City of Basketball Love

By Corky Blake & Tom Robinson 
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The Mid-Atlantic Independent School Team Camp was held Friday through Sunday with top local prep programs — including from the Inter-Ac, Friends’ Schools League, plus Perkiomen School, Hill School, Cristo Rey — and beyond heading to play in front of college coaches at Executive Education Charter in Allentown during the June live period.

CoBL had writers jumping around to the four courts of play throughout the weekend, getting eyes on as many games as we could. Here’s the first notebook from the event focused on individual players and their recruitments: 

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2025 MAISTC Week 1 Coverage
Standouts: June 22 (Sun.)
Notebooks: Recruiting Pt. 1 | Recruiting Pt. 2 | Recruiting (Pt. 3) | Recruiting (Pt. 4)

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Ethan Johnston (2026 | Hill School)
As his major college offers piled up, Ethan Johnston refused to be swayed. His connection with Marquette and head coach Shaka Smart stayed strong from the beginning until early May when the Hill School rising senior gave his verbal commitment to become the first member of the Golden Eagles’ Class of 2026.

“(Marquette) was the first (big program) one to show real interest in me,” said Johnston after he helped the Blues defeat Abington Friends 61-45 Saturday morning in the annual Mid-Atlantic Independent School Team Camp at Executive Education Academy’s field house in east Allentown. “Their coaches talked to me a lot. They didn’t just ask how I was doing but also how my family was doing. I had a real connection with them.”

Johnston is a native of Queens, New York, who played his freshman season at the Dwight School. He arrived on the Pottstown campus as a sophomore and has blossomed into an all-around player for coach Seth Eilberg.

Even though Johnston continues to grow — he’s currently 6-foot-7, 185 pounds —  Johnston always has been a guard, and now he’s a tough handle for anyone trying to defend him, especially when he attacks the offensive glass.

“I believe being a bigger guard is one of my strengths,’ Johnston said. “I can play and guard three positions and use my size to get rebounds.”

Against Abington Friends, Johnston worked with a starting unit that included 6-3 Caleb Jameson, 6-8 Joe Terreri, fellow 6-3 guard Ben Natal, and 6-5 wing Zane Conlon, who joined Hill as a post-grad after helping Devon Prep to three PIAA state championships in four seasons.

That quintet played less than half of the game — 16-minute halves — so nobody in the Blues’ lineup delivered eye-popping statistics. Johnston did, however, deliver a highlight reel stretch nearly midway through the second half as part of his 12-point performance.

He drained a 3-pointer off an assist from Conlon (13 points). Then, in a 15-second span when Hill cranked up its defensive pressure, Johnston converted a Conlon steal into a dunk and soared in seconds later to throw down a one-handed, alley-oop, rim-rattling slam before departing to the bench.

With his commitment out of the way, Johnston no longer needs to peek at coach’s row to see who might be in attendance to evaluate him this summer. And there were plenty of college coaches from all divisions in attendance Saturday during the first of two weeks when they can watch high school players and post grads in person.

“(Recruiting) was a little stressful at times, but Marquette was always the one,” Johnston said. “I can now focus on working on my game and help make my teammates better.” — Corky Blake

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Dylan Napoleon (2026 | Pennington School, N.J.)
No matter which defensive approach Poly Prep tried Saturday, Dylan Napoleon made it pay with his driving ability.

The 6-4, 2026 point guard fueled The Pennington School’s 70-46 victory in the Mid-Atlantic Independent School Team Camp game at Executive Education by constantly steering past defenders into the lane.

Napoleon showed he could finish with his skills as a penetrator serving as the game’s biggest factor early.  In the second half, Napoleon made it clear that he could read the defense’s adjustments and set up his teammates.

“On the offensive side, they weren’t in help very much so it was easier to get downhill,” said Napoleon, who scored 14 of his 16 points as Pennington, an independent New Jersey boarding school, stormed out to a big lead. “In the second half, they were helping out a lot, so we were kicking it out to our shooters and my teammate ended up hitting.”

Jordan Murray spotted up to hit five of those 3s, largely because of the space created by Napoleon’s ball handling.

While Napoleon showed off his greatest assets Saturday, he also arrived in the summer aware of where his game needs work.

“Pretty much just my jump shot,” Napoleon said of his area of concentration when not in a game setting. “I’ve been told by a bunch of coaches that that’s what I’m lacking as I go to the next level. I’ve been just trying to get my jump shot down.”

Becoming more diverse as a scorer can only give Napoleon more ways to impact a game.

Napoleon has been an effective three-year contributor at Pennington and is coming off a season in which his production steadily increased. He scored 22 or more points four times and had four double-doubles of points and rebounds while averaging 11.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists.

With those credentials, Napoleon has already been in conversations with multiple Division III schools, with an emphasis on the New England Small College Athletic Conference. This week, he also heard, for the first time, from Division I Marist. — Tom Robinson

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Gabe Moore (2026 | Friends' Central)
This summer’s live periods, when college coaches observe high school and post-grad players in person, are exactly what the doctor ordered for Friends Central 2026 guard Gabe Moore.

“Some schools are showing interest and said they were going to check out my games during this live period,” Moore said. “I did talk to some D-IIs and D-IIIs. Even a couple of D-Is.”

