Andre Noble

One of Philadelphia's top basketball players in the Class of 2013 is back on the market. Imhotep Charter's Brandon Austin, a 6-6 point guard and a second team Daily News All-City selection last March, has decommitted from Penn State, according to IC coach, Andre Noble. Noble said Austin's decision was not connected to the football mess, and what effect it could have on the school's other programs. "He just became unsure," Noble said. "It's a big decision. He's still considering them.

Imhotep's Brandon Austin, one of the city's top basketball players, committed to Providence on Monday night. The 6-foot-6 senior point guard said his decision came down to the Friars and Connecticut. He also had offers from Texas and UCLA. "It was a hard decision," said Austin, who added that Providence coach Ed Cooley "said I'll be his No. 1 guy from the moment I step on campus. " A dynamic ball handler, Austin said he was told by the Providence staff that he will start as a freshman.

You'll forgive the guys on the Imhotep Charter basketball team if they don't seem awed when they walk onto the Liacouras Center court at Temple on Saturday afternoon. "When we get there, it won't seem foreign to us," head coach Andre Noble said yesterday. "We won't be feeling any pressure. " It's not that Noble is cocky, it's just that well . . . he and his team have been there before. Twice over the last 2 years to be exact. And each time, Imhotep has won the Public League title.

Did you wonder in late March which high school basketball team was the best in the state? We'll find out this weekend, kinda, in unofficial fashion. The Battle of the Champions, featuring players from the three city teams that won state titles and Friends League powerhouse Friends' Central, will take place at Southern High, Broad and Snyder, tomorrow night and Sunday afternoon. The event was conceived and planned by coach/athletic director Andre Noble, of AA champ Imhotep Charter.

Imhotep Charter's scoring balance proved to be the difference in a 49-38 victory over Communications Tech in a PIAA Class AA state semifinal basketball game Wednesday night at Southern. The Panthers (30-3) had eight players score, while the Phoenix (23-6) had only five. "They played a lot tougher than they did in the regular-season game," Imhotep Charter coach Andre Noble said of Communications Tech. Imhotep won the previous meeting, 67-40, on Jan. 25. Noble praised the Phoenix effort on the boards.

HERSHEY, Pa. - Last season, the Imhotep Charter boys' basketball team claimed its third PIAA Class AA championship and second in a row. This year, in making the move up to Class AAA, the Panthers proved equal to the challenge. More than equal, actually. In an all-District 12 state final, Andre Noble's squad, spurred by 25 points from senior catalyst Brandon Austin and solid interior play, downed Archbishop Carroll, 54-45, Friday night at the Giant Center. "We felt a couple of times that we were the best team in the state, regardless of the class we were in," Noble said.

STATE COLLEGE - Imhotep Charter had its ups and downs during the regular season and Public League playoffs, where it bowed out early. But the Panthers sorted through their problems, found their way back to Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center, and ruled the PIAA Class AA boys' roost again. On Saturday, overcoming poor free-throw shooting and a rash of turnovers, Imhotep fought past District 7's Beaver Falls, 56-54, in overtime for its third state crown in four seasons. "We had some chemistry issues, lost some kids due to academic eligibility, and we kicked a few kids off the team," coach Andre Noble said.

In one corner: Ss. Neumann-Goretti, the team with three consecutive Catholic League basketball championships and 54 straight league wins. In the other: Imhotep Charter, the squad with the same number of consecutive Public League titles and 55 wins in the last 57 league outings. Ding, ding, ding! . . . Almost. Nudged hard late yesterday morning by the Daily News, District 12 chairman Robert Coleman spent much of the afternoon trying to schedule a real City Title showdown between these powers for later this week.

After last year's one-point decision, it was supposed to be a tightly contested battle for top honors in Division C of the Public League. Largely because of Terrell Johnson's quickness and torrid outside shooting, it instead was a lopsided affair. With Johnson nailing four three-pointers on the way to a season-high 18 points, visiting Imhotep Charter jumped out to a 17-point lead in the first quarter and whipped bitter rival Communications Tech, 67-40, Tuesday at Pepper Middle School in Southwest Philly.

HERSHEY, Pa. - Last season, the Imhotep Charter boys' basketball team claimed its third PIAA Class AA championship and second in a row. This year, in making the move up to Class AAA, the Panthers proved equal to the challenge. More than equal, actually. In an all-District 12 state final, Andre Noble's squad, spurred by 25 points from senior catalyst Brandon Austin and solid interior play, downed Archbishop Carroll, 54-45, Friday night at the Giant Center. "We felt a couple of times that we were the best team in the state, regardless of the class we were in," Noble said.

