City of Basketball Love

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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(Ed. Note: This article is part of our 2023-24 season coverage, which will run for the six weeks preceding the first official games of the year on Nov. 6. To access all of our high school and college preview content for this season, click here.)

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As always, Philadelphia basketball is everywhere.

Year after year, well over 100 Philly-area ballplayers are spread around Division I rosters, from East Coast to West Coast, North to South, low-major to high-major and everywhere in between. Each fall, CoBL rounds up all of those local prospects to update you on how their careers are going and what’s expected of them in the year to come.

We’ve split the area’s D-I alumni into a four-part list, the whole thing way too big to run all at once. Here’s Part 2 of our 2023-24 CoBL alumni roundup, featuring around 30 players who are on a Division I roster this season.

(If we’re missing someone, let us know: cityofbasketballlove@gmail.com)

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2023-24 Alumni Roundup: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

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Daiquan Copeland (Sr. | Coppin St.)
Copeland’s at his fourth school in four years, having played at Frank Phillips (Tex.) and Santa Monica (Cali.) in two years of JUCO ball, and then at Morgan State last year, averaging 5.4 ppg and 3.3 rpg in 12 games (7 starts). The 6-6 Girard College product is one of 11 new players on the roster for new head coach Larry Stewart, Philly native and older brother of Simon Gratz coach Lynard Stewart. 

Rahsool Diggins (Jr. | UMass)
Diggins began his college career at UConn, but couldn’t really crack the rotation, playing only nine games as a freshman in 2021-22. He was much more in the mix last year at UMass, playing in 26 games (10 starts), averaging 4.7 ppg and getting into double digits three times. He’ll once again be a piece in a deep UMass rotation.

Tre Dinkins (Jr. | Canisius)
Dinkins slotted into a nice role in his first year at Canisius, playing 20.4 mpg (30 games/11 starts) and averaging 5.9 ppg and 1.9 rpg, shooting 34.0% from 3-point range. The former Cardinal O’Hara and Harcum College standout is in his fourth year of college but listed as a junior due to the extra COVID eligibility.

Eric Dixon (R-Sr. | Villanova)
Dixon’s career progression at Villanova has been just about textbook: from a redshirt to a reserve, then into the starting lineup and finally emerging as a star last year, averaging 15.4 ppg and 6.6 rpg while shooting .492/.378/.792. The 6-8 post and Abington grad might actually see a dip in production this year due to a deeper ‘Nova frontcourt, but he’s still a major part of the Wildcats’ plans for a bounce-back season.

Caleb Dorsey (Jr. | William & Mary)
The older Dorsey brother spent the last three years at Penn State, playing in 16 games (nine starts) last season (2.3 ppg, 1.6 rpg) before an injury sidelined him the second half of the year. He’s still a junior by eligibility and now teammates with his brother at W&M, where his 6-7, 230-pound frame should provide more of an advantage in the CAA than the Big Ten.

Gabe Dorsey (Jr. | William & Mary)
Gabe made the same move as his older brother but did it a year before, going from Vanderbilt (0.7 ppg in ‘21-22) to W&M, where he averaged 10.9 ppg and 3.0 rpg in 25 games (all starts). The 6-6 guard shot 44.4% from 3-point range, topping off with a pair of 21-point outings as he hit double digits 14 times.

Justin Edwards (Fr. | Kentucky)
Arguably the nation’s top-ranked recruit, expectations are high for the 6-7 Edwards in his first (and likely only) year of college hoops. The lanky left-hander has improved his game by leaps and bounds over the last few years, and while he might not be able to do as much with the ball in his hands as he did in his Imhotep days, he’ll still find plenty of ways to impact the game. 

Malik Edwards (Jr. | Niagara)
Edwards spent the first two years of his college career at NAIA powerhouse William Penn (Iowa), averaging 16.6 ppg as a sophomore before hitting the transfer portal. He’s landed in Niagara, where Greg Paulus has to replace most of his rotation from a year ago.

Jack Forrest (Sr. | Bucknell)
Forrest has had a bit of an up-and-down college career thus far, but he seems to be back on the upswing for his final year at Bucknell. The 6-5 wing out of Lower Merion began at Columbia (2019-20), then transferred to St. Joe’s, where he went from averaging 10.4 ppg as a sophomore to 3.6 as a junior; he bounced back to average 10.1 ppg and shoot 38.7% from 3-point range in his first year at Bucknell.

