City of Basketball Love

By Owen McCue (@owen.mccue)
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CHESTNUT HILL — The smiling pictures. The familiar faces. The squeaks, whistles, bouncing balls and cheers from the crowd — and the R&B songs, particularly Chris Brown, in between — at Chestnut Hill College on Sunday were all a way to remember.

In August 2023, the Philadelphia community and Griffins men’s basketball facility in particular, suffered a hit when former Norristown and CHC player Chris Evans passed away suddenly.

The Chris Evans Memorial Showcase this past weekend was a way to honor Evans’ memory and carry on his impact.

“When he passed away, that was definitely one of the hardest things I ever went through in terms of as a coach to lose a kid that young,” said CHC Athletic Director Jesse Balcer, who coached Evans during his time with the Griffins. When you see all the people come back and you see all the people who support things like that, all it does is just drive home the fact of the kind of person he was. He was a very relational guy. Everyone liked him. He was happy. He was never in a bad mood.”

Sunday’s four originally scheduled matchups all had ties to Evans and CHC. Six of the eight teams have a coach who either played with or coached Evans: Penn Charter’s Brandon Williams, Salesainum (Del.)’s Taylor Trevisian, Bonner’s Billy Cassidy, SCH’s Julian McFadden and Woodbury (N.J.)’s Mark DiRugieris, plus Highland (Va.) assistant Liban Awl. (While Highland had to be replaced by Hun (N.J.) due to potential inclement weather, Awl still made the trip).

Other former teammates and coaches like current Delaware assistant J.J. Butler, who was a teammate of Evans’ and was also the head coach of the Griffins when Evans was an assistant, filed through Sorgenti Arena throughout the day.

The reunions at CHS are starting to become routine. When Williams took the job at Penn Charter last season, Balcer helped facilitate a matchup with SCHA and McFadden. Balcer credited Williams as the architect of this year’s event. A powerhouse matchup between Williams’ PC squad and Highland already on the schedule snowballed into something much bigger.

“We were like, ‘Yo let’s turn it into an event for Chris,” Williams said. “We called, Billy, Taylor, Jules, Mark D, we just kind of put things together and thankfully it came into place.”

“It was super easy,” Williams added. “Everyone got on the same page because there was so much love for (Evans). He was an easy guy to love. He never had a bad day, and it was one of those things, when I was here he went through a lot. A lot of trials and tribulations, but when you would see him you would never know.”

Evans was an All-Suburban One League player as a 6-foot-7 forward at Norristown before graduating in 2014. He made 42 starts and played in 67 games, amassing more than 600 points during his career at CHC from 2014-18. Evans was an assistant coach for the Griffins under Balcer and Butler for several seasons and had just joined the staff at the Hill School, another program in Sunday's event, shortly before his passing.

Williams was on Balcer’s staff during Evans’ college career and remembered not just the positive attitude he brought but also the talent he brimmed with. Both he and Evans concurred Evans had more to give as a player, which was a big reason why Evans jumped into coaching, hoping to make sure the next generations of area basketball players didn’t end their playing careers with any regrets.

“He was so talented,” Williams said. “We talk to a lot of kids about taking advantage of the opportunity and I felt like he was someone who could have done a lot more with basketball and he did as well, so he wanted to kind of make it his mission to talk to kids and let them know, ‘Listen talent only gets you so far.’ Obviously,  it was cut short, but I think us as coaches, all these guys here today are here to kind of perpetuate that message as he would have wanted us to.”

Balcer described Evans as more than just a former player and more than just a friend but as part of his family. Members of Evans family were there Sunday for the event.

The proceeds from Sunday’s event were planned to be put toward an education fund for Evans’ daughter, Karter, who celebrated her 3rd birthday with a cake in between games.

“Look at how many people are here, and so many of his teammates are here at the games besides the ones who are coaching against each other," Balcer said. "For no other reason besides this is CE day. They just want to support it.”

“The goal is to just keep his memory alive, and it’s not that hard when you’re the kind of kid he was.”

