Say It Louden Clear, This Mike Can Also Play

If the name Mike Louden rings two basketball bells, there's likely some gray in your hair.

The current version, a 6-foot, 170-pound senior, is the point guard for Cardinal O'Hara High. His dad played the same position for the identical school, and did so in high-quality fashion, and if son ever needs to be reminded of that, all he needs to do is stroll the hallways.

Some of those mid-'80s teachers are still on the payroll and one, Bud Gardler, was O'Hara's long-time coach.

"He teaches English," young Mike said. "I haven't had him for class, but we talk basketball pretty much every day. He always tells me how good my dad was."

And he's not alone . . .

"I hear it from a lot of people," Mike said. "You have the one set of friends from his high school days and the other set from his college days (Hall of Fame career at Philadelphia University). They all say great things."

Does Mike believe the hype?

"Definitely," he said, smiling.

Friday, Mike the Dad was among the spectators as visiting O'Hara met Roman Catholic in a Catholic League game. Easy on the eyes viewing, it wasn't. The Cahillites rolled to a 71-39 triumph.

With 19, Mike Jr. was the only Lion to post more than seven points. He did so by shooting 9-for-16 from the floor (one trey) while adding two apiece of assists and steals.

Like his dad, Louden is a feisty kid. Given the chance, he'd probably walk right onto the court at a Sixers practice and try to match skills/heart with anyone/everyone.

Many visiting players in Roman's undersized, third-floor gym are still wide-eyed and timid even in the waning moments of ballgames. Not Louden. Shortly after the tap, he stood at the top of the offense, whipped the ball back and forth between his legs, then made a hard drive to the hoop.

On a few occasions, he stuck jumpers right in the face of guys with more height and spring.

Alas, with only Sunday's home against archrival Bonner-Prendergast remaining, the Lions are 2-10 in league play.

"It hurts a lot," Louden said. "We've played Carroll and some other teams tough, but . . . Basically, we're all guards so we have to hit our shots. Sometimes we do and sometimes we don't. When we lose, I definitely take it home with me. 'What could I have done better? How could I have helped us more?' "

Louden's only failure this season came before the games began, when assorted sales pitches yielded no results.

"We have some big guys on our football team," he said. "A couple guys were talking about playing, but with football you have to do a lot of lifting so . . . Also, there's a kid about 6-7 in our school. He's a senior and never played before, but he said he was going to give it a try. He never showed up, unfortunately."

On defense, Louden can usually be spotted along the back line of zones. This time, that meant he had to bang bodies with sophomore strongman Manny Taylor.

"Yeah, he was posting me up all day," Louden said. "It's tough. When you're a point guard, you like to be out front and push the ball for breaks. But I'm needed inside to box out and try to get rebounds. I've had to adapt."

Louden said he often receives pregame tips from his father, then speaks with him afterward to hear "about little things I did wrong . . . or sometimes even big things."

He added, "He's never TOO hard on me. He knows I have self motivation. After I transferred from Malvern (following 10th grade) and made a couple shots here and there at the varsity level, I started to realize, 'With hard work, basketball might get me somewhere.' It was a good feeling."

Aside from playing, Mike is responsible for shepherding his brothers, Drew and Ryan. Though only a freshman, Drew is already a varsity starter for O'Hara; he had three points and two steals. Ryan, age 11, is quite the youth-ball whiz.

"He'll shoot it. He WILL put it up," Mike cracked.

Rashann London led Roman with 26 points while Taylor added 17. Taylor and TreVaughn Wilkerson halved 18 rebounds and Shep Garner distributed six assists.

For O'Hara, Mark Plousis managed seven points and Sean Havink added three assists to two treys.

Louden, who lives in Glen Mills, is hearing from Gwynedd-Mercy, Albright, DeSales and Eastern. He wants to major in chemistry with designs on becoming a pharmacist.

If only he could remix his team . . .

"It's tough with no big guys," he said. "We always try hard, though. No problem there."