City of Basketball Love

By Corky Blake & Tom Robinson 
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The Mid-Atlantic Independent School Team Camp had its second week Friday through Sunday with top local prep programs from the Inter-Ac and Friends’ Schools League, along with many other prep programs from the tri-state area with the addition of programs from the New England Prep School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) for Week 2.

CoBL had writers moving around the five courts of play throughout the weekend at Executive Education Charter in Allentown. Here’s the second notebook from the event focused on individual players and their recruitments: 

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2025 MAISTC Week 2 Coverage
Notebooks: Recruiting Pt. 1 | Recruiting Pt. 2 

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Sean Griffin (2026 | The Peddie School, N.J.)

Sean Griffin lost one summer on the basketball court, so he is giving himself another year before moving from the high school/prep school level to the college game.

Griffin recently transferred from Bishop Shanahan to the Peddie School, picking up another year of eligibility by reclassifying to the Class of 2026.

“Last year, coming out of the May live period, I tore a ligament in my foot so I missed the entire summer session,” Griffin said in explaining the move. “I was a young Class of ’25. I just turned 18 in the beginning of June.”

The Peddie School was among the few prep schools Griffin was in contact with as he assessed his options. Coach Joe Rulewich landed the 6-8 forward, who clearly is already a prominent part of the team’s plans for the next season.

“I really connected with Joe,” Griffin said. “He made me feel like Peddie was a great place to be and after spending 10 days here, it really does feel that way. I’m really glad I made the move. I think we have something special here.”

Griffin scored seven of his nine points in the second half of a 46-43 loss to Springside Chestnut Hill Saturday. He made a series of plays that gave Peddie a chance at rallying from five down in the last 2:19, drawing a charge, making a deflection and coming up with a back-court steal.

Peddie got within a point, but missed three shots on one possession and could not complete the comeback.

The defensive plays were just part of Griffin always seeming to be involved. His boxouts were noticeable as he cleared space on the defensive glass, even if he did not always come up with the rebound. Similarly, he moved around the high post and was often heavily involved in the offense, even if some passes among new teammates and resulting shots were just off the mark.

There were indications of potential as the new combination continues to mesh.

“I was very used to things in my four years at Bishop Shanahan,” Griffin said. “I spent my whole career there. I knew everybody on the team. We were very close. 

“Coming in, it was definitely different, but this is a great group of guys. They made me feel right at home. They’re very welcoming and we’re really starting to get some chemistry.”

With another year to develop – and this time being able to perform in front of college coaches as they make their summer evaluations – interest in Griffin is back on the rise. He is beginning to hear from Patriot League and similar schools.

“I was really hoping to make a good impression last weekend and this weekend, which I think I have done,” Griffin said. “It’s a waiting game now. I’m just going to keep working, do the work and hopefully teams follow me into the July live period and we’ll just keep going on from there.” – Tom Robinson

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Logan Chwastyk (2028 | Malvern Prep)

Malvern Prep coach Paul Romanczuk said he expects the recruiting of his talented 6-10 sophomore center Logan Chwastyk to escalate significantly in the upcoming weeks. Two weekends in front of college coaches at the Mid-Atlantic Independent School Team Camp coupled with next month’s national tournaments should have Chwastyk added to his current pair of offers.

“My first one (last year) was from Cal State Bakersfield,” Chwastyk said after helping Malvern Prep to a win over Jean-de-Brebeuf of Ontario on Sunday. “I think they saw one of my AAU games. My most recent (offer) was from Rider.”

In addition to interest from Ivy and Patriot League schools, Chwastyk said he’s recently been talking to Notre Dame.

Romanczuk believes the Fighting Irish will be just one of many high Division I program vying for his center’s services over the next three seasons.

What impression did Chwastyk want to leave with college coaches in attendance at the Team Camp sessions?

“That I can be tough and I’m not just a skinny, white boy,” Chwastyk said. “I wanted to show I could bang, not back down and be able to score.” – Corky Blake

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Deron Rippey Jr. (2026 | Blair Academy, N.J.)

Deron Rippey Jr.’s accurate current description of his game is as a “downhill guard that really can do everything.”

Obviously, coaches from UCLA, Kentucky, Duke, Tennessee, Texas, USC, Auburn and Miami agree with much of the assessment. They are among the schools making offers to the Blair Academy (N.J.) guard in the last three months.

So, when Rippey Jr. looks to the future and expanding his game, he covers a little bit of everything.

“I really try to focus on all facets of the game, depending on what I need to do at that time and moment,” Rippey said in an interview after doing a bit of everything, including scoring 25 points when Blair Academy defeated Episcopal Academy 86-70. “In the future, I want to work on my decision-making, my physicality and my defense, as well as my shooting.”

Rippey’s shot looked just fine when he drained three 3-pointers while scoring 17 in the first half of Saturday’s second game.

Earlier in the day, Rippey had a team-high 10 points in the first half as Blair opened a 17-point lead on College Achieve (N.J.) at the break.

“I’m a person who thinks that you can never be too good of a shooter so I’m going to keep working on that for sure,” he said.

First and foremost when looking at his college decision, Rippey talks about family and core values, seeking a program that is “really tight and close-knitted together.” But, he also points further ahead as he looks for a team that fits his current – and, hopefully, future – style of play.

