City of Basketball Love

Joseph Santoliquito (@JSantoliquito)
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WYNNEWOOD, PA — If Muhsin Muhammad climbed any higher Friday night he would have been mistaken for a weather balloon. The 6-foot-3 Friends Central senior guard put on a pyrotechnic aerial display, slamming four massive, highlight-reel type dunks on his way to 30 points in the Phoenix’s 74-64 Friends Schools League victory over visiting George School.

The 30 points was a career best in a Friends Central uniform for Muhammad, who once dropped 45 in a game when he played for Germantown Friends.

Muhammad, who reclassified, is being looked at by the University of Chicago and Marymount. After college coaches see what Muhammad did against George School, maybe that list will grow.

“I think this game may help me a little,” he said with a laugh. “Scoring 30 a night is not realistic basketball. We have a freshman, Patrese Feamster, averaging double-figures a night, and our shooting guard, Fazl Oshodi, is averaging double figures, so doing something like this tonight is not realistic basketball.

Although Muhammad finished with 30, the Phoenix have been getting consistent balanced scoring. Against George School, for example, Oshodi pitched in with 16 points, Reid Belcher added 15, and Feamster scored 8.

“We’re a team that shares the ball. I suppose tonight I was amped up and aggressive. I wanted to get up into the air. My teammates were finding me and I was finishing the cuts and decided to dunk it. I’ve been pleased with the way I’ve been playing, trying to be a team player. I get my shots. But if the shot is not there, I won’t force it.”

Personally, Muhammad said, the priority will be to continue playing with a confident high motor the rest of the season. Phoenix coach Devin Coleman, a former Friends Central star, said Muhammad is not a “Baby Jordan,” but he expressed Muhammad has been a steady contributor to the Phoenix’s success, averaging 16 points and 7 rebounds a game.

“Muhsin can do anything, he’s also a track star in jumping and running events, and he’s so talented he can do anything he wants,” Coleman said. “His track background gives him great leaping ability. His ticket to college is anything he decides. I think his focus is basketball, but he can stand out in anything he puts his mind to.”  

Friends Central trailed 11-10 in the first quarter, and once the Phoenix bolted out to a 7-0 run, they controlled the rest of the game. They did, however, have problems with 6-foot-9 Tristen Guillouette inside. The St. Joseph’s Prep transfer finished with 21 for the Cougars, who were playing without 7-foot junior Luke Bevilacqua, who was out with an injury.

Muhammad (L) and Fazl Oshodi (R) are feeling good as Friends' Central has picked up a couple big wins in the last week. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

On a larger scale, this was huge for Friends Central, which last won a Friends Schools League championship in 2011. Coleman was part of that team along with Amile Jefferson and Malique Killing. Since then, the league has been dominated by Westtown, and last year, George School finally stopped Westtown’s run of eight-straight league championships (the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the 2021 season).

This season in three games against traditional league powers Westtown, Academy of the New Church, a league finalist last year, and defending league champ George School, the Phoenix are 2-1, having beaten Westtown and now George School.

In his first season as head coach of the Phoenix, Coleman has a veteran team buying in to his message.

The success is not unexpected. Coleman had spent time last summer with this team and saw the early stages of it coming together. He does not have a singular go-to player. He emphases team, patience, and began implementing his culture with this group since June. The stems of promise began to show, and Friday night’s victory over George School was another step in that process.

“We’re working hard and have a lot of older guys who have been taking to coaching and they are ready to make some noise,” Coleman said. “People that know me know that I’m never satisfied. I want more. I see more with this group.

“We’ve been working since June and I know my seniors are ready. We lost to ANC and I hope we get another shot at them in the league playoffs. I like what I saw tonight, but we can be even better and do more.”

By Quarter
George School:  11  | 14  |  19  |  20 ||  64

Friends Central:  17  | 13  |  25  | 19 ||  74

Scoring
George School: Tristen Guillouette 21, Luke Melniczak 15, Tyler Sutton 12, Kasey Fleming 8, Ivan Ryabov 6, Ziyi Xiong 2.

Friends Central: Muhsin Muhammad 30, Fazl Oshodi 16, Reid Belcher 15, Patrese Feamster 8, Nigel Pierman 4, Su-Meer Alleyne 1.

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Girls: Friends Central 50, George School 20

In the first game, Friends Central (15-5, 3-1 Friends Schools League) used 12 points from Logyn Greer, the Phoenix’s 6-3 junior forward, in a game that was forfeited by George School (8-6, 1-2 league) with 1:54 left in the third quarter due to a lack of available players following foul-outs and injuries. 

Joseph Santoliquito is a hall of fame, award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who began writing for CoBL in 2021 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter here.