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NEBL Notebook: Thursday, June 11

06/11/2015, 11:45pm EDT

By Josh Verlin

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Back to the Mayfair Rec Center (2990 St. Vincent Ave) and another night of the Northeast Basketball League, now in its sixth week of play this spring.

Spent the night focusing on one Catholic League program looking to build off a moderately successful 2014-15 season, with notes on a few other players and teams as well.

First, the results:

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Father Judge 64, Council Rock North 46

Cherry Hill East 46, Bishop Shanahan 45

Neshaminy 70, Lincoln 65

Imhotep 76, Paul VI 53

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Judge’s Fleming focusing on consistency
Unhappy with the way his shot had been falling (or hadn’t been), Father Judge senior Justin Fleming got to his team’s game a little early.

“Our game was at 7 o’clock, I came up here like 5:15, 5:30,” he said. “I shot for an hour and a half--and then I went out and played, and I think it showed.”

That work certainly paid off, as Fleming hit three triples as part of his 19 points to lead Judge to a win over Council Rock North and stay undefeated (6-0) in NEBL play.

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound wing has clearly put in work over the last year, and he’s a very solid rebounder off the wing who can lead the break, score from beyond the arc and attack the rim off the bounce now, too. On a team full of capable scorers he might be the one to lead the Crusaders back to the holy land: the Palestra, home of the Catholic League semifinals and finals.

In the strongest basketball league in the state, it’s been an uphill battle for the northeast Philadelphia Catholic school’s boys team, which has one potential Division I prospect on its roster in a league where multiple teams have multiple high-major prospects year after year.

“We always want to make the Palestra, that should be everyone’s goal in our league,” Fleming said. “I know it’s tough because you have the Romans and the Neumanns, we just have to take things one game at a time. First we have to make the playoffs, then one game at a time.”

Last season was a step forward for Judge, who went 15-9 overall, with a 6-7 record in Catholic League play, a seven-win improvement from the year before. More importantly, head coach Sean Tait’s sixth year featured a PCL playoff win over Bonner-Prendergast, the school’s first such win since 1999.

To help the team achieve its ultimate goal of playing in the most historic basketball gym in the city, Fleming knows he has to take a more vocal leadership role on a team that will need to replace its starting point guard (Moravian-bound Will Brazukas) plus starting forward Pat Mulville.

“Whenever someone was down, especially myself, they were always keeping my head up,” Fleming said. “It’s only spring, but I think I’m ready to fill those shoes and take that leadership.”

The younger brother of Holy Family wing Eric Fleming is just at the beginning stages of his college recruitment, and said he’s heard from Division II school Indiana (Pa.) and D-III Penn State-Harrisburg.

Tait is looking for some more offensive consistency from Fleming, who averaged 8.9 ppg, good for third on the team behind classmate Quincy Reed (10.4 ppg) and rising junior Marc Rodriguez (10.0 ppg).

Though his effort was always present, his scoring fluctuated wildly--which could be illustrated by a six-game stretch in league play in which he scored four, 20, 12, four, 20 and four points.

“Ultimately, I would want him to be at a 12-to-15 point per game type of kid, definitely double figures,” Tait said, though he admitted his teams’ style of play can lend itself to changing names atop the scoring board. “It’s part of how we play, being unselfish and at times it might be Marc’s night or Quincy’s night, but I need a little bit more of a consistent offensive effort night in and night out for his senior year.”

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Quick Hits
--Imhotep’s Bernard Lightsey continued a strong spring with a team-high 23 points as his Panthers took care of Paul VI, 76-53. The 5-11 rising sophomore guard scored a total of three points as a freshman but looks like he’ll be used much more heavily in the upcoming season, with head coach Andre Noble needing some perimeter help coming off the bench behind starting guards Daron Russell and Jaekwon Carlyle and wing Koby Thomas.

--Paul VI guard Lonnie Moore made a very good impression with a game-high 26 points in a losing effort to Imhotep, and basketball might not even be his best sport. The 5-foot-9 athlete is a Division I football recruit with an offer from Temple, among a few others, for his play as a defensive back, wide receiver and punt/kick returner. But he’s not a bad basketball player either, with great top-end speed and a very quick first step, plus a nice-looking shooting stroke and above-average handle. Though Temple’s basketball program might be a little above his head, some of the other schools recruiting him--Army and Monmouth, most notably--might want to think about him as a two-sport athlete.

--Cherry Hill East’s Olin McClendon led the Cougars to a back-and-forth, 46-45 win over Bishop Shanahan with 24 points. The rising senior is a muscular guard with a good shooting stroke, and plays with a high basketball IQ. Had a few impressive takes to the basket in this one, including a beautiful spin move and left-handed floater in the lane that showed off some surprising finesse.

--Riley Thompson, Council Rock North’s senior guard who’s enjoyed a very strong NEBL season, led the way for his team with 18 points in a losing effort to Father Judge. The 5-foot-10 guard said that Muhlenberg College has started recruiting him, and coaches from another Division III school, Wilkes College, were there to see him play and spoke with him afterwards.

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Photo credit: Josh Verlin/City of Basketball Love