Philly Guys in the NBA

Back in the day when I was 10-12 years old, I was as well read as a second-year Harvard Law student. My studies weren’t centered around Copernicus or the scrolls of Ancient Rome, but rather young adult sports novels and journalism. Mike Lupica, Matt Christopher, Dan Gutman, and Rick Reilly were as important to me as Salinger, Hemingway, or Fitzgerald would be to a Sarah Lawrence College English Major.

Matt Christopher allowed me to spend hours running sports hypotheticals through my head like standing on the mound with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth, or how to respond as a team if one of your players makes the game-winning basket for the other team in 5th grade CYO. Dan Gutman made the history of America’s pastime more digestible by taking the reader on a journey back in time through baseball cards. Without him I wouldn’t be able to bore a first date to the point of calling an early Uber with fun facts about Satchel Paige, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and Abner Doubleday.

Mike Lupica and Rick Reilly were the big shots. The guys reporting their deeply investigated stories on ESPN and writing weekly columns for Sports Illustrated. When Sports Reporters and The Life of Reilly were in their heyday, there wasn’t already such readily available information about everyone in the world so you learned something new with every watch or read. Captivating an audience through storytelling is such an impressive skill and their reports were enamoring.

If Christopher, Gutman, Lupica, and Reilly make up my “Young Sean’s Mount Rushmore of Sports Writers,” then Ted Silary was my Statue of freakin’ Liberty.

Tedsilary.com was the one stop shop for everything you needed to know about Philadelphia High School football, basketball, and baseball. The longtime Philly Daily News writer was a staple, an icon, a soft-spoken sportswriting mogul in the city he loved. Seeing him at a game in 2005 sitting next to his trusty sidekick Tom “Hock” McKenna was like seeing Tate McRae and Olivia Rodrigo courtside in 2024. If he wasn’t at your game you’d automatically check his site later that evening to find out where he was and what zany Stuart Scott-esque nickname he gave to the 6th man from Math, Civics, and Sciences or what the manager at Imhotep Charter did to catch Ted’s eye at halftime. The guy saw it all and knew everyone. He could meet a freshman from St. Joe’s Prep and rattle off stats to the kid about his uncle’s career as a running back at North Catholic from 20 years ago. Ted was the absolute man and we miss him dearly.

Among the many projects taken on at Tedsilary.com was a section called “Our Guys” in which Ted compiled a list of over 100 players from the Philly Public, Catholic, and Inter-Ac Leagues who went on to play in the NFL, NBA, and MLB. On that page he’s included links to their professional stats and every single player including future all-stars and hall of famers like Rasheed Wallace and Matt Ryan has an article written by Ted Silary from when they were in high school. Scrolling that list can be a fun trip down memory lane for guys I saw play and today I even discovered an article written about my Uncle Bob "Lurch" Arnold who didn't play pro but was a co-captain with three-year NFL vet Chris "Buck" Conlin as seniors at Bishop McDevitt.

It’s been 10 years since I’ve graduated high school so without a reason to, I haven’t been plugged into the Philly basketball scene recently. But from years of attaching myself to my dad’s hip and following GA’s team to weekend showcases in Philly, Chester, Trenton, Springfield Mass, etc. I’ve seen my fair share of players and have some anecdotes of my own to share. In an homage to Ted, here is a list of “Our Guys” currently playing in the NBA and anything interesting I might have to add or say:

Kyle Lowry - Cardinal Dougherty Class of 2004 / Philadelphia 76ers

High School: 2003 Catholic League North MVP (Junior), 2x 1st Team Catholic League North, 2003 2nd Team All-City, 2004 1st Team All-City, 2004 Gatorade State Player of the Year, 999 Career Points

NBA Career: 2006 1st Round Pick (24th Overall), 18th season, 14.4 PPG, 6.2 APG, 2019 NBA Champion, 6x All-Star, 21 Triple Doubles, Active Leader in Personal Fouls (3047)

At 37 years old the recently traded Kyle Lowry is the eldest statesmen of our active Philly NBA players and is the 5th oldest player in the league. Though he may seem peachy from the back, Lowry is a certified bulldog averaging almost 25 charges drawn per season in his 30’s.

As a junior in 2003, Kyle from Norf Philly burst onto the scene for the since-closed Cardinal Dougherty winning league MVP without having any prior varsity experience. Listed at 5’9” but probably standing 5’7”, Lowry led his Cardinals from Olney to back-to-back 16-1 Catholic League records with their only losses coming against St. Joe's Prep in league championships. I’m not sure which is tougher to swallow, the second place finishes or finishing your career with 999 points.

