City of Basketball Love

By CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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The dust has settled on Week 2 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. 1 of notebooks focusing on individual players and their recruitments:

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

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Ian Condon (2027 | Sidwell Friends)

Condon’s recruitment started off with a bang. 

A 6-foot-7, 250-pound wing forward, Condon is a physical presence with a sweet outside shot, a combination that makes him quite appealing to college coaches. So after playing with Team Melo’s 16U group during the May EYBL stop in Memphis, the only Division I live recruiting period of the spring (May 16-18), it was Villanova associate head coach David Cox who got on the phone with Condon and became his first scholarship offer. 

“[It was] incredible, honestly,” Condon told CoBL. “Such a great school, especially for the first one, that gave me so much confidence itself. One of our guys, Acaden Lewis. just went there, so it’s really good.”

Virginia Tech and American University followed shortly thereafter, and based on the way Condon played this weekend, more are sure to follow. He was an offensive machine on Saturday, scoring 20 points without missing any of his three 3-point attempts against PCL powerhouse Neumann-Goretti; his game against Wood was even more impressive, as he put up 28 points, hitting five of his nine 3-pointers, and throwing down a poster to add insult to injury. 

Condon’s got quite an athletic background. His father, Ed Condon, participated on the track and field team at Maryland, earning an ACC Indoor All-Conference selection in 1994, and he’s still sixth in the school’s history in the hammer throw. Even more impressively, his mother, Svetlana Vtyurina, is one of the all-time greats in NCAA women’s volleyball history, holding the current national records in kills in a game and in a career, was a two-time Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and was inducted into the George Washington University Hall of Fame in 2003.

Perhaps then it’s no surprise that Ian Condon is also one of the top throwers in Washington, D.C., winning the DCSAA’s shot-put competition and coming in second place in the discus last month. Hurling a four-pound metal disc more than 136 feet might not sound like it would translate over to basketball, but there is a key connection.

“The strength and the footwork, definitely,” Condon said. “For discus you have to spin, so there’s definitely the footwork for that.”

This summer, Condon said, he’s focusing on continuing to transition from being a forward out to the wing; his offensive game is ready for a 3-and-D prototype, no doubt about that, but it’s his other end of the court that’s getting a lot of the focus.

“Definitely working on guarding, outside guarding, being able to move a little quicker,” he said. “That’s something I need to increase on and overall just ball-handling as well, finishing.” — Josh Verlin

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Anthony Brown Jr. (2026 | Archbishop Carroll, D.C.)

Though he has 18 Division I offers, Brown is hungry for more.

His first offer came from George Mason the summer before his sophomore year and from there he skyrocketed. Brown’s list is obviously lengthy, sporting some high-major offers from programs like Villanova, UCF, Syracuse, Maryland, Mississippi State, and most recently Tennessee. Throughout this process and with receiving so much attention from big-time schools, he is focusing on staying grounded and remaining humble throughout his recruitment journey but still is not complacent, working to bring in more offers. 

“I’m just grateful because I know how it feels to be on the other side and have nothing,” Brown said.

Brown’s basketball career has not been exactly linear. He has had to make changes in order to stay on the path chasing his goals. His first change was leaving Paul VI (Va.) for Archbishop Carroll his junior season. This year, he left his previous EYBL team, Team Takeover, for Team Durant and gives them all the credit for helping him build back up his confidence as a player and be recognized for his abilities by major college programs.

“I think they [Team Durant] are helping me out a lot this summer just to be the person I am,” Brown said. “They helped me to get my stock up and get my confidence back. Stuff like that means a lot to me so Team Durant will always have a special place in my heart.”

A big part of his game is his ability to be a leader and control the tempo on the court. In Archbishop Carroll’s 45-34 win against Penncrest he displayed his leadership as he handled the ball with ease up top, getting his teammates to their spots so he could use his deep knowledge of the game and vision to hit them with a quick pass to score. 

As being a leader is important to him he felt he needed to make changes in order to stay true to himself as a player and really showcase his ability.

