District 1-6A and 5A Finals: 5 Takeaways
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On Saturday night, Temple’s Liacouras Center hosted the District 1 6A and 5A boys championship games. In the opener of the double header, Radnor defeated Unionville 61-35 in the 5A title game and ran their record to 27-0. In the…
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Continue ReadingOn Saturday night, Temple’s Liacouras Center hosted the District 1 6A and 5A boys championship games.
In the opener of the double header, Radnor defeated Unionville 61-35 in the 5A title game and ran their record to 27-0.
In the second game of the double header (6A), Plymouth Whitemarsh staged a 4th quarter rally to upend Spring Ford, 59-54.
There is a high probability that all four of these teams will have deep state tournament runs. So, with that in mind, here are five takeaways from last night’s District 1 6A / 5A boys championship tilts.
1. Jaden Colzie Jaden Colzie 6'0" | PG Plymouth Whitemarsh | 2024 State PA is vastly underrated
It is easy to overlook a rock steady point guard in a starting five that features two elite scorers — stretch-4 Qudire Bennett Qudire Bennett 6'4" | SF Plymouth Whitemash | 2023 State PA and combo guard Chase Coleman Chase Coleman 6'2" | PG Rocktop Academy | 2024 PA , plus high-flying wing prospect Jahseir Sayles Jahseir Sayles 6'6" | SF Plymouth Whitemarsh | 2024 State PA . But those who know hoops realize the level of Colzie’s talents. Yesterday he used the 6A championship game to cap his District tourney coming out party. Colzie racked up 13 points in the 4th quarter (16 pts. overall; 3 triples) as he pushed “P-Dub” to the title. He also notched 16 points (3 threes) against Lower Merion in the semis. It is safe to say that Colzie has proven he is more than just a high IQ floor general who can run a team.
2. Jacob Nguyen Jacob Nguyen 6'3" | SG Spring Ford | 2025 State PA can get buckets against any opponent
We have been writing about Nguyen’s three-point shooting (70 3PM) and all-around basketball skills (17 ppg.) throughout the PAC regular season. Still, some questioned if he could play at the same prominent level on the big stage against marquee 6A teams. Well, we are here to report that Nguyen proved all the doubters wrong. Throughout the District 1-6A tourney, he continued to drain triples from all over the court. When opponents managed to chase Nguyen off the arc, he got to the rim off the dribble. Nguyen scored 20 points (4 threes) in SF’s 6A title game loss. Across four District 1-6A tourney contests Nguyen averaged 17.5 ppg. on the strength of 3.25 made threes per run.
3. Cooper Mueller Cooper Mueller 6'3" | SG Radnor | 2023 State PA is an elite lock down defender
Radnor’s team defense is one of the staunchest in the region. They routinely hold opponents under their scoring averages with a suffocating defense that produces steals / deflections and cleans the glass. Even though Radnor communicates at a high level and thus switches frequently on defense, their dominant defensive effort begins with the one-on-one lockdown services of Cooper Mueller Cooper Mueller 6'3" | SG Radnor | 2023 State PA (Princeton lacrosse commit). Mueller (8 steals last night) is typically tasked with guarding the opponent’s No. 1 option. His extremely quick lateral movements, anticipation skills, physicality and high IQ have enabled Mueller to keep the area’s top scorers in check every time. As a nice bonus, Mueller also scored 11 points in the 5A ‘chip win.
4. Unionville has a bright future
Saturday night in the District 1-5A championship game, Unionville led Radnor 21-15 in the early 2nd quarter. However, a 19-0 run by Radnor to close the first half gave the Raptors the lead for good and eventually the 5A hardware (61-35). Still, it looks like Unionville will be a 5A a contender for a couple more years as their lineup got significant contributions from junior combo guard JT Anderson (10 points) and junior three-point sniper Ryan Brown. Charlie Kammeier and Nicke Diehl (6 points) are two other Unionville 2024 prospects with tremendous upside. Talented 2026 stretch-4 prospect James Brenner James Brenner 6'5" | SG Unionville | 2026 State PA had a solid night (10 points) against a Radnor lineup that features four players who are 6’4” or taller.
5. Radnor has a deep 5A state tourney run in them
Capturing the District 1-5A championship title was a crowning moment for Radnor and their decorated 2023 group. But they are far from done. With shooting guard Jackson Hicke Jackson Hicke 6'5" | SF Radnor | 2023 State PA (18 points last night; Princeton commit), point guard Danny Rosenblum Danny Rosenblum 6'0" | PG Radnor | 2023 State PA (Rochester commit), wing Charlie Thornton Charlie Thornton 6'4" | SF Radnor | 2023 State PA (12 ppg.), combo guard Cooper Mueller Cooper Mueller 6'3" | SG Radnor | 2023 State PA (11 pts. Saturday night) and 6’6” shooting guard Jackson Gaffney Jackson Gaffney 6'6" | SG Radnor | 2023 State PA (11 pts. last night) this team has the talent to go deep in the PIAA 5A tournament. They will face Warwick in the state opener. Then a match-up with Philly Public League contender West Philly is a potential 2nd Round game. If the 5A bracket goes “chalk”, Radnor would next face Archbishop Ryan in the quarterfinals. Earlier this season Radnor defeated Ryan by double digits. At this point it would likely be Radnor vs. Imhotep Charter in the 5A Final Four. That scenario is the 5A matchup area hoop heads have been debating all winter.