City of Basketball Love

By Joseph Santoliquito (@JSantoliquito)
—

PRINCETON, NJ — A line of college coaches endured the brunt of the heat wave last Friday at the Hun School of Princeton to watch some of the area’s best private school players at the Mid-Atlantic Independent School Showcase.

Here is a look at some of the local teams and players in action:

~~~

Jahmare Memphis (2025 | Westtown)

Jahmare Memphis took the trip down from Canada five years ago to find Westtown and Moose legendary coach Seth Berger. The years have seemed to work out for the rising 6-foot-1 senior point guard. He was very impressive in the Moose’s 73-39 victory over St. Andrews on Friday, dropping 18 points before an array of college coaches.

Memphis had not received any offers from anyone — until Tuesday, when he picked up his first offer, from La Salle.

“Jahmare has shown enough to where a number of Division I schools are interested, so I think it will be a case of which Division I school as opposed to whether a D-I will offer,” Berger said on Friday. “Cornell, Wagner, Central Connecticut State have shown interest, and it is a list that will grow. La Salle is interested. He does translate to so many different levels. His on-ball defense, his ability to put pressure on a defense, his decision making, they’re all good. So, I think he can play at a very high level.”

In the past, Memphis tended to overcompensate when he made mistakes, Berger said. Memphis’ discipline in handling that has improved. Berger projects him to go someplace in the Atlantic 10 Conference, Patriot League, Coastal Athletic Association, or Ivy League.

Memphis came to Westtown in eighth grade, unbeknownst to Berger himself. He is from Toronto, Canada, and was introduced to basketball through his father.

Memphis will be entering his second year as a starter for the Moose, who finished 13-5 overall last year and 6-2 in the Friends Schools League.

“I wanted to work on keeping my own pace this summer and play my own game, regardless of what (college) coaches are watching,” said Memphis, who averaged 7 points, 7 assists and 3 rebounds a game last season for the Moose. “I want to be a relentless defender every game; that’s my job. I think the number one part of my game I have to improve on is consistency. I need to be more consistent.

“I turned the ball over too much my sophomore year. I worked on that and cut those turnovers down by junior year. I think I have what it takes to play D-I basketball. My junior year began slow. I did not start, but as the season went on, I started and began playing better.”

The last 10 games, Memphis averaged 10 points and 5 assists a game. He is a 30-percent three-point shooter and trying to increase that to around 38- to 40-percent.

“I’m shooting 300 shots a day in working towards that, taking care of the ball and obviously playing strong defense,” Memphis said. “I think I did that today.”

~~~

KJ Carson (2025 | Haverford School)

KJ Carson is going to be a three-year starter at Haverford School. The rising 6-foot-1 senior guard has watched his stock arc upward this summer to growing attention from Division II schools. Florida Southern is a D-II that has shown interest, along with Ithaca, Hilbert College, and Southern Mississippi, where KJ’s uncle, Isaiah Carson, is an assistant coach.

“I want to work on being more dynamic and more of a leader this summer,” said KJ, who is coming off a junior season in which he averaged 13.7 points a game. “The summer has gone well. As a team, I think we will make a good leap this year, and personally, I think I will make a good leap.”

Playing under the 30-second clock, Carson scored 24 points in the Fords’ 73-57 victory over West Nottingham Academy on Friday, then came back to drop 14 in a 56-50 loss to Pennington School.

“I need to do everything possible to improve, off ball, on ball and keep my focus,” Carson said. “This is the first time I started lifting consistently. I was around 162 pounds this time last year, and I am around 185 pounds now. I feel stronger. But I don’t think I’ll be growing taller. I may get a little wider (laughs). I want to reach for a D-I program, but I am realistic.

“D-II is fine.”

Fords’ coach Bernie Rogers has seen Carson evolve with each game. That comes through in the way Carson plays defense and how he sees the game.

