By Scott Huff
Mom knew she had a basketball player at age two.“Ever since he was two years old, he walked around the house shooting that nerf basketball, and he wouldn’t stop,” smiled Gail Clinkscales. “The only thing that he ever wanted to do was either play basketball or watch basketball. No other sports – just basketball.
“He has always had such long hands, even when he was a baby,” added Mom. “And sometimes I actually wondered what was wrong with his hands.”
Temple University coach Fran Dunphy knew that he had a basketball player at age 17.
And those same enormous hands signed a letter of intent with the Owls as Norristown senior Khalif Wyatt inked that scholarship document.
“We are excited to bring a quality local player to the Temple family,” said Dunphy in a Temple Athletic press release. “Khalif is not just a tremendous basketball player, but a quality individual from a good family. He fits nicely into the plan for next season and beyond.”
Dunphy may be excited to have Wyatt signed, sealed, and delivered. But Wyatt can match Dunphy’s excitement – and then some.
“Playing in the Big Five – with all the passion that the teams play with in the Big Five - was one of the top reasons why I picked Temple,” said Wyatt who had narrowed his choice down to the Owls, LaSalle, Delaware, and Niagara. “That and being able to play for Coach Dunphy.
“Coach Dunphy is very intense, just like the coaches here at Norristown – Coach (Mike) Evans, Coach (Julius) Mack, and Coach (Dana) Johnson,” continued Wyatt. “Plus I liked the assistant coaches at Temple – Coach (Dave) Duke, Coach (Matt) Lengel, and Coach (Shawn) Trice.”
Wyatt – a second team all-state performer as a junior – stole the spotlight late in the season as he led the Eagles to the PIAA Class AAAA state title game last season. The 6-foot, 4-inch guard led N-town to a 24-0 regular season record and a 32-2 overall mark.
“Khalif has set the standard for the other players in our program,” said Norristown head coach Mike Evans. “He has an excellent basketball I.Q., and has great vision to see the floor and make plays.”
Never was Wyatt’s basketball I.Q. and vision on display better than in Norristown’s 81-77 loss to Chester in the title game. The Eagles trailed 17-2 early, but a fantastic fourth quarter effort by Wyatt and his teammates saw them cut the lead – which stood at 53-33 - to just one point with 20 seconds left in the game.
Wyatt – who averaged 18 points a game during the season – fired home six three-pointers and was a perfect six-for-six from the free throw line to score a game-high 28 points. He showcased his sensational ball handling abilities with seven assists and seven steals in the game.
Ironically, one of Wyatt’s new team mates next season at TU will be Chester senior Rahir Jefferson.
“I’ve talked with him a lot and look forward to being his teammate next year,” said Wyatt. “We’ll be friends until December 26th when we play Chester.”
Wyatt worked extremely hard on his game last summer playing with the Nike sponsored AAU team – Team Final. Wyatt traveled to Georgia, Florida, Virginia, and North Carolina with the some of the elite scholastic players in the country.
“Khalif found out that he can play with all the best players in the country,” said Norristown assistant coach Julius Mack – who also coached Wyatt on the AAU team. “He gained a whole lot of confidence, and really came to understand the game better.”
The early signing should be a tremendous burden off the minds of both Wyatt and his mother.
“I wanted to be able to focus on the season and winning games,” said Wyatt. “I want to be able to maintain good grades and be able to work hard in the classroom and on the basketball court.”
“This year is very important for my son,” said Clinkscales. “The early signing will let him focus more on his school work, and that is very important to me.
“I have family members that went to Temple, and they all got a good education” added Clinkscales. “And I may have nudged him a little in that direction.”
And it’s a good thing she didn’t take that nerf basketball away from him.
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