Josh Verlin, the owner of City of Basketball Love, can often be seen frantically scribbling notes as he scouts high school basketball talent and conversing with coaches gauging their interests in prospects. There are only a reporters present at some of the events and sometimes Verlin is the only writer providing coverage.
“I’ve never been to an event where Josh has not been present,” said Rosemont College head basketball coach Bob “Barney” Hughes. “Josh knows his stuff. In the information driven sport that is basketball, Josh is a source of data as well as a reporter.”
Verlin turned his passion for basketball into a career. He worked at Philahoops after graduating from Temple University. He started City of basketball Love in 2012 after leaving Philahoops because of discrepancies with the coverage the site was producing.
“I never envisioned that City of Basketball Love would become my full-time job,” said Verlin, who often wears a City of Basketball Love shirt when covering events. “You see all these people coming up saying how much they love the site. It blows my mind the level of support the site has.”
City of Basketball Love has now been providing such coverage for almost two years.
“Down the road,” said Verlin, “it’s possible that colleges could pay us to provide scouting information on recruits.”
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– Text, video and images by Jake Cleary.
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