City of Basketball Love

Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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The second session of Philly Live 2024 brought over 220 boys teams to the City of Brotherly Love from all over the region — Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware were well-represented, but teams from all over the Eastern seaboard came up to play in front of hundreds of college coaches.

CoBL’s writers spent the weekend at both Jefferson University and the Philadelphia Youth Basketball ‘6th Man’ Center catching up with local teams and prospects of note. Here’s a notebook featuring team updates on several local squads:

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(Ed. Note: Links to all of our 2024 Philly Live I content can be found at the bottom of this article)

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Sutton makes Philly debut with Roman Catholic

The back-to-back reigning Philadelphia Catholic League champions went on the road for the first high school live period to play. Coach Chris McNesby liked the idea of getting his players out of town for a bonding experience, so the Cahillites traveled to the nation’s capital for D.C. Live.

Roman was back in the area this past weekend, joining plenty of the other local powers at Philly Live II and debuting one of the PCL’s likely top newcomers this season: Tyler Sutton.

Sutton is a 6-foot-2 sophomore guard who played at the George School last season. He has 10 Division I offers with McNeese St. and High Point the most recent to offer last month. The bouncy point guard was key with 17 points in Roman’s win over Don Bosco Prep (N.J.).

“Almost everything, defense, scoring, being able to get everybody else involved,” Sutton said when asked what the Roman staff is looking for him to bring to the table. “ … Everyone has to do their part and everybody has to do everything pretty much.”

It looks like Sutton will pick up the reins left by Robert Cottrell last season. A few other key pieces like Travis Reed (Chestnut Hill), Hunter Johnson and PCL championship hero Kabe Goss (Montclair St.). But the team’s centerpiece, 6-foot-7 forward Shareef Jackson, is back to lead the way after a first team All-PCL season in 2023-24.

Jackson’s younger brother could blossom into a star alongside him this season. Junior 6-5 wing Sammy Jackson exploded for 27 points in a win over St. Rose (N.J.) on Sunday — another impressive victory for the Cahillites.

Sutton knows both brothers and how to get them the ball. He also played with FGCU-bound big man Tristen Guillouette at George last season.

“I grew up knowing Shareef and watching Shareef and Sammy,” Sutton said. “It wasn’t anything new. I know how to play with those guys.”

Senior 6-4 guard Sebastian Edwards and senior 6-7 wing/forward C.J. Miller are a few other pieces back for Roman, looking to help the team repeat.

Sutton is excited to do his part to help, hoping an improved left hand and pull-up jumper can turn him into an impact player in the PCL.

He’s ready for the attention playing at Roman brings — their games this weekend had more eyes than most — and isn’t shying away from the standard of the historic program.

“You can feel the energy,” Sutton said. “We’re the most hated, being Roman, back-to-back PCL chips. I love it. … That’s our one job. Win three in a row and get better as a team and become closer.
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Pennsbury hopes young talent can help bounceback

Wes Emme led his Pennsbury team to a Suburban One League Patriot Division title during his first season at the helm in 2022-23. The Falcons went 15-8 with a 12-4 mark in the division.

Despite having four players who are now committed to play at the college level — Danny Cohen (RIT), Teddy Mangan (Penn State-Altoona), Simon Dilugi (York) and Connor Taddei (St. John’s Fisher) — the Falcons couldn’t replicate the same results in 2023-24 (11-12, 8-8)

Emme won’t have that same type of experience to lean on this season, but the hope is that some veteran pieces mixed with some fresh talent 

“When you first take over something, and the first time you win it, you’re very, very hungry,” Emme said. “Then the second time around, you don’t need it as much, which may have been what our problem was last year. The fun part about this group that we’re coaching now is it’s a lot of new kids. We have two freshmen on our roster, a sophomore starting, a sophomore coming off the bench, a junior big guy and the two senior starters.”

Three-year varsity player Mike Roocograndi will be leaned on to guide the inexperienced roster. He’s a strong ball handler who will certainly fill it up at times this season for the Falcons. 

“We’re going to rely on him to be our guy every night, but as you can see there’s other guys who can do it.”

Senior 6-2 guard/wing Grayson Gozum was the sixth man a season ago and is taking on some some added responsibility. Junior 6-5 forward Max Manga will add some size for the group. Emme mentioned he’s been the best player at times for the Falcons this offseason. Sophomore 6-4 wing Sean Breslin looks ready to make an impact this season as well. 

One of the new exciting additions is freshman 6-2 guard Patrick Jajua. He has a game that’s mature beyond his years.

“I think his best trait is he’s got incredible vision,” Emme said. “While he can really shoot the ball and he’s talented finishing around the rim, his feel and his ability to see up the floor is a talent that you can’t really teach as a coach.”

The Patriot Division is always a fun one and with reigning champion Bensalem and several others graduating some key pieces, it should be wide open again.

