Roselle Catholic’s No. 1 boys basketball team without 2 stars after double scare

Roselle Catholic head coach Dave Boff called it “a gut punch for my kids” when recent McDonald’s All-American selection Mackenzie Mgbako was carried off the floor 30 seconds into Sunday’s game with an ankle injury.

And if the collective wind wasn’t knocked out of the Lions to see the Duke-bound star leave the game under such painful circumstances, it sure was some eight minutes later (by the game clock) when junior forward Tarik Watson collapsed at midcourt seconds after he’d gestured toward the Roselle Catholic bench to come out early in the second quarter of the game against Long Island Lutheran at the LuHi gym.

“Tarik was kind of signaling to come out of the game; It seemed like he wasn’t feeling great. Then he went down,” Boff said.

“Very emotional scene. One of those things you hope you never have to deal with,” Boff said. “It’s something nobody’s ever really experienced on our side. The kids were worried about a friend.”

A friend and also a brother, as one of the Roselle Catholic players watching as medical personnel and trainers tended to Watson was his older brother Akil Watson, a talented 6-7 junior forward who is committed to Arizona State.

That initial double-fisted bad news at least carries a silver lining for Watson, Mgbako and the entire Roselle Catholic team, which hopes to keep the No. 1 state ranking it has held since defeating Camden last March in the Tournament of Champions final.

Neither’s circumstance is nearly as bleak as it seemed Sunday on Long Island. The team may even be able to welcome both, or at least one, back in the coming weeks.

Watson was considered out of danger soon after arriving at Long Island Community Hospital and was resting comfortably as attending physicians ran a battery of tests Sunday and early Monday on the 6-8 forward. Though nothing conclusive has been released publicly, Watson returned home late Monday.

“The news that we’ve gotten on Tarik has been good so far. I told the kids at practice today that the news has been positive and I think they’ve ruled out a lot of things you would be most concerned about right now,” Boff said. “Hopefully, we just continue to get more good news.”

The word on Mgbako isn’t necessarily good, with some pivotal games ahead for the Lions (10-4), but, again, silver lining when it is kept in perspective. An orthopedic specialist Monday afternoon determined that the injury is a sprained ankle, not a break or tear as originally feared when the 2022 First Team All-Stater was carried off the floor, when he landed on an opponent’s foot after hitting a short jump shot.

“He’ll be out for a period of time until he feels better, but I don’t really want to speculate on how long that might be,” Boff said. “We’re certainly not going to rush him. But relieved to know it was a sprain, not a break.”

Long Island Lutheran coach John Buck had originally informed the crowd that the game would resume after a break so that Boff could have a chance to speak with his players. Soon after, the game was suspended with powerhouse LuHI leading, 21-10 with 6:16 remaining in the first half.

“We’re all really appreciative of the LuHi staff and all the people there at the event that really jumped to action very quickly to make sure he (Watson) was OK, and then was able to get him to a place where he could get the tests done and care that he needed,” Boff said.

Mgbako – who was named to the 2023 McDonald’s All-American Game last Wednesday – is averaging a team-high 16 points and also 9.2 rebounds in his first season with the Lions. He’d spent his three academic years at Gill St. Bernard’s.

Watson is averaging 8.1 points and 3.5 rebounds, though had missed several games this season due to migraine headaches.

He sat out of a good portion of Friday’s game after starting against No. 7 Bergen Catholic at Roselle Catholic, but returned in the fourth quarter to score all of his eight points to help RC put the finishing touches on a 78-67 victory. Mgbako scored 18 points and had eight rebounds.

The Lions will be missing those standouts Tuesday against Peddie and likely Thursday against Calvary Christian (Md.) and powerhouse Montverde Academy (Fla.) Saturday at the Metro Classic at Kean University.

“Some guys who don’t normally play as many minutes as they would like are going to get some good opportunities to showcase what they can do,” Boff said. “For a team, that’s something that can be important down the stretch. A couple of these guys get more minutes, get to expand their role a little bit, and hopefully when Mackenie and Tarik get back, that just makes us a stronger team.”

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Mike Kinney can be reached at mkinney@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MikeKinney

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