City of Basketball Love

By Chad Graham (@CGraham_Sports) +
Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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The 28th annual Rasual Butler All-City Classic took place on Friday night, with three games full of some of the area’s best high school boys ballplayers putting on a show at Ben Franklin High.

Here’s who stood out to the CoBL staff:

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Devin Booker (2025 | Cristo Rey)
With a singular focus, Booker either pulled up from deep or finished at the rim. As a result, he splashed a barrage of shots in people's faces and caught a body. He mixed a pair of mid-range pull-ups in there too. The man on a mission took no prisoners as he threw down four dunks. His only non-jumpshot was a tip-in off of an offensive rebound. Booker capped off the night with 23 points and 4 boards. 

Reece Brown (2026 | Trinity)
As a 6-3 guard, Brown rebounded the ball like his life depended on it. He brought a blue collar approach to the game, pulling down 6 boards, 4 of them on offense and 3 of which he put back himself. Brown threw in a steal and a block to boot. Pacing his team with 19 points, the standout from Central PA finished the game like he started it — with a pull-up jumper from deep. 

Buddy Denard (2027 | Archbishop Wood)
At one point in the first half, it looked like Denard was going to win the MVP and the game on his own muscle. He went shot-for-shot with the opposing team, drilling four pull-up threes and a lay-up, for 11 points before halftime. With that looks in his eyes, Denard popped another three in the second, this time off-the-catch, but a perfect swish like the others. He balanced out the shot-making with unselfish play, in one instance hitting a cutting Semaj Stone with a behind-the-back bounce pass. Denard finished with a smooth 15 points and 4 assists. 

Munir Greig (2027 | Archbishop Carroll)
Although his offensive game is growing by leaps and bounds, Greig still led with his defense on Friday afternoon. He had 4 steals, taking each one coast-to-coast for a bucket or kicking the ball up the court for an assist. The rest of his contribution came on the glass and from slashing to the basket. In addition to his putback, Greig put pressure on the rim off-the-bounce and scored inside. That well-rounded performance made him the Catholic League team MVP. 

Zion Green (2027 | Imhotep Charter)
The 6-9 wing went to work inside the arc, altering shots on defense and grabbing offensive boards, including a couple second-chance points for himself. But it was Green’s defensive rebounding that gave him the chance to show off his skill. As soon as he snatched the ball off of the glass, he pushed the ball up the floor, evading defenders one-on-one for acrobatic finishes at the other end. On one transition play, Green trailed behind Tyler Sutton, who set him up with an alley oop off of the backboard and Green threw it down with authority. His 14 points and 8 rebounds didn't go unnoticed. 

Carnell Henderson (2025 | Imhotep Charter)
Ever the team player, Henderson’s confidence was through the roof as he called his own number and made a flurry of shots for the non-Catholic League team. He hit multiple threes from deep behind the arc. Still feeling himself in the second, the 6-3 Imhotep Panther threw down two slams, one of which was an oop. Then he put the cherry on top with another three to finish with 19 points and 7 rebounds. 

Latief Lorenzano-White (2026 | Imhotep Charter)
Oh yeah, it was a good day for Imhotep, and we’re not done. Lorenzano-White showed Friday exactly why he’s been productive in a Panthers uniform as well; he makes the most of his touches, and provides high-level defense and versatility. He finished with nine points, three rebounds, three assists and two blocks in the 2026 game, hitting one of his two 3-point attempts and showing his impressive slashing abilities on a few takes to the bucket, a few of which ended in dishes to a wide-open teammate.

Zaahir Muhammad-Gray (2026 | Imhotep Charter)
It's unclear what got into Muhammad-Gray, but he was acting different. The 6-7 two-way wing scored a Classic-high 31 points. He hit four pull-up threes on the way to 19 points in the first half; but he wasn't done there. Muhammad got back to his usual gritty self, playing physical defense inside and out, helping on the boards, and distributing the ball to shooters on the perimeter. He married his huge scoring out-burst with 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and a block. 

Marquis Newson (2027 | Academy New Church)
After a comparatively quiet first half offensively with a mid-range jumper and a lay-up, Newson came out in the second line he had something to prove. From there, he went on to finish everything above the rim. Each chance he got, the big guard cocked the ball back and tried to tear the rim off on fastbreaks. His four blocks shook the gym, the final coming with an and-one as he scored 9 points in the period, plus 4 boards and 2 blocks for the game. 

Al'Tariq Reevey (2026 | Life Center, N.J.)
After the second contest of the night, Reevey was recognized for his defense, not because of the numbers he put up, but because of the numbers that the other teams didn't put up. The 6-9 big man anchored his squad on defense by sending two shots back the other way and influencing many more. With attitude and zeal, he took his role seriously, even though it was an unstructured setting and he didn't get many opportunities to score. And when those opportunities did come, Reevey dunked the ball with that same passion. 

R.J. Smith (2026 | Imhotep Charter)
There’s just something so enjoyable about watching Imhotep’s starting point guard play basketball. Perhaps the best in the city at his ability to change speeds, get his defender off balance and make a play, the 5-foot-8 lead guard has the ball on a string and inside-out scoring ability, which he showed by knocking down a trio of deep second-half 3-pointers as well as some impressive finishes at the rim, all of which helped him to a reasonably efficient 15-point outing along with a couple rebounds, assists and steals. And he does it all while playing hard, always, with a great demeanor on and off the court.

Tyler Sutton (2027 | George School)
With his incredible, improvisational style of play, Sutton flourished in this setting. It didn't matter if he was driving to the cup for himself or throwing lobs to Green and Newson, Sutton orchestrated one highlight play after another. He even erased somebody else's shot at the rim. His energy was infectious, sparking a big run that extended the non-Catholic team's lead. The lead guard put the finishing touches on his MVP performance with a step-back trey as he totalled 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.

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Honorable Mention

Al-Jalil Bey-Moore (2026 | Audenried Charter), Elijah Brown (2025 | Life Center, N J.), Milan Dean Jr (2025 | Archbishop Wood), Sebastian Edwards (2025 | Roman Catholic), Luca Foster (2026 | Archbishop Carroll), Korey Francis (2027 | Bonner-Prendie), Christian Matos (2026 | Methacton), Derrick Morton-Rivera (2026 | Father Judge), Nasir Ralls (2026 | Archbishop Carroll), Marvin Reed (2027 | Malvern Prep), Mani Sajid (2026 | Plymouth Whitemarsh), Owen Schlager (2025 | Trinity), Naz Tyler (2027 | Father Judge)