City of Basketball Love

Joseph Santoliquito (@JSantoliquito)
––

PHILADELPHIA — They all dreamed about it at one time or another. Next week, those visions of being an NBA player could become a reality for a Philly foursome that includes Thomas Sorber (Archbishop Ryan/Georgetown), Rasheer Fleming (Camden/St. Joe’s), Eric Dixon (Abington/Villanova) and Andrew Carr (West Chester East/Delaware/Wake Forest/Kentucky).

They each have something in common—a few years ago, none of them were supposed to be in this position on June 25-26, when the NBA Draft is held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Entering Georgetown, Sorber, the 6-foot-9, 255-pound former Ryan star, was projecting towards the NBA, though not this quickly. Of the quartet, he is projected to be the first selected. Fleming, the 6-8 former Camden star, experienced a breakout junior year, coming after a sophomore season for the Hawks in which he showed flashes of brilliance, while Dixon gradually rose at Villanova to become the Wildcats’ all-time leading scorer, and Carr went from hardly being recruited by Division I schools out of high school to evolving into an ACC player, and eventually starting for blue blood Kentucky this past season.

Sorber is being projected to go somewhere in the middle of the first round, and Fleming is expected to go sometime later in the first round. Most mock drafts have the 6-8 Dixon going late in the second, and no irony here, most forecast him to be taken by Villanova North, the New York Knicks. The 6-11, 235-pound Carr is also expected to go late in the second round, to possibly not being drafted at all. Though most scouting reports state Carr has the size, intelligence and skills to make an NBA roster.

Sorber probably made the biggest leap.

He is coming off a freshman season at Georgetown in which he averaged 14.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 2 blocks and 1.5 steals in 31.3 minutes per game. He earned third-team All-Big East and Big East All-Freshman Team honors, before undergoing foot surgery that ended his season.

Over the last few years, Sorber has chiseled the baby fat off his body and improved his endurance. NBA scouts like his defensive presence and intelligence.

And his best basketball is still way ahead of him.

“I didn’t see this coming this quickly,” Sorber admitted. “I saw myself playing at least two years in college. I would probably say I started to get (NBA) attention in late December and into January. I started getting feedback around that time. My game against Providence (25 points, 15 rebounds, 3 blocks) I think showed people what I could really do. I felt really comfortable as soon as I got to Georgetown. The biggest difference was putting the work in with my strength and conditioning coach. I just felt better running. My endurance was great. My season ended early, but I was still able to make people around me proud of the hard work I put in.

“I’m hearing I could go as high as 12, or as low as 21 or 22. NBA scouts have asked about switching from the four to the five. I have been working on my handle and bringing out my shooting ability, but the priority has been on the defensive side. I’ve been to Orlando, and Oklahoma City, I’m scheduled to go to Atlanta. There are a few other teams talking to me. I spoke to the Sixers at the NBA Combine. The feedback I’m getting from NBA scouts is they like my feel for the game, how I read the game, and they feel my shooting will be part of my growth. The big concern is getting stronger. I want my ideal weight to be around 250. I want to be quicker in the NBA.”

A venerable NBA source very connected to the draft said that Sorber is a good rebounder who guards the rim well. What scouts like is Sorber is incredibly young and has room for tremendous growth. He will need to extend his shooting range. But the source also said he does not think Sorber will go beyond 22 before a team snatches him. “Sorber just has too much upside to pass up,” he said.

The other likely first-round pick is Fleming. The NBA Draft profile stated, “Fleming fits a role as a modern 3-and-D big man that essentially every NBA team finds valuable. He should be able to play center in small-ball lineups and power forward in standard configurations. That gives him sixth-man upside out of the gate. Depending on how his offensive game develops, Fleming shares similarities to players like Myles Turner, Larry Nance Jr. and Noah Vonleh.”

The NBA source loves him.

