City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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The PIAA 6A field is always stacked, 32 of the best big-school programs in the state battling it out over five rounds to lift a giant chocolate bar on March 23 in Hershey. 

Here’s a look at the boys’ side of the 6A field, including contenders, dark horses, and all the star players to watch:

Contenders

Archbishop Wood (District 12-3, 16-8)
The Vikings entered this season with Palestra dreams and came up short, losing in the Catholic League quarterfinals to rob Jalil Bethea (Miami) and Josh Reed (Drexel) a chance to star on the city’s biggest stage one final time. So Wood enters the state playoffs a little angry after missing out on the PCL crown, having lost to Roman Catholic in last year’s state semifinals. Bethea and Reed are the biggest names, the 6-4 sharpshooter and 6-2 Swiss Army Knife arguably the best backcourt in the state, and they’ve got ample help from a supporting cast including juniors Deuce Maxey and Milan Dean, sophomore Brady MacAdams, and more. John Mosco’s won one state title, and he’s got a group capable of winning another.

Cumberland Valley (District 3-1, 24-3)
The Eagles nearly beat Reading in last year’s District 3 tournament and then took it all home this season, rolling into states on a nine-game win streak, including a 66-47 win over Reading in the district semifinals. Head coach David Vespignani has a balanced group full of non-seniors, with his three leading scorers all juniors in Nolan Buzalka, Creston Austin and JJ Lebo, all of whom are around 6-3. Freshman Aidan Diehl is one to watch in the middle part of the state, while senior Jake Snyder brings even more size at 6-4. Of course, the biggest advantage of being District 3 champs is the ability to get to Hershey without having to face a PCL squad or the District 1 champs.

Lower Merion (District 1-1, 27-1)
The District 1 champs haven’t lost to a Pennsylvania team all year, haven’t lost to anybody at all since December, as Gregg Downer has performed one of his best coaching jobs in his 34th year with the Aces. Lower Merion doesn’t have any Division I recruits, just a bunch of senior guards who’ve come up through the program in John Mobley, Adam Herrenkohl and Owen McCabe, with 6-5 senior forward Jayden Robinson giving them production up front; juniors Carson Kasmer and Gus Wright bring more ball-handling and shooting, and 6-4 senior Justin Mebane adds length, athleticism, and even more shooting. The Aces have been scoring at high clip all year, routinely passing 75 points, and that multi-guard, five-out attack is a major reason why. Suffice to say the winner of Wood/Lower Merion in a potential second-round game would have a lot of momentum. 

Parkland (District 11-1, 21-5)
The three-time District 11 6A champs, Parkland made it to the quarterfinals last year before being upended by Roman Catholic. But the Trojans are senior-laden this year and ready for that matchup even more than they were a year ago, led by Davidson-bound guard Nick Coval, the program’s all-time leading scorer, who recently passed the 2,000-point mark. Coval’s got good size on the wings in 6-6 Zaire Smaltz and 6-4 Robbie Ruisch, both seniors, and senior guard Jayden Thomas has been a quality No. 2 scoring option, while others give first-year head coach Eddie Ohlson more shooting and defense. 

Roman Catholic (District 12-1, 25-2)
The Catholic League champs were the state runner-ups a year ago, Reading getting it done in overtime. Gone from those Cahillites are Xzayvier Brown and Anthony Finkley, both currently freshmen at St. Joe’s, and a number of the replacements Chris McNesby brought in to replace them are ineligible for the state tournament due to PIAA transfer rules. But Roman still has powerful 6-7 junior Shareef Jackson in the middle, his 6-6 sophomore brother Sammy Jackson, 6-2 senior Hunter Johnson and 5-10 senior Robert Cottrell, along with a few underclassmen who had previously been deeper on the bench. 

