Family pride
comes in Handy

By Joe Mason
For the Times

R.J. Handy didn’t need any extra motivation.
But he certainly had it.
Handy is a junior swing guard on the North Catholic High School basketball team, and as a competitor, he wanted to help his Falcons down Archbishop Ryan in the first round of the Catholic League playoffs.
But as a son, he wanted to make the second round of the playoffs for his dad.
R.J. stands for Rodney Jr., and his father of the same name was a mainstay in the stands at every Falcons game this year. But he couldn’t be there for the first round of the playoffs.
"My dad had kidney and lung failure, so he was in Einstein Hospital," R.J. said. "He was pretty sick. That game (North’s 53-48 win over Ryan in the playoffs) was the only game he missed all year.
"He’s been a great supporter . . . my whole family has been," he continued. "My sister (Denna) was on the phone with him the whole game, giving him updates. I was so happy when we won because I was hoping he’d make it back in time for my next game."
The good news is that R.J.’s father was released from the hospital on Feb. 27, the day before the Falcons’ playoff game against Saints John Neumann-Goretti, and he was able to attend the game at the Palestra.
The bad news is the Falcons failed to advance to the championship. Final score: Neumann-Goretti, 73, North Catholic, 45. The loss ended North Catholic’s fine season, which saw the team win 22 games, including 10 in the Catholic League Northern Division regular season.
This was the first time since 1994 that the Falcons won 10 games in divisional play and the first time they advanced to the semifinals.
"You know, this school has now established a basketball program," said North coach Mike McCarron, who’s in his fifth year as head coach. "We’re getting good kids in the school and we’re getting good results on the court.
"Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that in our first year (when McCarron took over), we won just two games," he said. "Now we’ve built something special. We’ve built a basketball program that has the potential to do well every year, and we’re excited about that."
So is Handy.
Last year, Handy was a star on the junior varsity squad at Roman Catholic. But because the Cahillites had a lot of talented guards, Handy didn’t think he’d ever get his chance. So the Olney native transferred to North.
It didn’t take him long to realize that the transfer was going to work out.
"When I got here, we started playing in the summer league together, even before I got started in school," Handy said. "We kind of knew that we had the talent, but we didn’t know how we’d play together.
"Then we beat St. Benedict, they were ranked real high in Jersey," Handy recalled. "Then we beat the number-one team from Connecticut. I think that gave us all the confidence we needed."
Next year, confidence shouldn’t be much of an issue either.
The Falcons do lose their share of good players. Andrew Pomager, the first player to start four years at North, will don a graduation cap and gown come June, as will starting center Chris Edwards and swingman Jason Mendez.
But everyone else from this year’s team will be back. And they’ll be back with hopes of taking yet another step.
After all, last year was the first time under McCarron’s leadership that the team advanced past the first round of the playoffs. Next year, the goal is nothing short of a championship.
With Handy at the helm, that’s a distinct possibility.
"All of our guards are coming back, and that’s really good," said Handy, referring to point guard Velton Jones and fellow junior swing guard Lenny Young. "When you have chemistry at guard and some players around you, you can win.
"I think we have a great team coming back," he added. "This year was awesome because we got to win a playoff game and we made it to the Palestra. Next year we hope to take the next step."
It looks like his father will be taking it with him.
Despite battling diabetes and his recent health issues, Rodney Sr. remains passionate about basketball, and he always tries to be there to support his son.
Next year, his son hopes he can bring his dad a Catholic League title.
"My dad used to be an assistant at Roman," R.J. said. "He loves the Catholic League, he loves basketball and he loves watching me play. I really want to go far next year because I know he’ll be right there with me.
"Even when he was in the hospital, we talked about basketball," he continued. "The first thing he did when he got out was come and watch me play. That meant a lot, and I want to get a championship for him, my school and my teammates." ••