“The attention KJ is getting is rising and he is working hard, pushing himself every day,” Rogers said. “Arcadia, Widener, Ithaca are interested. Susquehanna has emailed, so he has some D-II schools looking at him, and some PSACs have inquired about him. Schools see him as a combo guard.”

~~~

Cam Wallace (2025 | Westtown)

Cam Wallace is a rising 6-foot-5 senior guard who has received offers from Drexel, Cincinnati, Texas A&M, Towson, St. Louis, St. Joe’s, Temple, and Florida Gulf Coast. He was exceptional in Westtown’s 73-39 victory over St. Andrews, and dazzled many of the college coaches seated courtside with his athleticism in the open court.

He led the Moose in scoring last season, averaging 18 points a game, and he is a two-way player who is not afraid to get in an opponent’s face to play defense.

“I want to stay as close to home as I can,” Wallace said about his upcoming college choice. “I want get physically stronger this summer. I weighed 175 this time last year, and I weigh around 190 now. I want to commit this summer, and get the stress away. I want a vision for the next one or two years, and get everything off my chest. That is the best route for me, commit and focus on my senior year.

“This was a great move going from Great Valley to here. My parents played a huge role in that, allowing me to come to Westtown.”

Wallace said he has worked on his ballhandling, three-point shooting and defense. He said colleges are projecting him to play either point guard or shooting guard.

“But I feel I can cover anyone,” he said. “I’m shooting 800 shots every other day, rotating that with 300 shots a day. I’m doing 15, 20 minutes of ballhandling before every workout, before my form shooting, and using my left hand more. I haven’t narrowed my list down to five yet, but I know Temple and FGCU are very interested, and some other schools that have shown interest have been Vanderbilt and Virginia, but they haven’t given me an offer yet.

“I don’t want to go too far from home. I would like to stay local. I love my family and friends. I get homesick. I would like to commit sometime in late-July, early August and I have my visits set up.

“I want to play my freshman year at the school that is the best fit for me.”

Westtown coach Seth Berger loves Wallace’s hate-to-lose attitude. What Wallace does overall translates to so many different levels.

“Cam is special,” Berger said. “The things Cam does is his brain is always thinking two steps ahead, not just how he will score the ball, but how we will score. He is such a creative player, and at the same time, he is such a competitor.

“He hates to lose. When Cam first got to Westtown, he came from a program where he was easily the best player who did not have to work at it, because of his talent. His first year at Westtown was rough. He did not realize how hard he had to work to add skill to his talent.”

In the last year, Berger emphasized, Wallace has indeed added skill to his talent.

“Cam loves the game and hates to lose, it is a lethal combination and what makes Cam who he is,” Berger said.

~~~

SCH guards working through college interest

The Blue Devils finished 18-11 overall and 5-5 in the Inter-Ac last season. The 18-victory season was more than any team in the Inter-Ac in 2023-24, and that included a split with eventual Inter-Ac champ Penn Charter.

Coach Julian McFadden will be entering his ninth year next season, and he likes what he has seen from his team so far this summer. He returns rising senior Keni Williams, who will be a three-year starting 6-foot guard, and rising two-year starting junior 6-4 wing Owen Kelly, along with two-year starting 6-3 rising senior wing Kam Waters, who broke his left foot five games into his sophomore year.

“We like to use our speed and this team, even more than last year, is a better shooting team,” McFadden said. “What we found out this summer is these guys want to work. They are a bunch of worker bees. They have shown me that they want to get better.”

Williams has two offers, from Robert Morris and Albany. He has added some muscle and shot 43-percent from three-point range last season. He is also better going to his right. He averaged 17.5 points a game, while Kelly has added 10 pounds, and is getting Patriot looks. He averaged 7 rebounds a game last year. Waters is a “junkyard dog with a handle,” the way McFadden described him.

The last time Springside Chestnut Hill Academy won the Inter-Ac was 2010.

“We bring back a lot of experience in tight games, and this team can compete for an Inter-Ac title,” McFadden said. “This team can make a run, if we defend. We won 18 games last year.”

Williams and Waters have their eyes set on winning the Inter-Ac.

“We can be shockingly good,” said Williams, who would like to make a college commitment before the summer is over. “I know we are very underrated, and with the younger guys coming up, we can be very good. This team has bonded this summer. The more we have fun, the better we get. Our playing style is unique. There is not one player anyone can focus on.”

Waters has no offers, though Bucknell, Rider and Lehigh have shown interest. Springside Chestnut Hill Academy started well in its first game of the Mid-Atlantic Independent School Showcase, facing Friends Select. But the Blue Devils eventually fell, 68-55.

“This is our first live period, and this is going to take time, but we will figure it out,” said Waters, who stressed he has to be more of an assertive scorer. “We are small. That was the story last year. Owen and I are our tallest guys. We will need to run and throw the ball ahead. This year will be about controlling the tempo, and when (Friends Select) sped us up, we got sloppy. We need to know when to be more patient.” 

~~~

2024 Philly Live Session I Standouts
Jefferson Day 1 | PYB Day 1 | Jefferson Day 2 | PYB Day 2 | Jefferson Day 3 | PBY Day 3 |

~~~

2024 Philly Live Session I Coverage
Team Notebook Pt. 1: St. Joe’s Prep, Archbishop Ryan, West Catholic
Team Notebook Pt. 2: Upper Dublin, Bishop Shanahan, William Tennent

Recruiting Notebook Pt. 1: Matt Gardler, Jayden Taylor, Isaac Cole

~~~