City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Temple head coach Fran Dunphy has done well with recruits out of Sports U.

The Under Armour-sponsored travel squad, which annual features some of the best prospects in North Jersey, has already supplied the Owls with both Quenton DeCosey and Josh Brown, two of Dunphy’s better players over the last half-decade.

That pipeline won’t close when Brown leaves campus, however, as Roselle Catholic rising senior Nathaniel Pierre-Louis committed to Temple at the conclusion of his official visit to the North Philadelphia campus on Saturday.

“I feel comfortable with all the coaching staff and all the players,” the 6-foot-4, 185-pound wing told CoBL. “I knew all of the players pretty much, I’ve known Josh Brown since sixth grade...I’ve been playing against a lot of these guys since I was younger. So it’s really a great decision for myself, I think.”

DeCosey, a 6-foot-5 wing out of St. Joseph’s Metuchen (N.J.), graduated from Temple this spring after a four-year career where he scored 1,513 points, leading the team in scoring as a senior (15.9 ppg) to help the Owls to an NCAA Tournament berth after two years away.

There’s a chance Pierre-Louis could still play with Brown, as the St. Anthony (N.J.) product is currently recovering from Achilles surgery that might force him to redshirt his upcoming senior season. Last year, his first as a starter, he averaged 8.3 ppg, 4.9 apg and 4.8 rpg.

Brown played host to Pierre-Louis during his official visit, though Pierre-Louis said that Brown wasn’t trying to push him on the school or on a commitment.

“I have a really good relationship with Josh Brown, he’s a big brother of mine,” Pierre-Louis said. “He’s not going to force me to anything, he just wanted the best for me.”

Pierre-Louis has been on the radar of Division I schools ever since he started for Saint Peter’s Prep (N.J.) as a freshman back in 2013-14, garnering offers from local high-majors like Rutgers and Seton Hall right away. He spent his sophomore season at powerhouse St. Benedict’s (N.J.), before a family move to Roselle prompted a move to RC before his junior year last summer.

By the time he made his decision, he was considering Georgia Tech, Michigan and Vanderbilt from an offer list that at points included Miami, St. John’s, UConn, Providence, Iowa State and more.

“Temple, it was close to home,” Pierre-Louis said of the deciding factor. “I knew a lot of the players. It was just the right fit. It wasn’t one of those drastic decisions, it was more of the warm feeling in the heart decision. Philadelphia, I loved it all, it was a really good visit, I really enjoyed it.”

When he arrives on campus, Pierre-Louis will become part of a talented perimeter group that this year adds freshmen Alani Moore and Quinton Rose this year to redshirt freshman Ayan Nunez de Carvalho, plus sophomores Levan Alston Jr. and Trey Lowe.

Capable of playing any of three perimeter positions -- similar to DeCosey -- eventually in his college career, Pierre-Louis should add some instant scoring punch to Owls when he arrives on campus next fall.

This summer, playing for Sports U on the Under Armour Association circuit, he averaged 19.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg and 2.4 apg, leading his team in all categories.

“I’m working on being more of getting my teammates involved and hitting my jump shot off the dribble, be more of a dominant force,” he said. “I want to dominate the game completely, offensively and defensively.”

As a senior at Roselle Catholic, Pierre-Louis will be trying to help the Lions recapture the Tournament of Championships crown they held in 2013 and 2015. He’ll get the help of his younger brother, Josh Pierre-Louis, a rising sophomore who transferred from Queen of Peace (N.J.) to Roselle this year.

“I can’t wait to play with Josh,” he said. “I just want to visit the season off really strong, win the state tournament, win the TOC, win the Union County title. Just label myself as the best player in Jersey, I want to dominate this year and play with my teammates.

“I don’t want to leave anything behind.”