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Donofrio Classic Report: Thursday, March 26

03/27/2015, 9:45pm EDT

By Danny Holdsman & Josh Verlin

CoBL's report from the Donofrio Classic on Thursday, March 26

Danny Holdsman (@DHoldsman) &
Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Here’s a report from Donofrio Classic action at the Fellowship House (515 Harry St., Conshohocken) on Thursday, March 26:

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Game One: L&L Running Rebels 107, Don Len 74
In a game that never seemed to be competitive, the Running Rebels cruised to a victory in dominating fashion. Dan Cuevas (2015/Stroudsburg) and David Kacheiries (2017/Emmaus) led the way for the Running Rebels, with 25 and 17 points respectively. Kacheiries also collected numerous assists as he sliced his way through the opposing defense all night long. Don-Len was paced by high school teammates Jimmy Murray (2015/Plymouth Whitmarsh) and Andre Mitchell (2015/Plymouth Whitemarsh) who tallied 24 and 14 points, while Denison University commit Greg Holdsman (2015/Central) added 13.

Game Two: Raw Sports 114, Del-Val Toros 75
A group of the best players from the Harrisburg area’s District 3 certainly looked good in their first Donofrio Classic action, running all over a group of mostly sophomores and juniors from Montgomery County schools. Jahaire Wilson (2015/York) led six Raw Sports players in double figures with 27 points, while Milik Gantz (2015/Bishop McDevitt) had 20 and Jahaad Proctor(2015/Harrisburg) had 17 in a game that was over by halftime, when it was already 60-32. Matt Faw (2017/Upper Merion) led the Toros with 19 points.

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Proctor gets release; still considering Holy Cross
Harrisburg senior and Holy Cross signee Jahaad Proctor’s future has been somewhat in limbo the last few weeks, after the coach that recruited and signed him, Milan Brown, was fired by the school back on March 6.

Proctor requested his release, but the school wouldn’t grant it until it hired a new coach–which it did just 13 days later, formally announcing the signing of former Princeton and Northwestern head coach Bill Carmody to run the program on March 19.

Carmody came to visit Harrisburg, meeting with Proctor, his coaches and his family over the span of four hours at both Harrisburg HS and the Proctor home. The two spoke about Carmody’s Princeton offense, with the new coach showing Proctor some game film while the high school senior also showed some of his highlights to Carmody, but the meeting wasn’t enough to convince Proctor to re-commit just yet.

“He’s a good dude, everything he said was what I wanted to hear and everything, but I still want to open up my recruitment,” Proctor said. “Just for the sake of me and my family, just so I’m 100 percent comfortable and sure that’s where I want to go.”

The school did finally grant Proctor the ability to talk to other schools in the last few days, but it hasn’t officially released him from his National Letter of Intent just yet. Even if that all happens, Holy Cross isn’t off the table as an option for Proctor, who was hearing from schools like Drexel, Penn, Boston University and others ranging up to the Atlantic 10 before his commitment.

“I did ask the coaches if Holy Cross is the fit for me, if me and Coach Carmody end up clicking or everything, if I could come back, and they told me I could come back,” he said. “I still like the school, I still like the team and everything, I just want to make sure this is the best decision….because I did really want to play with coach Brown, so it’s just a re-evaluation of everything.

“My only concern is if they recruit somebody else and then I can’t go there anymore because that’s their last scholarship, so either I could go to prep school or a different school or whatever the case may be.” –Josh Verlin

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Mitchell chooses Catholic U., Murray still up for grabs
Before playing his first game in this year’s Donofrio Classic, Plymouth Whitemarsh standout point guard Andre Mitchell had to take care of some business.

Mitchell, a member of the Colonials’ 1,000 point scorers club, made the decision on Wednesday night to play college basketball for Division III Catholic University of America, also known as Catholic U.

“I had options to go D-II,” Mitchell said. “But when I sat down with my parents, the main thing that we talked about was going somewhere where afterwards the degree means something; somewhere where I can out come and have a job before I even graduate.”

The Cardinals of Catholic U went 15-1 in league play en route to a Landmark Conference championship. The coaching staff, which is headed by Steve Howes, had been heavily recruiting Mitchell the entire season. This newest addition should go a long way in helping the Cardinals continue to make Division III national tournaments for the next few years.

“They tell me I’m behind a couple guards, but the guards will all be seniors, so I’m going to have to come in and work,” Mitchell said. “I feel like even behind those guards I have a chance to come in and make an impact on that team in my first year.”

Catholic U. was bounced in the second round of the 2015 D-III NCAA tournament by Randolph-Macon.

Although Mitchell and the Colonials had one of the most successful season in program history, the Plymouth Whitemarsh-loaded Don-Len team did not fare well on Thursday night. The Catholic U commit contributed 14 points in a 33-point loss.

Mitchell’s high school, AAU, and Donofrio teammate Jimmy Murray has yet to make his college commitment.

“It’s down to Widener, DeSales, Chestnut Hill, Becker College, Gwynedd Mercy, and Cabrini,” Murray said.

While there is no clear frontrunner to acquire the scoring guard, there does seem to be a few schools atop Murray’s list.

“No favorite right now,” Murray said. “If I had to give a top three, I would say DeSales, Widener, and possibly Cabrini.” –Danny Holdsman

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Reading’s Walker looking forward to early EYBL opportunity
With the first Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) stop at Boo Williams (Va.) just a few weeks away, Reading (Pa.) sophomore Lonnie Walker found out he would be playing with Team Final’s 17U squad, going up against some of the top guards around on one of the nation’s best grassroots circuits.

“I’ve been talking about it for a couple of years, and to finally have an opportunity to play with them, it’s a blessing,” he said. “I want my name to be known, and prove everybody wrong.”

Last year, he was playing on a very good 15U squad with classmates like Daron Russell (2017/Imhotep) and Nick Alikakos (2017/Episcopal Academy) on the summer circuit, but now he’ll be with high-major targets like Tony Carr (2016/Roman Catholic), Lamar Stevens (2016/Haverford School), Nazeer Bostick (2016/Roman Catholic) and more.

Now, the 6-foot-4 shooting guard has to adjust to his new teammates and the next notch up on the talent totem pole.

“It’s been amazing, you see how different people play, see how everyone is, it’s a different level,” he said.

Walker fits in amongst the multitude of high-major prospects he’ll play both with and against, considering he already has an offer from Villanova under his belt; Oregon, Penn State, Miami (Fl.) and Temple have also been in touch with his coaches about him.

To pull in numerous other offers once the live period begins at Boo Williams from April 10-12, he’s been working on showing coaches that he’s more than just an athletic wing who can knock down shots from the outside.

“Aggressive, playing aggressive,” he said. “Attacking the rim, running into contact. Usually I faded away from contact, now I’m going into contact, stuff like that.”