City of Basketball Love

Joseph Santoliquito (@jsantoliquito)
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As you walked by the Philadelphia Youth Basketball’s Alan Horwitz “Sixth Man” Center, the roar was hard to miss coming through the brick walls. Army’s basketball team had a group of kids give off a cheer Saturday morning as five schools from the esteemed Patriot League came together for something special that will hopefully become an early autumn tradition.

It was interesting in that it was Army that created the swirl—since it was the Black Knights’ head coach, Kevin Kuwik, that first came up with the idea.

On Saturday, 150 kids from 22 Philadelphia-area grade schools came together for a two-hour camp hosted by Patriot League programs Army, Colgate, Lehigh, Bucknell and Lafayette, followed by intrasquad scrimmages for each team.

Lafayette freshman Folabomi Fayemi (R) works with Philadelphia middle schoolers during the clinic portion of Saturday's event. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

During the NCAA Final Four last April in Glendale, Arizona, Kuwik was sitting in an auditorium at the National Association of Basketball Coaches convention, when a new NCAA rule came up, allowing off-campus, intrasquad scrimmages.

Kuwik’s antennas rose—thinking, “We could do something with that.”

Kuwik called Colgate coach Matt Langel, the former Moorestown High School and Penn star, and what started as an idea flourished into what turned into a very sharp event.

“I told Matt and he rolled with it, and he has done a phenomenal job of getting up and going,” Kuwik said. “We could not be more pleased. We want to do something like this every year. We got five of the 10 Patriot League schools, but this is a good start. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. This is a win, win, win for everybody.”

The event also brought together a strong core from Philadelphia’s vibrant basketball community. Along with Langel, Bucknell head coach John Griffin III, and his brother and Bison’s assistant coach, Matt Griffin, the former Roman Catholic coach, were there, as was Lafayette head coach Mike McGarvey, the former Penn Charter star and Division III All-American from Ursinus.

“I loved the idea when I first heard it, and this was an opportunity to give back to a basketball community on the uprise,” said John Griffin, a Bucknell graduate who is entering his second year as his alma mater's head coach. “For us, the Griffin household, the Philadelphia basketball community is very close to our hearts, and ultimately me brother and I grew up in a locker room. The guys who played for our father [former St. Joe’s coach John Griffin II] were our mentors.

“Those were guys we looked up to, and this is an opportunity for our players to mentor the young people here. We understand that there is a bigger picture here to provide an example for young people. This something special to Matt and I, because there were so many people who poured into our loves, this is a chance to give back to the people that have given so much to us.”

John and Matt Griffin are both St. Joseph’s Prep graduates, John class of 2004, Matt class of 2007. They are obviously deeply ingrained in the Philadelphia basketball community.

Bucknell's Matt Lange does pushups with the campers. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

In their first year, the Griffins directed Bucknell to a 14-19 overall record and a 10-8 mark in the Patriot.

The event meant something a little more to them.

“This is an opportunity for our players to represent Bucknell and we are only two hours away, and this was an easy trip,” said Matt, a Boston University graduate. “Our parents still live in the Philadelphia area. It is great for the league to do something like this, and it is great exposure for the program.”

At the Patriot League coaches meeting in May, Kuwik approached Langel about the Patriot League coming together under one roof.

The Patriot League, a conference of 10 high-academic schools, doesn't have a spot to come together like some do for their annual post-season tournaments. The Patriot League Tournament is not played at a neutral site; instead, tournament games are hosted by the higher regular-season seed.

John Langel, Matt’s father, is the former chairman of PYB’s board. Two years ago, Matt brought his Colgate team to the building that is now the PYB Alan Horwitz “Sixth Man” Center. Matt wanted to show his team what a philanthropic organization can accomplish, converting a North Philly warehouse into a state-of-the-art six-court basketball facility.

“This is a busy time of year, so I credit all the coaches into coming here and the Patriot League offices for allowing this,” said Matt Langel, who will be entering his 14th season as head coach at Colgate. “Just look around and see all the smiling faces of these kids. I would hope this is the beginning of something good that we can do here. In the Patriot League, we get to coach at great institutions, with true student-athletes in a day-and-age where college athletics has become so much about other things.

“Our guys work hard in the classroom, and on the court, and for us to give so much to this great basketball city and these kids, I hope the rest of this event will be successful moving forward. This is a big part of what college athletics can be.”

Lafayette senior Justin Vander Baan works out with area middle schoolers. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

Lehigh legendary coach Dr. Brett Reed credited Lehigh alum Kenny Holdsman, the co-founder of Philadelphia Youth Basketball in 2015 and its current president and CEO, for making the event possible.

“Kenny has done an incredible job with this, and every week, there are kids coming into this event center and are getting instruction, coaching, and they also are providing mentoring,” said Reed, who is entering his 18th year as head coach at Lehigh. “For us, this gives us a chance in that give-back. We also get a small chance to shed a little light on the great work being done here. It gives these kids an idea of what the Patriot League is about.

“The common bond of the Patriot League is to develop leaders and give our players a platform to help other people. It is a mindset and characteristic that plants the seed that is more than about ourselves.”

The team that got the most of the afternoon was by far Army. The Black Knights, who showed up with 25 players, were the last team off the court after being put through an arduous workout.

Jalen Rucker, a Gilman (Md.) graduate and one of Army’s team captains, joked afterward that he might have lost five pounds on Saturday.

“This whole thing was great, and I’m grateful we were able to put this together with the other Patriot League teams and working with these kids,” Rucker said. “It was not too long ago I was in their shoes. It’s good giving back to the kids. They came with good energy and we connected. We had them early on and they matched our energy. We made some noise.

“As a team, we got to compete and get better. Most importantly, we got to interact with the kids and show them what the Patriot League is.”

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Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who began writing for CoBL in 2021 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter here.