South Philly native Charles Monroe continues impacting girls’ basketball through the All-City Classic

There was a moment when the thought impressed upon Charles “Shoob” Monroe that the pace of girls’ basketball was changing. The South Philly native watched Sadie Edwards, a 2014 McDonald’s All-American who attended Blair Academy in New Jersey, weave through a nationally ranked Neumann Goretti girls’ backcourt during an All-City Classic game.

Monroe, who founded the All-City Classic in 1995 for boys, started a girls’ game 10 years ago. He knew girls’ basketball deserved to have the same resources and platform as the boys did, but seeing the high quality talent that came from the area players motivated him to offer more.

“It kind of opened my eyes that women are great ballplayers,” he said. “The girls, they compete at a higher level than the boys do — at least at my events, and the girls’ All-City Classic is one of my favorite events that I do. And I do a lot of them.”

This year marks the 10th annual girls’ All-City Classic, which will take place Tuesday at Imhotep Charter. The games are broken down into different levels for the girls and boys between juniors, sophomores, and freshmen. The 10th annual junior boys’ games will take place on Wednesday at Imhotep, while the Rasual Butler All-City Classic for boys will be held at West Philadelphia High School on June 2.

Amongst the girls’ junior games, Archbishop Carroll’s Brooke Wilson, who’s committed to Army, Life Center Academy’s Kiyomi McMiller, a No. 7 prospect in ESPN’s rankings for the class of 2024, and Archbishop Wood’s Ava Renninger, who helped her team to a PIAA state championship this season, will be competing in the event.

“Basketball is a sport that brings people together, you’re able to build friendships, you’re able to build relationships,” Monroe said. “This is the environment that’s going to help you succeed in life, because it’s bigger than basketball.”

More than 25 years ago, Monroe, who played at Franklin Learning Center, had the idea to create the All-City Classic after an argument erupted between South Philly natives Donnie Carr and Terrell Stokes. Carr played ball for Roman Catholic while Stokes was the point guard for Simon Gratz. The two argued over whether the Public League or Catholic League was better.

Besides combining the talent of Public and Catholic League players, Monroe had bigger plans in store. The Philly area was engulfed with standout players who received little national recognition — he wanted to change that.

“I was engaged in the AAU scene and I was seeing a lot of the kids that were playing for me that we’re just as good as these kids that were in the magazines,” Monroe said. “So I said ‘How do I create an event to be able to bring all the national scouting services to the city?’”

» READ MORE: Charles Monroe: A Philly hoops magnet, still at it

During the first year, area high school stars that played in the NBA like Butler, Kobe Bryant, Lynn Greer, and Ronald “Flip” Murray participated in the event. The All-City Classic made a name for itself, and those that went on to have professional or college careers came back to their city to help the program.

One of the main obstacles that halted the creation of girls’ events, Monroe said, was finding outside funding and sponsors.

“It’s a shame because certain companies, they’ll do it for the for the guys, but then when it comes to the girls they don’t want to do it,” he added.

While an assistant coach for Haverford School boys’ team, Monroe was approached by a man named John Leone about having an All-City Classic for girls, since there wasn’t one back then. Leone, a supporter and volunteer coach for the boys’ program, is also the head of quantitative strategy for Wells Fargo Securities. He insisted on helping Monroe with the funding, and from there it didn’t take long until a platform was made.

Over the years, WNBA star Kahleah Copper of North Philly has partnered with the girls’ All-City Classic. Monroe also collaborates with Audenried Charter girls’ basketball coach Kevin Slaughter, who’s the director of the event. The two have known another since they were kids and share a similar goal about growing girls’ basketball.

“It’s to help bring exposure to girls’ basketball, but not just the game of girls’ basketball, but the youth that’s in our city,” Monroe said. “People see us running events, but what they don’t see is all the phone calls that are made on the girls’ behalf, trying to get the girls in Division I, Division II, or Division III and JUCO schools.”

Monroe, who now does social work, has created a legacy for himself over the course of generations in the Philly hoops scene.

His brand encompasses a group of 10 people working with him to create these events for high school basketball players. He has expanded those events to 11-12 per year, though, he has a certain goal circled on his list for the future; having both the girls’ and boys’ games streamed on live television.

» READ MORE: Idea for city basketball tournament a classic tale

“I do this for the youth, but I understand it’s also my legacy as well,” Monroe said. “This is my legacy that I’ll leave behind. The things that I did for the community, the things that I did to help these kids get into school, and the platform that I built for them.”

Monroe still holds the same values that led him to create the All-City Classic. He wants to bring the community together while steering youth in the right direction.

“If you help kids in high school, you’re going to change the trajectory of their life,” Monroe said. “You’re helping them to get educated, so when you help someone get educated they can write their ticket in life.”