City of Basketball Love

By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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It was during player introductions of Penn’s game against Merrimack the day after Thanksgiving that it became clear who the real crowd favorites were. And it wasn’t the hosts.

The loudest applause of the afternoon came during the visitors’ intros, when Quakers’ public address announcer Rich Kahn boomed: “From Philadelphia, freshman guard Kevair Kennedy” and “from Philadelphia, junior guard Ernest Shelton.”

It was a special moment not just for Kennedy and Shelton, the two Philly natives coming home for the first time in their respective collegiate careers, but for all their family and friends who came to see them play.

For Kennedy, it was a return to the most famous arena in Philadelphia and well beyond; for Shelton, it was a chance to get his first — and second, and third — runs on the storied court, all part of the three-game, round-robin Cathedral Classic that also featured Hofstra and La Salle. 

“It was definitely great,” said Kennedy, who led Father Judge to a Catholic League championship at the Cathedral of College Hoops back in February. “My family got to see me play for the first time in college, play at home, so it was great playing there again.”

“I never played in the Palestra,” said Shelton, two years older, a junior in his first year at Merrimack. “Our team wasn’t good enough to play in the Palestra [...] it was great, the first game I had a bunch of family there, it was great just playing in front of all my family and friends, it was good.”

There was one group in attendance that was perhaps most excited of all.

The entire 2025-26 Father Judge roster and coaching staff made an appearance for the game against Penn, all lined up down one row across from the Merrimack bench. They were proud to see the two Crusader alums — not just together on the court once again, but having success doing it.

“It’s insane to think about,” Judge coach Chris Roantree said. “Kevair means so much to our program, Ern’s successful now; to see these guys be successful, everybody’s excited to always watch.”

The last time Shelton and Kennedy were teammates was during the 2022-23 season, when Shelton was a senior at Father Judge and Kennedy was a sophomore. Shelton, a 6-foot-4 guard, was the Crusaders’ second-leading scorer that year, averaging 11.5 ppg and shooting 39% from the arc on a team that finished 11-12 overall, 6-7 in the Catholic League; Kennedy, a 6-2 guard, was fifth on the team in scoring (8.0 ppg) but led the Crusaders in assists (5.8 apg) while also averaging 4.9 rpg. 

Shelton began his college career at D-II Gannon University (Pa.), averaging 7.9 ppg as a freshman before exploding for a career-best 17.4 ppg as a sophomore, shooting 40.8% from the floor and 35.0% (92-of-263) from downtown. 

Meanwhile, Kennedy turned into one of the top guards in the Catholic League, powering a Judge rise that culminated last season with the program’s first PCL title in a quarter-century. As a senior, Kennedy averaged 16.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg and 7.3 apg, earning first-team all-PCL honors. 

Despite his impressive numbers in the toughest league in the state, his recruitment never reached the high-major levels of some of his fellow PCL standouts; consequently, Merrimack head coach Joe Gallo ended up landing the talented guard. 

“Kev was someone that had all the accolades in high school but coaches just overthink things,” Gallo said. “He’s a guard who doesn’t shoot 3s, and in the last 10 years, we’ve had first-team all-conference guards that never really took 3s.”

Shelton (3) has had a strong transition season to the Division I level. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

Shelton entered the transfer portal after his sophomore year, Merrimack quickly getting in touch. Both Shelton and Kennedy said it was their fathers who connected about the potential reunion first, Kennedy then successfully pitching Shelton on the idea of teaming up again in North Andover (Mass).

It didn’t take long for Gallo to realize the pair would be major parts of his 2025-26 squad, his 10th at the program. He’s had a good run there, overseeing a transition from D-II to D-I that’s been largely successful in northeastern Massachusetts, with a pair of 20-win seasons already at the D-I level.

Eleven games into the 2025-26 season, the two Judge kids have been leading the way for the Warriors. They’re averaging an equal 14.8 points per game; Kennedy’s doing it on 45.9% from the floor, taking just eight three-pointers, adding 3.8 rpg and a team-high 3.2 apg and team-high 21 steals. Shelton’s 34-of-94 (36.2%) from deep, shooting 39.3% overall, along with 2.4 rpg, averaging more than 34 minutes per contest. 

“They just kind of have an unspoken respect for each other,” Gallo said. “Kev’s always looking for Ern in transition, Ern knows that Kev’s going to make plays.”

They’ve both been impressed with the progress the other has made since they last teamed up.

“I was so used to the high school Ern, that sometimes when he’s doing these things, they really (are) shocking to me,” Kennedy said. “I’ll be like ‘damn,’ because he’s a whole different player than he was in high school — he jumps higher, he’s stronger, he probably shoots better than he did in high school too, as well. Now he gets his shot off the dribble. It’s just been great seeing Ern’s process.”

“Definitely (Kevair’s) maturity, his body and stuff, he got stronger,” Shelton said. “He can shoot better, pass, pretty much do everything a little better than what he was doing back then.”

Kevair Kennedy is tied with Shelton for the team lead in scoring while leading the Warriors in assists and steals. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

Merrimack started off the season 2-6, playing a couple high-major opponents while playing seven of their first eight away from home, but have won their last three, including their first two Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference games. 

There’s a long season ahead if the Warriors are to challenge for the MAAC crown, but the Judge boys know they’ll be there for each other the whole way through.

“It definitely has been great, just knowing that I’m out here with one of my friends,” Kennedy said, “and if anything goes wrong, I know Ern’s got my back, and I’ve got his back.”

Oh, and — the Judge-to-Merrimack pipeline isn’t over. One of the Judge players watching the game against Penn was senior guard Rocco Westfield, a Merrimack commit. The transfer portal era means it’s no guarantee that all three Crusaders are teammates a year from now, but there’s certainly a chance. 

Like Shelton and Kennedy before him, Westfield was also likely under-recruited after a strong junior season and even better 2025 offseason, where he proved himself as a high-level shooter and defender with plenty of Philly toughness. Gallo was impressed not just by Westfield but his brother, soccer standout Frankie Westfield, who’s become a key member of the Philadelphia Union and the US Men’s National U-20 squad. 

“Most of the stuff I read is other sports, I love kids that are good at other sports and what it takes to be good,” he said, “Just being good and competitive at other sports, I love that his brother’s not a basketball player and is this tough, driven kid that’s going to be successful at another sport, I think that probably comes from the parents.”

Gallo said he didn’t target Westfield specifically because of the Judge connection — but it certainly didn’t hurt.

“When you know a program and you know what they’re made of,” he said, “and you watch them practice and know how they work, and they have another kid who’s recruitable in your wheelhouse — why look across the country?”