City of Basketball Love

Joseph Santoliquito (@JSantoliquito)

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Kennedy Coles will always have the memory of making a life decision in the back storage room of a Foot Locker store. The standout Upper Merion 5-foot-7 senior guard can laugh about it now. It started to reach a scary point in the recruiting process for Coles. She always aspired to play Division I basketball, and here it was late summer, and it did not appear as if she had a college destination. Schools were interested, though nothing substantial, not until the Hoop Group Showcase League in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during July.

Coles, playing for DAPA, stood out. She caught the attention of Niagara assistant coach Lester Harbin. He forwarded what he saw to Purple Eagles’ head coach Jada Pierce, and in late-July, Coles was offered a scholarship. On Thursday, August 7, toward the end of her working shift at the King of Prussia Foot Locker, she checked with her store manager to see if she could make a call from the back storage room.

It is where Coles called Pierce telling her she accepted the scholarship offer to play basketball at Niagara.

“I saved the moment to share with my dad, when he picked me from work, and I called my mom to let her know,” said Coles, who averaged 15 points, 6, rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals a game her junior year. “It was a big deal to follow my dad’s footsteps (Malvern Prep assistant football coach Dante Coles, who played football for Temple from 2000-04). This is a dream come true. It’s a huge relief.”

Coles chose Niagara over Marist, Shippensburg, Wesley and Binghampton.

Niagara came into the picture during the HGSL Showcase. In DAPA’s 55-48 victory over the Lady Running Rebels 17U, Coles was easily the best, and fastest athlete on the court, finishing with 12 points, four assists, four steals.

She applied great defensive pressure to the Runnin’ Rebels, with the speed to be in two places at once, able to defend one player, and fast enough to run over and double another. A track standout, she played with a high motor, and no one from the Rebs could keep up with her.

Although, Niagara was a little surprising. Marist had shown her the most attention since her sophomore year at Upper Merion, which went 14-9 overall record last season, losing to Phoenixville in the first round of the PAC-10 playoffs, 56-43, in a game in which Coles scored a team-high 21 points. But Marist’s attention began to wane during the spring, and her performance at the HGSL Showcase raised her profile. Niagara saw her ability to defend and score in transition.

Harbin first reached out to Coles after the HGSL Showcase, though wanted to see more of her. Harbin asked for her highlight film from her junior year. Pierce wanted to see a greater sample size. Communication began and she visited the school in late-July.

Coles loved the campus and was given access to a team practice. She liked the energy of the team and was attracted to the culture. She felt really connected with the team. Niagara offered right after her visit, and Coles committed on August 7. Her official visit will come this weekend, even though she went public with her commitment on social media on August 7.

That's when Coles, wearing her official Foot Locker referee shirt, decided to make it official. Standing among boxes of sneakers, Coles called Pierce to tell her that she was going to Niagara.

“I was talking to my co-workers and they are all in college, and with the feedback I was getting from them, and my village, I decided to make the call and commit,” recalled Coles with a laugh. “I called coach Pierce and went back to my shift. I wanted to share my moment in person with my family. Coach Pierce told me that my AAU team was like a mini version of Niagara. I’m happy. I was a little afraid this summer. I wanted to go to a Division I school. It didn’t look like that was going to happen. This makes everything worth it, the hard work, the time and commitment.”    

Coles projects to be a two-guard at Niagara, specializing as a shut-down defender. Defense is what Pierce liked the most about Coles' game. A track standout, who plays with a high motor, Coles scores most of her points in transition. She is debating whether she wants to run track this spring, opting instead to play flag football.

On the court, her prime goal is to get the Vikings into the District 1 playoffs. She is closing in on 1,000 career points, entering her senior year with 722 points. Reggie Robinson was the last 1,000-point female scorer at Upper Merion in 2015.

Last season, Niagara went 3-25 and finished 2-18 in the MAAC. This will be Pierce’s 11th season as head coach of the Purple Eagles.

“I have known Kennedy for the last three years with Team DAPA,” said DAPA head coach Allen Pritchett, who played for Woodbury High School and then Rowan, and will be an assistant on the Chestnut Hill College coaching staff this season. “Kennedy Coles is such a beautiful story in terms of her development. Watching her grow has been tremendous. She used to get a lot of fouls her freshman year because she played with her hands. She used to be super aggressive. That is where she has grown.

“She has been able to control her pace, because she is so fast, transitioning from track to basketball. Her shooting mechanics from where it was, to where it is now, has grown. She is such a natural shooter. Niagara loves her game. I expect a big season from Kennedy at Upper Merion.

“She has SEC athleticism. She is going to be an exceptional player in the MAAC. She will be able to play downhill.”

Coles is looking forward to her senior season—with a commitment firmly in hand.

“I can enjoy my senior year,” she said. “I can play relaxed and have fun.”  

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Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who began writing for CoBL in 2021 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on BlueSky here.