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. 2 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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Nick Lugendo (2027 | Archbishop Carroll)

There might not be a more remarkable story in local high school hoops right now than Lugendo’s. 

One year ago, he was a 6-foot-tall freshman at Haverford High, an undersized forward who played his summer ball for the Media Mustangs, a small local outfit. As recently as January and February, he was playing mostly JV ball for Haverford, not making much of a varsity impact. 

So when Lugendo went out on the court for Carroll this past weekend, now standing 6-foot-6 with a solid build, and dropped 15 points with 13 rebounds against a high-level Rutgers Prep (N.J.) squad, to say it was eye-opening somewhat undersells just how far Lugendo has come in an extremely short period of time. 

From making the K-Low Elite 16U squad at the end of his sophomore year to joining Carroll and shining on the Philly Live stage, it’s been a whirlwind few months for the rising junior from Delco. 

“It’s been a lot. It’s been a lot,” Lugendo said. “Because my family, they really value school, and it’s been really tough, doing schoolwork and going to play basketball for 4-5 hours after, and then I have to put in work in my off time and go in and shoot at my outdoor park. It’s such a big realization that maybe I could make it.”

Lugendo doesn’t come from a basketball background. The child of a Ukranian mother and Kenyan father who met at a camp for immigrants after they’d both moved to the United States, he developed his own love for the game as a child in Media, playing at the Media Youth Center, giving credit to the coach there, Lewis Johnson, for inspiring his love of the sport. 

Even after his growth spurt, which occurred last summer into the fall, Lugendo was still too raw to see the court for the Fords’ varsity squad. K-Low director Lonnie Lowry heard about him on a tip, brought him in for a workout, and ended up bringing him into his program, the first sign for Lugendo that he might be onto something with the sport he loved.

The Philly Live atmosphere was the biggest yet for Lugendo, whose Carroll teammates were drawing all sorts of college coaches to their games, not to mention those coming to see their high-level opponents. 

“Drew [Corrao] gave me some advice: you just block it out, play the game, focus on the game,” Lugendo said. “I was nervous, a little bit [...] I didn’t have one college coach at my public school games, and now there’s like 25, and I’m like ‘Jeez, that’s a lot to take in.”

There were easily three dozen different Division I teams represented in a ring around the court in the Patriots’ game on Sunday, a big audience to see Lugendo play one of his best games ever in a basketball uniform, against a team with a 6-foot-11 Marist commit in Logan Frantz and a high-major 6-8 2028 in Will Brunson. 

Yet, there was Lugendo, facing up with Brunson and blocking one of his shots with a solid rejection, not the only time Lugendo won the matchup between the two. 

“To be honest, maybe a year or two ago, I saw these Instagram posts [of Philly Live], and I was like ‘these guys are good, I won’t be able to fit in,’” he admitted. “Now I have that confidence that I can be there with them and play at the same level they are.” — Josh Verlin

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Avery Lynch (2027 | Christian Brothers Academy, N.J.)

It’s family ties for Lynch.

Previously at St. Rose, he has followed his uncle, Brian Lynch, over to CBA. Coaching at St. Rose from 2021-2025, Brian Lynch has now taken over the head coach position at his alma mater where he recorded over 1,000 points, won four conference title, and won the 1995 Non-Public A State Championship in New Jersey. Now, his nephew is following in his footsteps, hoping to make big strides just as he did during his time at CBA.

Lynch credits his uncle to being a big part of basketball journey. He learns a lot from him as he is very experienced having played overseas, coached overseas, and led his St. Rose team to much success. 

“He has a unique style of basketball and honestly I learn a lot from him,” Lynch said. “He’s coaching me just as hard as the other guys if not harder.”

With the recent switch, the 6-6 shooting guard is having to adjust to his new team, Philly Live being one of the first times playing with them. He is finding his role and where he fits in on this Colts squad.

“It’s been a little difficult,” Lynch said. “I’ve been trying to find my role, score the ball, do what I do.”

It will be an adjustment for everyone as the team settles into a new coaching style but they showed some promise. Lynch uses his length and quickness to his advantage, being able to finish nicely around the rim. In the Colts game against Carver High School of Engineering and Sciences he also showcased his shot from outside the arc hitting a couple of threes.

The rising junior is not new to Philly Live however, having played in this live period tournament last year with St. Rose. In fact, Philly Live was where he received his first D-I offer. Old Dominion, last June, reached out to Lynch after Philly Live providing him with his first offer just after only completing his freshman season. 

While no new offers have come in since then he has been having conversations with programs like Merrimack, Colgate, and some of the Ivies. With two high school seasons ahead and as he finishes out the AAU season with NJ Shoreshots Rio on the Under Armour circuit he still has a lot to show as he continues through his recruiting journey.

