Aaron Bracy’s City 6 rankings column for Nov. 4: Philly has best college hoops

By AARON BRACY

Philahoops.com Columnist

@Aaron_Bracy

Nowhere in the country is there anything like college basketball in Philadelphia. Not on Tobacco Road. Not in Kansas. Not in Ohio. Not in Indiana. Not even in Kentucky.

Sure, there are teams that are better, have more tradition and boast more fan support. But nowhere – nowhere! – in college basketball can you find six Division I basketball teams within 10 or so miles of each other that can boast the quality of what we have here in Drexel, La Salle, Penn, St. Joe’s, Temple and Villanova.

Yes, we are lucky in Philadelphia. We probably take it for granted how fortunate we are to have what we have. Nationally, Philadelphia college basketball is underappreciated (see weekly national rankings). Even locally, the town’s college hoops scene gets underplayed.

Year in and year out, though, Philly schools prove they can compete with anybody. La Salle’s run to the Sweet 16 and Temple’s near NCAA defeat of Indiana last season are the latest examples.

So, as we set to kick off another season in the storied history of Philadelphia college basketball, I’d like to pause for a moment of reflection, thanks and appreciation.

Now, let the games begin!

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Aaron Bracy’s Weekly City 6 rankings for Nov. 4 (last year’s record in parentheses):

1. La Salle (24-10, 11-5 Atlantic 10): The Explorers aren’t here because of last season’s run to the Sweet 16. Rather, they lead the rankings thanks to the best backcourt (Tyreek Duren) and frontcourt (Jerrell Wright) players in the city. Ramon Galloway’s absence will be a huge void, but La Salle still is talented enough to hold the top rung come March.

2. Villanova (20-14, 10-8 Big East): Jay Wright’s squad put together a surprisingly good season in 2012-13, raising expectations for this season in a scaled-down Big East. Watch Dylan Ennis’ injury closely. Mark it down: With a healthy Ennis, Nova will make a run at the Big East title. Without him, the Cats will finish right around their predicted fourth place.

3. St. Joe’s (18-14, 8-8 A-10): Gone is the weight of hefty preseason expectations, replaced with a hungry mentality from a veteran group. This is a good thing for coach Phil Martelli, who wants to get the joy back in his program. He’ll be helped by better on- and off-court chemistry. We’ll see if that will translate into more victories.

4. Temple (24-10, 11-5 A-10): The Owls transition into the top-heavy American Conference, which features three teams (Louisville No. 3; Memphis No. 13; and UConn No. 18) in the AP Preseason Top 25. Last year’s experienced squad would fare just fine. With Khalif Wyatt and a boatload of seniors gone, Fran Dunphy’s Owls might have some growing pains. Good news is the Owls have the talent to grow up fast.

5. Drexel (13-18, 9-9 CAA): The Dragons happily put their perplexing 2012-13 season behind them. There is too much talent here to expect another disappointing campaign. Right? Certainly the return of Chris Fouch for a sixth year will help in the leadership department and take some pressure off Frantz Massenat. Getting past Towson and into the NCAA tournament will be tough though.

6. Penn (9-22, 6-8 Ivy): The Quakers felt the effects of Zack Rosen’s absence last season, but gained valuable experience against a strong schedule. The talent base is improving and Jerome Allen won’t accept less than perfection. Penn got respect in the Ivy preseason poll, ranking second behind Harvard, and Allen’s bunch won’t be a walkover for any city team this season.

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-Aaron Bracy is the Philahoops.com founder and columnist. His City 6 rankings column appears on Mondays. Share your thoughts with Aaron at [email protected], @Aaron_Bracy on Twitter and/or in the comments section below.