Philly Pride Media Day: 2023 Field Notes

Philly 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:

Underclassmen Playing Up

A number of 8th graders will be playing key roles on the 15U circuits. 15U National has four 2027s on their roster: Silas Graham Silas Graham 6'2" | CG Haverford School | 2027 PA (6’4 Haverford, PA), Isaiah Hicklen (6’2 Coatesville M.S., PA), Mehki Robertson (6’0 Life Center, NJ), and Tyler Sutton (SALA, NJ). Pride 302’s 15U squad had four of their own in Cade Cooper (6’2 G Malvern Prep, PA), Kenji 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).

Everybody has GUARDS

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 Rowan Miller Rowan Miller 5'10" | PG Conestoga | 2026 State PA (5’10 Malvern Prep) + Mikah Hart Mikah Hart 6'0" | PG Kingsway | 2026 PA (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. Kevair Kennedy Kevair Kennedy 6'1" | PG Father Judge | 2025 State PA (5’11 Father Judge), Amir Nelson Amir Nelson 5'10" | PG Cristo Rey Philadelphia | 2025 State PA (5’10 Cristo Rey), and Bryce Rollerson Bryce Rollerson 5'11" | PG Germantown Academy | 2025 State PA (5’9 Germantown Academy) are the 3-headed monster for the 16U National squad, each bringing defense, table-setting, and scoring abilities. Antonio Morris (5’10 Bensalem) engineers 17U Bucks’s offense. DeMahj Salisbery (6’0 Perkiomen) runs the show for the 17U National team with Ty Burton Ty Burton 5'10" | PG Moravian Prep | 2024 NC (5’10 IMG) bringing a change-of-pace and spark off the bench.

16U Select is going to be a Problem

They only have 8 guys, but they get up-and-down, defend, and can score from anywhere. The dynamic duo of Asim Hardy Asim Hardy 6'0" | PG Sankofa Freedom Academy | 2025 State PA (5’8 Sankofa, PA) and Nasir Williams Nasir Williams 5'11" | CG Sankofa Freedom Academy | 2025 State PA (5’11 Sankofa, PA) are their primary ball-handlers with Hardy as a PG and Williams as more of a combo. Langston Foster Langston Foster 6'3" | SG Lower Merion | 2025 State PA (6’3 Lower Merion, PA), CJ Miller CJ Miller 6'5" | SG Camden Eastside | 2025 State NJ (6’4 Woodbury, NJ), and Kiev Rucker Kiev Rucker 6'2" | SF Father Judge | 2025 State PA (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 Jaden Banner Jaden Banner 6'6" | SG West Catholic | 2025 State PA (6’6 West Catholic, PA), Isaiah Muhammad Isaiah Muhammad 6'4" | SG West Catholic | 2025 State PA (6’4 West Catholic, PA), and Ryan Warren (6’6 LaSalle, PA) who provide lineup flexibility. 

17U National could win it all

The UAA circuit is as tough as they come and this edition of the Philly Pride 17 is equipped to make a run at the title. As already mentioned, Salisbery and Burton man the point. And Nasir Washington Nasir Washington 6'2" | SG Penn Wood | 2023 State PA (6’3 Penn Wood, PA) and Ryan Williams Ryan Williams 6'3" | SG Malvern Prep | 2024 State PA (6’3 Malvern Prep, PA) hold it down at shooting guard. Izaiah Pasha Izaiah Pasha 6'4" | CG Cardinal O'Hara | 2023 State PA (6’6 TBD) can play the two as well, but he’s also part of an overwhelming mix of wings, alongside Greg Guidinger Greg Guidinger 6'6" | SF Central York | 2024 State PA (6’6 Central York, PA) and Jermai Stewart-Herring Jermai Stewart-Herring 6'5" | CG Roman Catholic | 2023 State PA (6’4 TBD). Then, in the middle, they have Matt Gilgool (6’11 Westtown, PA) and Jake Warren Jake Warren 6'10" | C Downingtown West | 2023 FL (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.