City of Basketball Love

By Corky Blake & Tom Robinson 
—

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 second notebook from the event focused on individual players and their recruitments (CLICK HERE for Pt. 1): 

~~~

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

~~~

Elijah Crispin (2026 | Perkiomen School)
For the better part of his career at Pitman High School, a Group 1 program in South Jersey, Elijah Crispin was the attention of every defense imaginable. Most of those schemes didn’t work as Crispin, a 6-foot guard, joined his father Joe Crispin and his uncle Jon Crispin as 2,000-point scorers at Pitman.

On Saturday afternoon, Crispin started at point guard as a post grad for Perkiomen School against powerhouse Blair Academy and quicky realized he no longer was back in Kansas.

“This is a little different than my summer ball in high school or even AAU,” said Crispin who was the second-leading scorer in New Jersey in 2024-25 at 28 points per game. “This is a higher level. This is even better. This is legit competition.”

Blair Academy separated itself from Perkiomen midway through the first half and cruised to a 57-42 victory despite missing four players according to Bucs coach Joe Mantegna. Even Perkiomen coach Harry Morra was impressed how good Blair performed minus their projected top two players (4-star guards Deron Rippey Jr. and Jaen Chatman).

Still, Blair loaded the court with plenty of Division I talent to test Crispin and Perkiomen, which is one of the better prep school programs in the country and continues to be on the rise. The Bucs recently added 6-7 guard Isaiah Carroll from California. He connected on a trio of 3s to finish with 13 points. Kamsi Awaka, a 2027 6-10, 240-pound bull at center, split his 12 points evenly in each half.

“No, not even close,” Crispin said when queried if he had ever faced a high school team with Blair’s talent. “I’ve never seen a big man like No. 34. Never seen a wing like No. 13 (Carroll). That’s a whole another level. Never seen a dude like No. 34.”

Crispin also was awed by one of his teammates, athletic 2026 6-10 center Darnell Lloyd, who flushed Crispin’s missed 3 for two points late in the game.

Crispin knows this is the competition he must face day-in and day-out in practice and in games to get where he wants to go.

“I was weighing all my options throughout my senior season, but I was pretty sure I was going to post-grad,” Crispin said. “I didn’t know where I was going to go, but I knew I wanted to play high-level competition, and it doesn’t get any better than this.”

Crispin said he was offered by Millersville if he had not gone the post-grad route. He’s talked to a number of high-academic Division III programs, but his ultimate goal is to play in the Patriot League or another Division I mid-major conference.

Crispin made the decision to enroll at Perkiomen in late April. The move to the Pennsburg school actually brings him closer to his family.

“I’ve been living away from my family for the last two years when my dad moved to take the assistant coach job at Penn State,” Crispin said. “I was living with my grandparents (in Pitman), so this is a little closer. I also like the school aspect at Perkiomen."

Crispin contributed four points in the first half but missed a couple of open jumpers. He found his stroke in the second half with consecutive 3s and finished with 12 points.

“That felt good,” Crispin said of the made 3s. “A little bit of jitters early on. I was trying to figure out where my shots are coming from and what I should be taking. Probably had one questionable shot in the first half. Once I got one in, everything felt a little bit better. I thought I attacked the basket better than I imagined I would.”

Crispin confessed he wasn’t the most diligent defender and is working hard on that part of his game to show he can play that end of the floor at the Division I level.

“I want to defend the best I can, which I wasn’t doing in high school,” Crispin said. “I want to work on defense, guarding, 1 through 3 if I can, but picking up as high as I can, playing good defense and just being a true point guard. Not just scoring and getting assists.

