City of Basketball Love

By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin) +
Evan Hartenstein
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The 2025 edition of the Donofrio Classic continued its first round on Wednesday, April 2 with a pair of games at the Fellowship House in Conshohocken. 

Here’s a report from the goings-on of the evening:

Game One: Old School Cavs 102, Rome Runs 78

A well-rounded effort by the Old School Cavs got them into a second-round matchup next Wednesday night against a TBD opponent, as four different Cavs got into double figures. Camden Catholic (N.J.) senior Luke Kennevan impressed with 19 points and a whole bunch of rebounds and assists; Dayveon Lynder (2025 | Bethel Academy, Va.) led the way with 20 points as the former Westtown guard got busy in the lane, while Kam Waters (2025 | SCH Academy) hit three 3-pointers as part of a 17-point outing and Bellvin Smith (2028 | Penn Wood) added 11 points off the bench. That was enough to offset a big night from Patrese Feamter (2027 | Friends’ Central), who hit six 3-pointers as part of a 34-point outing, though he was the only member of his team in double figures.

Game Two: Philly Hoop Group 97, L&L Running Rebels 86

A monster game from Peyton Miller (2026 | George School) set the tone for Philly Hoop Group, which pulled away after a close first half to lead comfortably down the stretch and advance to play Danny Rumph in next week’s second round. Miller, a 6-2 guard, was electric with the ball in his hands as he slashed and shot his way to 37-points, hitting four 3-pointers but most impressively finishing at a high rate with both hands. Brandon Russell (2025 | Archbishop Ryan) added 19 and Marvin Reed (2027 | Malvern Prep) 12 points for PHG. L&L got 18 points from AJ Hines (2025 | Whitehall), 14 from Tiheed Wise (2026 | William Allen) and Julian Sadler (2025 | Perkiomen School), 11 from Noah Walakovits (2026 | Northampton) and Keith Jackson (2025 | William Allen) and 10 from Jake Pukszyn (2026 | Liberty). 

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South Jersey standout Kennevan weighing options

It was quite the season for Luke Kennevan.

The Camden Catholic (N.J.) senior led his team to the NJSIAA Non-Public ‘B’ state championship game, falling just short to powerhouse Bergen Catholic after upsetting No. 1 Paul VI — in double overtime — and No. 2 St. Peter’s Prep to win the South Jersey title. For his efforts, averaging more than 16 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists per game, Kennevan was named the Olympic Conference Player of the Year, among other various all-state and all-region honors. 

“It definitely means a lot, it’s a great feeling,” he said. “Our backs were against hte wall, we were down 13 with four minutes left against our rival PauL VI in the playoffs and that propelled me — if we wouldn’t have won that game, I wouldn’t have gotten the accolades I got, so got to thank my teammates for staying engaged and finding a way to win that game. It’s definitely a good feeling, all those accolades, but I couldn’t have done it without my teammates.”

A 6-foot-3 wing guard, Kennevan showed his versatility in his Donofrio “debut” on Wednesday, racking up what was almost certainly a double-double’s worth of rebound and more than a handful of assists along with his 19 points. “Debut” because he played two years ago, but got sick early in his first game and had to sit out; last year, he was sick again and stayed home. 

This was his first time playing at the Fellowship House when healthy, and he made a statement. 

“It’s a lot of fun, get to play against top players in the area,” he said. “A lot of South Jersey kids don’t get to come over and play games in Philly, sometimes they’re under-recognized and things like that. It’s definitely a good feeling to show your talents in Philly and put other people on notice.”

Kennevan’s planning on playing this spring out with the East Coast Cyclones, joining up with a group that includes Bishop Shanahan’s Sean Griffin and Penncrest’s Mikey Mita among others to play in various regional tournaments in April and May. 

He’s currently sitting on a Division II offer from Georgian Court (N.J.) with interest from a group of D-IIs including Millersville Wilmington (Del.), Assumption (N.Y.), Seton Hill and others as well as D-IIIs Trinity (Conn.) and Randolph-Macon (Va.). Visits to Millersville and Assumption are coming up, but he’s planning on playing out through the only Division I live period in May before making a decision “unless I fall in love with a school, or something like that,” he said.

This spring, he wants to show off a more consistent 3-point shot as well as show that he can play the point guard at the next level.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to win, but I feel like at a higher level, I’m not jumping out the gym, so I feel like point-guard-wise I could play at a higher level than maybe as a wing,” he said.

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Donofrio inclusion a sign of growing respect for Pottsgrove

Coming off a breakthrough season, the Pottsgrove junior class is looking to make an even bigger mark next year.