“We’re trying to get back to that mantle,” Emme said. “We want to cut down a piece of the net every year in some way or another.”

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Future looks bright at Lansdale Catholic

The Lansdale Catholic boys basketball program hasn’t picked up a Philadelphia Catholic League win since a 44-43 victory over Conwell-Egan on Feb. 12, 2021.

Since then, the Crusaders have lost 50 straight PCL games (although they were credited another victory in 2021 due to a forfeit), including an 0-39 mark over the last three seasons.

Early impressions of first-year coach Torre Harrison’s squad suggest that streak won’t last through the 2023-24 season. 

“Basically we got a new coach and we got a few young players coming in, and I feel like they really bring the intensity and they really bring us together as a family,” senior Rowan Romero said after a dominant win over Norristown on Saturday. “The young players and new coaches have been pushing us even harder this year. It’s all coming together as you can see.”

Harrison has LC’s top two scorers back in Romero (9.7 ppg), a 6-foot-5 wing/forward, and senior 5-10 guard Anthony Wack (7.0 ppg) and a third starter in junior 6-2 guard Yeboa Cobbold. Junior Braden Smith also has some experience in the Catholic League with a pair of starts last season. Sophomore Thomas Gendez and Carey Romero and freshmen Melo Alymer, Chase Stevens and TJ Harrison (Torre’s son) rounded out the Philly Live roster.

The freshmen class has the makings of a program-changing one. Alymer, a 6-foot point guard, and Stevens, a 6-foot-3 guard/wing, started games for LC. They gave glimpses that they’ll be more than just promising pieces for the future and will be relied on heavily to make things happen as freshmen.

Of course, the PCL is a different animal with no other program anticipated to slip down to the league’s basement, but don’t be surprised when Lansdale Catholic looks a little different this year.

“Right now, we’re finding our rhythm, but I think our end goal is to obviously do a lot better than we did last year,” Romero said. “Hopefully win a few PCL games, if not more, and win all of our out of league games.” — Owen McCue

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Quick Hits

— After Chester High missed the postseason entirely in 2022-23, things were back to normal this winter for the Clippers. They followed an unbeaten run to the Del-Val League title with a District 1-6A semifinal appearance and return to states.

Now the challenge is to keep it that way.   

The team’s top two scorers and two leaders Dominic Toy and Dante Atkinson-Payne are gone. While returners like seniors Jaseir and Dallas Thompson, Rashod Dorsey and Kameron Wilson and junior Nyrell Pray have some big game experience, the 2024-25 is a big Work In Progress.

“They want to win but they’re still learning how to,” Chester coach Keith Taylor said. “They’re trying to hold each other accountable for what’s going on out there and just continuing to play hard. That’s what we’re looking for. What you see in the summer time is something completely different than what you get in the winter time.”

Dallas Thompson, a 5-10 guard, looked in control running the show for the Clippers against Princeton Country Day on Saturday. Taylor said he’s one of the players who’s risen to the occasion thus far this offseason.

Someone to keep an eye on for the Clippers is senior 6-foot-3 guard/wing Kris Chambers who played some last season but is starting to come into his own. He had a poster slam and knocked down a few shots against Princeton Country Day. 

Junior guard Daron and Jalen Harris will give Chester a boost when they return after football season. Taylor is also hoping he can get one of the big men on the football team to come out this winter and give them a physical presence like Toy, a UConn football recruit, did last season.

He knows his squad is far from a finished product right now but they’ve been showing some things he likes.

“We’re just trying to get the team to play hard, cut down on the mistakes and make the best out of the opportunities that’s given to us,” Taylor said.

— Penncrest is ready to carry the momentum from the 2024 postseason into next year. A sophomore-laden Lions squad picked up an upset win over West Chester Rustin in the first round of the District 1-5A tournament before falling one win shy of a state playoff berth with a two-point loss to league rival Radnor in the playback bracket.

Coach Mike Doyle will have four starters back, highlighted by 6-6 junior stretch forward Mikey Mita, a second team All-Central League selection. Junior guards Connor Cahill, Will Stanton and Sean Benson will be back in the starting lineup alongside Mita. With the development of senior 6-3 wing Thoe Gladue, who is out with a broken wrist suffered last week, Doyle thinks he he’ll have “five college basketball players out on the floor” to start every game.

Benson, a 6-foot combo guard, was putting the ball through the hoop like an all-league type player on Saturday against Hackensack (N.J.) on Saturday afternoon. Doyle mentioned junior Ryan McKee is another player who is stepping up.

The Class of 2026 core should have a pair of shots to make a run at a Central League title and make some noise in the postseason. Doyle hopes they can keep their eyes on the present.

“It’s a luxury to have so many young guys and we’re looking forward to this year, not next year,” Doyle said.

“What’s big is don’t be satisfied and don’t look ahead. Play in the moment. Play in the moment that you’re in right now. We feel we got a bunch of college basketball players.” — Owen McCue