He has made his path clear, setting his goal to be, “Just to play Division I basketball at the highest level and get into a school that I have no business getting into.” — Olivia Valania 

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Brady MacAdams (2026 | Archbishop Wood)

The 6-foot-4 rising senior guard received an offer from Buffalo right after playing Sidwell Friends (Md.) on Saturday, which now joins his growing list that includes Loyola (Md.), Hofstra, Boston University, Drexel, and Towson. He said he is willing to wait for the season to begin, but it would be ideal to make a college decision before the season. 

He is being projected as a two, but he said he wants to improve his passing, his ability to get to the rim and being able to take the ball up the floor. “I feel stronger than I was this time last year,” he said. 

“I was around 180 this time last year, and I’m around 195 now, putting on 15 pounds of muscle with diet and (weight) training since last summer. I’ve been on (unofficial) visits to Towson, BU and Loyola. I’ll start my official visits mid-summer. I have a lot more live periods ahead of me. I have some time.”

Legendary Wood coach John Mosco has high expectations for MacAdams this season. “He never stops working,” he said. “He played with an injury all season, battling tendonitis in his right leg. He plays above the rim, and he just keeps blowing up. He is a very good student, and the Patriot League and some Ivys are after him. He’s done a very good job of improving and showing what he can do.” 

In Wood’s 66-52 defeat to a very good Sidwell Friends (Md.) team on Saturday, MacAdams finished with nine points and seven rebounds. He showed he could stay with some of the best D-I prospects in the Northeast. — Joseph Santoliquito 

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Jaydn Jenkins (2027 | Archbishop Wood)

The gangly 6-foot-10 (he was measured recently) has a considerable upside and schools are noticing. He dropped 15 points and grabbed six rebounds in Wood’s 66-52 loss to a very good Sidwell Friends (Md.) team on Saturday. 

He scored in the paint, was a looming defensive presence with his 7-foot-2 wingspan and plays with dramatically more confidence than he did last season. His game is more mature than it was last season. He is not moved off spots as easily. That is probably because this time last year, he was 180 pounds. 

He weighs 205 pounds now. Expect him to gain even more weight. He has received offers from Towson, Temple and East Carolina. He also raised the eyebrows of some blue bloods and high-caliber programs. After watching him play, Auburn inquired about him, according to him and Wood coach John Mosco. 

“I feel comfortable, a lot more comfortable on the court,”Jenkins said. “It’s all about confidence. Coming here, I know I can compete with anyone right now. I know where I am supposed to be on the court. Last year, it was a learning year. I’m ready to grow and shine on a bigger stage.”

He averaged eight points and four rebounds a game last season. He said he would like to get up to around 215 pounds entering this season. “I’m not playing scared anymore,” he admitted. “I used to play scared. I think that came from a lack of confidence. I got tired of being pushed around.” 

Said Mosco about Jenkins: “He’s starting to blow up and he never had a frame that showed it, but he is getting stronger. He banged with some big kids today. He is starting to love the game more. His best basketball is still way ahead of him. Auburn liked him, and some premiere offers are bound to start coming in. Jadyn changes the game inside. He helped himself today. Auburn said something and some of the locals will come knocking soon, too.” — Joseph Santoliquito           

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Quick Hits

— Brian Donahue (2026 | Archbishop Wood), the 6-foot-4 rising guard is garnering some attention from Division II Georgian Court (N.J.) and Division III Catholic University. He said his priority this summer to add to his offensive game, and be more aggressive going to the basket. He wants to be more than a shooter, and he was more athletic than last season. – Joseph Santoliquito

— St. George’s (Del.) 2026 SF Josh Obiora picked up his first two Division I offers in the last six weeks, from Alcorn State and then Delaware State, and after Philly Live his recruiting is heating up. Obiora said after the two weekends, he’s heard from a slew of high-academic Division I programs.

“I got interest from Cornell, Brown, Bucknell, Bryant, Colgate, Towson, Loyola and Princeton,” he told CoBL. “It’s just a great feeling knowing that I’m having this opportunity to play in front of coaches, I’m grateful for it and I used that opportunity to get looked at.”

A 6-8 wing with a 4.11 GPA who plays with K-Low Elite on the Adidas 3SSB circuit, Obiora has a prototypical wing body with long arms, and his skillset is developing to match. He flashed real playmaking abilities this weekend along with his scoring and defense, all things he said he’s working on this summer. 

“I’m just a hardworking kid who just wants an opportunity to shine and make a name for himself,” he said. — Josh Verlin