City of Basketball Love

By Justin Procope (@1Procope)
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(Ed. Note: This story is part of CoBL’s “Prepping for Preps” series, which will take a look at many of the top high school programs in the region as part of our 2023-24 season preview coverage. The complete list of schools previewed thus far can be found here.)

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In years past, a season preview on Westtown might have felt almost redundant. After a run of dominance that saw them win nine Friends Schools League Championships in ten years, including eight straight, four state titles, and have multiple players turn into first-round NBA draft picks, it almost became a foregone conclusion how the Moose’s season would end. 

However, last season Westtown came down to Earth, finishing with a 15-10 record before a lopsided loss to eventual champions George School in the FSL semifinals and a first-round PAISAA tournament defeat to Malvern Prep.

“I feel as though we underperformed,” said junior Jayden Kelsey, who’s entering his second season as the team’s point guard. “We should have stepped up.” 

Still, if you talk to 16th-year head coach Seth Berger, he is confident this team can be as good as any he has coached. 

“I have never had a group this talented from top to bottom. Any of the first eight are relatively interchangeable,” Berger said. “It gives us so much flexibility as a staff with such an immense amount of talent and immense amount of depth.”

It’s a bold stance from a man who coached what has been described as the best high school starting five of all time led by Mo Bamba and Cam Reddish. But at this point, should we really doubt him? 

Whether it’s in his business ventures or building a basketball powerhouse, Berger has found success at the highest level. As far as the early exit last season, Berger believes things would have been different had his two senior starters Matt Mayock and Se’yphon Triplett been available down the stretch. 

“As a coach when you lose your two best players before a game tell yourself, ‘We can still win this,’ but on the outside, you’re thinking, ‘They’re not as good’... and both are true,” Berger said. “I think had we been healthy we could’ve challenged for states.”

There is validity to those feelings, as the Moose were 13-5 when they lost Mayock to injury and Triplett shortly thereafter. Their woes then continued into the offseason, as 6-foot-11 2025 4-star Matt Gilhool transferred to Penn Charter. The highly skilled forward put up 11.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg, and 1.5 bpg for the Moose last season, who are left with a void in the paint they hope can be filled by Malik Rasul, now the lone senior in the starting unit. 

Rasul, who committed to Lafayette this summer, averaged 8.2 ppg, 7.0 rpg and 1.2 bpg last season. With his ability to defend every position on the court, Berger and his staff are hoping Rasul can pick up more of the defensive and rebounding responsibilities left by Gilhool. 

Joining Rasul in the starting lineup will be the explosive quartet of returning juniors Kelsey, Jayden Forsythe and Cam Wallace and a new addition — junior guard Daveyon Lynder from WIlliam Penn (York).

Kelsey, who has received offers from Colorado and Towson, will once again have the keys to this offense at the point spot. The 6-7 lefty is blessed with a floor general’s IQ inside a small forward’s body. That high IQ, which Kelsey asserts is his greatest weapon, is a skill he believes will help him shine as a leader on the court, something that he feels they lacked last season. 

“That was our problem [last season], we didn’t have a leader on the court,” Kelsey said. “We shouldn’t have relied on the older guys to be our leaders. It doesn’t matter what age you are, anybody can be a leader. It doesn’t matter what age you are, anybody can be a leader.” 

Forsythe and Wallace will offer the firepower on the wings, both in their second year with the program. Forsythe, a 6-5 guard who holds  offers from Illinois, Penn State and Texas A&M, is the team’s resident sniper from the outside. His strong frame also makes him a handful with the ball in his hands in the halfcourt and in transition.

Wallace, another Division 1 prospect in his own right, is fielding offers from local schools Temple, Drexel and St. Joe's. Wallace, a 6-5 guard who transferred last year from Great Valley after averaging 23 ppg as a freshman, is another skilled shooter and scorer who can put up points in a hurry. 

Sharing the backcourt with those three will be Lydner, a 6-3 scoring guard who transferred from William Penn (York) after averaging 15 ppg last season. With offers from Towson and Rutgers under his belt, Lydner is another deadly shooter with highlight-reel athleticism. 

Another junior, guard Jahmare Memphis, has been praised by his teammates for the energy he brings off the bench as the sixth man. The Moose also added a trio of international players in 6-6 2026 forward Eb Ehigie (Ireland), 6-2 2026 guard Henry Ye (China) and 6-9 2027 center. Emmanuel Oli (Nigeria).

While not having a traditional center (at least until Oli is ready to contribute) would be a problem for most teams, having so many scorers and ball handlers on the floor will allow this talented group to do what they do best. The offense through the summer period was a five-out, free flowing system Berger said is tailored to fit the strengths of his players.

“Who we can be as a team has to fit who they can be as players, not the reverse,” Berger said. “There’s going to be way less structure, way more space, way more moving without the basketball than ever before.”

“We usually run a heavy duty pick and roll offense and we would often play through bigs who are good in the high post and can pass but now we have so many guards and bigs who can play like guards.” 

Quite a few big pieces graduated from the FSL last season, so the league seems as wide open as ever. There’s no surefire lottery pick like Reddish, Bamba or more recently Dereck Lively II, but the Moose have a lot of talent on a roster that’s another year older and seems to have as good of a chance as anyone to reclaim their throne in the league and possibly the state as well.

“The fun is in the competition, not the winning,” Berger said.

“Every title is unique and every year is its own adventure. I think there are at least six teams that can win a state title. It’s going to make everyone better. it forces us to be better.”