City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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A pair of teams from the Lehigh Valley came down to Conshohocken for the final night of the Donofrio Classic’s opening round. Here’s a report from tonight’s action:

Game One: A Waterview Triple Threat squad consisting entirely of freshmen found themselves not quite ready for the physical challenge presented by L&L Running Rebels, who didn’t have much trouble en route to a 97-71 win. Talek Williams (2017/William Allen, Pa.) led the way for L&L with 23 points, followed by 19 from Kenny Yeboah (2016/Parkland, Pa.) and 13 from Tracy Simsick (2016/Soudertown, Pa.). Triple Threat's got 20 points from Donta Scott (2019/Imhotep Charter) and 16 from Karon Cummings (2019/Imhotep), plus nine and a good effort on the boards from big man Zach Crisler (2019/La Salle College HS).

Game Two: The LVBR Beasts finished off a perfect night for the Allentown area, picking up a 106-80 win over Positive Image I in the nightcap. Parkland junior wing forward Sam Iorio had his way with 37 points for the LVBR Beasts, which were up 16 points at halftime and didn’t get challenged seriously over the closing 20 minutes. Zay Jennings (2016/Allentown Central Catholic) had three 3-pointers as part of his 17 points, while Tyrese Martin (2016/William Allen) had 16 for the LVBR Beasts. Waheem Lowman (2016/Del-Val Charter) led a balanced scoring attack for Positive Image I with 14 points.

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Williams goes off in Donofrio opener

The most impressive play of the night was a major-league throwdown by William Allen (Pa.) 2017 guard Talek Williams, who skied for a lob and finished with his left hand, leaving the sound of the rim resonating throughout the gym.

That was one of two alley-oop finishes for the 6-foot-3, 170-pound lefty, something he’s become known for up in the Lehigh Valley.

Now, he’s looking to take his high-flying act national.

After splitting time with the Jersey Shore Warriors and Team Final Red during the 2015 summer, Williams has latched on with WeR1 to begin this AAU season. There, he’s sharing a court with (among others) the top point guard in the 2017 class, Kentucky/Villanova target Trevon Duval, who will lead the UA-sponsored squad on the Under Armour Association circuit this summer.

“Everybody on that team can run and jump,” he said. “I like playing with them.”

Williams picked up an offer from Rider before his junior season, and said he’s also been talking to a number of schools, mentioning Saint Peter’s, Mt. St. Mary’s and Quinnipiac.

In helping William Allen to an 18-11 record, Williams averaged 19.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg and 3.6 apg, according to stats on MaxPreps.com.

He’s been working on his outside shot, which he showcased by drilling a trio of 3-pointers in putting up 23 points in a first-round win for the L&L Running Rebels. But he got most of his production his usual way—by running straight to the rim and finishing everything around it.

“Me and my trainer, Don Dennis, we’ve taken at least 50 shots a day, sometimes 100 shots a day, and worked on dribbling and stuff like that, and that’s every day,” he said. “The only day we don’t work out is on Sundays.”

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Recruiting Notes: Souderton (Pa.) 2016 G/F Tracy Simsick said he has not committed yet, but is leaning heavily towards D-III DeSales with a commitment likely to come sometime in the next week or so. …Parkland (Pa.) 2016 SG Jack Dreisbach is down to a pair of D-III programs, DeSales and Scranton. The 6-foot-4 guard had already visited Scranton before the season but wants to visit the DeSales campus in April before making his final decision. …Delaware Valley Charter seniors and twins Wade Lowman and Waheem Lowman are intent on going to college together, and it looks like three schools remain as possibilities: they’ll either stay local at D-IIIs Rosemont or Neumann, or they’ll go out to Cuyahoga (Ohio) junior college. A decision will be coming likely after the first live period in April. …Allentown Central Catholic (Pa.) senior guard Zay Jennings didn’t want to name schools, but said he’d received offers from D-IIs in the PSAC and CACC; he was also unsure about both a decision date and his April plans, saying he was yet to figure out if he would be playing on the AAU circuit a final time.

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Quick Thoughts
—La Salle College HS (Pa.) freshman big man Zach Crisler sparked our interest this season thanks to his 6-foot-7 frame, but the young forward seemed largely tentative and deferential when he got minutes for the Explorers this season. That was not apparent in any way, shape or form on Monday night, as Crisler gave a much greater insight into the type of player he could be. Though there’s still a lot for him to work on, he was much more aggressive with and without the ball, attacking the basket off the bounce on several occasions and even taking a pull-up jumper or two; those shots didn’t fall, but weren’t far off, either. Most impressively, he had a few great post moves, including a smooth left-hand hook shot that he put through the hoop on several occasions. As he continues to get more comfortable with his body and develop his strength, he’ll be a much more effective post-up option and certainly has a lot of Division I potential at this stage.

—Crisler was one of a few very impressive freshmen on that Triple Threat squad, which looks primed to make some noise on the AAU circuit with quite a few Division I prospects on the roster. Imhotep's Donta Scott is a super-talented 6-5 shooting guard who had 20 points even though his shot wasn't quite falling; the potential high-major prospect is a physical specimen for a freshman in high school, and already has a quick release on his jump shot plus a strong interior game on the defensive end. Roman Catholic's Seth Lundy, a 6-4 guard, only had six points in the losing effort but they were all impressive finishes.

—Really liked the game of William Allen (Pa.) junior Tyrese Martin, who certainly caught the eye of the coaches courtside with a 16-point effort in the second game. The 6-5, 180-pound wing is smooth and athletic, and showed his range with a pair of 3-pointers. He's playing with WeR1 this summer, and it's not inconceivable that he could get some low D-I looks with some big games at the right time.

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Tomorrow’s games:
7 PM: WeR1 vs. James Fox All-Stars
8:30 PM: Chester Country vs. Old School Cavaliers