The Scoop on South Philly’s college hoopsters

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With seven Catholic League championships in the last 13 campaigns, the boys’ basketball team at Ss. Neumann-Goretti High School, 1736 S. 10th St., has become a producer of local legends. The East Passyunk Crossing institution has accommodated college hoops fans, too, as it has sent numerous players to happy campuses.

Eight male Saints are contributing to teams this year, with a ninth, shooting guard Mustafaa Jones, sitting out a season following his transfer from the University of Hartford to Fairleigh Dickinson University. Two ladies give Neumann-Goretti even more pride and yield a total that only Prep Charter High School, 1928 Point Breeze Ave., with 14 products, can top.

Guard Antonio “Scoop” Jardine has helped the Big East’s Syracuse University to a typical early season batch of easy wins. Fellow senior guards Earl Pettis and Jamal Wilson are proving potent for their respective Atlantic 10 Conference constituents, La Salle University and the University of Rhode Island. Junior forward Andre “Scooter” Gillette is coveting rebounds for Niagara University, a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) contender.

Underclassmen comprise the remaining quartet. Sophomore guard Tony Chennault hopes the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Wake Forest University will thrive. Pettis is receiving assistance from sophomore guard Tyreek Duren, and Rider University sophomore forward Danny Stewart will battle with Gillette in MAAC action. Last season’s league co-MVP, freshman guard Lamin Fulton will look to leave Gillette and Stewart frustrated when pushing the ball for conference foe St. Peter’s University.

Six athletes can claim time at South Philadelphia High School, 2101 S. Broad St. Senior guard Ramone Moore, whose 17.8-points-per-game average trails only Wilson’s 18 among local figures, leads Temple University’s A-10 march. The other Southern products yearn for glory, with sophomore guard Dion Waiters partnering with Jardine and sophomore guard Shaquille Gaskins hoping to run efficient offensive schemes at New York’s Westchester Community College.

Freshmen Jamir Hanner, DeShon Minnis and Mark Wilmer are competing for minutes on their respective clubs. Hanner, a massive forward, is looking to make West Virginia’s Marshall University a Conference USA factor, while Minnis is going to be facing the pressure of Big 12 road crowds when Texas Tech University begins its league slate. Wilmer, a forward, is logging quality minutes for Division II’s Mansfield University.

With Markieff and Marcus Morris preparing for their NBA rookie years, Princeton University senior Doug Davis becomes the longest tenured Prep Charter product. The guard will strive to have his team reach the Ivy League’s summit. Junior forward Ferg Myrick is seeking to make America East Conference opponents tremble for the University of New Hampshire. Sophomore guard Jesse Morgan will have a chance to check Moore Feb. 29 when he and his University of Massachusetts mates host Temple in conference play. Freshman guard Ameen Tanksley is learning the ropes from Gillette at Niagara.

Averaging double digits in points, senior guard Stefan Thompson is continuing to make the Girard Estate Academic Program, 2136 Ritner St., proud. He is gunning for a third straight winning season at Division III’s Alvernia University. Freshman guard Matt Powers will see if his prolific scoring history at The Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts, 901 S. Broad St., translates to the collegiate level, as he vies for time at Philadelphia University.

Three players from teams outside South Philadelphia call the area home. Freshman forward Muhammad Amin, of 30th and Wharton streets, a member of Center City’s Class A state champions Mathematics, Civics and Sciences Charter School, is easing into his budding role at Division II’s Lock Haven University. Teammate Warren Dogan, of 20th and Morris streets, is posting good numbers as a freshman guard for Bryn Mawr’s Harcum Junior College. Three-time Public League and two-time state titlist Eric Copes dominated at West Oak Lane’s Imhotep Institute Charter High School, and the product of 15th and Reed streets is proving evasive to defenders for the Colonial Athletic Association’s George Mason University.

Senior Gloria Brown is gunning for glory this season by averaging double figures in points hauling in nine rebounds per contest.

Neumann-Goretti graduate Gloria Brown has the University of Texas at El Paso squad undefeated at 7-0, with the senior forward leading in blocks, points and rebounds as Conference USA play looms. Sophomore forward Michaila Hatty rounds out Neumann-Goretti’s set for Maryland’s Washington College, a Division III squad.

Prep Charter girls’ coach Paul Rieser had reasons to rejoice Feb. 26 when his ladies captured the Public League championship. He has sent 13 players to college rosters, with five coming from last season’s unit.

Tiffany Johnson, the Markward Club’s Public League Player of the Year, leads the 10 standouts who will help this year’s eager bunch of teams. The smooth guard has brought her solid play to Drexel University, a Colonial Athletic Association pest. Fellow freshman guard Bria Young hopes to log significant minutes for the Northeast Conference’s Saint Francis University.

Another ferocious freshman guard, Nydeera Lee will redshirt and debut next year for Division II’s Cheyney University. Backcourt baller Yasmine Montgomery is expecting to be a mainstay for Lincoln University, another Division II member. Courtney Edmonds completes the quartet of new guards, as she dresses for Kentucky’s University of the Cumberlands in the Mid-South Conference.

Sophomore guard Tyjma Bacon brings spark to Penn State Schuylkill’s young team. Sophomore forward Sydney Mallory is yearning to post more minutes helping Bloomsburg University to win Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference clashes. Fellow second-year forward LaShay Banks is gearing up for high octane bouts with Big East heavyweights at the University of Cincinnati.

An energetic sophomore guard, Raven Jones is assisting the cause of Clarion University of Pennsylvania, with junior forward Aleya Miller filling the low post for the Division II school.

Contact Staff Writer Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.

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