“I wanted to be the guy who puts the ball in other’s hands, the guy who runs the show,” said Brown, explaining his reasoning for why he switched both highschool and AAU teams. “Just be the guy who is the point guard, who gets the team going and gets others involved. Just me being that lead guy.”

With his work with his school team and Team Durant, Brown is not ready to slow down. As other highly -ought after players in the class of 2026 are beginning to announce their commitments, Brown feels he is just heating up, not yet ready to settle down with one program.

“Recruiting is picking up majorly,” Brown said. “I’m probably getting two new calls everyday. I really haven’t narrowed it down especially as more calls are coming in. I know when the time comes God will let me know when to narrow down my list.” 

Though he is only 6-2, not the biggest or tallest, his ball handling, ability to finish at the rim, and most importantly his leadership on the floor is why he stands out to these college coaches and why he is continuing to bring in these high-profile offers. He will continue with this as he goes into his senior year.

“Just with the group of guys, as a senior, being more of a leader,” Brown said. “I’m not the tallest, not the biggest, so I have to do the little things that set me apart, that stands out to college coaches. I want to play in the NBA so the little things like that can take you a long way.” — Olivia Valania

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Mike Pereira (2026 | Plymouth-Whitemarsh)

The 6-9 rising senior center has a list of growing offers that has expanded from La Salle to now NJIT and Drexel. He carries a weighted 4.7 GPA out of a 4.0 GPA and already speaks Portuguese, a little Spanish and is learning French. He would like to major in business, and is leaning towards a high-academic school. Columbia is interested, and he will go on an unofficial visit on Monday. He has been to Penn.

“I want to take my time with the process and I’m enjoying it right now,” he said. “I’m 30 pounds heavier than I was last year. I’m around 250, and was around 220 last year. I have been lifting more consistently this summer. I’m looking to try out for the under-17, maybe the under-19 Brazilian National Team in September. 

I’ll miss some school time, but it is worth the experience. Most of my father’s side is still down there, and I want to get more connected with my roots. I have no timetable for a college commitment. I’m thinking during or after the season to make a commitment. I am talking to La Salle and Penn locally. Princeton is interested, and Columbia, too. I feel the Ivy League is really good basketball. It’s a valuable education that will last me a lifetime.” 

Pereira is having an impressive summer, and he continued that this weekend. On Saturday, he finished with 22 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots in the Colonials’ impressive 77-65 victory over Jackson-Reed (D.C.) during Day Two of Philly Live II. 

He continues to show his improved athleticism, footwork, strength around the basket, and improved offensive skills. “We have a bigger picture, and our aim is a state championship and it will depend on how we play together,” he said. “Philly Live is like our crystal ball into the season. We lost a game on Saturday that we shouldn’t have lost. But we bounced back (against Jackson-Reed) and that shows we can bounce back from adversity.” — Joseph Santoliquito   

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Mani Sajid (2026 Plymouth-Whitemarsh)

The 6-4 rising senior guard has already received offers from St. Joe’s, Penn, Penn State, La Salle, Temple, and East Carolina. Towson has now entered the picture as of this past weekend. 

“They have a really good coaching staff, and I like how they have been communicating with me,” he said. “I went on an unofficial visit to Penn last week and I had a good time. I’m supposed to be taking an official visit to East Carolina at the end of September and Towson at the end of July. I have been to the other schools on unofficial visits. I may commit in season, but I want to see where I am with everything.”

According to his father, about half a dozen schools have talked to him after the weekend. 

There are more schools involved. Pitt has been watching him. Saint Joseph’s coach Billy Lange has been talking to Plymouth-Whitemarsh coach Jim Donofrio about Sajid, and Providence head coach Kim English has reached out, and was at all of PW’s games this weekend. Albany coach Dwayne Killings calls every day. He has been on an unofficial visit to Penn last Wednesday, and talked to Temple on Sunday.