“And in these games, you want to test yourself, see where you’re at basketball-wise, physical-wise, everything like that... It’s good to see what I’m aiming at. If there’s somebody better than me, I got to look at that and figure out how to get better.” — Corky Blake

~~~

Silas Graham (2027 | Haverford School)
Fresh off an offer from Drexel earlier in the week, Silas Graham went out at Saturday’s Mid-Atlantic Independent School Team Camp and showed off the well-rounded game that has made him into a Division I prospect.

Graham’s 3-point shooting had already led a second-half comeback earlier in the day when he went out and used his defensive prowess to establish Haverford School’s superiority in its second game.

Haverford forced West Nottingham (Md.) into turnovers on three of the first four possessions on the way to a 13-2 start that paved the way for an 81-65 victory.

The 6-5 Graham was all over the defensive end of the court early. By the time he scored for the first time on a baseline drive 3:20 into the game, the 2027 combo guard already had pulled down five rebounds, four on the defensive end, made a steal, blocked a shot and effectively closed out to the arc to induce an errant 3-point attempt.

“I feel like defensively I’m better off the ball than I am on the ball,” Graham said. “I feel like I get in passing lanes and I talk and communicate very well. On the ball, I’m decent, but that’s a place I definitely can improve on.

“It’s easy when I have Manny (Butts), who always guards the best player. He makes it easy to spin them to me and I get steals that lead to fastbreak points.”

Graham was a difference-maker in the first half for Haverford. During the 12:05 he was on the floor, Haverford outscored West Nottingham 30-10 to help build a 37-23 halftime lead.

His scoring ability showed through early in the second half of both Saturday games.

Graham went 4-for-6 from the floor, hitting his only 3-point try, and 4-for-5 from the line for 13 points in his first 5½ second-half minutes against West Nottingham. Graham finished with 22 points to go along with eight defensive rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals.

“That’s just something I’ve always done; I’ve always gone to get rebounds,” Graham said. “With me being a bigger guard, if I can get a rebound and push the break, it helps us get into stuff quicker.”

Graham also scored 22 points in a 63-55 victory over Virginia Episcopal School to begin the day. He drained three 3-pointers early in the second half. He went on to score 17 of his points after intermission as Haverford erased a 25-18 halftime deficit.

Already a four-year starter — he broke into the lineup as an eighth-grader — Graham has long been in contact with colleges. Drexel came through with his first scholarship offer for the son of Cornell associate head coach Nat Graham.

Silas continues to try to find ways to impress coaches.

“I feel like I’m a very good shooter and I just need to showcase that maybe as I get more comfortable shooting off the dribble,” he said.  — Tom Robinson

~~~

Dawson Brown (2027 | Episcopal Academy)
Even a number change and a new hairstyle couldn’t disguise Dawson Brown’s impact on Episcopal Academy’s 60-47 win over the Perkiomen School in Sunday’s 9 a.m. session of the annual Mid-Atlantic Independent School Team Camp at Executive Education Academy’s field house in Allentown.

Listed on Episcopal Academy’s team camp roster as No. 21, the 6-foot junior guard wore No. 33 as all his teammates donned different numbers. Brown also was sporting a yellow-dyed, buzz cut.

“I just wanted something new,” Brown said with a laugh. “I’ve had it (haircut) about two-to-three weeks now."

The Churchmen collected their first victory of the first weekend of the NCAA’s live period after losing to Woodmere Academy and the Peddie School on Saturday. They broke to a 15-2 lead behind a pair of 3-pointers from 6-3 junior guard Gage Cunningham and all nine of Brown’s first-half points, which came on a 3 and a trio of strong drives. Senior forward Timmy Dennis completed EA’s 21-8 first half with back-to-back 3s.

“We came out strong and played together,” Brown said. “We have a tendency of doing that, but then letting it go as the game goes on. But this game we stuck with it, stuck together. We were making plays for each other instead of one-on-one. I feel like we did that well.

“This was a good bounce back for us. We learned we have to stay tougher than the other teams and stick together throughout the whole game.”

Perkiomen opened the second half with a 9-2 run highlighted by a pair of dunks from 6-10 post grad center Darnell Lloyd. The Panthers’ wings caught fire later in the half, and Reeve Sysko’s 3 drew Perkiomen to within 37-34 with 6:52 remaining.

The Churchmen didn’t flinch. The 6-7 Dennis splashed a corner 3 as he tallied 15 of his team’s first 17 points after intermission. Kamau Kegler deposited a layup off a Brown steal. Dennis hit another 3 and Brown’s up-the-ladder move in the lane restored order and a 47-34 advantage.

“That said a lot about our character. We don’t back down from competition,” said Brown, who was 4-for-4 from the foul line in the final 1:56 to conclude with 17 points. “Basketball is a game of runs, and we had to take it upon ourselves to end that run and start a new one.”

