City of Basketball Love

By Josh Verlin & Joseph Santoliquito 
—

The dust has settled on Week 1 of the annual two-weekend hoopfest that is Philly Live 2025 with 10 courts of action wrapping up play Sunday night.

CoBL had writers and scouts at Jefferson University and the Alan Horwitz 'Sixth Man' Center throughout the weekend. Here's Pt. 5 of notebooks focusing on individual players and their recruitments:

~~~

2025 Philly Live Week 1 Coverage
Standouts: Friday (Pt. 1) | Friday (Pt. 2) | Saturday (Pt. 1) | Saturday (Pt. 2) | Sunday (Pt. 1) | Sunday (Pt. 2)
Notebooks: Recruiting (Pt. 1) | Recruiting (Pt. 2) | Recruiting (Pt. 3) | Recruiting (Pt. 4) | Recruiting (Pt. 5) | Team Coverage (Pt. 1) | Team Coverage (Pt. 2)

~~~

Munir Greig (2027 | Archbishop Carroll)

A prospect to watch since we first got eyes on him at the end of his eighth grade year, Greig has had the combination of size, athleticism, and skillset that’s had the Division I label on him for quite some time. Now that he’s reached the midway point of his time in high school, Greig’s seeing that expectation turn into reality. 

A 6-foot-6, 185-pound wing guard, Greig came to Philly Live fresh off an appearance at the Nike Elite 100 camp in Saint Louis, landing back in Philadelphia on Thursday night and then playing in front of coaches on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

“I’ve played a lot of games — this is my 13th game,” he said after Carroll lost to a terrific North Mecklenburg (N.C.) team on Saturday afternoon. “Just [enjoy] playing against the best competition, knowing that I’m still developing my game a lot. I love the best competition, I don’t back down from nothing.”

Greig didn’t have his best game on Saturday afternoon in an 18-point loss to North Mecklenburg (N.C.), but he still showed plenty of flashes as to why he’s such a highly-touted prospect as he compiled 13 points, six rebounds and three assists; highlights included a step-back 3-pointer, a tough runner on the move and some good passes to open teammates, combined with his general athleticism, length and motor.

As is normal for a player of his stature, he had a busy phone on June 15, the first day that college coaches were directly allowed to reach out to prospects in the class of 2027. 

“The people that reached out to me were Arkansas, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Utah, Colorado, all those types of coaches,” he said. “It just feels good, and it’s exciting. Now they can get in contact with me so I’ve got to keep working and building and getting ready for the next level.”

Michigan State’s Tom Izzo was in the building to watch Greig, among others, on Saturday; Arkansas was there as well, along with plenty of other Division I coaches watching players on both Carroll and North Mecklenburg, sitting both courtside and up on the track surrounding the courts.

“That’s a surreal moment,” he said of hearing from Izzo’s staff and similar coaches saying they were coming to see him play. “I never knew I was going to have this experience, never in my life. Now I just have to keep building and getting ready for the next level.”

Greig said he’s yet to be on any college campuses, but he mentioned he wants to see Arkansas, Colorado, Notre Dame and VCU — “all the big schools,” he added — to get a chance to see the various facilities and also further develop his relationship with the coaching staffs. — Josh Verlin

~~~

Blake Nassry (2027 Parkland)

The 6-3 rising junior guard has received interest from Cornell and it is a list that promises to grow. He started his sophomore year and carries a weighted 4.02 GPA out of 4.0 scale. He also plays for Parkland’s football team as a wide receiver and defensive back. He says his main goal is to play basketball in college. “Philly Live is big for us, and I wanted to do well here,” said Nassry, who averaged 14 points his sophomore season and was a freshman on Parkland’s Class 6A state finalist team. “I felt really good. I wanted to improve on what I did last year, and meant getting stronger and being stronger getting to the rim. 

“I think I showed I am stronger than I was this time last year. I feel I am a better finisher, and I wanted to get better defensively. There is a chance I may grow an inch or two more. I can still grow a little bit. As a team this summer, I want us to show that we are one of the best teams in the state.”

Nassry, who is 16, was easily the best player on the court during Parkland’s 59-52 victory over St. Mary’s (NJ) on Sunday. He finished with 23 points, and showed a fearlessness in attacking the basket, one time driving between three defenders for a basket. He also played smart, knowing when to pull back, sensing the defense catching up to him on a fastbreak, dishing to an open teammate for a layup. In the second half, he pulled off a great spinning move between two defenders that gave his team some cushion when the game began getting more competitive. — Joseph Santoliquito

~~~

Mani Sajid (2026 Plymouth Whitemarsh)

The 6-4 rising senior guard has received offers from St. Joe’s, Penn, Penn State, La Salle, Temple, and most recently East Carolina. He has not narrowed his list yet.

