City of Basketball Love

Joseph Santoliquito (@jsantoliquito)
––

Rahmir Barno is special. The rail-thin Imhotep Charter 6-foot junior point guard knows it. So, too, does Panthers’ coach Andre Noble. So, too, do Barno’s teammates. There was just one problem in the Imhotep’s opening two games this season—Barno wasn’t playing the way he’s capable of.

The problem Barno has, it seems, is Barno. He admits he suffered a spell of thinking too much on the court, instead of slipping into the natural flow of the game.

Barno needed a jolt. It came the Wednesday showdown against traditional Philadelphia Catholic League powerhouse and Cahillites’ Cincinnati-bound star Daniel Skillings Jr.

Barno led the Panthers to a 70-60 victory over Roman with a team-high 23 points before an overflow crowd that circled the court at St. Joseph’s Prep.  

“I needed this,” Barno admitted. “I wanted to get out of my slump. My all-around game in our first two games this season wasn’t where I wanted it to be. A lot of it was me thinking too much on the court. A lot of stuff like that. To me, this was a boost of confidence. I’m confident. I believe in myself. You can never have too much confidence.

“As a team, we needed this. Now we have to go back to practice and get after it. We can’t let this win stick. We can’t be satisfied. We need to move forward.”

Both teams gained a little something from the non-league game between the area powers. Barno, it appears, got his mojo back and the Panthers needed to bounce back from last weekend’s 60-57 setback to a very good Reading team.

“This was a game out team needed,” Noble said. “It’s a rivalry game, played before an intense crowd. I liked the way our guys worked with each other tonight. And it was good to see Rahmir back. He was one of our best players last year as a sophomore, and we know he can shoot.

“When he shoots the ball well, he’s tough for anyone to guard. Our first few games Rahmir wasn’t at his best, at least to the high standard we know he can play.”

There was an ebb-and-flow quality to this game. But it was always Roman in the catch-up mode. That looked as if Roman’s constant surges, along with a pressure defense that for a short spell had Imhotep flustered, would pay off when a Toby Ojukwo put the Cahillites up, 53-52, with 5:25 left to play. It had been Roman’s first lead since it was up 5-4 early in the first quarter.

“We read how they played us defensively and we were able back-cut on them when they blitzed us,” said Skillings, who finished with 10 points. “We handled their pressure well, and for a little time there, they had problems dealing with our pressure.”

Then came Barno springing out like a superhero.

Barno (above, in June) holds offers from VCU, Temple, Drexel, La Salle and others. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

His uncanny handle seems as if the ball is tethered to his hands by an invisible string. He can go where he wants on the court. Barno’s three-pointer with 3:03 left gave the Panthers some breathing space at 60-55, but as Roman seemed prime to make another push, it was Barno who flashed and stole a Roman pass, bringing it the length of the court for a 62-55 Imhotep lead.

Roman struggled at the end. After a Skillings’ slam with 4:34 left to play, Roman didn’t score again there was :27 left off a Xzavier Brown bucket. By then, Imhotep had the game wrapped up, leading 66-57.

“We were right there and we couldn’t finish,” Roman coach Chris McNesby said. “Our execution was good in different stretches, but we need to be in these moments more and we need to learn how to close. With this team, I said from Day One, I want us to be a better team by the time the Catholic League starts.

“That’s what games like this are for—getting better and finding out about yourself. This game gave us a good view of what our warts are.”

It also showed Imhotep what it could be.

“This wasn’t as intense as the Reading game, but think this was a statement game for us,” said 6-7 junior forward Justin Edwards, who finished with 16. “Roman beat us the last three years. This was nice to win, and it was good for Rahmir. He’s so good that the only one who can Rahmir is Rahmir.

“When he plays calm, and his mindset is the way it was tonight, we’re unstoppable. As Rahmir goes, we go. He’s the boss. He’s the point guard with the keys. It all goes through him. It was good to see him back the way we know he can play.”

By Quarter
Imhotep Charter:   21 | 9 | 17 | 23 || 70

Roman Catholic:  16 | 10 | 20 | 14 || 60

Scoring
Imhotep Charter: Barno 23, Edwards 16, Nowell 10, Raphael 6, Anglin 6, White 6, Satterfield 3

Roman Catholic: Brown 23, Farmer 14, Skillings 10, Ojukwo 6, Jackson 4, Radunovic 3

~~~

Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who began writing for CoBL in 2021 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter here.