City of Basketball Love

By Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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Amari Dow and Travis Reed have known each other since ninth grade, often running into each other at the same workouts throughout the city.

Dow can’t recall ever teaming up in a game, however, until sharing the floor at the Donofrio Classic on March 25.

It was good practice for what’s to come.

Dow and Reed will team up plenty over the next four years at Chestnut Hill College, both recently announcing their commitments to first-year coach Andrew Radomicki and the Griffins.

“We got close and of course we’re going to be closer,” Dow said. “I told him I committed, and he was so happy.”

Dow spent all four years of his high school career at Cristo Rey. The 6-foot-3 guard averaged 20.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg and 4.3 apg as a senior this past season. Reed, a 6-foot-2 guard, averaged 10 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.8 apg, and 1.2 spg at Roman Catholic as a senior after starting his high school career at Frankford.

Chestnut Hill started recruiting Dow during open gyms this past fall. He said Wilmington was another Division II program that expressed interest. He was an all-league player as a sophomore before injuries hampered him as a junior. This past season Dow returned to form, helping the Blue Pride to back-to-back Penn-Jersey League championships and the first PAISAA Tournament win in program history.

“That was the school that applied the most pressure and was serious about recruiting me,” Dow said. “(They like me) mainly just being a dog, a good defender as well as my scoring ability."

Reed was a second team all-division selection at Frankford as a junior as he led the Public League ‘B’ champions in scoring. He didn’t have much college interest until he started to produce at Roman this season. Chestnut Hill assistant Mike Bowens first approached him in mid-December after a lights out shooting performance against Bishop Ireton.

“At Frankford, I had some self doubt because I didn’t get the looks I wanted to my two years playing,” Reed said. “But coming into Roman it opened a lot of doors for me because now I could really showcase my talent everywhere and there were a lot of people watching me and seeing I could actually play at the next level.”

Reed continued to knock down big shots for the Cahillites throughout the season, earning second team All-Catholic League honors. He had 13 points in a PCL semifinal at the Palestra before going on to help Roman capture its second straight PCL title.

Northampton CC and Division III programs like Del Val were the top schools interested in him other than Chestnut Hill.

“I bring defense to the team, and I do whatever it takes to win, whether it’s me scoring or rebounding or just being there for my teammates, but mostly it was probably my shooting ability,” Reed said of what caught the Griffins' attention.

Reed announced his commitment to Chestnut Hill on March 19. Dow followed 12 days later, though he told Reed and Radomicki of his plans beforehand.

Radomicki had the chance to watch his two recruits team up at the Donofrio last month, when they combined for 41 points and showed some immediate chemistry.

“If he’s open in the corner, I know I have to give him the ball because he’s gonna knock that three down,” Dow said. “And if I’m open on the fastbreak, he knows to advance the ball to me so I can finish.”

Radomicki became the third head coach in the program’s history when he took over last offseason after serving as the associate head coach at Widener. The Griffins finished 9-20 in his first year but managed an 8-8 mark in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference to make the league tournament.

Chestnut Hill has a strong young core in place as freshman guard IV Petitt, a former standout at Devon Prep and Phelps School, led the team in scoring (14.0 ppg) last season followed by sophomores Adam Angwafo and Alejandro Redondo Cybak.

Dow and Reed both bring a winning pedigree to the group. Dow helped Cristo Rey coach Kyle Sample begin to elevate the Blue Pride into one of the top private schools in the area over the past two seasons. Reed has a division title in the Public League and a Catholic League championship on his resume. 

The goal is to continue to win games at their next stop.

“I’m just ready to start something new at Chestnut Hill, just get my name out there and show that I can really play and bring something that Chestnut Hill hasn’t seen yet out of a player,” Reed said.

“I want to bring something to Chestnut Hill. I feel like I can bring a lot to the table.”