City of Basketball Love

Rich Flanagan (@richflanagan33)
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The second session of Philly Live 2024 brought over 220 boys teams to the City of Brotherly Love from all over the region — Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware were well-represented, but teams from all over the Eastern seaboard came up to play in front of hundreds of college coaches.

CoBL’s writers spent the weekend at both Jefferson University and the Philadelphia Youth Basketball ‘6th Man’ Center catching up with local teams and prospects of note. Here’s a notebook featuring recruiting updates on several area prospects:

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(Ed. Note: Links to all of our 2024 Philly Live I content can be found at the bottom of this article)

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R.J. Smith (2025 | Imhotep Charter)

Smith’s pedigree will impress anyone who sees him play.

Standing 5-9, there is no towering size that draws a crowd but when the tip gets in his hands, an overwhelming number of eyes are immediately drawn into what he can do. He guards from one end to the other, particularly against much taller and bigger players at this position. He converts past those same players and gets in gaps both to break the press and draw double teams for easy kickouts. The Imhotep Charter guard plays fast and composed, which is exactly what two programs noticed during the course of Philly Live.

Smith received his first two Division I offers, starting with Bryant on June 23 followed by Delaware State a day later. They saw everything Smith brings to the table with his defensive tenacity and nonstop pressure. Coaches are finally taking note of the 2026 guard and while he appreciates that, he knows there is still a lot of work to be done to get to where he wants to go.

“Those two offers don’t really mean anything right now because I know more are coming,” Smith said. “I’m always in the gym every day and not taking any breaks. I’m not relaxed because of two offers. We want to keep them coming.”

His dad, Ryan Smith, played at Strawberry Mansion then the Community College of Philadelphia, so he picked up his style and mantra.

 “When I was growing up, my dad would instill in me to be mentally tough, not just physically tough,” the younger Smith said. “He told me, ‘You’re a point guard so you have to know how everyone feels and where everyone needs to be at.’ Also, I need to be accountable.”

Smith noted that Bryant “liked how I facilitate, play defense and being able to run a whole team.” From Delaware State’s perspective, the coaching staff “liked my mind for the game and my IQ.”

As a sophomore, Smith averaged 6.8 ppg, 3.4 apg and 2.1 apg while shooting 81.6% at the free throw line in helping the Panthers claim the Philadelphia Public League, District 12 and PIAA Class 5A title. He learned first from Rahmir Barno (Florida Gulf Coast) and recent 76ers signee Justin Edwards then Ahmad Nowell (UConn), showcasing the talent that came before him and helped him pave the way for his own successful career.

“I talk to Rahmir Barno a lot and he gives me advice,” Smith said. “Ahmad would always say, ‘Keep your head down and in the game. Don’t worry about anything else or what anybody else is doing. Worry about your team and how to lead your team. Be mentally tough.’”

He will have 2025 guard Carnell Henderson along with 2026 guards Zaahir Muhammad-Gray and Latief Lorenzano-White and 2027 6-8 wing Zion Green – the son of former La Salle standout Rodney Green – and that brings immense responsibility as the starting point guard following in the footsteps of Barno and Nowell, both of whom won Public League and state titles as prolific floor generals. 

“I feel like there’s no big shoes to fill because I know I can do this with ease,” Smith said. “It’s about coming out with the same result and not having different expectations. We just want to win.” 

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Deacon Baratta (2025 | Phoenixville)

As Max Lebisky filled up the stat sheet and led Phoenixville to a 20-7 record and the PIAA Class 5A Tournament, Baratta and the rest of the Phantoms filled in the gaps as the dynamic wing seemed to be performing a new feat almost every night. With Lebisky slated to begin his first year at the University of Scranton, the 6-foot-6 Baratta is hoping those impressive stat lines become his nightly output.

Baratta shined at Philly Live and his recruitment is starting to take shape. The son of former Penn forward Andy Baratta, Deacon is coming off an unofficial visit to Navy on June 24. Making the trip to Annapolis was a special one and Baratta can see himself fitting in well there on and off the court.

“I liked it a lot,” Baratta said. “The campus is super nice, and they have great facilities. I liked the coaches and everything about the program.” 

Andy grew to 6-8 and played on a pair of Ivy League championship teams with the Quakers alongside Jerome Allen under the direction of Fran Dunphy, now at the helm at La Salle. Deacon has room to add muscle to his frame and there’s the possibility he could still grow a few inches over the next few years. His most intriguing facet is his comfortability out on the perimeter at 6-6 and his ability to consistently hit outside shots.