Fleming was not a star at Camden. He did not start for his AAU team. He came off the bench early in his career at St. Joe’s, before blossoming the last few years. In his junior year, he averaged 14.7 points and 8.5 rebounds a game. Fleming has superior athletic ability, and his work ethic has made him a capable shooter. “Rasheer can guard anyone, and I would be stunned if he is not taken in the first round,” the NBA source said. “I’m hearing he can go as high as 14. Rasheer can guard. He is a big with great feet. He is easily taken in the first round. He is a four, small-ball five. Playing center would be an easy way for him to get on to the court.”   

Dixon, 24, played at around 260 at Villanova and was a matchup nightmare for anyone in the Big East. He ended a spectacular college career with 2,314 career points, during a Villanova-best 162 games from 2020-25. His 23.3 points a game led the nation in scoring, making a special duo with Paul Arizin as the only Wildcats to earn that distinction. His 23.3 average is the highest for a Villanova player since Wildcats’ Hall of Famer Tom Inglesby averaged 25 ppg in 1972-73. His 815 points scored in 2024-25 are the second highest single season total in program history (Bob Schafer, 836). He connected on 40.7% from three-point range. He is a big guy with a great touch.

Dixon wants to play at around 250.

“For me, it was always about going to work,” said Dixon, who graduated Villanova with a degree in history and has a master’s certificate in education. “I didn’t see myself on anyone’s draft board. It’s always been about hard work. It’s been that way since I was at Abington, carried that to Villanova, and finding new levels of working hard. I like it. I like figuring out how much harder I can work. I’ve been hearing second round from NBA scouts. It’s a question where in the second round. I know I have some guys up north that like me (laughs). But right now, I haven’t heard from the Knicks (who were in the playoffs during the time of this interview).

“I have heard from the Sixers, and I have worked out and had an interview with them. Position wise teams see me as a four or five, but I see myself as a basketball player who can help a team. With the NBA being more uptempo, I want to be lighter and quicker. I don’t think I’ll loss that much strength slimming down. I’m a hometown kid. I’ve been in this area my whole life. I would love it if the Sixers picked me.”

The NBA source feels Dixon will mid second round. He won’t make $1.5 million in the NBA as he may have at Villanova this past season. Dixon will be viewed as a depth guy responsible for guarding centers or forwards who may not be mobile. Can he guard backups? “Will Eric be asked to guard Joel Embiid, no, but he can guard someone like (Andre) Drummond,” the NBA source said. “Can he be a back-up NBA center for eight, 10, 12 minutes a night, yeah!”

As for Carr, he left West Chester East five years ago as a rail-thin 6-foot-8, 195 pounds. He arrived at Kentucky 6-foot-11, 235 pounds. He started 29 of 35 games for the Wildcats, averaging 10.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 steals-plus-blocks in 24 minutes per game. During his five-year collegiate career, he shot 52.2% from the field and 34% from three-point range. He is projected at the NBA level to be an undersized center or stretch power forward who has a team-first mentality.

“I don’t think Andrew gets drafted, which is okay, because if you don’t, you get to choose,” the NBA source said. “He will look at these 30 rosters and see where his best path to the NBA is. This is about chasing the NBA, but he’s smart, he’ll go where the money is. Andrew will get a million workouts, and he has a chance. He can play in the NBA. He has to find what team fits for him. Andrew has a backup. He has a few degrees. He is versatile enough to play in the NBA with a two-way contract. It only takes one team to take a chance with Andrew. If they trust him, Andrew will get his chance. It’s just a matter of what team is willing to trust him. If that happens, he may find his way on to a team.”

One local player that cannot get lost in the NBA Draft shuffle is 6-foot-8 Illinois small forward Will Riley, a Canadian who was the Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year this past season. He played his final two years of high school at Phelps School, in Malvern.

As a true freshman, Riley played in 35 games for the Fighting Ilini, starting eight and ranking third on the team in scoring at 12.6 points a game, along with 4.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists. He is projected to go in the mid- to late first round. NBA scouts like how he used his size and strength in traffic, and his feel for the game and shooting touch make him an attractive prospect.

Some prognosticators have him going anywhere between 16 (Orlando) to 26 (Brooklyn).          

~~~

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 BlueSky here.