City of Basketball Love

By Sean McBryan (@SeanMcBryan)
__

LANCASTER, Pa. — The Hoop Group hosted its Spring Jam Fest on Saturday and Sunday at Spooky Nook, which marked the first live period boys event of the AAU season. CoBL had staff in attendance both days to check out some of the local talent and others, focusing on some of the 17U action and getting our first look at some 16U and 15U squads as well.

Here’s a few of the prospects we caught up with:

~~

More from Spring Jam Fest: Standouts / Notebook Pt. 1 / Notebook Pt. 2

~~~

Jake Sniras (2025 | PA Coalition HGSL 17U)

Sniras and his Garnet Valley teammates had all of their goals within reach during the high school season. The ball didn’t bounce their way, but they can now look back on the positives and grow.

“I feel like we exceeded expectations,” Sniras said. “We were the 14th seed and we made it all the way to the championship. I don’t think that’s ever been done before so we’ll be remembered for that. But I’ve been telling the guys: That’s behind us. Next year is coming up.”

The Jaguars fell by one point to Marple Newtown in the first round of the Central League playoffs. Then, as a No. 14 seed, the Jags made a Cinderella run to their first District 1 Class 6A title game since 1997. They fell to Central League counterpart Lower Merion in the championship and then Central York — the eventual state championship — in the first round of states before their season ultimately ended.

Sniras, a 2025 6-4 wing, eclipsed the 1,000-point threshold and was named a first-teamer in the Central League as a junior. He’ll be back next season without backcourt mate Quinn O’Hara, who graduated. 

“I’m trying to work on my ball handling during AAU,” Sniras said. “I’m going to be handling the ball way more than I was. I was never really a point guard, it’s been something I had to adapt to my game.”

He’ll have the freedom to improve that area during the AAU season with PA Coalition as he gears up for his final high school season with eyes set on playing at the Division II level, specifically mentioning East Stroudsburg.

“I’d love to go there, the PSAC is a really good division,” he said.

Sniras doesn’t have any offers yet but has started getting interest from Division III schools including McDaniel and York.

“I’m trying to reach out to as many schools as possible and get myself as many choices as possible,” he said.

~~~

Paul Glants (2025 | Eastern PA Elite 17U)

All things considered, Dan Marsh’s first season as head coach of the Abington boys basketball program — after 18 years on the girls’ side — went well with an 18-7 finish and District 1 playoff appearance.

“We went 13-12 the year before and then got a new coach in the middle of the summer,” Glants said. “I think the season went better than people expected. Marsh is great. I’ve known him since I was in eighth grade because he was my gym teacher and I really got close to him as the season went on. We talked a lot.”

The next challenge will be replacing a senior-laden group led by Jeremiah Lee and Aaron Jones with the 6-3 guard Glants, a Suburban One League honorable mention pick as a junior, the presumed new de facto leader.

“It’s going to be hard,” Glants said. “We have inexperience. Only me, Jake [Manigault], and Xander [Grasty] have played varsity. We’ve been having open gyms for about a month now and what I like about our new team is that we’ve been playing as a team. I think people are going to be surprised at how well we play.”

Glants has a strong body that he uses to his advantage in backing down smaller defenders to draw attention and find open teammates or attack to score himself. He realizes a bigger workload awaits him with the Ghosts so he’s hoping to use his time during AAU to get into optimal shape.

“That’s my number one goal,” Glants said. “I feel like I could go out there and perform to the best of my abilities, especially on offense. I also want to work on my defense but I feel like that comes with getting in shape. If I can lose some weight I feel like I’ll be way better.”

Eventually he hopes his skills will attract the attention of a college to give him an opportunity to play the sport he loves at the next level.

“I’d love to play college basketball,” he said. “Basketball has been my whole life. I just want to play basketball, that’s it. It doesn’t matter what level.”

~~~

Tariq Jennings (2025 | Philly Revolution HGSL 17U)

The 6-6 2024 wing is contemplating his next move after experiencing the highs and lows high school basketball can produce during his time at West Catholic. 

Tariq Jennings isn’t letting the stress of an immense decision impact the fun of getting to play AAU basketball again as he suits up with a new team in Philly Revolution. He’s working toward a scholarship to play college basketball and will decide between that or taking a prep year when the time comes.

“This is my first time playing with [Philly Revolution] but I’ve been familiar with it,” he said. “We’ve had some success up and down. I got to meet new guys. I like them. There’s chemistry off the court. It’s fun and I get to play AAU basketball again.”

He’s leaning toward taking a prep year as the scholarships have not yet arrived and recently visited Phelps School, but if the right opportunity comes at the college level with his play during this AAU season he’s open to taking that step.

“I’m hoping to decide sometime in May,” said Jennings, who has gotten interest from Albright, Arcadia, Eastern, and Holy Family and wants to follow a career in sports, whether it be sports management or medicine. “I’d say I’m somewhere in between.”

Jennings played in five games as a junior when the Burrs won their first District 12 title since 1953 and first ever state title behind Adam “Budd” Clark (Merrimack) and Zion Stanford. He stepped into a larger role as a senior as the Burrs took a step back finishing 3-10 in the PCL and 6-18 overall.

He has the length and potential to be a 3-and-D impact player at the next level and he’s hoping to show that through the AAU season.

“My main goal is physicality,” Jennings said on what he’s hoping to improve on. “I just want to get stronger so I can withstand a lot more. I feel like I have all of the attributes to be successful. Obviously you need to continue to work on those and get better.”

