City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Harriton High School is the place to be this Saturday.

The CoBL Winter Showcase at Harriton brings eight local teams together for four great games: a matchup of two Suburban One powerhouses, several District 1 title contenders, schools from the Catholic League and Inter-Ac and plenty of college prospects taking the court throughout the day.

Here’s a look at all four games on Saturday; admission to the event is $10, and $5 for children under 14:

Abington vs. Pennsbury (2 PM)
The day starts off with a bang, as two of the proudest programs in the Suburban One League go head-to-head. Both are used to playing deep into the postseason, and both have high expectations this year, and both are off to strong starts. Abington, under the direction of first-year head coach Dan Marsh, boasts a deep and athletic lineup led by senior guards Jeremiah Lee, Aaron Jones and Damon Rawls plus junior wing Paul Glants; Marsh won’t hesitate to go deep into his bench, which is loaded with athletic seniors. Pennsbury, guided by second-year coach Wes Emme, is 4-0 (2-0 SOL Patriot) as of this writing, has a veteran squad of its own with plenty of small-college recruits; forward Simon Dlugi is committed to York, while guards Connor Taddei, Danny Cohen and Teddy Mangan are all being recruited by multiple schools. Don’t be surprised if these two meet again in the playoffs, either SOL or 6A.

West Chester Henderson vs. Cardinal O’Hara (3:45 PM)
Great matchups here all over the court, from point guard to the frontcourt. Henderson comes in wanting to show it’s one of the top teams in District 1, with a Division I wing in Nyle Ralph-Beyer (Sacred Heart) along with a top-notch small-college recruit at point guard in Connor Fleet and 6-8 Nelson Lamizana up front, along with several other starters back from last year’s PIAA 6A state tournament appearance. O’Hara, which is being coached this year by longtime Lafayette coach Fran O’Hanlon, has Division I commits at guard (Aasim ‘Flash’ Burton, Rider) and forward (Pearse McGuinn, Stonehill), with a good supporting cast around them. 

Harriton vs. Great Valley (5:30 PM)
The host Rams get the penultimate game, in a District 1 6A non-league game against Great Valley. Harriton’s led by the 1-2 guard punch of Jadyn Gaskins and Marquis Kubish, though senior wing Sean Gallagher has had some big scoring outings early in the season as well. Gaskins, a slippery 5-11 point guard, and Kubish, a physical 6-3 combo, can both fill it up in various ways, and head coach Jesse Rappaport has surrounded them with shooters. The Patriots, led by C.J. Savage, feature senior Jack Woodard, a versatile 6-5 wing with good feel and shooting ability, plus a deep junior classic including 6-4 forward Henry Person and 6-3 guard Noah Metrick, two of seven juniors on the roster. 

Unionville vs. The Haverford School (7:15 PM)
The night closes with one of the best in the Inter-Ac against one of the best in District 1. Unionville comes in with a few impressive wins already under its belt, including one over PAC favorite Spring-Ford. Chris Cowles’ Longhorns have a great group of guards/wings including Ryan Brown, Charlie Kammeier and James Anderson, with a burgeoning sophomore wing forward in James Brenner. It’s a group that moves the ball and shoots at a high clip, and gets up and down in transition. Bernie Rogers’ Fords are young and exciting, led by junior guard KJ Carson and freshman Silas Graham, though senior guard Billy Rayer and junior twins Leo and Jacob Becker — both 6-5 and physical — are right in the mix too; they’ve also gotten good minutes from senior forward Connor Scanlan, a three-sport athlete.