City of Basketball Love

By Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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The Philadelphia Public League boys basketball playoffs begin on Tuesday with the first full round of action on Thursday. There are 38 teams vying for the crown with the ultimate prize waiting for the title game winner on Feb. 24 at 3 p.m. at the Liacouras Center, following the girls title game at 1 p.m.

Imhotep Charter is the three-time defending Public League champion and the clearcut favorite to make it four after a 10-0 run in the ‘A’ Division that cleared the rest of the field by two games. Already led by UConn commit Ahmad Nowell, who is having a great season, the Panthers have been boosted by the return of senior forward and Albany commit Ma’kye Taylor, making them look even more formidable.

There’s plenty still to look out for with teams trying to make their deepest run in a long time, state qualification up for grabs and the schools from the lower division looking to prove themselves against the top programs in the city.

Here’s a quick break down of what to look for in the tournament:

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Who to Keep an Eye On

Constitution (16-5, 8-2) and Math, Civics & Sciences (13-8, 8-2) finished behind Imhotep in the PPL standings. The Panthers defeated both handily in the regular season, beating Constitution 72-57 on Dec. 19 and ending their regular season last Thursday with a 55-34 victory over MCS. 

The Mighty Elephants, who were bounced in the quarterfinals a season ago, were the last team other than Imhotep to win the league crown, grabbing the title in 2020. In its last season of existence, MCS wouldn’t mind adding one more. Senior Sair Alsbrook (12.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg) and sophomore Milak Myatt (12.4 ppg), a 6-3 guard and budding D1 prospect. It’s a veteran group with seniors Azeem Murphy, Aiden Brown, Kevin Carter and Maki Hill the other top members of the rotation.

The Generals, who are coming off a semifinal finish last season, are led by star senior Kyree Latimer (21.2 ppg) and classmate Perry Fields (17.0 ppg), who has been terrific after arriving from Boys’ Latin. Coach Rob Moore also has a veteran group with senior forward/wing Amir Speights (12.9 ppg) another big piece and college-level talent. 

Dobbins Tech made a surprise run to the PPL semifinals last season and had a successful 7-3 mark this season after being bumped up to the ‘A’ Division. However, the Mustangs will open as the last seed in the playoffs after forfeiting all their games because of unintentionally using an ineligible player all season long. If Dobbins can get past Bartram in a play/in game, a matchup with Imhotep awaits for senior 1,000-point scorer Zach Campbell (19.3 ppg) and co. on Thursday

Lincoln, Overbrook and West Philadelphia make up the rest of the top ‘A’ division squads. The Railsplitters have a terrific senior trio in Samair Peterson (17.3 ppg), Malachi Montgomery (16.4 ppg) and Aldonis Martin (14.2 ppg). In his second season as the head coach at Overbrook, Bo Kimble has two senior guards leading the charge in Nasir Kelly (15.4 ppg) and Omar Davis (15.4 ppg). The Speedboys reached the title game last season and have some size and young talent like 6-7 junior wing Makel Butts to make a run.

Outside the top teams, ‘B’ Division champion Engineering & Science, runner-up Northeast and ‘C’ Division champion Samuel Fels are some of the most dangerous squads. Engineers sophomore guard Fareed Brown (15.3 ppg) is a young player to keep an eye on and Northeast senior guard Darrius Gaeta (14.7 ppg, 4.9 apg) and Samuels Fels senior 6-5 wing Naeem Colston are legit college prospects more people should know about.

PIAA Classifications (Number of state qualifiers)

6A (1+1 vs. PCL): Central, George Washington, Lincoln, Northeast

5A (2+1 vs. PCL): Ben Franklin, Dobbins, Frankford, Franklin Towne, Freire, Imhotep, Palumbo, Roxborough, Simon Gratz, Swenson, West Philadelphia

4A (3): Audneried, Bartram, E&S, Future, Hill Freedman, Mastbaum, Overbrook

3A (3):  Martin Luther King, Mast II, Mastery North, MCS, PAC, Sayre, SLA-Beeber, String Theory, Vaux

2A (2): Constitution, Paul Robeson, Sankofa Freedom

1A: Mastery South

Play-In
Tues., Feb. 6
Dobbins 64, Bartram 32
Sayre 79, PAC 50
Mastery South 54, Swenson 41
Martin Luther King 44, Freire 36
Edison 72, Tech Freire 58
Future 68, Mastbaum 41

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First Round
Thurs., Feb. 8
Imhotep Bracket
No. 1 Imhotep vs. No. 9 Dobbins
No. 4 String Theory vs. No. 5 Roxborough
No. 3 Overbrook vs. No. 6 Hill Freedman
No. 2 West Philadelphia vs. No. 7 George Washington

E&S Bracket
No. 1 Engineering & Science vs. No. 8 Sayre
No. 4 Frankford vs. No. 5 Franklin Towne
No. 3 SLA-Beeber vs. No. 6 Mast II
No. 2 Lincoln vs. No. 7 Mastery South

Constitution Bracket
No.1 Constitution vs. No. 8 Martin Luther King
No. 4 Ben Franklin vs. No. 5 Audenried
No. 3 Simon Gratz vs. No. 6 Palumbo
No. 2 Northeast vs. No. 7 Central

MCS Bracket
No. 1 MCS vs. No. 9 Edison
No. 4 Paul Robeson vs. No. 5 Mastery North
No. 3 Sankoa Freedom vs. No. 6 Vaux
No. 2 Samuel Fels vs. No. 7 Future

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Second Round
Tues., Feb. 13
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Quarterfinals
Thurs., Feb. 15

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Semifinals
Tues., Feb. 20

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Championship
Sat., Feb. 24
At Liacouras Center