skip navigation

Learning to lead, Khaafiq Myers taking another step for Neumann-Goretti

01/30/2023, 9:30pm EST
By Josh Verlin

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)

RADNOR — Khaafiq Myers’ adjustment to a leadership position took a little bit of figuring out.

The Neumann-Goretti junior point guard didn’t have to do much besides lead by example as a sophomore after biding his time deep in the rotation as a freshman, but there was no doubt that he was going to have to step into that role this year, as both an upperclassman as well as a Division I recruit and one of the Saints’ top players.


Khaafiq Myers (above) put up a 12/8/8 stat line against Archbishop Carroll on Monday. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

The willingness was there, but the execution, according to longtime Saints head coach Carl Arrigale, was….a little aggressive.

“I let them (lead), especially when the guy wants to do it, I kinda watch and let them do it,” Arrigale said. “[But] he was going about it a little bit the wrong way, so I stepped in and told him: you don’t lead just by yelling at guys.

“And I don’t know if he listened to me or not, but he’s been terrific since.”

“Yeah, yeah, I was a little too hard on some guys,” Myers said with a smile. “I had to back off, I got off track [...] now I feel like everybody is together, we’re on the same page.”

With classmate Robert Wright III sidelined due to illness Monday night, Myers’ leadership skills paid off, as made sure to keep his team together and maintain their strong level of play in a 72-61 win at Archbishop Carroll. 

The 5-foot-11 guard flirted with a triple-double in the win, finishing with 14 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, plus two steals and a block, as the Saints (15-2, 8-1 PCL) won their fourth straight to stay alone in second place in the Catholic League with four games left in the regular season. 

Keeping the two-time defending PCL champs together hasn’t been easy this season, as a team that already didn’t have much depth has struggled to put together its full rotation in any particular game. While Wright’s absence is likely short-term, they’ve already played game without senior Bruce Smith and senior forward Sultan Adewale this season, while Myers has missed time with a sprained left ankle suffered during the team’s trip to Hawai’i in December, where Neumann-Goretti captured the ‘Iolani Classic title.

“He left the place on crutches and played in the final the next day, they couldn’t believe his ankle responded to where he could play,” Arrigale said. “Since he’s been home, it’s been fine for a couple days and he’ll have a reaction and goes too hard and plays too many games. It’s been a constant battle, and he’s finally turning the corner.”

“[The] Archbishop Wood game, it was still bothering me, I was about like 70%,” Myers said, referring to the Saints’ only league loss, 90-79 against Wood on Jan. 18. “But now I think I’m fully at 100 [percent] and I feel good about it every day.”

Myers certainly didn’t look like he was playing on a bum ankle. The only sign that he was working his way back was that his normally-reliable jumper wasn’t hitting as often as usual (4-12 FG, 4-7 FT), but he made up for it by hitting the glass hard and dishing the rock, a few of his best passes ending up as missed shots — though not too many, as the Saints shot 28-of-49 (57.1%) on the evening.

Leading the way in the scoring column for the Saints was Adewale, who took advantage against a Carroll squad that doesn’t have a true post player in the rotation. With the Patriots (12-6, 5-4) relying on 6-5 small forward Blake Deegan, 6-4 junior wing Su’Meer Alleyne and 6-2 senior guard Dean Coleman-Newsome to try and body up the 6-8, 215-pound combo forward from England, Adewale mostly had his way inside, finishing with 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including hitting one of his two 3-pointers, and all five of his foul shots. 

“Yeah, I had a feeling coming into tonight that I was going to dominate,” he said. “I decided to keep doing what I’ve been doing and shooting the ball.”

“He’s been a force,” Arrigale said. 

Adewale led four Saints in double figures. Amir Williams was 7-of-12 from the floor (2-6 3PT) for 16 points, with rebounds, and senior guard Bruce Smith chipped in 11 points and two assists.

All of them were fed the ball by Myers at one point or another, pacing a team that picked up 15 assists in total on the evening. It’s the mindset he learned from last year’s leader, Aamir Hurst (Holy Family), who while never needing to be one of the Saints’ leading scorers, always knew what had to be done to get a win. 

“I said ‘listen, you don’t have to make up for Rob’s points, you’ve got to get these other guys in better position,’” Arrigale said. “You’ve got to get Sultan the ball, you’ve got to get Bruce some looks, Amir some looks, and we’ll make up for Rob’s points as a group. 

“If you told me before the game that we were going to score 72 [points] without Rob, I’d have probably laughed at you, but it was nice to see.”


Nasir Ralls (55) had a strong night off the bench for Carroll. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

Carroll got 21 points and six rebounds from talented sophomore Jake West, who hit four 3-pointers, while freshman Nasir Ralls popped off the bench for an efficient 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-6 from deep and both of his foul shots. 

Myers named three Big 5 programs as those he’s hearing from most often, with Temple, La Salle and St. Joe’s all having offered scholarships. Also mentioned were a pair of Big East schools, Seton Hall and Xavier, who have not, but have told Myers they’ll be out to see him. 

He’ll play this summer with NJ Scholars on the Nike EYBL circuit, then said he’s aiming to make a college decision come August, out of the way in time for his senior year. 

Of course, before then are much more pressing matters, like keeping the Saints in position for a top-four seed in the Catholic League, which means a home game in the quarterfinals, one win away from the Palestra. Neumann-Goretti’s won the last two PCL titles, bringing Arrigale up to a record 12 championships, and then stormed to the PIAA Class 4A title as well, the ninth in state history, all with Arrigale at the helm.

Myers likes where his team’s at.

“I feel great about it, man, I feel like we can make another run at a 3-peat championship,” he said. “I feel like we’re going back into the direction we were last year, start winning at the right time.”

By Quarter
Neumann-Goretti:   19  |  12  |  18  |  23  ||  72
Archbishop Carroll: 12  |  16  |  10  |  23  ||  61

Shooting
Neumann-Goretti: 28-49 FG (7-19 3PT), 9-13 FT
Archbishop Carroll: 24-59 FG (10-35 3PT), 3-3 FT

Scoring
Neumann-Goretti: Sultan Adewale 24, Amir Williams 16, Khaafiq Myers 14, Bruce Smith 11, Matt Guokas 5, Stephon Ashley-Wright 2


D-I Coverage:

HS Coverage:

Small-College News:

Tag(s): Home  Josh Verlin  High School  Boys HS  Catholic League (B)  Archbishop Carroll  Neumann-Goretti