City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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(Ed. Note: This article is part of CoBL's 2015-16 College Season Preview, which will run from October 2-November 13, the first day of games. For the complete rundown, click here)

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One of two Division II conferences with a heavy presence in the CoBL coverage region, the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC)’s South Division has four schools within the city limits and three others within an hour away, and as would be expected all seven schools have rosters littered with southeastern Pennsylvania, Delaware and South Jersey talent.

And it’s a league that’s had some success in the NCAA Tournament, despite playing in the same region as the powerful Northeast-10 Conference, with local schools Philadelphia University and University of the Sciences picking up tourney wins recently.

Here are CoBL’s picks for the best players in the division as well as how we think things will play out:

All-League Consideration
Peter Alexis--Sr., Phila. U. (15.0 ppg, 9.8 rpg),
*Reggie Charles--Sr., Holy Family (17.5 ppg, 5.1 apg)
Sho Da-Silva--Sr., USciences (13.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg)
Isaiah Gans--Sr., Holy Family (15.1 ppg, 7.9 rpg)
Tyaire Ponzo-Meek--R-Jr., Wilmington (15.1 ppg, 3.6 apg)

*=Preseason Player of the Year

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1. Holy Family Tigers
Coach: R.C. Kehoe, 5th season (73-42, .635)
Last Year: 22-8 (15-4 CACC), lost in CACC Semifinals (Wilmington, 75-71)
Key Returnees: Reggie Charles (17.5 ppg, 5.1 apg), Isaiah Gans (15.1 ppg, 7.9 rpg) Marvin Crawford (13.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg)

Outlook: The Tigers tied for second in the CACC South last year and return all five starters, part of a nine-man senior class that has Holy Family in “win now or else” mode. Gans, a 6-8 forward, was the conference’s DPoTY last season, while Charles (like Gans) earned second team all-conference honors in his first season at the school after transferring in from Shippensburg. Anything less than a division title and shot at an NCAA berth would be a disappointment for this group.

2. University of the Sciences Devils
Coach: Dave Pauley, 16th season (202-212, .488)
Last Year: 25-6 (17-2 CACC), lost in CACC Semifinals (Phila. U, 84-82 OT), lost in NCAA Tournament second round (Southern New Hampshire, 59-53)
Key Returnees: Sho Da-Silva (13.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg), T-John Casiello (4.8 ppg, 4.7 apg), Wes Kerr (7.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg)

Outlook: The Garrett Kerr era is over, as the two-time Division II Player of the Year has begun his professional career in the Czech Republic after leaving as the school’s all-time scorer (2,434 points) and rebounder (1,391 rebounds). But the other four starters return from last year’s first-ever NCAA team, led by the Da-Silvas, senior Sho and sophomore Flo (5.4 ppg, 2.3 apg), one of three sets of siblings on the team. With a senior point guard in Casiello back running the show and some promising young big men led by sophomore Will Gregorits (6.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg), the Devils shouldn’t see as big a drop-off as some might expect.

3. Wilmington Wildcats
Coach: Dan Burke, 2nd Season (11-20, .355)
Last Year: 11-20 (8-11 CACC), lost in CACC Final (Phila. U, 77-68)
Key Returnees: Tyaire Ponzo-Meek (15.1 ppg, 3.6 apg), Shai Henry (7.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg), Ta’Vaune Griffin (4.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg)

Outlook: After starting off last year 4-15, the Wildcats clearly took steps forward in Burke’s first season as a collegiate head coach, pulling off a nice four-game win streak that was capped with a win at Philly U in what would have been Herb Magee’s 1,000th win. Ponzo-Meek is one of just two starters returning, but the talented junior guard should be one of the top scorers in the CACC. and he’s got some good players around him. The Wildcats don’t have quite the returning experience of the two teams above them, and that might prove to be the difference-maker come February.

4. Philadelphia University Rams
Coach: Herb Magee, 49th season (1009-399, .717)
Last Year: 24-8 (15-4 CACC), won CACC championship, lost in NCAA First Round (American International, 58-53)
Key Returnees: Peter Alexis (15.0 ppg, 9.8 rpg), T.J. Huggins (9.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg)

Outlook: Hopes were high for the Rams this offseason, with a group of four senior starters returning from last year’s CACC champions. But starting guard Andre Gibbs (10.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg) will miss the season with a torn ACL, and leading scorer Derek Johnson (17.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg) is no longer with the team. Having the 6-11 Alexis in the middle for one more year will help, but there’s no denying that Philly U’s expectations this season have to be dampened. Adding 6-5 Vermont transfer Brendan Kilpatrick will at least help soften the blow.

5. Georgian Court Lions
Coach: Brian Reese, 1st Season (0-0, .---)
Last Year: 5-21 (2-17 CACC), DNQ for CACC playoffs
Key Returnees: Juwan Carter (13.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg), Keith Hughes (12.6 ppg, 7.0 rpg)

Outlook: After the top four, there’s quite a fall-off in the division, and the last three spots are up for grabs. This is only the third year of Georgian Court’s men’s program after the Jersey school went co-ed in 2012, and Reese is already the second head coach in school history; former head coach Enrico Mastroianni and the school parted ways after two years. The Lions did finally pick up their first two league wins, beating North division teams Nyack and Felician. Carter, a 6-3 guard, shot a very respectable 49.1 percent overall and 38.0 percent from 3-point range last year, and should become one of the top scorers in the conference this season.

6. Goldey-Beacom Lightning
Coach: Chuck Hammond, 14th season (162-200, .447)
Last Year: 8-20 (5-14 CACC), DNQ for CACC playoffs
Key Returnees: Sameen Swint (7.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg), Parris Ridgeway-Higgs (6.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg), Daniel Cooper (6.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg)

Outlook: A group of eight seniors graduated from Goldey-Beacom last season, and including a few transfers, Hammond has just five returning players from a year ago. Swint is the only one of the top six scorers who’s returned, though Ridgeway-Higgs did start 11 games and played more than 20 minutes per contest, while Cooper started six and averaged 19.5 mpg. Up front, the Lightning will rely on 6-8 JUCO transfer Elijah Tillman, who averaged 10.7 ppg and 6.8 rpg at Monroe (N.Y.) Community College last year.

7. Chestnut Hill Griffins
Coach: Jesse Balcer, 13th season
Last Year: 6-20 (5-14 CACC), DNQ for CACC playoffs
Key Returnees: Luke Dickson (10.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg), Eddie McWade (5.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg)

Outlook: Balcer has to replace four of his top five scorers from a year ago, including his starting frontcourt of 6-9 Seamus Radtke (10.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and 6-11 Filip Sekulic (8.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg). Their graduations were made worse by the departure of leading scorer Christian Walck (14.8 ppg) and transfer of sharpshooting guard Billy Cassidy (11.6 ppg), leaving the 5-8 Dickson as the team’s top returning player. Getting Campbell transfer Tony Toplyn will help the frontcourt, and look for 6-7 sophomore Christopher Evans to start making an impact up front as well.