Myers Park boys basketball powerhouse has many parts, but only one center

Sir Mohammed had games of 27 and 28 points this season. Bishop Boswell totaled 27 points and 11 rebounds in one game.

A.J. White had five double-doubles, sixth man Santana Lynch scored 10 or more points seven times, and starting guard Sam Walters probably leads the Charlotte area in harassing opposing guards.

They’re key parts of a Myers Park basketball team that will take a 27-4 record into Saturday’s 4A state championship game against Richmond Senior (28-2). Tip is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill.

But the center piece of this Myers Park team is a 6-foot-8 senior who is still trying to wrap his head around the fact that the Mustangs are playing for a state title this weekend.

“It’s just crazy,” said Elijah Strong, averaging 15.4 points and 5.4 rebounds a contest.

“Myers Park basketball has been good for a while, but to be here – playing for a championship – is a dream for me,” he added.

Strong arrived on campus in August 2019 and played regularly as a freshman on the 2019-20 team that finished 18-9. As a sophomore, he became a go-to guy, averaging 19 points and 8.3 rebounds on a team that went 5-3 during the COVID-shortened season.

He averaged 17 points and 9.6 rebounds last season, but by then, help was arriving.

Strong and Walters were bolstered by Mohammed, Lynch and White. Then Boswell joined the group this season.

“The guys on this team have a lot of abilities,” Strong said. “If you try to concentrate on any one player, someone else will step up.”

The inside force

In a playoff game against Charlotte Catholic, Strong picked up two quick fouls in the second quarter and went to the bench. White and Boswell took over the rebounding duties for a while, until Strong returned in the second half.

In last Saturday’s 72-51 regional championship victory against North Mecklenburg, Strong was there the whole way, putting together a double-double.

He is the Mustangs’ inside force, with his soft fadeaway jumper, his rebounding, and his shot-blocking ability. But Strong isn’t afraid to take a 3-point shot if he’s open.

“It’s like anyone else on this team,” he said. “We can do a lot of different things.”

Much was expected of this Myers Park basketball team.

The Mustangs were touted in preseason as a state championship contender.

They got out of the gates fast, pummeling Richmond Senior 78-37 on Nov. 22.

Yes, it’s the same Richmond Senior team they’ll face Saturday. But that was a Richmond Senior team playing without N.C. State commit Paul McNeil (23.8 points, 8.7 rebounds a game), who had left the Raiders for California-based Prolific Prep.

McNeil has returned to Richmond Senior and will be in the lineup Saturday.

After Myers Park’s opening victory came a home loss to Chambers – a loss that changed the Mustangs, according to Strong.

“It was a wake-up call for us,” he said. “It was a reminder that we would have to work for what we wanted. We couldn’t just walk out on the floor and win all the time.”

Steady improvement

He said the Mustangs went back to work and began focusing on each opponent, game by game.

There were a few holiday-season losses to out-of-state powers, when Myers Park played in the prestigious City of Palms Classic (Fort Myers, Fla.) and Arby’s Classic (Bristol, Tenn.).

And there was a one-point, last-second loss at private school power Carmel Christian in mid-January.

There also was the issue of where Strong will play college basketball. He committed last fall to Wofford, but after Terriers head coach Jay McAuley resigned in late December, Strong decommitted. He has several offers, most recently from Duquesne. And coaches from Southern and Missouri Valley conference schools have spoken with him in recent weeks.

“I’ve put all that on hold,” Strong said. “There will come a time for that. Right now, I’m concentrating on Myers Park basketball. We’re trying to accomplish something special this season.”

Strong is a positive force. He greets people with a smile, often calling them “Boss Man.”

He has been the glue on a Mustangs team that continues to grow stronger. After the holidays, Myers Park twice beat conference foe Olympic, which had started the season 17-0. They finished 12-0 in the conference, and their average margin of victory has been 31 points in the past seven games.

“This is what we aimed for,” Strong said last week. “This is why we’ve put in all the work.”

He said Myers Park will approach McNeil and the Richmond Senior Raiders the same way they prepared for North Mecklenburg last Saturday – and any other opponents before that.

“For us, it’s a matter of worrying about us,” he said. “We know what we have to do. We know what Myers Park basketball is all about. We have to play our game.”

And if it all works out?

“That,” Strong said with a smile, “will be crazy.”

Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle

This story was originally published March 9, 2023 at 6:30 AM.