City of Basketball Love

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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The West Catholic Holiday Showcase ran for five games on Saturday afternoon and into the evening at Drexel’s Daskalakis Athletic Center, with one local matchup followed by four games that saw local teams take on opponents from New York and New Jersey.

Here are our staff’s picks for standouts:

Posh Alexander (2020/Our Saviour Lutheran)
Alexander is listed at 6-foot on Our Saviour Lutheran’s roster sheet, but you would find that hard to believe the way he plays. Alexander is very strong for a sophomore, which combined with his leaping ability allows him to finish inside. He showed the power and vertical ability off on a fastbreak dunk in the first half. Alexander exploded for 17 first-half points in Lutheran’s 83-73 win against Archbishop Carroll. He finished with 19 as Carroll’s Justin Anderson slowed him down in the second half.

Keyon Butler (2018/Archbishop Carroll)
Butler, a 6-foot-4 forward, gave up quite a few inches to the members of the Our Saviour Lutheran frontcourt. Lutheran starters Bernard Kouma and Amadou Sylla are listed at 6-foot-10 and 6-foot-8, respectively. However, Butler was one of Carroll’s most productive players in the loss. He had 15 points and was a beast on the boards as well, often beating the bigger defenders for offensive rebounds.

Justin Champagnie (2019/Bishop Loughlin)
The 6-foot-6 junior forward led Bishop Loughlin with 21 points. He used his size to create most of his scoring opportunities with 10 of his points coming in the paint and five coming from free throws. Champagnie took the most shots on the team and finished 7-of-12 from the field and 2-of-4 from the three-point range. He tied for second on the team with seven rebounds, six of them coming on the defensive end.

Jack Clark (2018/Cheltenham)
The La Salle commit went 10-for-18 from the field, finishing with a team-high 22 points. He went 0-for-4 from three point range but made up for it with crafty moves and an efficient mid-range jump shot. He had two monstrous dunks, one in transition toward the end of the first half that helped Cheltenham erase an eight point deficit. He finished with nine rebounds, tying junior forward Kyin Healey for the team-high.

Aaron Clarke (2018/Pope John XXIII)
With UMass commit Samba Diallo sidelined with an ACL injury, Pope John XXIII’s offense runs through Clarke. The 6-foot senior guard showed that on Saturday as he dropped in a game-high 33 points in a loss to Bonner-Prendergast. Clarke, a Sacred Heart commit, has a sweet looking left handed stroke. He made six threes in the game, both off the pass and the bounce. Clarke is bulky for the guard position and was able to rumble his way to the basket several times. He showed quick hands on defense, tallying two steals.

Imere Harris (2019/West Catholic)
Even in a lopsided loss to Mater Dei Prep, Harris’ scoring ability stood out for the Burrs. The 5-foot-11 guard scored 23 points for West Catholic. Harris had the three ball going, knocking down three triples, including two in the first half. He did a great job attacking the basket in the second half, which resulted in four made free throws. As West Catholic put on a full court press in the second, trying to get back in the game, Harris was also very impressive as a pesty defender.

Mikeal Jones (2020/Girard College)
The powerfully built 6-foot-8, 215-pound sophomore forward dominated the post against Bishop Loughlin, scoring 22 of his team-leading 29 total points in the paint. The other seven points came from going 7-for-8 at the free throw line, two of which helped ice the game late. In crunch time, he consistently asked his teammates for the ball and proceeded to score at will. He also led the team with nine rebounds, five of which created second chances for the offense.

Ajiri Johnson (2018/Bonner-Prendergast)
Johnson and fellow Bonner big man Tariq Ingraham were just too big for Pope John XXIII in Bonner’s 80-62 victory. Johnson, a 6-foot-8 senior forward who is headed to Rider next season., scored 15 points and collected 14 rebounds, doing quite a bit of damage on the offensive glass. Even when the Friars went on the fastbreak, Johnson was able to keep pace with the guards and get in place for a potential offensive board. On defense, the long, athletic forward tallied two blocks and dismayed Pope John from driving into the lane.

Xander Rice (2019/Mater Dei Prep)
Rice, the son of Monmouth head coach King Rice, scored 15 points in Mater Dei’s 77-57 win against West Catholic. After a quiet first half, he scored nine points in the third quarter to help Mater Dei pull away. The springy 6-foot-2 guard was very strong around the rim. He finished two acrobatic and-one opportunities and should have had another when he powered through a West Catholic defender but didn’t get the foul call. Rice also knocked down a three, showing off a nice looking jumper. As a passer, he can really whip the ball around the court.

Jared Rhoden (2018/Our Saviour Lutheran)
Rhoden is a 6-foot-7 wing headed to Seton Hall. The senior showed why he’s he’ll being playing in the Big East next year in the first half of Lutheran’s win against Bonner. He was practically unguardable, dropping in 22 points during the game’s first two quarters, which included knocking down four triples. Like Alexander, Rhoden cooled off in the second, finishing with a total of 29 points. He came up in crunch time though, hitting a critical fourth-quarter when Bonner cut Lutheran’s lead down to three.

Taleeq Robbins (2021/Archbishop Ryan)
A husky 6-foot-4 forward/center, Robbins has been the man in the middle for the Raiders this season, not such an easy follow-up act considering he was replacing two scholarship forwards in 6-7 Matiss Kulackovskis (Bowling Green) and 6-9 Fred Taylor (West Chester). But he’s quickly become a productive and valuable member of the Ryan lineup, displaying an ability to score both inside and out and grab tough rebounds inside. He finished with 17 points and nine rebounds, including a beautiful turnaround jumper from 14 feet.

Isaiah Wong (2019/Bonner-Prendergast)
The wiry 6-foot-3 guard did a little bit of everything for Bonner in its win. Wong scored 22 points, grabbed 10 reb and rounded out his performance with three assists, three steals and a block. While Wong is usually a very reliable 3-point shooter, he missed his first three attempts, finishing just 1-of-4 from deep. He was more effective attacking the basket, which resulted in several acrobatic finished and a total of five made free throws. Wong’s court vision was also very impressive, especially when he connected on long passes to start the fastbreak.

Honorable Mention: Zahree Harrison (2020/Cheltenham), Jaquill Stone (2019/Archbishop Ryan), Julian Champagnie (2019/Bishop Loughlin), Daiquan Copeland (2018/Girard College), Tariq Ingraham (2019/Bonner-Prendergast), Eddie Davis (2019/Pope John XXIII), Samier Kinsler (2019/West Catholic), Kyle Cardaci (2018/Mater Dei Prep), Kenny Jones (2018/Mater Dei Prep), Luke House (2019/Archbishop Carroll), Justin Anderson (2018/Archbishop Carroll), Bernard Kouma (2019/Our Saviour Lutheran), Dashawn Davis (2018/Our Saviour Lutheran)