Khalil Farmer (R-Fr. | Hofstra)
A 6-4 shooting guard out of Roman Catholic, Farmer redshirted last season, and hasn’t played his first collegiate game. After scoring 1,531 points in high school, including proving himself as one of the top scorers in the PCL, he’s got the stuff to make an impact this year. 

Anthony Finkley (Fr. | St. Joe’s)
It’ll be interesting to see what Finkley produces in his first year at St. Joe’s; the 6-6, 240-pound wing/forward has a unique body and skill combo, an excellent passer and ball-handler who can knock down the outside shot at a good clip, but doesn’t have a clear position on the floor. 

Jalen Gaffney (Sr. | Florida Atlantic)
With 125 career games (38 starts) under his belt, Gaffney’s got no shortage of Division I experience as he goes into his final year, and his second at FAU. The 6-3 point guard out of Westtown, who played his first three seasons at UConn, started 23 of 38 games a year ago and averaged 4.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg and 2.3 apg with a 2.2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Connor Gal (Soph. | Temple)
The Owls’ walk-on is a local product, playing at Great Valley prior to his high school graduation in 2022. The 6-4 guard did not make any appearances as a freshman.

Tommy Gardler (Jr. | La Salle)
Gardler began his college career at USciences, putting together a strong sophomore season in 2021-22, but the school’s merger with St. Joe’s forced him to find a new home at La Salle. The Marple Newtown grad played a total of five minutes in four games a year ago, but the 6-1 guard has shown he has the ability to contribute to a scholarship-level program.

Augie Gerhart (Fr. | Penn)
A bouncy, versatile 6-9 forward from the central part of the state, Gerhart spent the last few years at the Hill School, where he proved he can be consistently productive against high-level programs. If he can prove to be a consistent 3-point threat (and maybe even if not), he should have a chance to earn significant minutes right away in the Quaker frontcourt.

EJay Greer (Fr. | Bowling Green)
Greer turned a lot of heads this past season with Rocktop Academy, the 6-8 wing guard and Delco Christian product averaging more than 25 ppg through a long prep schedule. Greer is high-volume scorer with deep shooting range; how he adjusts to playing within BGSU’s system will help determine his initial role. 

Lynn Greer III (Jr. | St. Joe’s)
Greer struggled in 10 games during his freshman season at Dayton in 2021-22, but really turned it around during his first season at SJU. The 6-2 guard, who played at Roman before a senior year at IMG Academy (Fl.), averaged 12.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 4.1 apg in 33 games (32 starts), shooting .414/.333/.714. Cutting down on his turnovers (3.5/game) is his biggest key.

Cole Hargrove (Soph. | Drexel)
The 6-8 Methacton product had a few flashes during his freshman year at Drexel, playing in 18 games (3.8 mpg). With almost the entire roster back, his role might not expand too much, but he needs to get ready for bigger things in 2024-25.

Zahree Harrison (R-Jr. | Coppin St.)
Harrison’s junior season was cut short by injury after seven games, though his role (7.7 mpg) was about one-third as big as it was the year before, when he averaged 3.5 ppg and 2.0 apg in 20.5 mpg (30 games/5 starts). The 6-0 point guard from Cheltenham has played in 53 D-I games with eight starts so far.

Hakim Hart (Gr. | Villanova)
Hart’s back in the Philly area for one final season, the South Jersey native and Roman Catholic product doing a grad transfer year at ‘Nova following four years at Maryland. The 6-6, 200-pound guard has played in 116 games (85 starts) so far, putting up a career-best 11.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg and 2.6 apg as a senior, shooting .479/.333/.804. 

Thomas Haugh (Fr. | Florida)
The New Oxford (Pa.) native and Perkiomen School product begins his SEC career after taking some impressive steps the last few years. A bouncy 6-9 forward with an improving 3-point shot. Haugh’s best traits are as a shot-blocker, rebounder and versatile defender who can finish above the rim. 

Rahdir Hicks (Jr. | Towson)
Hicks is primed to take a big step up in the Towson pecking order, the Malvern Prep grad already having played in 51 games with 14 starts in his first two seasons. A 6-0 point guard, Hicks played 21.3 mpg last year, averaging 2.6 ppg, 2.2 apg and 2.0 rpg with an assist-to-turnover ratio of exactly 2-to-1. 

