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NEBL Notebook: Thurs., May 4

05/04/2017, 11:15pm EDT
By Josh Verlin

Chereef Knox (above) is one of five potential D-I sophomore wings on the Imhotep Charter roster. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Here’s a report from the Northeast Basketball League’s action on Thursday, May 4:

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Bishop, Imhotep wings strong in victory

Imhotep Charter won the 2017 Public League and PIAA Class 4A state championships on the backs of its guards. Daron Russell (Rhode Island) and David Beatty (South Carolina) had plenty of support from a strong supporting cast, but there’s no doubt it was the two ultra-capable ball-handlers and scorers who provided the pep in the Panthers’ step.

Now, with that pair off to their respective schools in 2017-18, Imhotep head coach André Noble is turning to the next group that will star for his squad: the wings.

A group of five sophomores who stand between 6-foot-4 and 6-7 give Noble an impressive amount of length and talent at the ‘2’, ‘3’ and ‘4’, and even though two of those wings -- Donta Scott (6-7) and Jamil Riggins Jr. (6-6) were absent on Thursday, all that did was give the other three a chance to shine.

The group of Dahmir Bishop (6-4), Karam Cummings (6-4) and Chereef Knox (6-6) led Imhotep to a win over Bensalem on Thursday night, and each provided their own spark.

Bishop got it going offensively, knocking down a pair of triples en route to a team-high 14 points; Cummings crashed the offensive glass time and time again, keeping alive no fewer than a half-dozen possessions for his team.

“They’re all very different, but one of the things that’s great is they compete against each other, so they get after it,” Noble said. “I’m still figuring it out in terms of what kind of players they’re going to be.”

The highest-level prospect of the gang is Scott, who was ranked No. 93 in the latest Rivals100 rankings for 2019.

But they’re all D-I prospects; Bishop pulled in his first two offers, from NJIT and Bowling Green, just last month. Knox recently added his first, from Rider. Many more are likely to arrive in the coming months.

“It was just a relief to have them, I’ve been waiting since I’ve been playing basketball to get them,” Bishop said. “I’m happy I got them, now just waiting for more to come."

This summer, Bishop said, he wanted to continue to focus on his ball-handling, so he can develop the skills necessary to really play the guard position at a high-major level by the time he hits the 17U circuit with K-Low Elite next summer.

He specifically mentioned one recent local city star as inspiration for his game.

“I feel like I try to relate my guard game to [Roman Catholic’s] Tony Carr, from Penn State, play with a defender on my hip,” Bishop said.

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Quick Hits

-- It was three years ago that CoBL got its first look at Chris Arcidiacono, as the eighth grader banked in a game-winning 3-pointer to give Neshaminy a spring league win. Then just about 5-foot-8, the younger brother of Villanova star Ryan Arcidiacono was a far thing from being a Division I-level ballplayer, both in stature and in game. Thursday night was a great representation of how far the younger Arch brother has come -- now 6-3, he poured in 39 points to lead Neshaminy to a 52-50 win over Cherokee (N.J.). A D-I recruit with already three offers under his belt, Arcidiacono came out knocking down three straight 3-pointers and then proceeded to score from just about every spot on the floor, taking advantage of a Cherokee squad missing its two 6-6 forwards to get a good amount of production in the post.

-- Central Bucks East has a developing problem in the Suburban One League in 2019 F Nick Roggio. A 6-6 forward with a mop of curly brown hair, Roggio dropped 17 points against Neumann-Goretti, though his team didn’t fare quite so well against a program that’s won four straight Class 3A state titles, losing 79-39 to the powerhouse Saints. But even against 6-9 Marcus Littles -- a Division I talent who had 22 points of his own -- Roggio was productive, utilizing some nice footwork to maneuver his way around the bigger Littles, and stepped out to knock down a 3-point shot as well.

-- Speaking of Elijah Taylor, Imhotep’s promising young forward, the Class of 2020 big man had an impressive start to the win over Bensalem. At 6-8 and 225 pounds, Taylor has an impressive physique for a 15-year-old, and he’s clearly starting to figure out how hard to work to be productive in the middle. He did a great job of running the floor and his teammates rewarded him for it, trying several post feeds to get him the ball on the move; when the pass was on the mark, Taylor showcased good hands, pulling in a few frozen-rope passes from point guard Fatayn Wesley on the break. The lefty has nice touch on his foul shooting, too, though that was the only time he put the ball in the air.


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