The 6-2 Moore is one of three seniors listed on Friends Centrals’ team camp roster. The others are 5-10 guard Vaughn Jones and 6-1 guard Dylan Tomov.

Moore played his first two seasons at Friends’ Central before spending a season playing for Calvary Christian Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He’s preparing for his second season in a key role for the Phoenix after reclassifying to the Class of 2026 upon his return to Friends' Central.

“As a senior I want to bring more leadership and intensity,” Moore said. “I want to make sure everybody’s prepared for every game. And I got to be like a mentor to the upcoming guys and be a role model for some of the guys to look at. I know last year I looked up to some of the people and how they approached the game, so this year I know I got to give the same thing to the younger kids on the team.”

Moore and 6-7 rising junior Patrese Feamster figure to the go-to guys in the Phoenix’s offense, which they were in Saturday morning’s 53-41 triumph over Virginia Episcopal School. Friends Central also received steady contributions from 6-3 Carter Bass, 6-5 Cody Fisher, 6-8 Oben Mokonchu and Jones.

What sort of feedback has Moore received from college coaches?

“They like my shooting, and they know I can score the ball,” Moore said. “They say they need to see me be more of a point guard and run the team, so that’s what I need to work on.”

And Moore spoke like a true point guard when he explained the difference between the Phoenix losing Saturday’s 9 a.m. game to the Canterbury School and winning their 11:30 game over VES.

“We turned up the intensity in this game, shared the ball and made better decisions and got easier shots and it made it easier for us,” Moore said. “Usually we come out slow, but in this one we made the effort from the jump.” — Corky Blake

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Ajani Stewart (2027 | Westtown)
Ajani Stewart’s team-first attitude comes through early and often in an interview. It’s near impossible to ask him a question about his basketball goals without the 6-foot-4 rising junior guard mentioning his Westtown School team or AAU circuit squad.

For instance, Stewart, who holds offers from La Salle and most recently Sacred Heart, was asked how he’s approaching this important offseason as he tries to gain more attention from coaches who watch him during the live periods.

“I’m playing my hardest and when I make my teammates better that will make me better,” Stewart said. “I want to put my name on the map, make my teammates better and have a great start to the offseason.”

In regard to the last part of the statement, mission accomplished. Stewart scored 14 of his 25 points in the second half when Westtown overcame a 31-28 halftime deficit to pull away from West Nottingham Academy (Md.) 64-51 Saturday morning.

Stewart, who’s from Bear, Del., possesses a savvy understanding of how to probe defenses with and without the ball. Leave him open and he’ll sink the 3 with ease. Lose him on the weakside and he’ll slip into a gap to receive a pass for an uncontested layup. His complete second half also included stripping West Nottingham’s point guard and converting the theft into a pair of free throws.

“I realized they were going to faceguard me out front right from the jump ball,” Stewart said of West Nottingham’s aggressive man-to-man defense. “I try to find open spots instead of going toward the ball. Having my teammates have more space to make a play, the ball will automatically find its way back.”

Last season, Stewart was a role player on a squad that featured four seniors who signed Division I scholarships. This year, with only two seniors (6-11 Adam Walker and 6-6 Ebenezer Ehigle) on its team camp roster, the Moose will be expecting more from Stewart.

“I have to be more of a leader on and off the court,” Stewart said. “I’ll be more relied on now as a captain.”

He said the Moose return the core of last season’s underclassmen. Stewart said the only new additions are a player who’s coming in from Sweden and Rowan Phillips, a 6-5 guard who was an impact player at Archbishop Wood when healthy last season as a freshman. Phillips scored 10 of Westtown’s first 12 points and finished with 19 against West Nottingham.

Asked to compare 2024 summer campaign Stewart with the current version, he didn’t hesitate and praised his graduated Westtown teammates.

“I’m miles better,” Stewart said. “Playing with those guys it was so competitive. Obviously, they are great basketball players. Playing against them, guarding them every day, I only got better.”

Stewart has set a specific goal this summer to broaden his game.

“I’m really good in offensive sets so after someone takes away one move, I’m trying to work on the second move to beat them because the first move always won’t be there so the second move might be there,” he said. “I know I’ll be playing multiple roles. I’m trying to have the best parts of my game show so I look more presentable to coaches.” — Corky Blake

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Quick Hits
— Canterbury School (Conn.) 2026 Dashiell “Dash” Mabilon arrived at Mid-Atlantic Independent School Team Camp with “good interest,” but no official offers yet from Division I schools. A 6-10 forward, Mabilon stood out not only with his height, but with his mobility and the skills he’s hoping recruiters recognize will make him an option to play the 3, 4 or 5. 

“I have good interest from some schools, mainly the Patriot League, but I’m hoping to expand to the A-10 and stuff like that,” Mabilon said. 

Mabilon, from Brooklyn, N.Y., was the top scorer in the first half with 12 of his 14 points while the Connecticut prep school was building a 10-point lead on the way to a 55-43 win over The Hun School. He kept the offense moving from the high post and beyond, including firing a 22-foot diagonal pass to find an open teammate at the low block to help keep Canterbury in control. 

“I want to show that I’m not just a big man, that I can really stretch the floor and be more of a power forward, that I can put the ball on the floor, shoot, pass, too, and just kind of have my eyes open and be more than just a big player.”  — Tom Robinson