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Chris Evans Memorial Showcase Standouts

Korey Francis (2027 | Bonner-Prendergast)
Francis did a little bit of everything for the Friars in a 68-48 win over Salesianum on Sunday, finishing with 15 points, five assists, 11 rebounds, a block and a steal. The 6-foot-2 guard is unafraid to wiggle his way into tight spaces to get into the lane and get to the foul line (6-for-7). He controlled the tempo, played at his own pace and even showcased his range with a three. His activity on the glass and the defensive end were also eye-catching.

Kam Jackon (2027 | Bonner-Prendergast)
Jackson’s sharpshooting carried the Friars early as he finished with 17 points. The 5-foot-9 guard hit four 3-point shots, floating beyond the arc for catch-and-shoot triples and dribbling himself open in the corner. Despite being undersized, Jackson is strong and confident with the ball and competes on the defensive end as well. 

Ethan Johnston (2026 | Hill School)
Johnston totaled 16 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks, two assists and a steal in a 67-63 overtime win over SCHA. He tied the game twice in the final minute, first with a dunk with 46.4 seconds left and then with a left-handed finish in traffic with 1.1 ticks on the clock. The 6-foot-6 guard is an explosive athlete, as highlighted by the slam and a thunderous block. He hit a pair of threes and looked comfortable putting the ball on the deck. There were a few possessions on smaller guards that really showcased his potential as on-ball defender as he stayed in front.

Filippo Galli (2025 | Hill School)
Galli finished with a team-high 17 points to go along with three steals, four rebounds, two assists and a block. The solidly built 6-6 wing/forward from Italy has a game that’s effective inside and outside. He hit three triples, including a big one in OT, and also went 4-for-5 from the free throw line. Galli is active off the ball offensively and is disruptive defensively as well, using both his strength and instincts to make plays on both ends. 

Sage Mateo (2026 | Hun School, N.J.)
Mateo kept Hun School in the game early against Penn Charter as he dropped 16 of his team-high 19 points in the first half before the Quakers pulled away for a 77-39 win. The 6-foot-3 guard recently made an early commitment to Cornell. He’s got good size as a combo guard and a lethal shooting stroke. He was dialed in on Sunday with five threes, including four in the first half. 

Kam Waters (2025 | SCH Academy)
The lengthy 6-foot-3 guard spearheaded SCHA early against Hill with 14 of his 18 points in the first half. He was ready to fire, knocking down a pair of threes in the second quarter, and was aggressive getting the ball to hole. Waters can really explode toward the hoop, which helps him finish off his drives. That same explosiveness helped lead to a chase down block on Johnston — one of the highlight plays of the day — and contributed to his six rebounds in the game.

Keni Williams (2025 | SCH Academy

Williams helped the Blue Devils recover from a seven-point halftime deficit and take the lead in the fourth quarter against Hill. He had eight of his team-high 22 points in the fourth quarter. Williams hit a few shots off the bounce early, but the East Stroudsburg commit really started to take control of the game when he worked his way into the paint. He used a floater, took bumps on his way to the hoop and played off two feet to play make and score inside. Williams added three assists, three steals and five rebounds in the all-around effort.

Jake West (2025 | Penn Charter)
The Northwestern commit worked the gym into a frenzy with a 28-point outing in a 77-39 win over Hun School in the first game of the day. West, a 6-foot-3 guard committed to Northwestern, had 20 points before half. He displayed his range with four triples and made contested finishes on both sides of the rim. His game wasn’t just flashy as he made really good decisions with the basketball and was efficient with his offensive opportunities.

Honorable Mention
Jamal Hicks (2025 | Penn Charter), Devon Nelson (2025 | Bonner-Prendergast), RJ Johnson (2025 | Salesianum, Del.), Jacob Meachem (2025 | Hill School), Kai Shinholster (2025 | Penn Charter), Cole Trn (2027 | Hill School), Latrell Wright (2026 | Salesianum, Del.)