A look at men's basketball's Class of 2020

Though the Penn men’s basketball Class of 2020 has been more or less set for a while now, head coach Steve Donahue made things official when he unveiled the newest Quakers last week.

“These young men possess the type of talent and character that good programs are built upon,” the second-year coach said in a statement. “We are bringing in a couple of local guys, but also some guys who are coming from notoriously good basketball areas across the country.”

Here’s a quick rundown of the freshman class that will be arriving on campus next fall:

AJ Brodeur – 6’8” – Northfield Mount Hermon (NH)

Brodeur, as team captain and MVP, led his squad to a 28-8 record and a NEPSAC title in his senior season. A power forward, Brodeur turned down offers from Notre Dame, Davidson and Boston College in order to join former high school teammates Jackson Donahue and Collin McManus in University City. Look for him to be key in replacing 2016 graduate Darien Nelson-Henry’s production down low.

Ryan Betley – 6’5” – Downington West (PA) High School

One of the first players in the class (along with Brodeur) to commit to Penn, Betley will join guards Jake Silpe and Darnell Foreman as Philly-area natives expected to get regular minutes in the backcourt. A two-year captain in high school, Betley won a Ches-Mont title and was named the conference’s player of the year in his senior season. “What separated Penn for me was I grew up around Penn,” Betley told the DP last summer. “It was a special place for me growing up. Also I loved coach Donahue’s vision for the program.”

Devon Goodman – 6’0” – Germantown (PA) Academy

As the fourth Philly-area product on the roster, Goodman will look to add to the already talent-packed Quaker backcourt. An undersized but very quick point guard, Goodman won four Inter-Athletic league titles during his prep career and was an AAU teammate of Betley. His conference’s MVP in his senior season, Goodman figures to have a Darnell Foreman-type role in his freshman campaign.

Ray Jerome – 6’2” – Cheshire (CT) Academy

A member of Puerto Rico’s under-20 national team, Jerome will look to add further guard depth. A fluent Spanish speaker, he will enroll in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Zack Kaminsky – 6’6” – Pace (GA) Academy

Like fellow Atlanta native Tyler Hamilton, Kaminsky will figure to play a hybrid guard/forward role off the bench. A Georgia state champion in his senior season, the National Honor Society member and AP scholar will enroll in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Jakub Mijakowski – 6’7” – Mission Mountain School (VA)

A native of Warsaw, Poland, Mijakowski led his team to a 26-1 record and a Polish national championship in 2013 before coming stateside. An athletic hybrid player, he was a two-year captain once coming to Mountain Mission and excelled academically despite English being his second language. His online highlight videos display an eye-popping blend of athletic dunks and accurate three-point shooting.

Matt MacDonald – 6’5” – Farleigh Dickenson University

A transfer from FDU, MacDonald enrolled at Penn a year ago but was forced to sit out a season due to NCAA rules. When the guard finally takes the court (as a junior) this fall, he will look to build on the success he had in 2014-15, when he started 28 of 29 games for the Knights and was second on the team with 4.0 rebounds per game. Speaking with the DP last summer, MacDonald explained, “I felt that Penn had too much for me to turn down. It had so much from the academic portion of the school to the basketball, the tradition and history, to the campus being such a nice area of Philadelphia. It was all good stuff.”

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