Upper St. Clair (District 7-1, 20-5)
The Panthers captured the District 7 (WPIAL) championship as they’re playing their best ball of the season at the right time, with a seven-game win streak on the line in a first-round game against a quality Central Dauphin squad. USC’s head coach Daniel Holzer, has a local connection, as his brother Ralph is an area high referee, working the District 1 championship between Lower Merion and Garnet Valley this past weekend. Junior forward Tyler Robbins, a 6-9 post with Division I interest, had a 22-point, 12-rebound, five-block outing in the WPIAL title game Senior guards Brett Meiner and Christian Ito join him as weapons in the backcourt, and junior guard Julian Dahlem has given them a boost as well.

In the Running

Chester (District 1-4, 20-4)
The Clippers have had a big bounce-back this season after missing out on the district playoffs entirely a year ago, getting to the semifinals this year after capturing the Del-Val League title. Head coach Keith Taylor has a deep and assertive group led by 6-5 forward Dominic Toy, senior wing Dante Atkinson, sophomore twins Daron and Jalen Harris and more.

Central York (District 3-5, 24-3)
The Panthers have one of the most talented rosters in District 3, having beaten the likes of Coatesville, Reading, William Penn, Eastern York and more, a one-point loss to Red Lion in the district quarterfinals knocking their seeding down somewhat. But 6-8 junior Ben Rill, 6-6 senior Greg Guidinger and 6-2 junior Ben Natal give them one of the best trios around, and they’re a battle-tested group that has won in big arenas. 

Chambersburg (District 3-2, 19-6)
Shawn Shreffler’s been the Trojans’ head coach for 25 years, and after never making it past the second round he’s got a team that could make a deep run this year. It starts with junior wing Jai’tavius ‘J.J.’ Kelly, a state champion in triple jump who’s one of the most athletic kids in the state; he’s averaging 21 ppg and 7 rpg, and has picked up a couple D-I offers. There’s size and athleticism in spades around him, including 6-4 senior and Clarion football commit Jermere Jones; senior point guard Ari Snyder, a High Point cross-country commit; and sophomore wings Colton Cornell (6-4) and Landon Buhrman (6-5), both of whom start. 

Coatesville (District 1-6, 18-8)
The Raiders made the state quarterfinals a year ago and have a bunch of returning pieces from that group, led by seniors Dior Kennedy and Zuri Harris. Sophomore post Larry Brown, already a second-year starter, is an intriguing prospect and player at 6-7 with the ability to stretch the floor, and they’ve got additional scoring pop from Marquis Peoples and Amon Fowlkes.

McDowell (District 10-1, 20-5)
The District 10 champs out of Erie, McDowell’s beaten a bunch of WPIAL teams and some other name programs in that half of the state, but are untested against anybody from out this way; to get further than the second round, they’d need to take on either Chester or Reading, so it won’t take long to find out. Senior wing Tyler Grove is the most notable name on the roster, a versatile 6-6 wing with big-time scoring ability, 

Scranton (District 2-1, 20-4)
The Knights bring good size down out of the northeastern part of the state, as Scranton’s used to playing this time of year. Head coach Tony Battaglia has his son, also Tony Battaglia, a 5-9 sophomore at point guard, but they’re otherwise big led by 6-6 junior Pedro Lugo, 6-4 senior Oliver Almonte, 6-4 senior Jaheam Roberts and 6-3 senior Matt Barrett, who can get red-hot from downtown. Keep an eye on Roberts, who might have the most raw talent on the team.

Spring-Ford (District 1-9, 20-6)
You might look at Spring-Ford’s seeding and wonder why we’re writing about the Rams instead of plenty of other quality teams that have come out of District 1. But they’re back at full strength after playing without 6-3 junior Matt Zollers for more than a month after he broke his foot, and he was a two-way playmaker who really helped high-level lead guards E.J. Campbell and Jacob Nguyen find space. Junior Tommy Kelly, a 6-5 wing forward, gives them additional length and athleticism up front next to 6-6 sophomore Oben Mokonchu.