CoBL Interstate Shootout: Notable Performances
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Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware basketball are all in good hands. Teams across the 3 states competed in two games each, at Friends Central School in Philadelphia, hosted by City of Basketball Love. Here are some teams and individuals who…
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Continue ReadingPennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware basketball are all in good hands. Teams across the 3 states competed in two games each, at Friends Central School in Philadelphia, hosted by City of Basketball Love. Here are some teams and individuals who impressed over the weekend.
Team Standouts
Life Center (NJ)
Life Center’s defense fed their offense with Reggie Dillard leading that effort. He swiped the opposing point guards in their first game at least 4 times and quickly converted them into layups. Additionally, he got LCA going on offense by hitting deep threes. Landon Shivers showed vast improvements since the spring, especially as a post scorer. Landon was aggressive when he got paint touches and punished mismatches. LCA ceiled the game 1 win with a dominant performance from Justin Hawkins Justin Hawkins 6'7" | SF Life Center Academy | 2022 State NJ using his mature skillset. J-Hawk’s got to his 15 foot jumpers over both shoulders with footwork you don’t usually see from a wing in high school. He topped it off with impressive pick & roll reads. The primary beneficiary of which was Chase Murray Chase Murray 6'10" | PF Paul VI | 2023 FL . Finishing above the rim got him going after a slow start and translated to him having an impact on defense by blocking shots.
Roman Catholic (PA)
Down a starter, the Cahilites cruised in both their games Sunday. Daniel Skillings Daniel Skillings 6'5" | SG Roman Catholic | 2022 State PA was a force on the glass – rebounding and pinning shots. He flew up and down the court, getting whatever he wanted at the rim. Matija Radunovic Matija Radunovic 6'7" | PF Roman Catholic | 2022 State PA ’s reputation as a skilled player on offense is growing, but Sunday he displayed his versatility on defense as a guy who can switch onto positions 1-4. He’s going to be such a vital piece as Roman takes a shot at the PCL championship. Xzayvier Brown Xzayvier Brown 6'1" | PG Roman Catholic | 2023 State #233 Nation PA dipped in and out the lane, making plays. He wisely used much of the day working on his three point shooting. They also have a couple young guys who flashed – Tobi Ojukwu (2024) and Shareef Jackson Shareef Jackson 6'9" | C Roman Catholic | 2025 State #249 Nation PA (2025). Ojukwu showed good burst coming out of his cross over and Jackson rebounded well.
Individual Standouts
Zaki Alston | 2023 Sankofa Freedom (PA)
Alston was the offensive engine for Sankofa. He took a high volume of threes and all of them were in the flow of the offense. His strong lower body was critical to how he drove to the basket. The Philadelphia Public League has another good one on the rise.
Liam Cummiskey Liam Cummiskey 6'4" | CG Central Bucks East | 2022 State PA | 2022 Central Bucks East (PA)
An incredible shooter, Liam got buckets all day for CB East. He consistently made teams pay for giving him an ounce of space to get his shot off. From there, Cummiskey took advantage of the attention he was getting by finding the open man when defenders closed out too hard.
Jackson Hicke Jackson Hicke 6'5" | SF Radnor | 2023 State PA | 2022 Radnor (PA)
Hicke handled ball pressure well in the open floor. His fluid handle carried over to half court sets and allowed him to access live-dribble passes and smooth, one-motion jump shots.
Justin Molen | 2022 Salesianum (DE)
The 6’7 2-way wing put on an exhibition Saturday. Justin was seemingly everywhere on defense – guarding the other team’s best player, switching onto bigs, and helping protect the rim. Offensively, he pushed the ball in transition and, at times, initiated for them, averaging 24 points on the day.
Jake Warren Jake Warren 6'10" | C Downingtown West | 2023 FL | 2023 Downingtown West (PA)
This young man displayed modern big skills with a throwback mentality. Jake was extremely physical on both ends, but mobile enough to run the floor on the wing and guard in space. D-West kept feeding him because of how he passed and shot the lights out.from the perimeter.
Highlight of the Event
In Abington’s game against Bishop Eustace (NJ), Connor Fields got a steal and initiated the fastbreak. He then threw a lob – that I thought was too high and behind – to Derrius Lucas, but Lucas caught it and a body as he completed the play, picking up the and-1.
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