City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin) +
Matt Gaffney (@GaffReports)
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MANHEIM — The final Hoop Group boys’ tournament of the summer took place 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 second part of our recruiting notebook from the weekend:

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Summer Finale Coverage: Day 1 Standouts | Notebook Pt. 1

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Toby Ojukwu (2024 | Philly Pride UAA 17U)

Ojukwu’s junior year in high school wasn’t quite how he’d planned it.

The 6-1 guard had planned on playing a major role for Roman Catholic as he entered his upperclassman years, but instead moved down with his family to Norcross (Ga.), just northeast of Atlanta, where he suited up for one of the top programs in the Peach State. 

“(The transition) was kind of easy — it’s just hotter out there, really,” he said. “It’s really chill out there [...] they’re all nice, they welcomed me in, it was just like family as soon as I got there.”

The Blue Devils had a successful year of their own, finishing 26-5 and finishing tops in Georgia’s Region 7, Class 7A, advancing to the state semifinals before losing to Cherokee. He didn’t get a chance at a Catholic League rematch; while former Archbishop Carroll guard Moses Hipps was also in the Georgia 7A classification at McEachern, his squad lost in the state quarterfinals. 

“I’m hoping for that matchup next year, for sure,” he said with a smile.

Though he suited up this spring with Atlanta Xpress, as he was still in the middle of his junior year, he’s playing this July with Philly Pride, who he played with last summer before the move, spending the summer up with relatives he still has in the area. Ojukwu had to play against his former teammates in an Under Armour Association stop in April, Pride coming from behind to pull off a win; playing with them is much preferred.

“It’s nice, it’s so fun, because coming back to Philly, with my old friends, it’s so much better,” he said. “It just feels good to come back.”

As it stands, he’s got five Division I offers: from Columbia, Saint Louis, Albany, Manhattan and Robert Morris. Columbia came in most recently, the Lions offering him a spot on their roster — Ivy League schools don’t offer athletic scholarships — during a visit to the school’s Manhattan campus in late June.

Ojukwu said that a few high-majors have been poking around as well; he’s got an upcoming visit to Ole Miss, and has also heard from Mississippi State. They’re intrigued by his athleticism at the guard spot, as he continues to make the transition from the ‘2’ to the ‘1.’

“I’m looking to commit probably early [in the] season, if not before the season,” he said. “Really [looking for] just who’s recruiting me the hardest and who I feel most comfortable with the coaching staff.” — Josh Verlin

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Joe Sedora (2024 | York Ballers (17U)

The 6-5 rising senior out of Red Lion is one of those players who makes a big impact on a game by doing the subtle things that don’t show up on the stat sheet.  Make no mistake – Sedora can put the ball in the basket, evident by his 18.7 points per game average on his school team. But he’s the type of player who doesn’t shy away from doing the little things that lead to wins.

His plus / minus when he is on the floor is readily apparent without glancing at a box score. The scoreboard doesn’t lie. At one point against the Philly Pride, Sedora’s York Ballers squad was up by 9 when he headed to the bench for a rest. Moments later, when he returned to the floor, the score was tied. Within a few moments, the Ballers were back up 12. The fact was not lost upon Sedora, who was York All League.

“I actually realized that and said something to one of my teammates about how the lead went down when we came out,” said Sedora, who slightly resembles a young version of former NFL great J.J Watt. “When we both went back in, we got the lead back up, so it was nice to be able to hold that lead in the end.”

The lefty has a solid game to go with a solid stature and physical presence. Sedora plays intelligently and never misses an opportunity to box out and rebound, defend the rim or set a screen. Sedora has been hitting the weight room since the end of the scholastic season and added twenty pounds of muscle to his frame so he can do all those things more effectively.

“Honestly, I try to play bigger than my size. I’m 6’5 but there are a lot of guys bigger than me, so I just try to play up to their level and outmuscle them.” 

If his team needs gritty physicality, he is more than happy to provide it. It should come as no surprise then that one NBA player he looks up to is the Sixers’ P.J. Tucker. “He’s like 6’6 but he plays like he’s seven feet tall.”

