Philly Live summer basketball event gives coaches a second look at potential standout players

Organizing Philly Live, a sanctioned summer basketball event that includes about 100 to 200 high school basketball teams, is grueling, time-consuming work.

The goal is to corral college coaches in one place where they have another opportunity to evaluate recruits.

To do that, schedules must be made, rules followed, sponsorships secured, approvals sought, and thousands of college coaches must be contacted.

For Imhotep Charter coach Andre Noble and Archbishop Wood coach John Mosco, who both started the event in 2019, the most rewarding part doesn’t necessarily happen on the court.

“I enjoy what happens after the weeks are over,” Noble said via phone. “Just seeing this kid get that offer, that kid get this offer, and another kid getting an opportunity [he might not have gotten]. To do the planning work to create the atmosphere where that can happen, as an educator, that’s cool. That’s the motivation.”

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The event, which runs from Friday to Sunday and then returns June 23-25, will be held at Jefferson University and St. Joseph’s Prep and will feature teams from Ohio, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, Connecticut, and Washington.

It is one of the largest “live-period” events in the country.

For Noble and Mosco, two of the most successful coaches in the city, that means hours of preparation, some of which begins before their respective high school seasons end.

“We start getting emails in January,” Mosco said inside his office on Wood’s Warminster campus. “Teams start asking, ‘When are you going to send the emails out?’”

Mosco and Noble have been friends for years, though neither remembers how the bond began.

It likely started from competition, both say.

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Noble arrived at Imhotep in 2000, started the school’s sports program the following year, and helped the Panthers join the Public League in 2004. Since then, Noble has led 11 Pub champions and nine PIAA title teams.

Mosco was a longtime assistant at Neumann Goretti before taking over at Wood in 2014. During his tenure, the Vikings have won two Catholic League crowns and played in four state title games, winning in 2017 while led by Collin Gillespie.

Imhotep and Neumann Goretti also met often in District 12 title games.

These days, however, Noble and Mosco spend more time collaborating than competing.

“This last month, there’s not a day that I don’t talk to John Mosco,” Noble said.

Mosco estimates that the duo spends at least four hours a day planning during the weeks before the event. They rate each team and plan matchups, trying not to create lopsided contests. Mostly, they try to vary the competition so that teams face unfamiliar foes.

“Some teams are looking to just take a beating against some good Philly teams so that if they play them in states, they aren’t [shell-shocked],” Mosco said. “It shows how good we are in the city.”

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They also secure sponsorships, plan merchandising, and sometimes have to adjust on the fly.

When Camden’s DJ Wagner was a freshman, Mosco recalled the crowd at Jefferson being larger than anticipated.

They quickly opened the upper level of seating at Jefferson and still separated college coaches from players’ family members, per NCAA guidelines.

The whole point, both coaches say, is to showcase young talent in and around the city.

This year, Mosco said even referees will be holding a clinic so that young officials can be trained during the event.

Both coaches’ main concern, though, is increasing scholarship opportunities.

The rationale is that some players get lost in the summer shuffle on AAU teams loaded with talent. At Philly Live, college coaches can see those same players in different roles on their high school teams.

Two years ago, Mosco said his current top player, Jalil Bethea, who was last season’s Catholic League MVP, appeared on UCLA’s radar after he was seen at Philly Live.

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Now, Bethea has offers from nearly every major program in the nation.

Noble referenced Imhotep rising senior Makye Taylor, who plays on Team Final’s AAU squad, which has several players ranked within ESPN’s top 100 recruits. Taylor, Noble said, will have a chance to show coaches more skills in his role with Imhotep.

“It sounds corny, but that’s what we’re doing it for,” Mosco said. “It’s for kids to get looks and get scholarships. … Parents appreciate it and the kids do, too, and that’s what makes you keep going.”