City of Basketball Love

By Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)
—

The Ohio Basketball Philly Takedown took place this past weekend at the Westtown School and West Chester University, with girls’ grassroots competition from 12U up through 17U spread across the two venues. CoBL was in attendance at Westtown to check out the 16U and 17U action as many of the area’s programs used it as a tuneup for next weekend’s live recruiting period.

Here’s the second of three recruiting/coverage notebooks from interviews conducted this weekend:

~~~

Philly Takedown Coverage: Saturday standouts | Sunday standouts | Notebook Pt. 1 | Notebook Pt. 2 | Notebook Pt. 3 |

~~~

Devon Chamberlain (2025 | Lady Runnin’ Rebels Red 17U)

Devon Chamberlain’s been given a window, so she’s trying to make the most of it.

The guard spent the entirety of Spring-Ford’s playoff run, one that lasted all the way to the PIAA Class 6A final in Hershey, in a boot due to a severe ankle sprain. She’s due for surgery in late July, an indirect byproduct of that sprain, to clear up a lingering issue before senior year.

For now, she’s good to go and getting back up to speed.

“I had just sprained it but on the X-ray, they found an extra bone in my ankle so I’m going to have to get surgery in July between seasons,” Chamberlain said. “This is my second tournament back, so I’m just working to get back to where I was.”

An os trigonum is a small piece of bone in the back of the ankle found in about 15% of people. It usually presents symptom free, Chamberlain saying she didn’t have any issues before the sprain or since she returned but in the long run, it could become more of an issue. The junior actually has it in both feet, so she’s getting a double fix in a couple months.

With a veteran group ahead of her at Spring-Ford the past couple seasons, Chamberlain played mainly JV and was getting some swing minutes this season prior to her injury. With four senior starters departing, the Rams will have a new look next winter and Chamberlain knew this would be an important summer for her.

The quick guard, listed at 5-foot-5, has two fellow Rams in Kareena Preuss - a starter for Spring-Ford this season - and Haley Prophet as teammates with the Rebels. 

“I’m beyond excited for the next school season, I’m not sure what everybody’s role is going to be because it’s going to be so different but I’m excited to see how our team plays together,” Chamberlain said. “It was awesome watching them pull their weight on the team and even just in warm-ups or practices, playing with them has brought everyone else up to be confident in themselves.”

Coming back from a lengthy layoff in any sport is difficult, especially one that requires a lot of quick directional changes and shifts in speed. The guard has been busy rebuilding her conditioning, she’s been running, doing sprints and getting shots up as much as possible, but there was naturally some rust to work out.

“That’s probably the most time I missed basketball in several years,” Chamberlain said. “I felt tired very fast, I was getting tired very quick so I only played a couple minutes each game last week but this week so far has been a lot better.

“I’m not used to that, getting tired quick.”

Saturday, the guard looked to have some of her burst back. In a game against the Comets Select, she scored a layup off a sharp cut down the lane, was able to use a dribble move to slip a defender and then had a heads-up play to get a bucket when Preuss saved a ball along the baseline from going out of bounds.

Whatever she may lack in height, Chamberlain tries to make up for in aggression. She’s tenacious going after the ball but the junior did say that can also get her into trouble, something she wants to curtail so she can be a piece next season.

“Definitely my defense,” Chamberlain said. “I struggle on defense, especially today, I was doing a lot of fouling because I was getting beat. That’s always been a problem for me, the jabbing and cutting is still a little weak but it’s overall something I need to work at.

“I’ve always been aggressive like that but getting into high school basketball, it’s way different because of how they call the fouls. It’s way easier to get fouled out in a school game than AAU, I’ve learned to control that but still have a ways to go.”

The end of the summer will be another minor bump in the road, but Chamberlain knows she has a window of opportunity before then to make up for some lost time and prove herself before her curtain call as a senior in high school.

