Philly is a sports town to begin with — the Phillies, Sixers, Eagles and Flyers have fan-bases that are as passionate as they are hyper-critical and grumpy. But few things will inspire the passion, the love, the loyalty as basketball — and especially Big Five college basketball. I grew up outside of Philadelphia, and I remember going to Big Five doubleheaders with my dad as a kid. Going to Penn meant that I spent four years at the college hoops grand dame of arenas — the Palestra. The Atlantic 10 used to hold its early round tourney games there, the Big Five doubleheaders there were amazing, and of course, there was always Penn – Princeton.

Now, Andy Katz of ESPN.com spends some time on a quick tour of Philly-ball and comes away duly impressed. It’s a fun read that does hint at the fun of Philly college basketball. And there still is nothing as cool as a pure Philly point guard. All pass, all D, and just a gym-rat love of the game.