His stock is rising exponentially due to games like the one Sajid had in the Colonials’ 77-65 victory over Jackson-Reed (D.C.) on Saturday during Day Two of Philly Live II, Sajid looked tremendous, showing everything he can do, passing, shooting, driving, rebounding, and finishing. He closed with a game-high 29 points, and could not be stopped. His passing was the most impressive part about his game. 

His anticipation in hitting teammates as they cut to the basket was uncanny. 

“We’re all coming into this season with an attitude.”— Joseph Santoliquito    

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Mason Santiago (2026 | St. Peter’s Prep, N.J.)

One of the most highly anticipated games of Philly Live took place on Sunday and Mason Santiago took full advantage of his opportunity.

The 6-foot-4 rising senior of St. Peter’s Prep (N.J.) dropped 31 points on Imhotep at the Sixth Man Center, in front of just about every college you could think of. His incredible shot-creating and making ability was on full display and led the Mauraders to a 70-65 victory. 

In this standout performance, Santiago’s confidence level stayed the same as it always is — through the roof.

“I always try to keep [my confidence] pretty high,” Santiago said. “I always tend to remind myself that I have the ability to do certain things that the top level guys can do as well.”

Santiago was lethal from beyond the arc against Imhotep, knocking down 7 of his 10 three-point attempts. Most of his shot attempts were heavily contested, but that didn’t stop the rising senior from knocking them down. From the charity stripe, Santiago drilled 5 of his 6 shots. 

Not only was Santiago a scoring machine, but he was an impressive playmaker as well. Against Imhotep, the 6-4, 200 pound force used his non-stop energy to snag 8 rebounds and court vision to dish out 7 assists. 

“I have a high motor,” Santiago told CoBL. “I feel like I never stop working, from defense to rebounding, scoring to passing.” 

Santiago credits his work ethic to his older sister, Amaya Santiago, who played both DII and DI ball at Post University and Canisius respectively. 

“In first or second grade, I saw my sister play basketball and it made me want to get into it,” Santiago said. “She set the bar high for me — it made me want to work harder.”

As of right now, Santiago holds offers from Fairfield, St. Peter’s, Albany, Fordham, and East Carolina. He received his Fairfield and St. Peter’s offers on back-to-back days in the summer going into his junior year and received Albany, Fordham, and East Carolina later that fall. Rider, Bryant, FDU, and Loyola (Maryland), all are also interested in the St. Peter’s Prep star.

In his future school, Santiago is looking for a system that is defensive minded, while also having a free-flow offense. — Evan Hartenstein  

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Quick Hits

— Brian Burns (2026 | South County, Va.) is gaining interest on the Division III scene. In Sunday’s game against Springfield-Delco, Burns displayed excellent shot-selection, finishing, and footwork. The 6-foot-4 forward was a beast in the paint and mid-range, scoring 17 points shooting 7-of-9 from the field. Burns also hit all three of his free-throws.

In the offseason so far, Burns has been trying to improve upon his defense and becoming a more versatile scorer. He demonstrates his work ethic by going to the gym at least twice per day and is taking on a bigger role with South County this upcoming season as a leader. 

Burns has garnered attention from Marymount, Randolph-Macon, Wilkes, Washington College, Chicago, Juniata, Bridgewater, and the Coast Guard Academy. 

— T.J. Valletti (2027 | Springfield Delco.) is a rising junior to keep an eye on. At the Sixth Man Center on Sunday, Valletti dropped 30 points on South County (Va.). His punishing game inside was unstoppable, using his 6-foot-1, 180 pound frame to push through the defense. He had no issue fighting through contact to get a bucket. Valletti shot 10-of-19 from the field, 3-of-6 from deep, and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe in Sunday’s game and defensively was very active, stealing the ball an impressive eight times.

Valletti is transitioning from a forward/big to the point guard for Springfield and it will be the biggest change for him going into next year. He is coming off of an excellent season with Springfield, where he received Second Team All-Central League honors. — Evan Hartenstein