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Public League playoffs: Imhotep boys are front-runners to defend their title

The boys' basketball playoffs begin Thursday. While the Panthers are favorites to repeat, there are plenty of talented teams that could make a run.

Ahmad Nowell and three-time defending Public League champ Imhotep Charter are the favorites to repeat.
Ahmad Nowell and three-time defending Public League champ Imhotep Charter are the favorites to repeat.Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer
    by Owen McCue, City of Basketball Love
    Published 

The first round of the Public League boys’ basketball playoffs begin Thursday. There are 38 teams vying for the crown and looking to make a title game appearance at the Liacouras Center on Feb. 24 at 3 p.m.

Three-time defending champion Imhotep Charter is the clear-cut favorite to repeat after a 10-0 run in the A Division. Led by UConn-bound Ahmad Nowell, the Panthers have also been boosted by the return of senior forward Makye Taylor, who’s committed to Albany.

However, there are plenty of talented teams that could make a run in the postseason, and schools from the lower division look to prove themselves against the city’s top programs.

Here’s a breakdown of what to look for in the tournament:

Who are the top teams?

Constitution (16-5, 8-2) and Math, Civics & Sciences (13-8, 8-2) finished behind Imhotep in the PPL standings. The Panthers defeated both handily in the regular season, beating Constitution, 72-57, on Dec. 19 and ending their regular season with a 55-34 victory over MCS on Feb. 1.

The Mighty Elephants, who fell in the quarterfinals a season ago, haven’t won a league crown since 2020. MCS, which will close at the conclusion of this academic year, is led by senior Sair Alsbrook (12.9 points, 6.3 rebounds) and sophomore Milak Myatt (12.4 points), a 6-foot-3 guard and budding Division I prospect. The other members of the rotation include seniors Azeem Murphy, Aiden Brown, Kevin Carter, and Maki Hill.

The Generals, who are coming off a semifinal finish last season, are led by star senior Kyree Latimer (21.2 points) and classmate Perry Fields (17.0 points), who arrived this season from Boys’ Latin. Senior forward/wing Amir Speights (12.9 points) has been another big piece for coach Rob Moore’s team.

» READ MORE: Imhotep’s Ahmad Nowell finds motivation in missing the McDonald’s All American cut

Dobbins Tech made a surprise run to the PPL semifinals last season and finished with a 7-3 record this season in its first year playing in the A Division. However, the Mustangs will open as the last seed in the playoffs after forfeiting all their wins due to playing with an ineligible fifth-year senior. Dobbins and senior 1,000-point scorer Zach Campbell (19.3 points) will be put to the test as they take on Imhotep in the first round.

Lincoln, Overbrook, and West Philadelphia make up the rest of the top A Division squads. The Railsplitters have a solid senior trio in Samair Peterson (17.3 points), Malachi Montgomery (16.4 points), and Aldonis Martin (14.2 points). Second-year coach Bo Kimble has two senior guards leading Overbrook’s charge in Nasir Kelly (15.4 points) and Omar Davis (15.4 points). The Speedboys reached the title game last season, and have some size and young talent like 6-7 junior wing Makel Butts to make a run.

Besides the top teams, B Division champion Engineering & Science, runner-up Northeast, and C Division champion Samuel Fels are some of the other talented squads.

First round, Thursday

Imhotep bracket

  1. No. 1 Imhotep vs. No. 9 Dobbins

  2. No. 4 String Theory vs. No. 5 Roxborough

  3. No. 3 Overbrook vs. No. 6 Hill Freedman

  4. No. 2 West Philadelphia vs. No. 7 George Washington

E&S bracket

  1. No. 1 Engineering & Science vs. No. 8 Sayre

  2. No. 4 Frankford vs. No. 5 Franklin Towne

  3. No. 3 SLA-Beeber vs. No. 6 Mast II

  4. No. 2 Lincoln vs. No. 7 Mastery South

Constitution bracket

  1. No. 1 Constitution vs. No. 8 Martin Luther King

  2. No. 4 Ben Franklin vs. No. 5 Audenried

  3. No. 3 Simon Gratz vs. No. 6 Palumbo

  4. No. 2 Northeast vs. No. 7 Central

MCS bracket

  1. No. 1 MCS vs. No. 9 Edison

  2. No. 4 Paul Robeson vs. No. 5 Mastery North

  3. No. 3 Sankoa Freedom vs. No. 6 Vaux

  4. No. 2 Samuel Fels vs. No. 7 School of the Future

This story was produced as part of a partnership between The Inquirer and City of Basketball Love, a nonprofit news organization that covers high school and college basketball in the Philadelphia area while also helping mentor the next generation of sportswriters. This collaboration will help boost coverage of the city’s vibrant amateur basketball scene, from the high school ranks up through the Big 5 and beyond.