For my money Cardinal Dougherty’s 2004 squad coached by Mark Heimerdinger was the best Philadelphia high school team that I can remember (late 90’s-2010). Not top 5, not top 3, the best.

After dropping their season opener to Mark Tyndale and Simon Gratz, which at the time was as nasty a rivalry as Red Sox-Yankees, the Cardinals and their four D-1 commits (3 on Villanova’s 2007 Elite 8 team) didn’t lose a game against a PA opponent until their final contest in Philly’s basketball Mecca against Chris Clark, Reggie Redding, and Speedy Morris. Dougherty’s team played every second of the clock and covered every inch of the court. It was rare for a high school team to have more than 2 or 3 guys that were 6’5”+ and they had 5 plus the City’s best point guard who looked more like Barry Sanders on the court than anything else. In a March Madness style tournament of the best teams from 1995-2010, I’m picking the ‘04 Redbirds from 2nd & Oak Lane. 

One of Ted’s writers, Ed “Huck” Palmer, did an annual fantasy tournament for the city's best teams in which he actually picked my favorite GA Patriots team over Dougherty in the Elite 8. He then took our rival Penn Charter to win the whole thing in overtime vs. The Prep. I’m not going to knock that pick. The ‘04 PC team was the first squad I thought of when making my above claim. Rob Kurz and Sean Singletary were the Inter-Ac’s Embiid and Maxey. Add the Zeglinski brothers and a smattering of gritty role players and that team might’ve had a shot at winning some D3 conferences.

While very few of the hypothetical matchups throughout the fantasy tournament actually happened during the 2003-04 season, Cardinal Dougherty did play Penn Charter on January 31 at Arcadia. This was my first chance to see Lowry and the boys in person as the matchup was part of a doubleheader to follow future Temple Owl Mark Tyndale and the Simon Gratz Bulldogs squaring off with Germantown Academy and Notre Dame commit Ryan Ayers. 

Tyndale vs. Ayers, Lowry & Shane Clark vs. Singletary & Kurz. North Philly public school vs. Blue Bell private school. Olney catholic school vs. Roxborough private school. The juxtapositions laid not just in the names of the schools themselves but in their styles of play, too. A dream doubleheader for Jeremy Treatman to schmooze his way into promoting his showcase like he was Don King in the Philippines.

The undercard would have been a bit of a disappointment for a spillover crowd as the Bulldogs won wire-to-wire. However, Tyndale stole the show himself, going for 30 points & 14 boards against a Patriot team that was drained by the second half after losing the previous night’s rivalry bout against Penn Charter.

But fight promoters don’t just sell the action in the ring, they sell the experience. “The Thrilla in Manila” had that extra bite to it because the world’s best heavyweights were being advertised as fighting for their life somewhere deep in the jungles of an island that few could find on a map. Jeremy Treatman knew what he was doing by putting Gratz and Dougherty in back-to-back games. They were the best high school basketball programs amongst neighborhoods where sometimes a bouncing ball and 10 foot rim provide the means to escape. Add in the fact that Nova-commit Bilal Benn was suspended from Dougherty’s team for disciplinary purposes and the fire needed no more fuel.

Throughout the week Facebook groups were started, mySpace walls were posted on, and trash was talked in AOL instant messages. And it escalated. A lot of us who started getting social media around high school age know how invincible the keyboard and screen could make someone feel so it’s no surprise that Gratz and Dougherty students got to threatening each other online in the days leading up to the doubleheader.

As game 1 concluded the crowd mostly made their changeover except for the Gratz student section who lingered in the stands as Dougherty took the court for warmups. Luckily nothing came of any of the online BS and the Gratz fans made their way out after getting in their last chants and jeers, mostly directed at Benn on the sideline.

The unfortunate consequence of the hollow social media threats was that we quickly left the gym when the game ended, acting under the pretense “if we don’t have to be here then let’s get the hell out.” Security on the Cheltenham campus reminded me of our game earlier in the season at Widener in Chester but it was all for Twitter fingers.

So I missed out on being there in person to see the battle for best guard in the city between Kyle Lowry and Sean Singletary, who I’ve always said was the best high school player I’ve seen in person. Ted’s recount of the game paints an awesome picture of the game flow with Dougherty’s pair of big men being too much for Robbie Kurz to handle alone but he also gave the edge to Singletary and his 29 point, 11 rebound, 7 assist stat line in the “game within the game” vs. Lowry.

