The All City Classic high school basketball showcase at Neumann Goretti High School on Sunday featured a series of games between prospects of varying ages from New York and Philadelphia. All three of the highly touted prospects in St. Joseph’s University’s recruiting class of 2023 played in the game for seniors.
Guard Xzayvier Brown and forwards Shawn Simmons and Anthony Finkley all played on the Philadelphia team, which lost to the New York prospects, 86-83. Philadelphia trailed by double digits before a late comeback made it close.
There is a lot of buzz surrounding these future Hawks. They make up the Atlantic 10’s best recruiting class and the nation’s 24th best, according to 247 Sports.
All three players are Philadelphia natives, with Brown and Finkley playing for Roman Catholic High School. Simmons, who plays for Hillcrest Prep in Arizona, said they want to make it fun for Philadelphia recruits to stay in the city for college.
“You don’t have to go anywhere to make it to the league.” Simmons said. “Its all about this city.”
It will likely be a couple of years before the true impact of this highly touted class is felt on Hawk Hill, but according to Brown, the next step in bringing St. Joe’s back to prominence is to attract local players in the 2024 and 2025 recruiting classes.
“We want to make it cool to play in Philadelphia again.”
The future Hawks showed flashes on Sunday of why they are all three-star prospects, according to 247 Sports, as the trio played a big role in Philadelphia’s rally.
With about six minutes left, Brown found a wide-open Finkley for a three to draw within five of New York. Three and a half minutes later, Finkley drilled another three to close the gap to two. He then came up with a steal and scored 30 seconds later to tie it at 81 with less than two minutes to play.
The chemistry between the three flashed several times, as Brown and Finkley both frequently found Simmons near the rim with excellent passes. Simmons finished those opportunities with authority.
Their connection may have been helped by the fact that the trio recently visited campus together. According to Brown, it was a positive experience.
“This last visit, it was all three of us,” Brown said. “It was the first time all three of us hung out and we got the chance to hang out with the team and the people we want to be with over the next four years.”
Simmons said that this visit felt more like an official visit than the last one they took, and they actually felt like students at St. Joe’s for the two days they were on campus.
“It was cool seeing how it’s going to be once we finally get there,” Simmons said. “Vibing with the team, watching practices, we’re all really excited.”
There are already visible signs of a close tie being formed between the trio. Just before tip-off, Brown and Simmons were laughing and smiling together, and when Brown and Youssouf Singare of the New York team exchanged words following a physical play, Simmons came over and took his future teammate away from the situation.
According to Brown, the history associated with the St. Joe’s program is a significant reason why he chose to stay local.
“I heard all the stories about St. Joe’s being good when they were No. 1 in the country with Jameer [Nelson],” Brown said. “I just feel like us three, we can help get [the team] in the right direction.”
Finkley also said they can help move the program forward, although it will not all come at once.
“Just take it one day at a time,” Finkley said. “Just keep working.”
This article was first published by the Philadelphia Inquirer on September 26, 2022 as part of the Inquirer’s college correspondent program.
