City of Basketball Love

By Kassidy Ingram
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(Ed. Note: This story is part of CoBL’s “Prepping for Preps” series, which will take a look at many of the top high school programs in the region as part of our 2024-25 season preview coverage. The complete list of schools previewed thus far can be found here.)

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In a league where every game feels like a playoff game, the William Penn Charter School boys basketball team is looking to conquer the Inter-Academic League for a second season in a row. 

The Quakers, before their win this previous season, had not won an outright Inter-Ac title since 2004, under coach Jim Phillips. 

As the team gears up for this coming season, Brandon Williams emphasized the importance of leadership and mentality in shaping a successful program. Going into his second season as head coach at PC, Williams aims to get better as a unit, not just on the floor but off court as well. 

“We’re a new unit, a talented unit but we’re trying to work on our non-verbal communications,” he said. “Knowing certain disciplines, certain ways to play and establishing Penn Charter basketball.”

For Williams it is important that his Quaker team continue to solidify their principles and move as one as a majority of his core team returns. These principles he has developed in his 10-year coaching stint with the Philly Pride Under Armour Association team. 

“When it comes to playing at the next level and a high level you gotta have mentality, you gotta have approach, you gotta have a culture,” Williams said. “So I think that’s really what I want my seniors to embody.” 

Penn Charter returns a deep roster of seniors in Jake West, Kai Shinholster, Matt Gilhool, Jamal Hicks, and TJ Bryson. Those of which all know and understand Williams strategies while also having developed chemistry with one another from last season. 

Last season PC finished the season 16-11 overall, going 7-3 in conference. Post season, the Quakers were able to best Friends Select in the first round of the PAISAA tournament. However, they fell short in the state quarterfinals to Westtown School, 70-65. 

Going into the conference, the Quakers know they face good competition. Haverford School returns good young players in Silas Graham and Manny Butts; Malvern Prep returns sophomore leaders in Nick Harken and Marvin Reed; Episcopal is well coached by Taylor Wright, Jay Wright’s son, with talent led by FGCU commit Matt McCarthy; and SCH Academy has senior depth as well as Williams’ former middle school teammate, head coach Julian McFadden.

“That’s the thing about the Inter-Ac, it has a really good culture,” Williams said. ”Any team can catch you any night, so I think it will be great to get into the league and have another year where we’re going to have a lot of balance in our league.” 

Williams has high aims for his Quakers team as they want to be in the Top 25 rankings, repeat as the outright Inter-Ac champions, go undefeated through the league and win the first PAISAA championship for Penn Charter. 

This past season the Quakers graduated Kevin Cotton, who is playing Division III basketball at Drew University, and Will Vieira, who is a pitcher currently doing a post graduate year and is committed to play baseball at Fordham University.

In an intense pre-season matchup versus Imhotep at the Rare Footage Classic, the Northwestern commit West had an impressive showing of 21 points by attacking downhill and finishing in traffic with crafty moves. A 6-2 point guard, West averaged 14.3 points as a junior on 44% FG shooting and led in steals (45) and assists (116) last season. Outside of basketball, West is also a social media sensation, with an amassed 1.5 million followers on TikTok. 

Two more high major commits on the PC roster include the 6-10 forward Gihool, who has committed to LSU, and Shinholster, a 6-4 shooting guard who has committed to the University of Minnesota. 

Gilhool is coming into his final season after averaging 14.8 points on 57.1% FG shooting. He also led the team in rebounds last season averaging 9.3 per contest, as well as blocks, snagging a total of 38 last season. 

Shinholster returns averaging 10.3 points per contest. Coming into this season, his goal is to make the most out of this season. He has a leadership role this season alongside teammates West and Gilhool, who all as high major players aim to lead their younger teammates. 

“We played with each other last year, but I feel like we didn’t really get a chance to get the most out of the season,” said Shinholster. “This year, I’m excited coming back. Hopefully we win a lot of games and just have a good time while being seniors.” 

They also return key contributors in seniors Hicks and Bryson. 

Hicks, a 6-2 guard, played significant minutes as an junior grader for the Quakers last season averaging 12.4 points a game and shooting 33.6% from 3-point range. Hicks last season stepped up as an offensive threat in their outright league title win last season against Episcopal Academy where they won 68-62. In the contest, Hicks contributed 21 points and is expected to bring the same intensity this season. 

Bryson, a 6-0 guard, returns averaging 5.3 points per contest and 80% from the FT line. With a few D-III looks from schools such as Marymount and Wilkes, he mentioned how excited all the guys are going into their final season. 

“I think most of the people on our team made commitments already so we were all there to celebrate,” Bryson said. “It’s sad we’re going to have to leave, go somewhere else, and start a new life but we’re all excited and looking forward to bigger and better things.” 

The Quakers also have a bright future, represented in the form of Carter Smith. 

A 6-3 freshman guard, Smith continued to show promise after playing in all 28 contests and averaging 35.1% from 3-point range in his eighth grade campaign. Williams believes he has the potential to be one of the best freshmen in the region.

Two more other underclassmen ready to contribute are younger siblings of the Quaker stars. Daniel Gilhool, a 6-10 forward and Matt’s younger brother, will be playing this year for Penn Charter after transferring in from Elizabethtown. Luke West, Jake’s younger brother, comes in as a freshman; the 5-9 guard is full of potential and despite his current height, has a playing style reminiscent of his brother’s game. 

Also transferring in is 6-5 sophomore Graham Hamilton from LaSalle College High School.

Going into this season, they will have a really tough non-conference schedule leading up into their league schedule. The PC Quakers will take their talents to tournaments such as HoopFest, Governor’s Challenge, and the Metro Classic in February. They will also face local non-league matchups such as Friends Central. 

“We are coming at everybody this year,” Bryson said. “It’s going to be up.”