Recruiting: Bonner-Prendergast center Tariq Ingraham drawing more interest

Tariq Ingraham took his home court in front of a sold-out crowd eager to watch a rematch of last season’s Catholic League championship on Jan. 6, but the audience he had on his mind was much smaller.

Bonner-Prendergast’s senior big man knew college coaches, either in attendance or watching the film later, would want to see how he fared against Roman Catholic star freshman Jalen Duren, and he was eager to prove himself.

Ingraham is a crafty center who operates out of the post, but can also shoot and pass from the perimeter or high post. The 6-foot-9, 230-pounder is a Division I prospect with offers from about a half-dozen schools, including Temple, Rutgers, and Pitt.

Duren is a big man with athleticism and strength who can suck the air out of a gym and leave the crowd wondering how the rim survived a dunk. According to 247sports.com, he already has an offer from Penn State, where his teammate Seth Lundy is headed next season.

“A lot of coaches came out here to see me today [against Duren], so that’s a matchup I was looking forward to,” Ingraham said.

He held his own, scoring 10 points to match Duren’s 10, and showing the way for the Friars alongside Miami recruit Isaiah Wong in a 59-58 victory over the Cahillites.

“He played great. We needed him to come ready to play defense and play with some fire and I thought he stepped up to the challenge,” Friars coach Kevin Funsten said. “He didn’t back down from an athletic guy.”

Ingraham said his father handles most of the recruiting process for him, so he can focus on his play.

The Wilmington native has been patterning his game after Hakeem Olajuwon since he was young, developing his low-post moves in tandem with the ability to play on the perimeter.

His emergence to recruiters as more than just a back-to-the-basket big man, with the versatility to step outside to shoot and defend, is making his recruiting late in the game more interesting.

“He’s gotten a lot of people interested, from one of the ACC schools to the [American Athletic Conference] down to the MAC,” Funsten said. “Everyone is still trying to figure out what type of player he is. … I think it’s still wide open.”

John Camden’s 2018 was a bit of a roller coaster.

Starting the season garnering Division I attention as an integral part of Westtown’s team, Camden was sidelined in the fall with a small growth plate fracture in his knee.

While he healed, Camden transferred from Westtown to Archbishop Carroll.

“I just thought Carroll was a better fit and that’s all there is to it, really,” Camden said. “I like the school and I like the team a lot. It’s a group of really good guys that work really hard.”

Before his sophomore season started, Camden earned offers from Miami, Temple, Syracuse, Penn State, and Xavier.

The 6-foot-7, 195-pound swingman said while the knee injury was minor, it took a long time to heal.

“I’ve made some progress. I’m getting back into shape,” Camden said. “It’s been a little exhausting, just switching to a whole new schedule, but I love the guys and I love my new coach, so everything is going well.”