Grand careers at Lowell Catholic
Senior duo likely to finish with over 1,000 points
LOWELL — Lowell Catholic boys basketball head coach Mike Isola was fortunate to have a pair of 1,000point classmates in his program four years ago.
Now, in just his sixth season at the helm, it’s likely he’ll get the luxury of having another senior duo reach 1,000 career points.
Guard Isaiah Taylor, a Methuen resident, has already surpassed the prestigious milestone. Forward Keenan Rudy-Phol, a Lowell resident, has 931 career points and will only need to average about eight points per game for the rest of this shortened season to get to 1,000.
If Rudy-Phol achieves that attainable mark, he and Taylor will join Tom Desmond and Isaiah Holmes, who got it done in 2017.
“They’ve been the heart and soul of the program,” said Isola of Taylor and Rudy-Phol. “They’ve helped change the face of the program. Kids want to come here and play basketball here.”
The 6-foot Taylor and the 6-foot-2 Rudy-Phol, who is also a standout receiver on the football field and added 25 pounds to his frame since last basketball season, are four-year varsity players at LC. Both players can push the pace and excel on the defensive end.
Taylor is lightning-quick with the ball in his hands and prefers to get to the basket. Because of his added strength, Rudy-Phol can do damage in the post, after predominantly shining as a wing shooter during his first couple seasons in the program. Both players can get above the rim as well.
The teammates spent their middle school years playing against each other and respecting one another’s talent from afar. Once they joined forces at Lowell Catholic, their skill sets worked nicely together. They led the Crusaders to 35 wins in their first three seasons.
“We always started against each other in middle school, so to come together has been fun,” said Taylor. Rudy-Phol agreed. “Coming here and playing with Isaiah is seeing a whole different game,” he said. “Over time, I developed to fit into how he plays the game and find my shots and my space. Let him get into the lane and when everyone crashes to him, he’ll find me for a wideopen shot. That’s been working a lot for the past few years.”
The friendship between the standout duo has grown each season, and with that, the Crusaders have built a strong team bond. That chemistry has been particularly valuable to Rudy-Phol over the past eight months.
Last May 14, Rudy-Phol and his family lost everything in a house fire at their residence, a three-family home in Lowell.
Rudy-Phol and his younger brother, who was 11 at the time, were home alone while their mother was out running errands on that afternoon. The kids heard a pop sound in the bathroom vent. Rudy-Phol went to check it out and noticed a drip coming from the vent and felt the room get very hot.
He called 911 and he and his younger brother quickly notified the other residents in the building that they had to evacuate.
The three families were all displaced as the threealarm fire broke out around 2 p.m. that day and destroyed the upper floors of the home and sent flames shooting out of the roof as firefighters attacked the blaze from both inside and outside the home. All occupants got out of the home safely.
“Having that happen, you learn to take nothing for granted. Nothing is going to be given all the time,” said Rudy-Phol. “I work extra hard now and hopefully one day I can take my family somewhere better.”
Rudy-Phol and his family lived in the middle unit. The fire was toward the back of the house and the top unit was the most severely destroyed. Between the fire, smell and water damage, belongings weren’t salvageable. The building was left unlivable.
Keep in mind, this was also a couple months into the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When we first heard about the fire, it was like, ‘Are you serious? Did that really happen?’ I texted (Rudy-Phol) and said, ‘If you need anything, reach out,’ ” said Taylor. “We all just tried to let everyone know their situation and get as much help as possible.”
Isola and his coaching staff started a GoFundMe to help support Rudy-Phol’s family and it raised close to $25,000.
“His character is unmatched by any kid,” said Isola of Rudy-Phol. “To go through what he went through and be as humble as he is — there were donations coming in from all over New England.
“When everything happened, he remained calm and humble, and anything anyone did for him he was always very, very appreciative. He was positive through the whole thing. He has younger siblings who look up to him, and he’s just one of those guys where you never know if he’s up or down, he’s just steady. You don’t always see that in a kid his age.”
After months of bouncing around from different houses and hotels, RudyPhol and his family moved into a new long-term residence last August, right before school started. He says his family is “doing well.”
Basketball has been a welcome sight this winter, especially considering the season was far from a guarantee, due to the pandemic.
“I’m just thankful,” said Taylor. “We take it one game at a time because we know that one COVID flare-up can cancel a season. We’re really appreciating everything we have.”
Enjoying the moment and opportunity is a sentiment Rudy-Phol carries with him at all times.
“I know there are some kids who aren’t even playing basketball right now,” he said. “To be able to have a senior year and compete, and get one last run with all these guys is amazing.”
Getting to 1,000 points would be the gravy on top.