City of Basketball Love

Zak Wolf (@ZakWolf22)
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Khaafiq Myers was itching to get back on to the court.

He sat out Neumann-Goretti boys basketball’s win earlier in the week over Salesianum (Del.) with a minor hamstring injury. Neumann head coach Carl Arrigale said Myers’ injury came early last week while doing sprints during a workout before practice, and he would have played if it was a playoff game.

From the opening whistle Saturday against Spring-Ford, it was clear Myers wanted to make his presence felt. After scoring the first points of the game on a floater, Myers then poked the ball away from Jacob Nguyen on the other end for an easy layup and a quick 4-0 start. 

Myers, a St. Joseph’s commit, set the tone for Neumann-Goretti in its 75-45 win over Spring-Ford at the Diane Mosco Shootout at Archbishop Wood High School. Myers made his first five shots, finishing with a team-high 16 points, including 13 in the first half. His aggressive drives and smooth pull-up jumpers, combined with his pesky defense against the Rams’ guards, led to a blowout win for the Saints.

“My game starts with defense,” Myers said. “I just wanted to get out on the defensive end to start, and I knew the offense would come by my aggressive defense.”

Arrigale was concerned heading into the matchup. First due to Campbell and Nguyen’s shooting ability. And second his team was sick throughout the entire week, with multiple players missing practice. But Myers quelled those concerns early. 

The point guard's energy was infectious, scoring 11 points in the first quarter to propel Neumann to a 17-2 advantage just over halfway through the first quarter. Myers did most of his damage in the paint. On one play he faked from the right wing before being challenged at the rim. Myers contorted his body midair before finishing with a right-handed reverse under the basket. 

“He’s our leader when he plays; when he plays well we play well, it's simple,” Arrigale said. It's been that way ever since his sophomore year when he started.”

Without his backcourt mate Robert Wright III, who now plays at Montverde Academy, Myers is considered the most veteran player in a young group of Saints guards. But Arrigale said Myers was always more vocal than Wright.

“At first it was a little bit hard, but once I realized that Rob wasn’t going to be out there and I had to take another step of growing,” Myers said. “I thought I grew up last year taking the leap, but this year I really gotta grow up and be a man of the team.”

Now it’s Myers’ time to shine. In the past the guard has struggled with ankle injuries, missing long periods of time, but he hopes to stay healthy for the rest of the season. 

“There’s always light at the end of the tunnel,” Myers said about his injuries. “I just try and keep my head on straight knowing that I can still play basketball.”

Myers leads a young group of guards including Stephon Ashley Wright, Torey Brooks, Keon- Long and Deshawn Yates, all of whom had solid outings against Spring-Ford. 

Myers did his damage early as Neumann jumped out to a 22-6 lead at the end of the first quarter and never looked back. 

Brooks finished with 10 points, while Ashley-Wright added eight and Keon Long contributed 12 points off the bench. 

The Saints slowed down slightly over the next two quarters but prevented Spring-Ford from making a big run, leading 39-19 at half. Nguyen (16 points) and Campbell (19 points) did their best to help the Rams climb back into the game. The duo each scored eight points for all of Spring-Ford’s 16 in the third quarter, but that only cut Neumann’s lead down to 19. 

Arrigale felt his team did a good job of not being complacent as the game wore on. 

“It was a little concerning to be honest; it might sound crazy, but sometimes teams think the game is over at that point,” Arrigale said. “We talked at halftime about the third quarter being important, and we knew they’d come and give us their best shot and we made sure we played even in that quarter.”

Neumann never let the Rams get within 15.

Myers has been paying attention to St. Joes’ hot start, but he won’t let his mind wander too much into the future. The Saints need him to be great if they want to achieve their goals this season. 

“I can't wait to get there, but I definitely have to handle business here,” Myers said.

By Quarter 

Neumann-Goretti: 24 | 15 | 15 | 21 || 75 

Spring-Ford: 8 | 11 | 16 | 10 || 45 

Scoring 

Neumann-Goretti: Khaafiq Myers 16, Larenzo Jerkins 13, Keon Long 12, Amir Williams 11, Stephon Ashley-Wright 8, Deshawn Yates 4, Matt Guokas 3

Spring-Ford: E.J. Campbell 19, Jacob Nguyen 16, Tommy Kelly 4, Matt Zollers 3, Jordan Marsilio 3