City of Basketball Love

By CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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MANHEIM, Pa. — The Hoop Group Showcase League championships took place this past weekend at Spooky Nook Sports, the primary brackets of the Summer Jam Fest deciding the HGSL champions after multiple spring and summer tournaments set the top 16 in the field of independent grassroots programs. 

CoBL had multiple writers in attendance all weekend, watching action in the 17U, 16U and 15U brackets. Here’s Pt. 2 of our coverage notebook from the weekend:

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Jordan Gabriel (2025 | Crown Basketball 17U HGSL)

Gabriel is from Long Island but he will call Pennsburg (Pa.) home this coming basketball season as he heads to Perkiomen School for a postgraduate season after graduating from Archbishop Stepinac in West Plains (N.Y.)

Gabriel, a 6-foot-8 forward, just received his first offer from Marist, after what was a very productive weekend at the Hoop Group Spooky Nook Jam Fest.

Gabriel, who carries a 3.7 GPA, has been receiving attention from the Patriot League, Ivy League, and service academies Army, Navy and Air Force.

“I had some D-II offers coming out of Stepinac, but my coach there told me he thought it would be good to do a post-graduate year,” Gabriel said. “This has been a good experience, and I felt really good about how I played this weekend. I want to play Division I basketball, and I do plan on going to a high-academic D-I school. Columbia has shown me a little attention, and Brown has, too. We’ll see where it goes.

“I chose Perkiomen School for a post-grad, because I really liked the school when I visited there. I liked the campus and the coaches. I really like coach (Harry) Morra (a former Lehigh assistant coach), who they just hired. It is a high-level academic school and asked a few former players, and they really liked it.”

In the U17 semifinals on Sunday, Gabriel was a force inside, scoring 12 points, but once he fouled out, Crown fell to George Hill’s superior size and fell, 68-64.   

“This was a fun experience,” Gabriel said. “I think I played well enough to help myself get some college looks.”

Looks like Gabriel was right. On Monday, his first offer came in from Marist. — Joseph Santoliquito

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Justin Fuerbacher (2025 | NJ ShoreShots 17U HGSL)

The 6-5 wing from Christian Brothers Academy possesses two valuable innate traits: toughness and intelligence.

Fuerbacher removed his mouth guard after scoring 11 points in the ShoreShots’ victory over Team Wildcat Saturday morning and let out a grin that revealed half of his front tooth missing.

He caught an elbow to the face during a warmup in East Stroudsburg the previous Saturday and got a root canal that Wednesday before driving down to play in the Atlantic City Jam Fest the same day.

“A week from now I’m going to get a crown over it, but for now it’s just knocked out,” Fuerbacher said.

It didn’t affect Fuerbacher in the slightest as he started Saturday’s 10:40 game with a breakaway dunk, banging in the post against taller opponents, and crashing the boards. His game might not be the flashiest, but it’s certainly effective and positively impacts his team.

“If I play hard all of the time, then it becomes consistent,” Fuerbacher said. “It’s not always in the forefront, but whether I’m in the spotlight or background it doesn’t matter to me. It’s about giving effort, making the right play, and doing what it takes to win. I’m really about winning.”

Fuerbacher is also about academics, evident by his 1520 SAT score and interest from and in high-academic Division III schools.

“I’ve been talking with Middlebury, Colby, Babson,” he said. “Also NYU and Swarthmore. A lot of high academics, which is what I’m looking for.”

Fuerbacher is leaning toward pursuing a career in finance or economics as mathematics and quantitative skills are his strong suits.

“From a young age my dad has taught me that my education will last a lifetime,” he said. “I want to get the most out of that and combine my basketball with my education so I’m not too hung up on going Division I. I just want the most out of my basketball experience and have good academics.” — Sean McBryan

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John Kelley (2025 | Middlesex Magic 17U HGSL)

Kelley will spend a post-grad year at Kimball Union Academy (N.H.) after averaging 14 points and 12.3 rebounds per game as a senior at Central Catholic (Mass.).

“I’m just trying to get faster, quicker, and stronger,” Kelley said. “I was getting a bunch of D-III looks but then the post-grad presented itself and I decided to take the chance on myself to get a scholarship. The goal is to end up with a D-II scholarship, or D-I if possible.”

Kelley played a vital role in Middlesex Magic winning the 17U HGSL title and showed why his coach Lambros Papalambros refers to him as ‘Baby Jokic.’

