said of the main reason for the extra year. “[I can] work on my game, become more versatile, affect a lot of stuff.”

His only scholarship offer, from Fairfield, is still on the table, he said; at the moment, the Stags are the only D-I program talking to him. He’s also started talking to prep schools about 2024-25, mentioning the Phelps School, New Hampton (N.H.) and Tri-State Prep as schools that had reached out to him so far. — Josh Verlin

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Ryan Williams (2024 | Philly Pride UAA 17U)

Williams has spent the last three summers (and a good bit of the springs, falls and winters) working with his Philly Pride coaches to turn himself from a junior varsity player as a freshman into a bona fide Division I recruit. It’s a group led by Brandon Williams, who’s been with the Pride’s oldest group all three of their high school years.

“That whole coaching staff has done so much for me,” he said. “I came in as a kid who was playing JV and they were the first three people besides my parents to tell me I was a good scorer, I was a good basketball player, because I’d never really heard that. They built my confidence up.”

That confidence might backfire on Brandon Williams this winter — the new head coach at Penn Charter, he’s going to have to go up against Ryan Williams twice this season, the (unrelated) Malvern Prep star now one of the best in the Inter-Ac. 

The sharpshooting 6-3 guard picked up an offer from Hofstra over the weekend, head coach Speedy Claxton spotted courtside at the Pride’s games on Saturday. They join a group of suitors that seems to be led at the moment by Fairfield and Penn, with Army, Northeastern and Harvard also showing interest.

Williams has been on an official visit to Penn, earlier this spring, and has one planned for Fairfield in August; he received the Hofstra offer after this interview, but one can imagine he’ll be visiting the school’s Long Island campus before long. 

“It’s really a mix,” he said. “Some days it’ll be slow and some days it won’t be. Recruiting’s all over the place right now at this point.”

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Elijah Espinosa (2024 | York Ballers 17U)

When Elijah Espinosa imagines his future, he doesn’t see himself working a 9-to-5 office job. It’s not because he doesn’t like the hours or thinks he’s destined for the NBA. He doesn’t think it would be a good fit. Literally.

“I’m 6-8 so a desk job might not work out,” he said. “I’m too tall to fit in a desk and my legs cramp up in the car so I need space. I’m too tall to be working at a desk so it’s one of my motivations (to be great at basketball).”

Espinosa is the type of player who is still evolving with a ton of upside. He missed his sophomore year of high school with a broken ankle, so he has only one full season of varsity ball under his belt, but he continues to improve and make his presence felt.

Despite only having one full year of varsity under his belt, colleges have taken notice. The 6-8 rising senior from Red Land High School averaged 13 points, 8 rebounds and 6 blocks as a junior and now he is drawing interest from mid-majors such as Lehigh along with a number of PSAC schools in pursuit. He’s also attended camps at Bucknell, Lafayette and VMI.

Short term, Espinosa wants to get better at scoring in general.

“I want to develop a better feel on offense and have more patience and take control of the game in certain aspects like making a move if I get the ball on the block instead of passing the ball out.”

Long term, he has his sights set on a scholarship but ultimately, he would like to experience the thrill of the NCAA Tournament.

“The biggest dream for me is just to play in March Madness once. I think that would be one of the coolest experiences you could have.”

Espinosa’s love of the game is apparent and he explained it was ignited by watching videos of an unlikely former NBA player: Jamal Crawford.

“I used to watch his highlights as a kid and he made me fall in love with basketball because he made the game look so fun when he was playing.”

The joy he saw in Crawford’s game must have been infectious because Espinosa plays with a similar exuberance. When you have the skills, size, and personality, it’s easy to see why he plays with a similar style. That combination makes Espinosa a valued teammate on and off the court. — Matt Gaffney