“I’m not really in a rush to make a decision,” he said. “I want to find the best fit for me, and the best coaching staff for me. It is a priority to get it done, and I do want to enjoy my senior year knowing where I’ll be going (to college). But I am taking my time. I would think about staying close to home. Like I said, the priority is the best fit for me. I want a coach who develops his players, and coaches who will allow me to coach through my mistakes. Money comes and goes. I want to look at the total picture. Money is a factor, not the factor. Coaches are projecting me to be a two. I’m around 170 and I would like to get up around 180 pounds. My defense has taken a big jump, and I would like to keep getting better as a team, and keep on working to get better as a player.”   

On Sunday, Sajid wowed the college coaches lined up on the baseline to see him. He had one dominating four-minute stretch when he could not miss in PW’s 66-42 victory over Union Catholic. He finished with a game-high 26 points, mostly on step-back threes. He was the best player on the court, and he seems to be playing a smarter game. He knew when to shoot, and when not to force shots, relying much more on his teammates. He’s also much stronger. He came roaring down the baseline during the second half and threw down an emphatic slam, where he soared above the rim.

“That goes with everything I have been working on,” Sajid said. “I wanted to get stronger this offseason and I feel stronger with the way I’m playing. I want to be stronger going to the basket that I was last year, and I think I showed that I could do that today.” — Joseph Santoliquito

~~~

Cam Sweeney (2026 | Hershey)

The 6-foot-3 rising senior guard has an interesting dilemma on his hands. He is an exceptional football player, the starting quarterback for the Trojans, getting interest from Villanova, Bucknell and Syracuse. The problem is, Sweeney is also an exceptional basketball player, who is getting interest from Bucknell, Fairleigh Dickinson, Mercyhurst, and Loyola University Maryland.

As the summer has picked up, more college basketball coaches have been calling Sweeney, a first-team, all-state at Class 5A choice. He is coming off a junior year in which he averaged 20.2 points a game in leading the Trojans to their first-ever PIAA Class 5A state final. He stirs the Trojans, he is their do-everything man, and he shows it. 

On Saturday, against a very good Seton Hall Prep team, he scored a team-high 25 points, sometimes going up against Seton Hall Prep’s exceptional rising sophomore Infinite Sincere. He started slow, missing his first four shots. But once he got hot, he took off, hitting five of his next six shots. He has no problem carrying the mantle of this team, doing everything, from scoring, to playmaking, to rebounding, playing perimeter and interior defense. “But I have let (the colleges recruiting him for football) know that I want to play basketball in college,” Sweeney said. “That’s my choice. I know I’m getting attention from bigger schools for football, but I want to play basketball in college. I will be playing football my senior year.” 

Hershey legendary coach Paul Blackburn, the PIAA Class 5A Coach of the Year, has no problem coming right out and saying what he expects of his star player again this coming season. “He is our leader, one of our top assist guys, our leading scorer, leading rebounders, he puts up stats, but Cam does so much for others,” Blackburn said. “He is so easy to coach. Cam does it all and we count on him to do it all. He is how we win.” The Trojans started well on Saturday against Seton Hall Prep, then the Pirates, their depth and speed took over, winning going away, 87-60. Sweeney was still brilliant, willing to play defense, about to use his body well in traffic to generate fouls, and was Hershey’s leading rebounder. He said his ideal choice would be to make a college decision prior to basketball season beginning, but he is willing to be patient and see where he feels most comfortable before making a commitment. — Joseph Santoliquito

~~~

Quick Hit

– Central Dauphin 2027 G Shakur Starling got the news he was hoping for earlier this month when he pulled in his first Division I offer, from Bucknell. Bison coach John Griffin III called him June 15 to offer after Starling impressed at an elite camp the program hosted earlier in the month.

 “It was amazing, first one,” he said. “I’ve always been underrated, overlooked, but I finally get my time to shine and I’m going to keep going.”

The 6-2 guard had a strong sophomore year for the Rams, who won 20 games and made it to the PIAA 6A state playoffs, and will now be one of his team’s featured players as a junior. Playing this summer with Team Melo on the EYBL circuit for the first time, he’s also been able to test his skills against a higher level of competition than before. Starling is the son of area videographer and well-liked figure around the courts, Michael ‘Big Star’ Starling; 2029 guard Shyheim Starling made his CD debut this weekend. – Josh Verlin