The 6-9 post is a tenacious rebounder and rim protector, but is also comfortable throwing an assortment of passes from either out of a back-down or beyond the three-point line. He hit multiple teammates for wide-open 3’s with kick-outs in the paint and for easy layups by threading the needle with bounce passes as teammates cut backdoor. 

“I was always a passing big,” said Kelley, who initially was being developed as a stretch ‘4’ before growing eight inches throughout high school. “I used to be a primary shooter, but we have so many shooters on this team. Why not make the extra pass? That always came natural to me.” — Sean McBryan

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Quick Hits

— It’s been a good live period for Jamal Hicks (2025 | Philly Revolution 17U HGSL), who played well with Penn Charter in the June live periods at Hun School (N.J.) and at the DMV Live event, and has carried that momentum back onto the grassroots scene. The 6-2 guard was excellent in all facets in a Friday morning watch in Atlantic City, coming two rebounds shy of a triple-double in an 11-point, eight-rebound, 10-assist showing, knocking down 3-pointers and mid-range jumpers while continually finding teammates for open looks that they buried over and over. 

Hicks said he shot 60% from the field and 49% from 3-point range at DMV Live, after which he heard from Youngstown State, Wagner, Princeton and East Stroudsburg, most of whom said they were coming to see him in Atlantic City. Though he’s certainly trending towards being a scholarship guard, Hicks knows that the recruiting cycle has been pushed back due to the transfer portal, with schools waiting longer and longer to recruit high school prospects for the incoming freshman class, much less for the one next fall.

“If you’re confident in yourself, you know what work you’ve put in when the lights aren’t on,” he said. “When they come out and watch, they’re going to know who can play at their school.”

 — KJ Carson (2025 | East Coast Power 17U) has had a very good summer. The rising 6-foot-1 senior guard is a three-year starter at Haverford School and continues to progress this summer. He is getting attention from Division II schools Florida Southern, St. Micheal’s, and Hilbert College, and Division IIIs Albright, Arcadia and Marymount (Va.).

He dropped 24 and played great in East Coast Power’s consolation bracket championship win over Hoosier State Prospects, 74-65, along with fellow area players Amon Fowlkes (Coatesville) and Beau Lyren (Delco Christian).

“This has been a great experience, it was nice, because the AAU level is different,” Carson said. “My pace is a little different. With the high school level, it is played at a slower, halfcourt pace, and this played faster. I am playing with talented players. At Haverford, I’m on a team with great athletes, and some basketball players. These are all basketball players. I get to work in different roles, especially with Amon, switching off either as point guard or shooting guard.”

— Beau Lyren (2025 | East Coast Power 17U) could not miss if he tried in the bracket championship at Spooky Nook on Sunday. If he was open, he nailed almost every shot. Lyren finished with a game-high 29 points, and anytime he was open, Carson and Fowlkes made sure they found him in the corner. He said he was getting high-academic D-III looks. 

“I’m just trying to get more exposure playing with the group, and I am looking to talk to more coaches,” he said. “It’s been a really good summer. I have a group of guys around me who trust me. They get me the ball in my spots and I’m having a great time playing on the Hoop Group circuit in front of a lot of college coaches.” 

Lyren said he has been trying to be more versatile, trying to drive to the basket more, and make himself a multi-level scorer.  

— Amon Fowlkes (2025 | East Coast Power 17U) probably had the most deceiving stat line in the East Coast Power B consolation bracket title game. The final stats showed only six points, though he probably had around 8 assists, kicking to Lyren in the corner, or driving and kicking to teammates for open threes. He also played an instrumental role when the game got close. After East Coast Power let Hoosier State climb back into contention, after taking a big lead, it was Fowlkes who controlled the last two minutes of the game with his pace, and a few big steals. He has not received any college attention. 

“I know my time is going to come,” Fowlkes said. “I have been playing with different, younger guys this year and learning different playing style. These guys on this team are highly skilled. Me and Larry Brown are the only two starters back (for Coatesville coach John Allen), and we have some things to prove.

“We had a lot of expectations last year and we reached the Elite Eight in the states for two years and I want to get back. We lost to Chester in the district (I Class 6A) playoffs. I know we can make a run. We won the Ches-Mont title last year.”

Fowlkes wanted to sharpen his leadership skills and he has made great strides, if Sunday’s game was any indication. He gave up scoring to create for his teammates, and when the game appeared as if it was going to unravel, it was Fowlkes playing the calming role, slowing the pace and making big steals to seal the victory—the little things college coaches tend to notice.