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Roman Catholic's Shareef Jackson steps up in win over O'Hara

01/06/2023, 11:15pm EST
By Joseph Santoliquito

Joseph Santoliquito (@JSantoliquito)

SPRINGFIELD — He likes to be discreet, rolling down by the baseline of Roman Catholic games and standing there trying to be invisible except for one. Though when you’re 6-foot-10 and possess a recognizable face from being on post-game 76ers telecasts, it becomes a little hard for Marc Jackson.

Shareef Jackson, Roman’s 6-7, 235-pound sophomore center, doesn’t have to see his dad at the games. He could sense his presence. He could feel his eyes on him. He could hear the constructive criticism that is bound to come his way, and Shareef also hears the constant chime of his dad’s deep-toned voice repeating, “You’re better than me when I was your age.”


Shareef Jackson (above) had 12 points and 9 rebounds as Roman beat O'Hara on Friday night. (Photo: Dan Hilferty/CoBL)

And Shareef will smile to himself—and then prove it.

Like he did Friday night, playing a vital role with 12 points and 9 rebounds in Roman’s 59-41 victory over growing Cardinal O’Hara in a key Catholic League game.

Roman (10-1 overall, 2-0 Catholic League) received great balanced scoring, with 13 from Xzayvier Brown, all in the second half, 12 from Anthony Finkley, 11 from Jermai Stewart-Herring and 10 from Erik Oliver-Bush.

O’Hara’s Iona-bound Izaiah Pasha led all scorers with 16 points—all coming in the first half.

For Shareef, Friday marked another turn in his maturation. He got the Cahillites out to a great start, scoring six of his 12 in the first quarter and playing a strong inside presence defensively when it looked like O’Hara would actually take off.

“First off, Shareef is a great, great kid who is highly intelligent and his experience has been the difference this year,” Roman coach Chris McNesby said. “He went through that transition from his freshman to sophomore year. Shareef will even stop practice and talk to the guys if he sees something. He’s not afraid to speak up within the team huddle. He has this perfectionist thing about him, and he will speak out in a positive way.

“Last year, we had some leaders on this team and Shareef has grown in a year. With his intelligence, his personality, he could easily be student body president as a sophomore. His future lies way beyond basketball. On the court, he’s taken more accountability and I absolutely love it.”

So, apparently, does Shareef. When his father Marc was a senior at Roman, he would take the bus to O’Hara, Monsignor Bonner, anywhere he could get to and literally sit in the stands and scout the games like a coach. He was that sophisticated and dedicated to the game.

It’s an ethos he’s passed on to his son.

“Last year was about not knowing where to go, this year is easier to see where I’m supposed to be on the court,” said Shareef, who is 16 and wears a size 14 shoe. “My dad will get on me in a constructive way and it’s something every good parent does. But my dad will be the first to always tell me, ‘You’re a lot better than me when I was your age.’ I had doubts last year. I would make a mistake and mope.

“I feel confident this year. Last year, I didn’t talk to anyone. This year, I’m more active. If I could go back in time, I would tell myself last year that you always have a part in the game, playing good defense, grabbing rebounds, it’s not always scoring 25 points a night. Winning basketball is more than that.”


Jackson (above) has the inside touch and rebounding abilities of his father, Marc Jackson, but he can step outside and shoot as well. (Photo: Dan Hilferty/CoBL)

This is the best stretch Shareef has played and what’s scary is he’s only getting better.

As for Roman, the Cahillites needed Shareef to carry them through a rocky first half. Roman started out 7-0, and once O’Hara got into a flow, the Lions took over.

Led by Pasha, O’Hara led 15-11 after one quarter and exploded in the second, when Pasha scored 10 of the Lions’ 15 second-quarter points. The Lions were up 25-14 with 2:33 left in the first half.

The second half was a role reversal. It explained where Roman still is, at or near the pinnacle of the Catholic League, and where O’Hara would like to go. The Lions showed that they’re capable of getting there.

That is, until McNesby ran a 2-3 matchup zone and Pasha never even got a shot off in the second half. Still, the Lions managed to stay within 40-37 after three, when O’Hara went the first six minutes of the fourth quarter without scoring.

Pasha was 8 for 13 in the first half. Then Roman made him disappear. Pasha admits, he didn’t help myself much, either.

“Pasha is a problem, he’s a top player in our league and O’Hara is a very capable team,” McNesby said. “Being down at the half, we took a breath. We’re an older game and we knew this game would be tough and O’Hara is good. We had to settle down and slow them down a little.”

O’Hara did not attack the zone.

“That’s on me,” Pasha said. “I have to be more of a leader and step up. I stopped myself. We didn’t play really good defense in the second and we didn’t adapt well to the zone—and we got down on ourselves. To reach the high level Roman is on, we need to deal with that. I felt I had to score 30 for us to win.

“I can’t go an entire half without shooting. I got down. I shouldn’t have. I have to lead this team. That game was closer than the score. We’re a better team than that. I have to be a better leader and we need to adapt quicker. I have to attack high post, or cut baseline, and I never flashed. We just froze. Going forward, I need to lead better.”

O’Hara should improve from this.

“The coaching is great in this league,” Lions’ coach Ryan Nemetz said. “That 2-3 zone slowed us down. Wherever Izaiah went, they went. We need to work on the zone and play better defense, and Pearse McGuinn made a big jump from last year. If we can get some more offense from him, and moving forward to win in this league, we need to stay together.”

By Quarter
Roman Catholic:  11  |  13  |  16  |  19  ||  59
Cardinal O’Hara:  15  |  15  |   7   |   4   ||  41

Scoring
Roman Catholic: Xzayvier Brown 13, Shareef Jackson 12, Anthony Finkley 12, Jermai Stewart-Herring 11, Erik Oliver-Bush 10, Robert Cottrell 1.

Cardinal O’Hara: Izaiah Pasha 16, Christian Cervellero 8, Josh Coulanges 7, Pearse McGuinn 4, Aasim Burton 4, Miles Johnson 2.

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.


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