Phelps guard Malcolm Wrisby-Jefferson saw his game and leadership skills emerge

Wrisby-Jefferson is committed to Brown after taking his game from his hometown of New York to prep school.

Phelps School’s Malcolm Wrisby-Jefferson during a game against the George School on Dec. 14.Read moreCain Images

by Joey Piatt, For The Inquirer

Published Feb. 17, 2023, 1:27 p.m. ET

The idea of attending a prep school first came to Malcolm Wrisby-Jefferson during the COVID-19 year. At the time, basketball was shut down in Wrisby-Jefferson’s hometown of New York, and some of his teammates had already started going the prep school route.

Wrisby-Jefferson began working out with Brian King, a trainer whom some of his teammates had used. It was King who helped Wrisby-Jefferson get connected with former Phelps School coach Trey Morin.

In his first season at Phelps, Wrisby-Jefferson focused on adapting to the rigors of prep school basketball and to developing his game under Morin. After an initial warmup period, Wrisby-Jefferson began to feel at home at Phelps, which plays in the PAISAA tournament’s quarterfinal round on Monday.

“I was able to just see the talent and see what I was going against, and I felt like I fit right in,” Wrisby-Jefferson said. “I did have to adapt competition-wise because in New York, I was playing tough competition, but it wasn’t at the level the prep schools are.

“Being here and being able to play and compete against those guys really took my game to the next level.”

Following that season, Morin left Phelps for an opportunity in Texas, leaving the team in the hands of John Harmatuk, the former coach at Malvern Prep. Harmatuk and his staff took over just before Wrisby-Jefferson and his teammates were set to play in the 2021 live periods.

Although Wrisby-Jefferson and many of his teammates planned to remain at Phelps, those first few weeks served as a trial for both Phelps’ players and its coaches. Wrisby-Jefferson and his teammates got to see Harmatuk’s system in action, and the new coaching staff got to see the players they were inheriting.

Harmatuk’s system is designed to give players the freedom to operate both on and off the court. Mike Narzikul — who played under Harmatuk at Malvern Prep and who now serves as his assistant at Phelps — credits that flexibility with getting players to buy in right away. Wrisby-Jefferson was one of those players.

“Not only did it enhance his game [and allow] us to see some different things, but I think he also grew in confidence,” Narzikul said. “That’s a big thing for Malcolm. The more confident he is, the better he plays.”

Wrisby-Jefferson spent much of his junior season in an off-ball guard role. With Division I-bound Chas Kelley and Jack Collins — Kelley now plays at Boston College and Collins plays at Monmouth — on the roster, Wrisby-Jefferson played a supplemental role. This year, however, Wrisby-Jefferson has taken on added responsibility and has served as the team’s primary ball handler.

On the offensive side, Wrisby-Jefferson has excelled as a passer and has opened up a transition game for Phelps that it did not have a season ago. He has also been the team’s leading rebounder, with his 6-foot-4 frame helping him play in the paint.

While it took some time for Wrisby-Jefferson to settle into his current offensive role, he has been a playmaker on defense from the start.

“When we started to practice in September and October [of 2021] and put some things in, [Wrisby-Jefferson] and Chas Kelley were two of the guys who picked everything up defensively right away,” Narzikul said. “That’s kind of where Malcolm first caught our eye, was the defensive end. He could switch one through five.”

Perhaps Wrisby-Jefferson’s most notable impact this season, however, has been as a leader on a Phelps team that returned only four players from a season ago. Taking on that role has helped Wrisby-Jefferson in his own ability to serve as facilitator on the court.

“Since we had a lot of new guys, at the beginning it was just trying to get to know everybody and trying to get everybody to buy in to Coach Harmatuk’s system,” Wrisby-Jefferson said. “So, I was just trying to get those guys situated with the system. Not only that, but [also] get them situated with each other.

“It just allows me to be able to sharpen my decision-making as well as [know] my personnel on the court and off the court.”

Despite the strides Wrisby-Jefferson was making on the court, he did not draw any scholarship offers in the summer recruiting period ahead of this season. It wasn’t until the Phelps senior took a visit to Brown that he was offered a spot with the Ivy League squad in Providence, R.I.

“I wasn’t one of those people who was really known, but I was able to get Brown, and I just felt accomplished,” Wrisby-Jefferson said. “The recruiting process was really long, but I was able to just tough it out, play my game, and I feel like Brown took a chance on me.

“It feels really good. It feels like a lot of pressure is taken off my back. I’m able to just work on my game and make sure I’m ready for next year.”