Closer to home, he doesn’t have to look far for additional inspiration. Both of his parents are former West Chester players, Andy Sedora and Carolyn Rozich (Class of 2002), and serve as inspirations for Sedora on and off the court.

“My dad and my mom both played four years at West Chester and were pretty good players and pretty much taught me everything I know.”

In addition to inheriting their hoops’ prowess, Sedora, who is talking to a number of Division III schools as well as some Division II, intends to follow in his dad's footsteps as a business major.

“I have a bunch of looks but I want to play in college regardless of the level," said Sedora. ”But I’ll probably go into business because that’s what my dad does, and he would be able to help me.” — Matt Gaffney

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Bahsil Laster (2024 | NJ Scholars EYBL 17U)

Laster’s been around high-level competition for a while, between his years at Archbishop Wood and then Academy New Church. But Peach Jam was different. 

The annual Nike EYBL championships in North Augusta (S.C.) are now open to NBA scouts, and the addition of LeBron James coaching his son’s team brought a new level of craziness to the Riverview Park sports complex. 

“Peach Jam, it’s just a different environment,” he said. “Coaches, NBA scouts, a lot of people — it was crazy, it was surreal.”

The Scholars didn’t quite have the Peach Jam they wanted, going 2-3 in pool play and failing to advance into the quarterfinals, losing all three by single digits.

One final tournament at Spooky Nook was the end of the road for Laster and the Scholars, along with the rest of the grassroots programs on the boys’ side. 

It was also a last chance for Laster to play in front of 40+ coaches at once as he tries to kick-start his recruiting again. He just got an offer from Rhode Island last week, and the Rams are the only school currently recruiting him, he said; he had previously been talking with Lafayette, Buffalo and Hofstra.

“It felt comfortable,” he said of his recent phone call with the Rams coaching staff. “Felt like they were ready to welcome me, that they wanted to talk to me. I liked it, it was a good conversation.”

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Deuce Ketner (2024 | K-Low Elite 3SSB 17U)

The college that winds up snagging Deuce Ketner will be getting a player who continues to elevate his skill set because he is far from being satisfied with his game. The 6-7 senior from Bonner-Prendergast is a hungry player who is “starving” to improve his game in all facets.

Ketner came into the AAU season looking to gain confidence, improve his ball handling and make his game more versatile. So far, so good as he has been stretching the floor with his outside shooting while also providing a presence in the paint.

“There are a lot of big guards out there and I don’t want to be that person out there just rebounding and being undersized (for a big). I’m trying to get out of the ‘4’ or ‘5’ skill range and stretch my game.”

As he continues to work on his game, Ketner is drawing additional inspiration from former Arkansas guard, Anthony Black, as he tries to make that transition. Black is a 6-7 guard who was taken sixth overall by the Orlando Magic in this year’s NBA draft.

“I started watching Anthony Black – he’s about my size but plays point guard so I’m watching him and trying to make better reads so I’m going outside and working on my ball handling and trying to impact the game in different ways.”

As he heads back to Bonner-Prendie for his senior year, he is hoping to bring back the intensity of his K-Low Swiss practices. “I want to push our guys. At AAU practices we are always pushing each other so if we can bring that to Bonner, we should be really good this year.”
Ketner, who currently holds offers from Albany, Drexel, Robert Morris and Mount St. Mary’s, hopes to make a college decision by August.

“I’m hoping to decide on a school by August. I’m just trying to pick a school that makes me feel at home and where I have a chance to play,” said Ketner, who came by the Deuce moniker as the second child of former Roman Catholic and UMass player, the late Lari Ketner.

Despite the family pedigree, Deuce didn’t initially dive into hoops as a youngster.  He went the Joel Embiid / Hakeem Olajuwon route, playing soccer first as a child. But the lure of basketball was too strong for Ketner to resist.

“The love of the game is something I got from him (his father) and something that he taught me,” Ketner explained.

It’s obvious that a familial bond is important to Ketner as one school in pursuit of him may have an inside track. A childhood friend of Ketner’s is on the Mount St. Mary’s roster, so that may have some factor in his final decision.

“Mount St. Mary’s has been contacting me the most and one of their players, Ronald Jessamy,  we’ve been friends since the second grade, so I’m leaning toward them right now.” — Matt Gaffney