“They see me more as a ‘3’ or small forward,” Baratta said. “I don’t think I have the build to be a ‘4’ or ‘5’ at the college level but here I’m the tallest player at Phoenixville, so I need to rebound and play inside. In college, I will be a ‘3.’

“I’m more comfortable outside but I need to get better at dribbling the ball,” he added. “Once I get more comfortable handling the ball, I will be in a better spot.”

As with many of the service academies, Baratta is excited with the prospect of service and strengthening the qualities regularly portrayed by men and women in uniform. “They think I’m a kid who has a good personality for the military. I’m pretty disciplined and selfless. I think I can fit in there well,” he said.

There is only interest currently, with no official offers to this point, but Cornell and Princeton have also reached out to him. Baratta said he has also received interest from Tufts University and Williams College. 

As he evolves both inside and outside, the leadership maturation is beginning to blossom and head coach Eric Burnett has been adamant that this is his team now with Lebisky having moved on. Baratta is ready for that responsibility.

“He’s telling me I have to talk more,” Baratta said. “I need to come into that leadership role because we had seven seniors last year. They were all really good leaders and Max was the guy, so now I need to be that guy and pick my teammates up when somebody is down.” 

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Milan Dean Jr. & Deuce Maxey (2025s | Archbishop Wood)

Archbishop Wood’s track record for developing the likes of Collin Gillespie, Rahsool Diggins and Jalil Bethea precedes it and what makes John Mosco’s approach is how well some players do with gradual development instead of finding instant success. Gillespie had a senior season unlike anything the Vikings program has seen and while Diggins started from day one, Bethea didn’t score a single point as a freshman yet still finished as the program’s all-time leading scorer.

What each of those big names had were solid complementary players around them during different parts of their career that greatly impacted the success of the team. Gillespie had Tyree Pickron and Matt Cerruti; Diggins had Daeshon Shepard, Jaylen Stinson and Muneer Newton; Bethea and Josh Reed (Drexel) had Deuce Maxey and Milan Dean.

Maxey and Dean are now two of the faces of the latest iteration of the Vikings and their recruitments will be dictated on their ability to bring along the next crop of Archbishop Wood players. Dean, a 6-3 wing, thrives on defense by getting into passing lanes and blocking shots with tremendous awareness and athleticism. His next step is turning those stops into baskets at the other end.

Dean knows that Mosco excels when his seniors are leading the way, both on and off the court. Getting physically prepared to play in the Philadelphia Catholic League is one thing and being mentally prepared for the grind that comes with it is another. He’s waited for his turn and learned a lot along the way that he hopes to share with the newest group.

“I’ve been vocal with the guys, especially the new ones,” Dean said. “They have to learn how fast the game is and be aggressive. As long as they see the game for what it is, they’ll be good.”

Dean played in 25 games last season with 23 of those being starts, averaging. 7.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.3 spg and 2.4 bpg. He recorded a team-high 61 blocks, and his anticipation is one of the things coaches enjoy about his game, including West Chester’s Damien Blair, who extended an offer; Robert Morris and Manhattan had offered last summer, and Dean said Merrimack and Bryant had shown interest.

Maxey, meanwhile, has recently heard from Wilmington University and “they told me they liked me a lot. They spoke to Coach Mosco about me.” The 6-2 guard started 22 out of the 25 games he played in as a junior with averages of 7.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg and 2.5 apg to go along with 25 3-pointers made. His goal for his final season is “becoming more of a hybrid guard because I want to play both spots” and “get all my guys more involved.”

Dean and Maxey are pegged as starters and should both see increases in production as they step into expanded roles. With a new crop of prospects to work with like fellow 2025 guard and sharpshooter Mike Green, 2026 guards Brady MacAdams and Brian Donahue, 2027 guard Buddy Denard and 6-9 forward Jaydn Jenkins, and 2028 guard Rowan Phillips – the latest addition to the lone line of notable Vikings guards – this duo has major aspirations as their recruitments unfold and their final season takes shape.

They recall what experienced players shared with them and what to pass that on to this corps.

“When we were young guys, we had great older guys that would help us like Tyson Allen and Justin Moore, who was a great one,” Maxey said. “We had Jalil and Josh and so many others who came through and helped us. I just want to help them like they helped us. I want to give them the knowledge that other guys gave to us.”