UNIVERSITY PARK - After something terrible happens, a young man has a choice to make.
Two directions are in front of him. Tamir Bolger zoomed as far as possible in the good one.
Bolger is a 5-6, 140-pound senior point guard and in recent weeks he has helped Constitution High earn the highest possible basketball achievements - an overall Public League championship and a Class A state title.
The latter was earned Friday, in mostly comfortable fashion, at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center as the Generals bested Lincoln Park Charter, of Midland, 68-49, and Bolger, with five assists and seven steals, was something of a whirlwind.
Not sure how many folks would have predicted such lofty heights for Bolger back on Dec. 15, 2009, as Constitution, a special-admit school in Center City, played its very first varsity game vs. World Communications Charter.
All hell broke loose with 2:46 showing in the third quarter. Once the fighting and arguing subsided, the referees halted the game and sent everyone home. The result went into the books as a double forfeit, and Bolger absorbed much of the blame. Reason: He started the mess by slapping a World Comm player in the face.
That day, Bolger professed sorrow.
"I feel bad about everything that went down. It's on me. I'm sorry about that," he said.
The words weren't hollow. Bolger - pretty much, hey, every kid has a minor slipup or two - was the picture of dedication and good behavior over the next three seasons.
In the hallway outside ConHigh's locker room Friday, Bolger spoke with clarity about The Worst Moment in His Basketball Life, and how he'd refused to let it drag him down.
"I learned from that," he said. "I can't do things like that. Getting thrown out of games. Letting down my team. I had a long talk with my coach [Rob Moore] about that and met with our principal [Tom Davidson], too.
"I had to change my attitude. I was young, so I had time to do that. I wanted to turn things around. I didn't want people to still be coming at me over that. I was a big part of taking my team to the Public League final last year and then look what happened this year . . . We won the Pub and added the state chip."
He paused, then added, "I've shown people what kind of kid I am."
Often, on a team dominated by upper-echelon seniors Savon Goodman and Daiquan Walker, Bolger had to settle for second-billing status in terms of statistics. His energy and savvy were always present and important, however.
In this one? He almost experienced a statfest! Bolger even claimed five rebounds.
Bolger was at his waterbugging best in the third quarter as the Generals, the first non-charter Pub school to win a state title (this is year No. 8 of involvement), used a 17-11 advantage to expand a 33-22 halftime lead.
After posting two assists and four steals, he ended the session by taking an inbound pass from Walker and draining a right-wing trey for his only points.
"I'd rather get 10 assists than five points," he said, smiling. "Scoring's not important to my role. My job is to be a role model, and a leader, with the other things."
Bolger, who's receiving interest from Eastern University (among others) and envisions a career in sports management, lives on the 7100 block of Woolston Avenue, footsteps from Simons Playground in West Oak Lane. For this one, he earned an "A" in game management at both ends of the floor.
"Coach Moore said they were sloppy with the ball," Tamir noted. "He said to harass them for 94 feet and they'd cough up the ball. He just said to stay in front of my man and keep my hands off him. Just move my feet. Move my feet. Side to side. Side to side. A couple times, I made the guy dribble the ball off his foot."
Walker, who finished with 22 points, seven rebounds and six apiece of assists and steals, expressed great appreciation for having been Bolger's backcourt partner.
"He's always giving full effort," he said. "And I mean 100 percent of the time. He sets the tone on defense. It's like, 'Tamir's doing it. No reason for me not to.' The way he carries himself rubs off on everybody else."
The 6-6 Goodman, a former Villanova commit who is back on the market, powered the Generals with 27 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. He shot 11-for-24 with five dunks, and likely had that many shots blocked by 6-10 Devontae Watson, a Temple commit.
"We told our guys not to be affected by blocked shots," Moore said. "I told them, 'Just continue to play for 32 minutes.' "
Watson, who's still quite raw (and lean), totaled nine points, 14 rebounds and eight blocks. LP, which often flew upcourt in old-school Pub style, killed itself with 29 turnovers.
ConHigh's other starters were forwards Fajion Jones and Craig "Poppy" Slade, while guards Amonie "Moonie" Holloman and Akeem King served as rotation subs. In the very last moment, deep sub Kevin Dukes canned a layup on a feed from Barry Taylor and the starters exploded off the bench in glee. Those were Dukes' first career varsity points.
All players then bunched together at midcourt and the emotions were flowing. The juice remained when the trophy was held aloft to show the fans.
Of this fact, you can be absolutely sure: No one felt better/prouder than Tamir Bolger.
