Harris stars as West Catholic edges Landsdale

AND TO THINK, gun violence nearly changed everything for West Catholic junior Jahmil Harris.

There might have been no game-winning three-pointer last night. No 23-point, five-rebound, six-assist performance in the Burrs' 48-45 triumph over Lansdale Catholic in a Catholic League preliminary playoff game.

When he was in eighth grade, a stray bullet struck his right foot and nearly ended his basketball days. Last summer, his older brother, Nasir Slaughter, was shot and killed. A few months after Harris' brother died, a close friend from his North Philadelphia neighborhood near Girard Avenue also was gunned down.

"When [my brother] was shot and killed, I just wasn't up for it anymore," Harris said. "I had a lot on my mind."

Basketball wasn't on his radar, but eventually he came back to the game he started playing around the age of 5 on the playgrounds near 26th Street in South Philly.

"I just had to get my head straight, really," he said. "That's what I love to do. I've been playing since I was younger."

His game was straight last night. Harris has no strict position on the court. He's a playmaker for the Burrs. And they needed his versatility, with sophomore forward Josh Townsend unavailable due to academics.

"I just go out and do what I'm told," Harris said. "I can pass the ball well and play almost every position, just about."

During the first half, he played maestro, whipping crisp passes that perforated the Crusaders' zone.

Junior forward Brandon Cole (13 points) was the early beneficiary. During a second-quarter spurt, Harris hit Jalil Branch with a no-look dish that prompted an incredulous fan to say, "How did he see him?"

After West beat Lansdale in a nip-and-tuck game last week, the sequel between the two teams certainly lived up to the hype.

Ninth-seeded Lansdale was led by senior handyman Brian Rafferty (16 points, five rebounds) and Kyle Pavlik (12 points).

The finale came down to Harris, who scored the final points for the eighth-seeded Burrs. A spinning shot in the lane cut into Lansdale's three-point lead. Then, two freebies gave West Catholic an advantage.

After Rafferty went 1-for-2 at the line with 33.3 seconds left, the stage was set for Harris.

After a timeout by coach Jasmine "Jazz" Williams, the Burrs ran some clock before Harris caught the ball at the top of the key.

He surveyed the floor, then launched.

"I thought I was going to hit it," Harris said. "I hit two of [winners] this season so I like the ball in my hands at the end of the game, and I had a lot of confidence in that shot."

After it went down, Burrs fans prematurely stormed the court and caused a brief delay. The referees conferred and placed 1.3 seconds left on the clock.

Lansdale's desperation three-point attempt was thwarted by a Burrs defender, which drew the ire of the Lansdale faithful.

And to think, it might never have been.

The fragments of the stray bullet that splayed his right foot in eighth grade when he was walking home with friends still reside in the foot. Harris said doctors told him he'd be lucky to see the court again.

He pulled down his sock and revealed a gnarled scar near his Achilles' tendon. The shooters, he said, were targeting elsewhere. "Wrong place, wrong time," Harris said.

Surgery kept him out of freshman basketball at Roman Catholic, where he was enrolled until this season when he transferred to West Catholic in search of playing time. He only saw junior-varsity minutes last season with the Cahillites.

When asked how it felt to be back on the court, a sliver of smile crept across Harris' face.

"It feels good because I'm over here and playing like I want to," he said, "and I'm getting back to loving the game of basketball again."