Jackson Hicke (Fr. | Princeton)
The leader of Radnor's breakthrough 2022-23 in which the Raptors won the Central League and District 1 5A championship before advancing to the state quarterfinals, Hicke now joins a Princeton squad fresh off a postseason breakthough of its own, making the Sweet 16. The versatile 6-5 wing will try to find his way into the rotation through a combination of his ability to play multiple positions, hit shots, rebound and defend.

Anquan Hill (Redshirt | Sacred Heart)
The Archbishop Carroll product is going to sit out this season at Sacred Heart as it’s his second transfer. He started at Fairleigh Dickinson two years ago, averaging 7.7 ppg and 5.2 rpg, but a move to St. Bonaventure didn’t pan out, as he went from a starter to only playing 10 mpg, averaging 1.9 ppg and 1.7 rpg. Back in the Northeast Conference, the 6-9 post should have a significant impact when he plays as a redshirt junior next fall.

A.J. Hoggard (Sr. | Michigan State)
A Coatesville-area native, played his first two years of ball at Archbishop Carroll before ending up at Huntingdon Prep (W.V.). He’s going into his fourth year at Michigan State, where he’s played in 96 games with 49 starts; last year was a career one for the 6-3, 220-pound point guard, who averaged 12.9 ppg, 5.9 apg and 3.7 rpg on .417/.329/.804 splits, flirting with a couple triple-doubles along the way..

Luke House (Gr. | Drexel)
House has had quite the interesting career — the 6-4 Archbishop Carroll product started at D-II California (Pa.), then came to Drexel, where he played sparingly in 15 games over two seasons (2020-22). But last year, he suddenly jumped into the rotation, starting 21 of 32 games (27.9 mpg), averaging 8.7 ppg and 3.4 rpg while shooting .466/.380/.884; after Dec. 17, he averaged 10.7 ppg and hit 39.8% from 3-point range.

Honor Huff (R-Soph. | Chattanooga)
A 5-10 point guard from Brooklyn who boarded at the Perkiomen School, Huff averaged 10.0 ppg and 2.3 apg in 32 games (18 starts) as a freshman at Virginia Military two years ago. He transferred within the Southern Conference to Chattanooga last offseason, league rules forcing him to sit out the 2022-23 season, but he’s expected to play a major role this season.

Christian Ings (Gr. | Norfolk St.)
Ings has had a nice career progression, going from 4.9 ppg as a freshman at Rider in 2019-20, increasing his scoring each year (transferring to Norfolk State before the 2021-22 season) to 10.1 ppg this past season before a season-ending injury 13 games in. The 6-2 combo guard from Neumann-Goretti has hit 22-of-56 (39.3%) of his 3-pointers since coming to NSU, and was shooting 61% overall last year when he got hurt.

Tariq Ingraham (Sr. | Rider)
It had been a tough three years for Ingraham, the Bonner-Prendergast forward redshirting his first collegiate season and then playing in only three games the following two years due to injury, all at Wake Forest. His first season at Rider was by any measure a major breakthrough, as the 6-9 post played in 30 games (16 starts), averaging 6.4 ppg and 3.5 rpg while making 58.5% of his shots. 

Elmarko Jackson (Fr. | Kansas)
A South Jersey native, Jackson spent his sophomore and junior years of high school at Academy New Church, and then really blew up in his prep year at South Kent (Conn.), where he proved himself one of the best lead guard prospects in the country. He’s expected to play a big role immediately at KU, averaging double figures in scoring during the Jayhawks’ trip to Puerto Rico this summer. 

Chas Kelley III (Soph. | Boston College)
A native of Houston, Tex. who played at the Phelps School, Kelley III had a solid debut season at Boston College, averaging 2.9 ppg and 1.2 apg in 30 games off the bench (14.7 mpg). His best effort was a 17-point, four-assist outing in 31 minutes against Virginia Tech, shooting 4-of-7 from deep.

Franck Kepnang (Sr. | Washington)
Kepnang was off to a good start in his first year at Washington following two at Oregon, averaging 9.0 ppg and 6.3 rpg through eight games before he went down with a season-ending knee injury. If he’s back to full health, the 6-11, 255-pound center has shown he can be plenty productive, and he still likely has three years of eligibility remaining due to his injury and the COVID year.