The Cardinals edged out the Quakers 72-68 that Saturday night. PC was coming off of an exhausting win the night before but Dougherty was also missing one of their 3 senior Villanova commits. Among Huck’s fantasy final 4 (GA, PC, Gratz, St. Joe’s Prep) and Dougherty, there’s some way to deduce a “winner” if you're willing to break down and analyze all the matchups.

PC beat GA twice but lost to Dougherty and the Prep. Dougherty beat PC but lost to Gratz and the Prep. Gratz beat both GA and Dougherty. It’s a whole circle and you can play all the hypotheticals you want but I was a big fan of Coach Heimerdinger and their style of play. I’d pick them any day of the week.

Marcus Morris Sr. & Markieff Morris - Prep Charter Class of 2007 / Spurs & Mavericks
High School: Marcus - 1,178 Points, 2007 1st Team All Public Division C, 2006 2nd Team Pub C
Markieff - 1,147 Points, 3x 1st Team All Public Division C, 2005 & 2006 HM All-City
Both - 2007 1st Team All-City
NBA: 13th Season each, Back-to-Back 2011 Lottery Picks (Markieff 13th PHX, Marcus 14th HOU), Markieff - 10.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG; Marcus - 12.1 PPG, .377 3P%

What’s more intimidating than a 6’9” 18 year-old committed to Memphis that averages 20 points per game and is a McDonald’s All-American? A 6’10” 18 year-old committed to Memphis that averages 20 points per game, is a McDonald’s All-American, and looks identical to the other guy I just mentioned.

Marcus and Markieff went by first name basis around Philly in 2007. It was never “did you see what the Morris twins did last night?” It was always “goddamn Marcus and Markieff both went for 25 again.” For as much as they were almost always lumped together in newspaper articles, they were often individualized in conversation.

As much as they had in common, including the same face, I think they got talked about this way because their games were slightly different from one another. This became more evident as they developed under Bill Self at Kansas (opting out of their original Memphis commitment) and has only been further emphasized at the professional level. Marcus has always been more capable playing around the perimeter while Markieff has shown he can shoot the 3 but tends to focus more effort inside the arc. Both of them, though, can take care of whatever dirty work you need done on the hardwood.

In December 2021 Bradly Wanamaker was getting 15 minutes per game for the Pacers meaning that 3 of the 6 players selected to 2007’s Daily News First Team All-City were under NBA contract. Sure, Wanamaker wasn’t consistently rostered and the other 2 Philly NBA hoopers came from the same womb, but that’s still impressive 14 years after the trio graduated high school. 

If you want to know what Philadelphia basketball is all about, watch the Morris twins’ highlights. No nonsense. It took more than a decade but by trading James Harden to the Clippers this November, the Sixers FINALLY brought a Morris back to Philly. Based on his contract situation Marcus could be a piece that Daryl Morey & co. use at the trade deadline but even if his return is short it’s been impactful. Earlier this month Marcus received the key to the city for his work with youths in underserved communities, a notion that was voted unanimously “yes” by city council members.

The last time the Sixers made the NBA Finals was in 2001 when Philly’s own Aaron McKie was starting alongside Bubba Chuck in the backcourt. Maybe all the Sixers need is a hometown boy to bring that juice, that fire, that Philly Dawg that courses through the veins of 1.5 million rabid fanatics.

Derrick Jones Jr. - Archbishop Carroll Class of 2015 / Dallas Mavericks

High School: 1,645 Career Points (All-Time Carroll Leader), 2013 2nd Team All-Catholic & 3rd Team All-City, 2x 1st Team All-Catholic & All-City, 2015 AAA State Player of the Year, ESPN’s #1 Recruit in PA (#30 Nationally)

NBA: 8th Season, 2020 Slam Dunk Contest Winner, 2019-20 Eastern Conference Champion with Miami, Career High 10.1 PPG in 2023-24 with Dallas

Lamar Stevens - Abington Friends/Haverford School/Roman Catholic Class of 2016 / Memphis Grizzlies

High School: 2014 2nd Team All-Inter Ac, 2015 1st Team All-Inter Ac, 2016 1st Team All-Catholic League & 1st Team All-City, 1,345 Career Points
NBA: 4th Season, Under Exhibit 10 Contract with Boston, in 125 Games Played in Last 2 Seasons with Cleveland - 17.1 MPG, 5.7 PPG, 3.0 RPG

