City of Basketball Love

Joseph Santoliquito (@JSantoliquito)
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Jordyn Adderly aspires to one day do something that is vitally necessary. Although, it is something not many dream of doing, save for Hermey the elf in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: She wants to be a dentist.

It befits Adderly, the athletic 5-foot-10 Friends’ Central senior forward. She does things on the court that are vitally necessary to win, although not many aspire to do what she embraces: Play staunch defense against the opposing team’s No. 1 scoring threat, rebound, block shots, box out, dive for loose balls. Basically, all the nasty business that often do not light up a scorebook, though are vitally necessary to light up a scoreboard.

On Saturday, Adderly’s work ethic and team-first attitude were rewarded, when she announced that she will be attending Coppin State on a full basketball scholarship next season.

Adderly committed to Coppin State head coach Jermaine Woods on September 27 during her official visit to the historically black college and university (HBCU) based in Baltimore, Maryland. The reason why she took until now to go public was because she wanted to make her announcement on her birthday.

Adderly chose Coppin over the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Bowie State, while Army and Navy showed some interest in her.

“Committing before the season is a great relief,” said Adderly, who carries a 3.6 GPA. “It is definitely a big relief not dealing with the college process anymore. I know where I’m going. For me, the process was simple. I had a few offers. It came down to Coppin State and Maryland Eastern Shore. When I went to Coppin, it is a better HBCU in the middle of the city, and Maryland Eastern Shore was a little out there.

“I also got along better with the girls at Coppin, because I know some of the players there. I just felt Coppin was more invested in me. I was happy someone was interested in me.”

Adderly joins a list of Phoenix seniors with set college destinations, like Nal’la Bennett, 5-foot-8 shooting guard (Stony Brook), Kaiya Rain Tucker, a 6-0 forward (Siena) and Logyn Greer, a national-level recruit, 6-3 wing/forward (Colorado).

The Phoenix, who finished 8-1 in the Friends Schools League and 25-7 overall, return a lot of talent for head coach Vinny Simpson. Returning with Adderly, a three-year starter, will be Bennett, Greer, and Tucker; plus Sydney Williams and Saniyah Washington.

Coppin plays in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), whose full members are HBCUs. The Eagles are 1-1 so far this season, after going 12-18 overall and 8-6 in the MEAC last season. Abington’s Cire Worley and Tiffany Hammond (Life Center/Trenton, NJ) are the locals on the current team.

At Coppin, Adderly plans on majoring in biology, before eventually wanting to become a dentist. She liked the biology center at Coppin during her official visit and it reminded her academically of Friends’ Central.

“I actually like going to the dentist, I may be the only one,” said Adderly, laughing. “During the summer, I attended a program at Barry University in Florida in mid-June and I saw cadavers and got to do simulations. I liked the dentist option. I went to tour the basketball program, but there was also a medical camp there.”

When Simpson first saw Adderly, he liked how athletic she was. Simpson trusts her to guard the opponent’s No. 1 threat, which in the Friends Schools League means facing national-level talent like Westtown’s Jordyn Palmer and Jessie Moses. Adderly has the size to stay with Palmer, and the athletic ability to keep up with Moses.

It gives Simpson some versatility.

“When you need toughness, Jordyn Adderly brings that, she does all the things that do not show up on a stat sheet,” Simpson said. “Rebounding, playing defense, making the big-time stop, the big-time deflections, she performs the intangibles that win you ball games. Jordyn cares about winning. That is what makes her special.”

Simpson feels Adderly could play the two, three or stretch four in college. Her toughness may come from growing up playing football—tackle football with boys until she was 11, when the boys began starting to physically develop. She played running back and safety and one year was named MVP.

This season could have been a challenge to Adderly. Back in September, Simpson pulled Adderly aside and told her she would be the first player off the bench.

She took it well, after three years as a starter.

Adderly may not be starting this season, but she will be finishing, Simpson stressed.

“Jordyn is the ultimate team player, and she understands the situation we have, and she accepts her role,” he said. “She is mature, intelligent and is willing to do anything to help us win.”

This will be a deep Phoenix team, able to go nine, or 10 deep. Adderly never pushed against coming off the bench.

“I understand my role on the team,” Adderly said. “I do all the things no one likes. I want to cover great players like Jordyn and Jessie. Coming off the bench doesn’t bother me. My attitude started way back when I played football. It’s about the team. It makes you tough. It’s about winning.”

With her commitment to Coppin, winning is all that is left for Adderly. That means facing the Westtown Moose possibly three times this season—during the Friends Schools League regular season, the Friends Schools League tournament championship and the Pennsylvania Independent School Athletic Association (PISAA) tournament, where the Phoenix reached the championship last year and lost to Westtown, 76-24.

“This year, this team is a family, we are all together and support each other,” Adderly said. “I’m one of the oldest on the team. I’m a senior. I have to be more vocal. I see us heading to another championship and facing Westtown again. We will face them in the Friends Schools League championship. Yes, you can quote me on that. I believe in my team. I know coach Simpson has faith in us. We can do this.”

Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who began writing for CoBL in 2021 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter here [mobile.twitter.com].