~~~

Jamal Hicks (2025 | Philly Revolution HGSL 17U)

The 6-3 2025 guard is building off his successful first season with Inter-Ac champ Penn Charter during the AAU season with Philly Revolution and showed his college interest is next to pick up like his Quaker teammates Matt Gilhool, Jake West, and Kai Shinholster, who also plays on Rev.

“The [high school] season was great,” said Hicks, who transferred from Bonner-Prendie. “I definitely had a breakout season for myself. It gave me a lot more confidence. It just made me feel better about myself how all of those guys at Penn Charter had trust in me.”

t’s Hicks first year playing with Philly Rev and the transition is going well with the team focused more so on team success rather than individual performances.

“We’ve all blended in with each other,” he said. “It’s not like we’re all out there trying to score 20 points. It’s all about being a team and getting quality wins.”

Hicks took unofficial visits to Columbia and Drexel in March and it’s only a matter of time before more schools start to show interest if he continues the strong play he showed during Hoop Group’s Spring Jam Fest this past weekend.

“It’s all about getting better,” Hicks said. “I’m just trying to elevate my team. I’m playing the point guard [during AAU] and at Penn Charter I played the two, so just gaining more guard skills and hopefully getting recruited by more Division I colleges.”

~~~

Will Lesovitz (2026 | Penn Warriors HGSL 16U)

St. Joe’s Prep had its best finish in the PCL since 2015 with a 10-3 record, one game back of the league-winning triumvirate of Archbishop Wood, Neumann-Goretti, and Roman Catholic.

The Hawks continued their ascension in the PCL from 2-11 in 2021-22 to 9-4 in 2022-23, but fell short of their goal of getting to the Palestra with a narrow loss to Archbishop Ryan in the league quarterfinals.

Three core Hawks return in Jaron McKie, Jordan Ellerbee, and Olin Chamberlain, but the departure of Jalen Harper and Matt Gorman leaves a key role open.

Will Lesovitz, a 6-4 2026 guard, played off the bench last season and has the opportunity to seize a starting role heading into his junior season with the Hawks.

“We want to win a PCL chip,” Lesovitz said. “And finally make the state playoffs. I feel like we all need to step up and become more of a team.”

Lesovitz was more of a catch-and-shoot player during his sophomore season but has increased responsibility as a ball handler during the AAU season with Penn Warriors.

“I’m trying to become more of a playmaker with the ball in my hands,” he said. “I bring up the ball more here.”

He has good size for a guard and showed the potential his skill set can provide to a team during the Spring Jam Fest at Spooky Nook this past weekend as he continues to work on aspects of his game that will help his SJP team once that season rolls around.

“Shooting tough shots, going off two feet, and just finishing over smaller defenders,” Lesovitz said. “I’m also trying to prove I can consistently knock down the 3-point shot.”

~~~

Luke Kennevan (2025 | East Coast Power HGSL 17U)

Luke Kennevan’s offense is no secret. The 2025 6-4 Camden Catholic guard scored his 1,000th career point in February.

He picked up right where he left off Sunday with 23 points in East Coast Power’s loss to AKT during the Hoop Group Spring Jam Fest at Spooky Nook, but his focus this AAU season is on the opposite end of the court.

“Honestly, I’m mostly trying to work on my defense,” Kennevan said. “It’s always something I’m trying to work on. Getting stops on the defensive end will create energy on the offensive end.”

Kennevan hopes the improvements he and his Camden Catholic teammates make during the AAU season can propel them further next season after the Irish lost in the Camden County championship and in the NJSIAA quarterfinals.

“We want to win a sectional championship and hopefully a state championship,” he said. “We have the entire team back so I’m excited. After having a whole year to create chemistry, next year we can start off hot.”

Kennevan doesn’t have any Division I offers yet but has received interest from Lafayette, Lehigh, and Penn along with many Division II and III programs.

“It can be a little nerve-wracking with the unknown,” he said. “But I’m just focused on myself. It’s been slow, but I’m sure it’ll pick up.”