Cam Reddish - Haverford School/Westtown Class of 2018 / LA Lakers

High School: 446 Points in 2 seasons at Haverford (97 as an 8th Grader), 2015 2nd Team All-Inter Ac, 2x 1st Team All-Friends, ESPN’s #1 Recruit in PA (#3 Nationally)
NBA: 2019 1st Round Pick (10th Overall), 5th Season, 26 Starts in 35 Games this season for the Lakers, 20th in the NBA with 1.2 Steals per Game

Charlie Brown Jr. - Imhotep/George Washington Class of 2015 / New York Knicks

High School: 2014 3rd Team All-Public League Division B, 2015 Public League Division B MVP & Leading Scorer 18.4 PPG

NBA: 4th Season on a Two-Way Contract with New York Spending Most Time with G-League Westchester, 19 Games Played with 2 Starts for Sixers in 2021-22

Collin Gillespie - Archbishop Wood Class of 2017 / Denver Nuggets

High School: 2016 3rd Team All-Catholic, 2017 Catholic League MVP & City Player of the Year, 1,132 Career Points; 682 (22.0 PPG) as a Senior
NBA: Rookie (missed 2022-23 with broken leg) for Denver on Two-Way Contract, 2023 NBA Champion, 14 Games, 30 Points

Seth Lundy - Roman Catholic Class of 2019 / Atlanta Hawks

High School: 2017 2nd Team All-Catholic, 2018 1st Team All-Catholic & All-City, 2019 1st Team All-Catholic & 2nd Team All-City, 1,150 Career Points, 2x State Champion
NBA: 2023 2nd Round Pick (46th overall) by Atlanta, Debuted Dec. 15, 2023, 9 Games 14 Points

Ryan Arcidiacono - Neshaminy Class of 2012 / Free Agent (2023-24 appearances with NYK)

High School: 2011 Bucks County Courier POY & Philly Inquirer 1st Team All-Southeast PA, Missed Senior Year, Neshaminy All-Time Leading Scorer 1,500 Points, ESPN’s #46 Recruit
NBA: 7th Season, Career 4.0 PPG, 1.9 APG, 1.8 RPG, 36.9% 3-Point Shooting

Mikal Bridges - Great Valley Class of 2014 / Brooklyn Nets

High School: 2014 Philly Inquirer 1st Team All-Southeast PA & 1st Team All-State AAAA, 1,340 Career Points, ESPN’s #82 Recruit
NBA: 2018 1st Round Pick (10th Overall) by Philadelphia, 6th Season, 2021-22 1st Team All-Defense, 438 Consecutive Games Played / 0 Career DNP’s, Career High 21.0 PPG this season for Brooklyn

De’Andre Hunter - Friends’ Central Class of 2016 / Atlanta Hawks

High School: 3x 1st Team All-Friends League, 2x Friends League Leading Scorer, 1,604 Career Points (missed Soph. year), 2016 USA Today 1st Team All-State, ESPN’s #73 Recruit
NBA: 2019 1st Round Pick (4th Overall) by LA Lakers, 5th Season, Career 14.0 PPG (12+ every season), 4.1 RPG, 36.1% 3-Point Shooting (Career Best 40.4% in 2023-24)

Kind of Philly Guys:

Dereck Lively II - Westtown Class of 2022 / Dallas Mavericks

High School: ESPN’s #1 Recruit in PA & Nationally, 2022 1st Team All-Friends League

NBA: 2023 1st Round Pick (12th Overall) by Oklahoma City, 9.2 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 73.9% Field Goal Shooting, 8 Double Doubles

Jalen Duren - Roman Catholic/Montverde (FL) Class of 2021 / Detroit Pistons

High School: ESPN’s #1 Recruit from PA (#7 Nationally)

NBA: 2022 1st Round Pick (13th Overall) by Charlotte, 2nd Team All-Rookie, Averaging 14.1 Points & 11.9 Rebounds/game this season

Mo Bamba - Westtown Class of 2017 / Philadelphia 76ers

High School: ESPN’s #1 Recruit in PA (#4 Nationally), 3x 1st Team All-Friends League

NBA: 2018 1st Round Pick (8th Overall), 6th Season, Career 7.3 PPG, 5.6 RPG