Garner sings Roman's praises

THE HECK with dribbling, shooting, passing and defending.

For Shep Garner, Roman Catholic High's newest basketball sensation, the most challenging task is trying to keep a straight face right before the games begin. When Roman is the home team, that is.

Garner's mother, Kim, is a professional singer (fronts one band; has another of her own) and . . . hey, there she is, impeccably dressed, standing right in front of the scorers' table, belting out the national anthem.

"I'm laughing on the inside, but I can't let it show," said the personable Garner, a 6-2, 190-pound sophomore point guard. "You know how it goes. When your mom's singing the national anthem and you're on the team, you're going to get kidded about it. When I'm standing there, I'm thinking about what my teammates are thinking, which I just know is funny stuff.

"Around the gym, a lot of people don't know what's up. But then you can tell that the word's spreading. 'That's Shep Garner's mom.' I like to look around and check out the people looking at her. The whole thing's pretty interesting."

He then added, "She used to sing the national anthem at Chester High's games . . . She doesn't do that anymore."

The reason: Garner lives in Chester, maybe a half-dozen blocks from the school, and the community is not exactly thrilled that he opted for another school.

Yesterday, with some of the student rooters calling him "Shep Wayns" (star Villanova guard Maalik Wayns is a Roman product), Garner tallied 10 points, seven assists and five steals as the Cahillites bested Bishop McDevitt, 66-58, in a Catholic League opener.

Then, he had to answer two major questions: Why didn't opt for Chester, which, like Roman, boasts a first-magnitude hoops pedigree? And, how often is he asked to transfer back?

"Coming here wasn't that hard of a decision," said Garner, whose given first name is Shepard. "Chester has a great, great basketball tradition, a lot of tremendous history, but there's more to life than basketball. As everyone knows, there are some problems going on in Chester educationwise; I just didn't feel it was the right school for me."

As for No. 2 . . .

"I can't walk out of the house without people asking me, 'Why don't you come back to Chester?' I especially get that from the people in maybe their 40s and 50s, the big-time Chester basketball fans. Among people closer to my age, that talk has kind of dwindled. They know I love it at Roman, and that this is my school.

"I'm not the type to run away [from a commitment]. Or just quit on something. When I'm in, I'm in."

Garner, who already boasts scholarship offers from Penn State and Rutgers, had an interesting 32 minutes. In the first 8, he impressively darted and exploded his way to eight points as Roman seized a 25-13 advantage.

Then, it was . . . hey, did this kid forget how to shoot? Not only did he barely launch thereafter, but just one of his last six attempts found net. Nonetheless, he was the focal point.

"That's what I pride myself on, being able to show people that I don't have to score," Garner said. "I can do everything else. As a point guard, how you keep a team together is by getting everyone involved. If you just go out there with the idea of scoring a whole bunch of points, your team might quit on you because they'll be thinking you're selfish. That's never cool.

"I want to keep everybody happy. If there does come a time when I do have to take over the game, I want to be ready for that, whether it's with big rebounds, assists or steals. If the coaches do call my number and say, 'We need you to go score,' OK, then I'll try to meet that challenge."

Though the Cahillites led by as many as 20 points, the let's-frolic stage never quite arrived.

Thanks mostly to strongman/forward Brahieme Jackson, who consistently beat double- and even triple-teams for 26 points, McDevitt stormed within 59-52 with 2:42 left. Roman re-established control in several heartbeats. TreVaughn Wilkerson, a promising 6-6 freshman, dunked along the right baseline after a defender, for whatever reason, backed off to go guard someone else. Next, McDevitt missed and Garner, while grabbing a rebound and bellowing "Ahhhhhh!," passed far downcourt to Rashann London for an easy layup.

Britton Lee, a pepperpot junior guard, totaled 23 points, six assists and four steals for Roman. Shafeek Taylor posted 12 points while Secean Johnson (eight) and Wilkerson (six) led in rebounds.

Jackson scored his points by shooting 11-for-16 (one trey) and 3-for-8. He halved 16 rebounds with Mike Newns while Markeise Chandler was slightly better with 10. Jordan Watson had 11 points and Kenyatta Long dealt four assists.

Garner has given little thought to recruiting, even the home-away issue.

"Location won't really matter to me," he said. "It'll be whatever I see as the best fit. I like schools that play man-to-man and run up and down, and offer a nice campus with a good education."

This probably wouldn't hurt, either: An opening for an anthem singer.

Online high school coverage at philly.com/rally.