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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The derisive sideway looks are gone. So, too, will be the bickering during team huddles. Somehow, someway, Marvin Stinson was able to coach through it and stomp it down before it tore his team apart. Stinson, who will be entering his fourth season as head coach at Audenried, says he had great, talented players on his team last season. They just happened to get in each other’s way with some selfishness, and stat-conscious attitudes.

Stinson vows that will not be the case this season.

The Rockets finished 13-15 overall last year, and 5-5 in the rugged Philadelphia Public League A Division with Imhotep, Samuel Fels, Dobbins Tech, Constitution and Sankofa. Audenried reached the Public League semifinals, where it lost to Samuel Fels, 79-66, and then to eventual state champion West Catholic in the District 12 Class 3A championship, before going to the second round of the PIAA Class 3A playoffs, where it fell to District 2 No. 2-seed Holy Cross, 58-55.

Stinson returns a strong nucleus, starting with one of the more underrated players in the city, 6-foot-6 junior rising star Nate Lee, along with capable 6-1 sophomore guard Melvin Clarke, 5-10 sophomore guard Zykei Kelly-Postell, 5-10 senior guard Uthaymin Laws, 6-foot senior guard Ibrahim Fane, and a pair of impactful transfers, 5-10 junior guard Aasim Mitchell, from La Salle, and out of Roman Catholic 6-foot junior guard Derek Carr, former Roman star Tony Carr’s nephew. Because of PIAA transfer rules, it is still to be determined whether they will be eligible to play in the postseason.

For now, Stinson is pleased with what he has back and is encouraged by how much his team has gained from last years’ experience. Other than Lee, Audenried will be tiny. Stinson said this team can more than compensate for that with its selfless attitude, and the lessons it absorbed from last season.   

“We had a great group of guys who liked each other off the court last year, but it made them hard to coach sometimes because I was putting out fires in huddles than being able to coach Xs and Os,” Stinson said. “We had problems with some guys being a little too selfish. That hurt us. The team this season will be very unselfish. We have guys willing to share the ball, and everyone likes each other on and off the court. The bond with this group is greater. They are willing to play for each other.”

Success starts with Lee, a potential 20-20 player, who is coming off a sophomore season where he averaged 13 points and 10 rebounds a game. He had a strong summer in which he showed dominance inside, able to catch and score, blocking shots, scoring inside, from mid-range, and displayed the athleticism to go coast-to-coast with the ball.

This could be Lee’s breakout season.

What is more impressive is Lee did not begin playing organized basketball until his freshman year. Lee says doctors are telling him he could grow to 6-8. He has ability. He has size, and he plays like he is a 5-6 guard with a chip on his shoulder trapped inside him. He is a rare high-skilled, high-energy player.

“We had a lot of talent last year, but there were too many guys who were trying to be ‘the man,’ and that hurt our team,” said Lee, who finished only his second year of organized basketball. “I haven’t been in contact yet with any college coaches, but I am ready for a big year. We have a guard-oriented team that is unselfish. This summer, I worked on improving physically. I weigh 220 now, but I was around 200 this time last year. Everything will depend on how we respond when we lose. Will we stay together, like I think we will, or turn on each other and fall apart? We’ve been through that.”

College scouts will soon flock to Lee.

Clarke, who carries a 3.8 GPA, will be the catalyst that Stinson is relying on. He is a poised, experienced pass-first point guard. He started a handful of games for the Rockets, and knows Stinson’s system, which will be an uptempo, pressing style.

“People don’t realize how good a job Coach Stinson did last year,” Clarke said. “We had good players. We could not keep everybody happy. Guys were not willing to accept roles. We had no chemistry. Coach Stinson kept it together. With Aasim and Derek with us, we are going to have very strong guard play. What we learned from last year is we are more of a team. This group will be unselfish.”

Imhotep Charter, the four-time defending Public League champion, remains the standard of the Public League. Audenried could be the sleeper, with a Lee, Clarke, Mitchell and Carr core, giving Stinson the versatility of three ballhandling guards on the court at once and an athletic stretch four. Add Laws, Fane and Kelly-Postell, Stinson has the depth to stay with league heavyweights Imhotep, Samuel Fels, Constitution and Dobbins Tech.

“We made it far despite the drama last year,” Laws said. “We are on the same page and we are far more coachable, because Coach Stinson makes our practices harder than the games. We had egos last year. I blame myself a little bit, because I should have spoken up more than I did. We did more harm to ourselves than the opposing teams, and we have one of the city’s best, young stars. Nate Lee has been playing up, and he just started playing.

“Nate is good now, just imagine how good he will be the more he plays. Nate has come a long way, and he is going to get so much better. He plays with a high motor. He uses all his talent. That’s what makes Nate special. He doesn’t realize how good he is now. I’m excited to see what he does this year.”   

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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.