2027 Forward Jeremiah Adedeji is a back to back Philadelphia Catholic champion with Father Judge High School (PA). One of the best forward prospects in the Philadelphia area has now made his decision on where he’ll be continuing his career at the next level.
I caught up with the 6-foot-9 forward to talk about his commitment to Hawk Hill, keys for Judge to continue their success in the PCL, & points of emphasis for his development.
For the last two seasons, not only has Father Judge ruled the Philadelphia Catholic League, but they’ve also sent a number of players to the next level. With them losing key seniors in Derrick Morton-Rivera (Temple), Max Moshinski (Iona), & Rocco Westfield (Merrimack), it’s time for their new young talent to keep the traditions alive. That means it’s time to step up for senior leaders like Jeremiah and Naz Tyler (Holy Cross).
“I’ve been working on trying to become more of a leader”, said Adedeji. “I know I have to be a leader now, mature a little bit and be one of the best players on the team, if not the best, so all the young guys can follow suit, and we can try to 3-peat.”
It’s no secret that to win the Philadelphia Catholic League, it takes grit, skill and high-level coaching. Coach Chris Roantree does a great job at not only preparing his guys for war, but also preparing them for the next level.
“I’ve learned from my time here at Father Judge that you just have to do everything hard,” said Adedeji. “Those teams that kind of do things halfway never make it far. If you do everything hard in practice, the game really becomes easy for you. You have to be conditioned to be able to think during the 4th quarter when it’s 30 seconds left, not just in the beginning of the game. You have to have a different mindset on the court than everyone else.”
Over the past year, Adedeji has seen his stock rise, but also major leaps in his improvement as a player. At 6-foot-9, Adedeji is a legitimate scoring threat from anywhere on the floor, and he covers ground quickly with the fluidity in his movement and foot speed. While he’s still improving all of these things, it’s easy to see that the potential is high, and the work ethic behind it shows promise.
“I think my confidence has grown a lot,” he said. “Last year I was the 4th or 5th option, so I didn’t have as much confidence to shoot the shots I wanted to shoot all the time. My coach with Philly Pride Coach Ty instilled a lot of confidence in me over the summer, allowing me to shoot different shots and if I missed just telling me don’t dwell on it. When I play that way it’s easy for me to get going on, I don’t think about the shot after I make it or miss. I just worry about the next play.”
Over the last year, Adedeji has received offers from Penn State, Drexel, Hofstra, Robert Morris, St. Joe’s, Iona, FGCU and more. He says the process of getting to know college coaches has been fun, and just knowing they take a real interest in him gives him more motivation to keep improving. He says it came down to two programs, St. Joe’s and Robert Morris.
Adedeji says he feels comfortable joining the Hawk Hill family because of their history of being able to produce forwards and wings that continue to develop and play past college. “I feel like they will put me on the right path to achieve my highest goal,” said the 6-foot-9 forward.