Myers Park is No. 1 in the Sweet 16, with an eye on boys’ basketball history books

In the most recent boys’ high school basketball season, Myers Park made history. The Mustangs made their first appearance in the North Carolina state championship game since 1966 and won the school’s first state title in the sport.

This season, three starters return and all three are major recruits. The plan? Make more history.

Myers Park starts the season No. 1 in The Charlotte Observer’s Sweet 16, on a 15-game win streak — and with one collective eye on the history books.

Mustangs coach Scott Taylor is keenly aware that no N.C. 4A boys’ team has repeated as state champion since Winston-Salem Reynolds won three in a row from 2000-02.

He wasn’t aware that no Mecklenburg County team has repeated as 4A champion since West Charlotte in 1991 and ‘92. But he thinks his team is ready to try to become state champions again.

“I sure do,” he said. “That’s a long ways off, but I think about it. It’s not fair to look at these guys and where they’re going in their basketball careers and not acknowledge that. I want (senior starters Bishop Boswell and Sir Mohammed) to have better senior years than their juniors years. If we do that, we’ll have a shot.”

Myers Park is ranked as high as No. 15 in the national polls, mainly because of its nationally ranked returnees and incoming talent:

▪ Mohammed, a 6-6 wing committed to Notre Dame, is ranked No. 54 nationally by 247 Sports. Mohammed’s father, Nazr, is a former Kentucky and NBA player who is general manager of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s G League team.

▪ Boswell, a 6-3 point guard committed to Tennessee, is ranked No. 77 by 247 Sports.

▪ And Sadiq White returns for his junior year. He’s a 6-8 small forward ranked No. 32 nationally in his class by 247 Sports.

▪ Myers Park also added Charlotte Christian transfer AJ Jamison, son of former UNC All-American and NBA star Antawn Jamison, who is senior director of pro personnel for the Washington Wizards. Joining AJ Jamison on Myers Park is former Winston-Salem Christian star Ashton King, a 6-4 guard who has a College of Charleston offer.

To challenge his players, Taylor has put together an aggressive schedule that will have the Mustangs making several out-of-town trips to face national competition.

“The last couple of years, we’ve been lucky enough to find really good games,” he said. “The kids deserve an experience, an opportunity to go play in events they’ve earned the right to be recognized in.”

And Taylor said he’s not afraid to lose some games along the way.

“No,” he said, “you’ve got to win your (conference). You’ve got to get the No. 1 seed in your league to play at home (in the playoffs). Now to be seeded No. 1 overall like we did last year is nice. That matters to have home court all the way through. But it does more good for us being on the road together (in the early season at national events), being in hotels, traveling, facing adversity and playing really good players. Our kids need to play really good players so we can be exposed early. That way, we know what we’ve got.”

Boswell, the point guard, said this year’s team will look a little different than the state championship version. Three key players are gone. Sixth man Santana Lynch transferred to Lake Norman High. Starters Sam Walters and Elijah Strong graduated and are playing in college.

“We lost some big pieces,” Boswell said. “Obviously, you’re going to feel that, but I feel like this team is a lot faster, a lot grittier. We won’t be as big as we were last year, but we’ve got a lot more dog. We run fast up and down the court.”

And like his coach, Boswell fully embraces the chase for history.

“It’s definitely possible,” he said. “We were the first team from here to win last year and being the first to repeat wouldn’t surprise anyone around here. We know we have a target on us. There was a target last year and the teams we play want us more now. I mean, everybody’s going to want us.

“We have to be ready for it.”

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