City of Basketball Love

Joseph Santoliquito (@JSantoliquito)

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(Ed. Note: This story is part of CoBL’s “Prepping for Preps” series, which will take a look at many of the top high school programs in the region as part of our 2025-26 season preview coverage. The complete list of schools previewed thus far can be found here.)

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Andre Noble is too humble to admit it. The 10-time PIAA state championship and 12-time Philadelphia Public League champion coach is too humble to even recognize it. This is something that slid slightly below the radar, due to the level of consistent success Noble has built in his legendary career at Imhotep Charter.

But last year ended with a rarity—without a state championship, although it was possibly the best coaching job Noble has done in his lengthy tenure at Imhotep.

The Panthers won the PIAA District 12 Class 6A championship, beating eventual state champion Father Judge, and reached the rarified pantheon of Philadelphia basketball history as only the second school in Philadelphia Public League history to win five-straight league championships since the legendary Gene Banks and West Philly’s five-peat (1974-78).

Along the way, no one seemed to notice what was missing, namely the Panthers’ most impactful player, game-changing, 6-foot-7 junior forward Zaahir Muhammad-Gray, lost for the year in the second game of the season with a knee injury. Then, out of the blue in December, highly-touted 6-9 sophomore Zion Green transferred to Camden.

Still, Imhotep finished 26-6 overall and reached the PIAA Class 6A state semifinals, where the Panthers lost to Father Judge, 69-58, breaking up a 35-game state playoff winning streak that dated back to 2016, and included six titles (2017-19, 2022-24).

Imhotep will be looking to add more rare accolades to its thick championship pedigree this season if the Panthers capture the PIAA Class 6A state championship, which would make them the only school in Pennsylvania to have won state championships in five of the six classifications.

The Panthers are capable of doing it, too.

The coaching is certainly there.

The talent is there.

It is a matter of doing it.

For one, Muhammad-Gray is back and looks like an NFL tight end, adding 30 pounds. He weighs 225 pounds, up from 195 last year. He has returned feeling better and stronger after an eight-month rehab. It hit him hard sitting there on the bench when Judge beat the Panthers in the state semis.

“The adversity helped us all, with guys leaving and me going down, and we had guys play in big games and now know how to handle to big games,” Muhammad-Gray said. “We trust each other. We are together. We are more of a team, more complete. I’m not selfish, and I do not like playing with selfish players. Coach Andre does not put up with selfishness.”

La Salle-bound RJ Smith, a three-year starter at Imhotep, has transferred to Roman Catholic. Noble, who will be entering his 25th season, preferred not to address it, stressing that his focus will be on the players he has, not on the players no longer at Imhotep.

Joining Muhammad-Gray will be 6-5 senior wing Latief Lorenzano-White, 6-4 junior guard Kevin Benson III and 6-foot, sophomore point guard Ian Smith, 6-foot-1 senior guard transfer Jordan Dill, Germantown Friends’ all-time leading scorer, 6-7 junior forward Malik Brown, a transfer from Cardinal O’Hara, 6-3 sophomore guard Rocky Johnson, 5-9 junior guard Sean Banks Jr., and 6-8 freshman Nasim Lochetto.     

Of Imhotep’s top eight, only two are seniors, Lorenzano-White (Drexel) and Dill.

“Losing Muhammad-Gray hurt us, and I felt we overcame a lot, and Lorenzano-White started as our three man. By January, he was our five,” Noble said. “We got better each week last season, and Ian started over 20 games as a freshman. He will handle the point for us, and I have the utmost faith in him. Everyone on our team believes in Ian Smith. We have no doubt who he is.”

Ian Smith handles the ball well, defends well, and he is bigger than RJ. The Panthers will be bigger than last season.

The player who will make the Panthers go is Muhammad-Gray, who possesses a wealth of talent, though what makes him unique is the endless energy he plays with.

“Za is really good at everything,” Noble said. “He can guard multiple positions on the court, and understands basketball at a high level. Latief is coming off a great summer, hitting threes at around 44-percent. He has extended his shot, and can defend.”    

The keys of the Panthers will be handed to Ian Smith, who embraces the challenge. He said he learned a lot from RJ, absorbing his leadership skills, how he dealt with adverse situations on and off the court.

Ian likes the fact he will be under the spotlight. He said last season helped him grow.

“I’m playing with more confidence, because last year I was playing at 50-percent confidence, and honestly do not know where the lack of confidence came from,” Ian Smith said. “I know my guys believe in me. It was more me, trying to be perfect. I put more pressure on myself. RJ helped me a lot, seeing the floor better and he helped me develop a better mid-range game.

“Knowing my coaches believe in me, I have to prove them right.”

Lorenzano-White remembers walking off the Norristown court last spring after losing to Judge. He remembers the frustration of a rare state playoff loss.

On the court, Lorenzano-White likes how his team is committed to defense. In Smith and Brown, the Panthers have two pressure guards. Muhammad-Gray covers a lot of the court.

“We dealt with some selfishness last year, and I think everyone is on the same page and everyone is ready to sacrifice this season, everyone trusts one another,” Lorenzano-White said. “We know Imhotep has never won a Class 6A state championship. Being the only team in the history of the state to win state titles in five of six (classifications). We have a standard here. It’s a high standard, and we aren’t used to ending our seasons with a loss.

“Last year was not a failure. The plan every year here is to win the state title.”

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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.