Philly Pride Media Day: 2023 Field Notes

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='2078697' first='Philly' last='Pride'] hosted their media at Abington Friends School on Saturday, bringing all of the teams under their umbrella to the same spot. With everyone playing two games from 9 to 5, here are some notes:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Underclassmen Playing Up</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A number of 8th graders will be playing key roles on the 15U circuits. 15U National has four 2027s on their roster: [player_tooltip player_id='1454260' first='Silas' last='Graham'] (6'4 Haverford, PA), [player_tooltip player_id='2427329' first='Isaiah' last='Hicklen'] (6'2 Coatesville M.S., PA), Mehki Robertson (6'0 Life Center, NJ), and [player_tooltip player_id='2195052' first='Tyler' last='Sutton'] (SALA, NJ). Pride 302's 15U squad had four of their own in Cade Cooper (6'2 G Malvern Prep, PA), [player_tooltip player_id='2427230' first='Kenji' last='Gatling'] (6'0 G Bonner-Prendie, PA), Masen Price (6'1 G St. Elizabeth's, DE), and standout Marquis Newsome (6'4 W Sanford, DE). Newsome came off the bench for 302 17U too. Last but not least, Lateif Lorenzano-White (6'5 W Bartram, PA) was the lone freshman (2026) running with the sophomores (2025s).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Everybody has GUARDS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Specifically lead guards - point and/or combo. Each team had their guy or guys; this is just a handful of them. The 15U National team has [player_tooltip player_id='1454262' first='Rowan' last='Miller'] (5'10 Malvern Prep) + [player_tooltip player_id='1919210' first='Mikah' last='Hart'] (6'0 Kingsway) leading their attack. On 16U, the Aces and Bucks (County) each have intriguing athletes in Djibril Sylla (6'1 Parkland) and Mick McKee (6'1 LaSalle), respectively. [player_tooltip player_id='1197608' first='Kevair' last='Kennedy'] (5'11 Father Judge), [player_tooltip player_id='1477746' first='Amir' last='Nelson'] (5'10 Cristo Rey), and [player_tooltip player_id='1387096' first='Bryce' last='Rollerson'] (5'9 Germantown Academy) are the 3-headed monster for the 16U National squad, each bringing defense, table-setting, and scoring abilities. [player_tooltip player_id='2226452' first='Antonio' last='Morris'] (5'10 Bensalem) engineers 17U Bucks's offense. DeMahj Salisbery (6'0 Perkiomen) runs the show for the 17U National team with [player_tooltip player_id='1173982' first='Ty' last='Burton'] (5'10 IMG) bringing a change-of-pace and spark off the bench.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>16U Select is going to be a Problem</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They only have 8 guys, but they get up-and-down, defend, and can score from anywhere. The dynamic duo of [player_tooltip player_id='1379431' first='Asim' last='Hardy'] (5'8 Sankofa, PA) and [player_tooltip player_id='1874234' first='Nasir' last='Williams'] (5'11 Sankofa, PA) are their primary ball-handlers with Hardy as a PG and Williams as more of a combo. [player_tooltip player_id='2047831' first='Langston' last='Foster'] (6'3 Lower Merion, PA), [player_tooltip player_id='1919186' first='CJ' last='Miller'] (6'4 Woodbury, NJ), and [player_tooltip player_id='1188649' first='Kiev' last='Rucker'] (6'3 Father Judge) can each play the 2 or 3 for them. And, they don't have any traditional post players, but they do have a diverse cadre of forwards in [player_tooltip player_id='1601176' first='Jaden' last='Banner'] (6'6 West Catholic, PA), [player_tooltip player_id='2047551' first='Isaiah' last='Muhammad'] (6'4 West Catholic, PA), and [player_tooltip player_id='1867334' first='Ryan' last='Warren'] (6'6 LaSalle, PA) who provide lineup flexibility. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>17U National could win it all</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The UAA circuit is as tough as they come and this edition of the [program_tooltip program_id='2078697' first='Philly' last='Pride'] 17 is equipped to make a run at the title. As already mentioned, Salisbery and Burton man the point. And [player_tooltip player_id='1472575' first='Nasir' last='Washington'] (6'3 Penn Wood, PA) and [player_tooltip player_id='991421' first='Ryan' last='Williams'] (6'3 Malvern Prep, PA) hold it down at shooting guard. [player_tooltip player_id='1281811' first='Izaiah' last='Pasha'] (6'6 TBD) can play the two as well, but he's also part of an overwhelming mix of wings, alongside [player_tooltip player_id='1281777' first='Greg' last='Guidinger'] (6'6 Central York, PA) and [player_tooltip player_id='1577636' first='Jermai' last='Stewart-Herring'] (6'4 TBD). Then, in the middle, they have Matt Gilgool (6'11 Westtown, PA) and [player_tooltip player_id='1279644' first='Jake' last='Warren'] (6'10 Calvary Christian, FL). Within position groups, each piece is interchangeable, with guys able to play up/down a spot. They can turn a game into a track meet or slow things down. Once they gel, it's going to be scary.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->