Brown, the son of former Villanova guard and pro player Howard Brown, will be entering his second year with the Churchmen. He reclassified as a sophomore last year after playing and starting as a freshman and sophomore at Phoenixville. He knows he’ll be taking on extra responsibilities in 2025-26.

“My role did change ... being more of a leader,” Brown said. “Last year we had Matt McCarthy and Langston (Foster) as our main leaders. This year, I’d say me and Timmy (Dennis) are our leaders trying to get the young guys involved.”

And EA’s leaders led by example. Dennis finished with 26 points including a 10-for-10 performance from the foul line.

Brown believes he has one more growth spurt that could land him in the 6-2, 6-3 range. Until then, he’s been working out religiously in the weight room. Brown’s also been refining the subtle parts of his game that should catch the attention of college coaches from all levels.

“I’ve been working on my reads off pick and rolls a lot, trying to show colleges I’m capable of playing at the next level off of pick and rolls because of how big that play is,” Brown said. “I want to stay locked in for the whole game and not let little things get to me and play hard the whole time.”  — Corky Blake

~~~

Venkat Bayireddi (2026 | Shipley)
Shipley rising senior Venkat Bayireddi provided a logical explanation for why he now studies the NBA’s top sharp-shooters instead of the league’s best big men present and past.

“When I was a little kid I was taller than everyone else, so I played center and I used to watch a lot of Joel Embiid,” Bayireddi said. “And I knew he watched (Hall of Famer) Hakeem Olajuwon so I watched a lot of Hakeem Olajuown. I would go in my backyard on my hoop and pretend to do all his moves.”

At 6-2, Bayireddi is no longer the tallest kid on the court, so he’s had to change his game and become more of a perimeter threat.

“I like to watch Klay Thompson; he’s always had a pretty jump shot and he’s always open,” Bayireddi said. “I watch Steph Curry and a little Luka Doncic. I like watching some of the slower players because I’m not the most athletic person, but I like to use my footwork and change of pace.”

Bayireddi scored 20 points in Shipley’s 82-61 loss to Lawrenceville School on Sunday morning. He accumulated that total on four 3-pointers, three drives and a 10-foot jumper from the baseline. The Gators trailed by just three at halftime before fading late in the game.

Based on his quick trigger, it’s apparent Bayireddi has been studying Thompson, who set NBA records with 14 3s in a game and nine treys when he pumped in 37 points in a quarter for Golden State.

“Over time I’ve learned a lot,” Bayireddi said. “My freshman year I think I shot two 3s the entire season, and slowly since then I worked with my trainer to increase my volume of shooting 3s and the speed of my shot.”

Last year was a breakthrough for Bayireddi.

“Starting junior year I was basically a spot-up 3-point shooter. That’s where I think I began gaining my confidence,” Bayireddi said. “Because of my size, I’ve been working on ball handling and attacking the basket as well. Growing up I’ve always had decent footwork. I’ve always liked the midrange shot, too, but I felt like I never get to that because I never had the greatest ball handling. I want to be the best 3-point shooter in the Friends' League but also working on my ball handling to get to my other spots around the rim.”

Bayireddi’s been playing basketball since sixth grade and was drawn to the sport because he loves the competition and striving to win. His goal is to continue his hoops journey at a high-academic college where he intends to study math – though he refuses to apply analytics to his own game.

“Right now, it’s been a feeling out process,” Bayireddi said. “I want to play college basketball at the highest level, whether it’s D-I or D-III. “It’s always been my goal since I was a little kid.” — Corky Blake

~~~

Quick Hits
— Mick McKee is committed to Lehigh University for football, but the 6-3 Germantown Academy 2026 guard has not ruled out the possibility of also playing basketball for the Hawks. 

The athleticism that made him a Division I commit as a wide receiver or defensive back was on display Saturday during a 61-48 victory over Germantown Friends during the Mid-Atlantic Independent School Team Camp at Executive Education Academy Charter in Allentown. 

McKee did a bit of everything along with his team-high 17 points. He got the offense started as the point guard and with outlet passes while playing under the basket out of necessity on defense as the second-tallest player on his team. He had 11 points for a 33-22 halftime lead, then opened the second-half scoring by soaring for a dunk off a back-court steal from teammate Anthony Stuard. Before his football commitment to Lehigh, McKee was drawing some D-I basketball interest. — Tom Robinson