HERSHEY, Pa. - Last season, the Imhotep Charter boys' basketball team claimed its third PIAA Class AA championship and second in a row. This year, in making the move up to Class AAA, the Panthers proved equal to the challenge. More than equal, actually. In an all-District 12 state final, Andre Noble's squad, spurred by 25 points from senior catalyst Brandon Austin and solid interior play, downed Archbishop Carroll, 54-45, Friday night at the Giant Center. "We felt a couple of times that we were the best team in the state, regardless of the class we were in," Noble said.

HERSHEY, Pa. - Last season, the Imhotep Charter boys' basketball team claimed its third PIAA Class AA championship and second in a row. This year, in making the move up to Class AAA, the Panthers proved equal to the challenge. More than equal, actually. In an all-District 12 state final, Andre Noble's squad, spurred by 25 points from senior catalyst Brandon Austin and solid interior play, downed Archbishop Carroll, 54-45, Friday night at the Giant Center. "We felt a couple of times that we were the best team in the state, regardless of the class we were in," Noble said.

'CELEBRATION" came pumping through the sound system at Temple's Liacouras Center and Abraham Massaley, like most of Imhotep Charter's delirious players, stood, listened, beamed, grooved and even sang at a spot near midcourt. Then, after some prodding by teammates, he decided to step forward and bust a move. How fitting . . . A few minutes earlier, the 5-11, 160-pound combo guard had uncorked a basketball version, thus helping the Panthers claim their fourth Public League championship in five seasons.

For what Imhotep Charter coach Andre Noble called "some bad practice efforts," Abraham Massaley recently lost his starting position. "I'm not used to coming off the bench," the senior guard said. "But at this point of the season, you have to put your ego aside and just play hard. " Sunday at Temple's Liacouras Center, it Massaley's late basket lifted the Panthers to a 67-66 triumph over Rysheed Jordan and never-say-die Roberts Vaux in a thrilling Public League final. His deciding field goal, on a left-side drive, came with 11 seconds to play.

BRANDON AUSTIN is often so laid-back, you'd think his sport of choice would be golf. Or maybe even chess, if a special exemption could be granted to make that qualify. When he offers answers to questions, sometimes he does so with a voice that makes a whisper sound ear-splitting. Ah, but there are also stretches when his basketball play is eye-popping, and that was why so many Division I colleges wanted to add him to the fold. Austin, a 6-6, 180-pound senior, does his playing for Imhotep Charter and his next stop will be Providence.

Imhotep's Brandon Austin, one of the city's top basketball players, committed to Providence on Monday night. The 6-foot-6 senior point guard said his decision came down to the Friars and Connecticut. He also had offers from Texas and UCLA. "It was a hard decision," said Austin, who added that Providence coach Ed Cooley "said I'll be his No. 1 guy from the moment I step on campus. " A dynamic ball handler, Austin said he was told by the Providence staff that he will start as a freshman.

One of Philadelphia's top basketball players in the Class of 2013 is back on the market. Imhotep Charter's Brandon Austin, a 6-6 point guard and a second team Daily News All-City selection last March, has decommitted from Penn State, according to IC coach, Andre Noble. Noble said Austin's decision was not connected to the football mess, and what effect it could have on the school's other programs. "He just became unsure," Noble said. "It's a big decision. He's still considering them.

STATE COLLEGE - Somebody out there or Up There really must have wanted to see Shakur NeSmith enjoy a special basketball moment before his sporting attention turned completely to football. No way anyone could have predicted such a positive outcome during the 2010-11 season. Or even, for that matter, right before this one. NeSmith (yes, there's a capital S in the midst of his surname) is a 6-5, 195-pound senior forward and Saturday at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center he helped Imhotep Charter, a side-door, state-tourney entrant as District 12's No. 4 seed, capture its third Class AA championship in 4 years.

STATE COLLEGE - Imhotep Charter had its ups and downs during the regular season and Public League playoffs, where it bowed out early. But the Panthers sorted through their problems, found their way back to Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center, and ruled the PIAA Class AA boys' roost again. On Saturday, overcoming poor free-throw shooting and a rash of turnovers, Imhotep fought past District 7's Beaver Falls, 56-54, in overtime for its third state crown in four seasons. "We had some chemistry issues, lost some kids due to academic eligibility, and we kicked a few kids off the team," coach Andre Noble said.

FOR ONE member of Imhotep Charter's basketball team, the last 10 days have been only three-fourths as rough as they could have been. Khyree Wooten, a 6-2, 180-pound senior wing guard, has been forced to answer questions via Facebook, Twitter and text messages, but the in-person contact has been pretty much nonexistent. "I'm not in school right now," Wooten said, meaning he's not taking classes. "I'm on an internship. Things like breaking down film with my coach. " As that man, Andre Noble, explained, the internship involves much more than imitating Ebert & Roeper.