Their junior class, highlighted by starters Greg Rosenberger, Deymein Doctor, and Bryce Phillips, led the Falcons to one of their best seasons in recent history this past year, winning 20+ games this year after winning just six games two years prior.

Rosenberger, a 6-foot-2 wing, couldn’t be more proud of his guys.

“We didn’t win any trophies or anything like that,” Rosenberger said. “But we kept coming back and fighting…we kept going in with the mindset that we were going to come out on top and we just kept pushing and driving.”

Pottsgrove went 23-5 this season and made it all the way to the District 1 5A championship. They went 9-1 in PAC play and qualified for states, where they lost to the eventual 5A champion Neumann-Goretti in the second round.

“I think it is pretty historic,” said Doctor, a 6-5 wing guard, in reference to Pottsgrove’s season. “We did things that have never been done in Pottsgrove history.”

Playing in the Donofrio Classic all the more shows the improvement the kids on this Falcon squad have had over the past few seasons. The Donofrio has been a staple of Philadelphia high school basketball for 63 years now, and the Pottsgrove Falcons making their impact felt is something special. 

Rosenberger said it best: “Pottsgrove has kids that can go and do something.”

“Pottsgrove has some diamonds in the rough,” Doctor said. “I think it really just shows people that we’re playing.”

But even with this improvement, these juniors are not settling just yet. The Falcons graduate Kamal Curry and Julius Marshall, two key starters from this year, but have plenty back in the mix under Scott Palladino to think big things could be ahead in the PAC. 

“Last year I worked hard in the offseason, but this season, I’m preparing to work harder just because I see what we could do as a program,” Doctor said.

Rosenberger will be playing AAU with Eastern PA Elite this offseason with a focus on improving his athleticism, playing better defense, and getting the ball past the press. Doctor on the other hand will be playing with PA Hoops Academy, focusing on his defensive IQ. — Evan Hartenstein

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Okebata with big offseason ahead for La Salle

La Salle’s future lies in the hands of its 2027 class, and Max Okebata is a big part of that. 

The sophomore wing was a key reserve for the Explorers this year in his first season of varsity experience, averaging 8.6 ppg off the bench for a group that made it back to the Catholic League playoffs after missing the postseason entirely the year before.

With senior guard Nick Parisi moving on and junior guard Joey O’Brien, a football standout with all sorts of high-major offers, expected to enroll early next season, it’s going to be on this year’s sophomores to carry the torch moving forward. Okebaka, point guard Nick Neri (12.0 ppg) and Brayden Erfle, a 6-5 wing who averaged 4.2 ppg this year, are the three most experienced pieces, with lots on their shoulders. 

“Our mentality for this offseason is togetherness and culture,” Okebata said. “Bringing us more together as a team, doing things on and off the court, things that can help us get better as a team.”

A muscular 6-4, 195-pound wing, Okebata said he only started taking basketball seriously in eighth grade, but his advanced physicality has helped him make up for lost time. Playing with the NJ ShoreShots this summer, he said he wants to continue to work on his shot and handle to continue progressing from a combo wing into more of a wing guard, able to create his own offense instead of relying off hustle plays and open jumpers. — Josh Verlin

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Perkiomen’s Shawaluk, Sadler nearing decision points

Teammates for four years at Perkiomen Valley, Kyle Shawaluk and Julian Sadler made it five with a post-graduate year at the Perkiomen School, helping the Panthers to 20 wins and a PAISAA semifinal appearance. 

It was a big step up in competition for the pair, who went from playing against other high schoolers in the PAC to playing prep school teams stacked with future Division I talent; while neither was a standout for Perk, they both were in the rotation along with quite a few other D-I recruits. 

“It was definitely good, I thought I benefited a lot,” said Shawaulk, a sharpshooting 6-5 wing. “Getting stronger, playing against better competition, stronger, higher-level guys. I definitely think it helped me get ready for college.”

“We had each other’s backs during the whole experience,” said Sadler, a 6-0 guard. “I’m very appreciative of my four years at Perkiomen Valley, but at Perkiomen [School] I’m going against mid-major college players every day, and it got me better.”

Next up for both are collegiate decisions. Shawaluk said his will come soon, with a number of PSACs in the mix; Sadler also said he’s been talking to schools in the state’s D-II league, but is also considering playing with WeR1 in April/May to garner more interest. 

They both feel they benefited from playing under a longtime Division I assistant in Harry Morra, who was previously at Lehigh University before taking over the Perk job last offseason. 

“Definitely learned a lot of new terminology,” Shawaluk said. “We play more of a college style offense, you have a spot and you have a reason to be in that spot and you have to move based on what the offense does and the defense does. Learning more about basketball and how they move, it helped a lot.” — Josh Verlin