“I want this to be a big boost of confidence for me, especially coming off my injury,” Chamberlain said. “I love my team, I’m just so excited to be back.”

~~~

Grace Weyler (2027 | LGB Select 17U)

Grace Weyler has always played her best when she knows her coaches trust her.

When the Neshaminy freshman was told she’d be not only be playing up, but playing up two years with the LGB Select 17U roster this spring and summer, that was all the trust she needed. Weyler, a rotation player for Neshaminy this season, is eager to pay back that trust.

“It’s really exciting,” Weyler said. “Even going back into the high school season, it will help me improve and I’ll hopefully be ready to play a big role.”

Saturday, Weyler was playing with a mixed 2026-27 roster for LGB Select that also included Plymouth Whitemarsh sophomore Kenna Winland, who will be joining her up on the 2025 roster. Weyler said she’s also excited to keep playing with Winland, a 2026 with a full season of starting experience plus another coming off the bench, when they’re back with the 2025s.

Neshaminy relied heavily on its freshmen this past year, winning an SOL Patriot division title and the program’s first SOL league tournament title. Weyler had a key bucket in the league championship game, rewarding the trust coach John Gallagher showed in her during the season.

“The size of the girls was definitely an adjustment, I wasn’t used to playing adults, pretty much,” Weyler said. “I had to learn to shoot better and rely less on driving because I wasn’t as big and strong as them yet.

“He just trusted me with the ball. Me being a freshman, he trusted me with the ball and that made me trust myself.”

Neshaminy loses a pair of 1,000 point scorers in Reese Zemitis and Lola Ibarrondo, plus another solid senior in Ava Irizarry, so there will be plenty of opportunity for Weyler and her classmates to take charge next season. Weyler knows her classmates Ashlyn Duffy, Mia Raivitch and Hayley Kolk, along with the rest of the team, will be working with their respective teams all summer and they’ll see the payout next fall.

“My seniors really helped me out, just giving constructive criticism and Lola was such a good role model as a point guard, I just want to try and be like her,” Weyler said. “I’m excited to put in the work with the girls over the summer and just see my improvement.”

Weyler listed getting stronger physically and improving her shooting, especially off the dribble, as offseason focuses. The freshman said she just wants to be a “dangerous” offensive player and knows playing up in age group this summer will help accelerate that.

“I like playing with the older girls because they make me better,” Weyler said. “They play a fast-paced game but they’re also under control. I’m already sad the juniors are leaving me next year and I just met them.”

Weyler is new to LGB Select this year so hearing program director Lexie Gerson wanted her playing up with the juniors came as a big surprise.

“I was nervous, she didn’t know me and she already had so much trust and confidence in me right off the bat,” Weyler said. “I was excited, like I said, as long as she has trust in me, then I’ve got trust and confidence in me too.”

~~~

Ashlyn Moore (2025 | Keystone Karma 17U)

Eyes up, always.

When Ashlyn Moore first started playing for Phil Odom in sixth grade, he imparted two directives onto the young guard: learn to dribble and learn to pass. Odom, a former point guard, knew that scorers and shooters come in bunches but the players that excel in getting them the ball are much harder to find.

Odom’s vision to use Moore’s vision on the court is molding a pretty good point guard up in the Scranton area.

“Distributing the ball has always been number one, definitely,” Moore said. “This year, I’m trying to get into a scoring mode but I definitely always love to pass.”

Moore, a starter for PIAA Class 4A runner-up Scranton Prep, doesn’t take long to catch the eye on the court. Granted, the fact she was playing in a pair of the “Championship Mindset” colorway of the Curry 11 trimmed in a shiny gold helped, but the array of passes she threw weren’t bad either.

Whenever Moore gets the ball, her first instinct is to turn her eyes up the court. She noted a majority of players tend to jog back, make or miss, with their heads down so that’s usually the best time to spring an outlet pass on them and put immediate pressure on the defense.

When those outlet passes are on target and in stride, it’s that much better.

“When I started with her, I told her everybody wants to learn how to shoot, you need to learn how to dribble and pass,” Odom said. “If you can make good decisions, you can be on any court. Shooters come a dime a dozen but great decision makers and passers don’t. She’s always taken pride in being able to make the extra pass and it’s the same thing she does for her high school team.”

Odom has called Moore as a pupil for more than half a decade. He coached her through middle school and they kept it going the last four years with Keystone Karma.

With Scranton Prep, Moore said she essentially filled the same role the last two years, the big difference this season was that she got more minutes. The Classics had some terrific scorers, so Moore was content to take a “backseat” and make sure they got the ball in places they could score while also taking a lead role defensively.

Moore was quick to say she wants to improve as a scorer this year. She had 21 points in the Karma’s first win on Saturday and while she didn’t pile up points in the team’s second game, the junior looked good swishing a three several feet behind the arc in the second half.

Odom believes Moore can be a Division II player with her size, quickness, build and court IQ. The guard said she doesn’t have any current offers, but she’s heard from a couple D-IIs and a lot of D-IIIs. She’s a very good student as well, so a high-academic route is something that would definitely be appealing.

Odom had a vision because Moore had the vision. They’ve been at it for a while and it’s worked out pretty well.

“I honestly think my whole basketball IQ has come from him,” Moore said. “I train with him too, I’d say he’s shaped me into the player that I am.”