Rippey says he will be looking as well for “a school that likes to play downhill and play fast. I think the NBA’s becoming a place where you’ve got to be able to shoot a lot of 3s, play really fast and get downhill. That’s a program that I want to thrive in because that’s the level I want to reach.” – Tom Robinson

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Daniel Gilhool + Luke West (2028 | Penn Charter)

Luke West knows he’s growing physically. He feels it in his bones and joints every day.

“I was 5-8 (last season) and now I’m 5-11,” West said. “It (pain) is in my knees, my legs.”

West’s Class of 2028 classmate at Penn Charter, Daniel Gilhool, said he’s added only about a “half inch,” since last season, which puts him in the 6-9 ½ to 6-10 range.

“He’s the one who’s growing,” Gilhool said emphatically pointing to West after Penn Charter erased a 25-6 deficit to overtake Perkiomen School 62-60 during a Sunday morning meeting at the Mid-Atlantic Independent School Team Camp in Allentown.

Gillhool and West are now carving their own paths at Penn Charter where their older brothers starred last year for the two-time defending Inter-Ac champion. Matt Gilhool is at LSU and Jake West is at Northwestern and weren’t able to watch their siblings in action. A third Penn Charter graduate from last season’s squad, Kai Shinholster, is at Minnesota.

“Last year, we watched and saw how the big boys did it,” Gilhool said. “We learned a lot from how they did things.”

West agreed.

“We’re taking on a bigger role this year,” West said. “Last season, we sat back and watched.”

Gilhool started at center and West was the first guard off the bench for the Quakers against Perkiomen, whose first team was packed with post grads and was the group that staked it to the huge early lead behind six 3-pointers.

“Perkiomen started strong, and we started off slow,” West said. “We got down big, but we knew we could come back.”

Sophomore point guard Carter Smith and senior guard Kasey Fleming paced Penn Charter with 17 and 16 points, respectively. Senior guard Dominic Comitale added 11 with a trio of 3s.

Eighth-grade guard Jackson Boyd – yes, he’s only going into eighth grade! – saw valuable time in crunch time and contributed a second-half 3 and then both ends of a one-and-one with 24 seconds to go for a 61-58 lead.

Other than a brief rest here and there, Gilhool was on the court. He opened the second half with a corner 3 and extended the Quakers’ lead to 45-41 by alertly soaring in from the weakside for an easy putback. Less than a minute later, the left-handed shooting Gilhool pumped in a 3 from the left side.

“My goal this week and last was to play good defense and block shots,” Gilhool said. “I’m also working on improving my offense and defensively getting out on the pick and pop.”

The slender Gilhool knows he’ll rarely push anyone off the block, but he showed a deft ability to front his opponent while never compromising the Quakers’ defense.

“I’m always trying to fight around my guy,” Gilhool said. “It’s something I’ve learned how to do. In our first game, I played a guy way heavier than me.”

West sees the court with the experience of a senior. He wasn’t afraid to take the 3 when open while always looking for a teammate with a better opportunity including assisting on Boyd’s 3. Once Penn Charter established a second-half lead, West worked in concert with his teammates to maximize their spread offense.

“My main thing is to get into the lane so I can pass out to my shooters,” West said.

Defensively, West and crew limited Perkiomen to 23 second-half points as they repeatedly picked off skip passes and did a better job getting up on the Panthers’ shooters. Perkiomen sank just one 3 after intermission after making eight in the first half including five by former Pitman (N.J.) star Elijah Crispin.

As for those growing pains, it could just be a West family thing. Jake West was 5-6 as a freshman at Plymouth-Whitemarsh before sprouting up five inches while attending Archbishop Carroll for two seasons. He moved on to Penn Charter for his final two years, added a couple more inches and developed into a Big Ten Conference recruit.

No wonder the Quakers are looking for big contributions over the next three seasons from West and Gilhool. –- Corky Blake

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Samuel Falko (2026 | West Nottingham Academy, Md.) 

Samuel Falko kept finding a way.

Whether he was seeking out his spot on the arc in transition, stepping back or pulling up for a jumper, or going strong to the basket in any direction, right or left, through the middle or along the baseline, the guard from West Nottingham Academy in Maryland continued to generate offense.

Falko was one of the day’s most effective scorers, piling up 25 points in the first half and 37 total in an 82-70 loss to The Phelps School Blue team.

Earlier Saturday, Falko hit four 3-pointers and scored a team-high 16 points as he kept West Nottingham in the game while combo guard Jarvis Pope was pouring in 27 to lead SFA Academy to victory.

A 6-3 guard, Falko was a double-figures scorer for two seasons, then produced more than 20 points per game at Tri-State Christian in Elkton, Md. before moving on to West Nottingham prior to the 2024-25 season.

At West Nottingham, Falko continued to put up big numbers, including an early-season, 10-for-14 night from 3-point range while scoring 44 against Rocktop Academy.

On days like Saturday, Falko is hoping recruiters see him as more than just a shooter.

“My biggest thing is my shooting ability,” said Falko, who reports “conversations” with, but no offers yet, from about a half-dozen Division I programs and some Division IIs. “I’ve been working a lot this summer to get downhill and score off the dribble a bit more, too. 

“Last year I was more of a spot-up shooter.”

The 25-point first half included four 3-pointers, but also field goals from closer to the basket and the ability to get to the line where he made all five attempts. – Tom Robinson