Kearny’s Will Souza has always looked to his oldest brother Nick, one of the most accomplished guards in recent Kardinal history, as an instrumental figure in his development as a basketball player. But as the youngest of three brothers, Will admits to always having been competitive in hopes of beating his older siblings.
“Since I was a little kid, I’ve always been really competitive,” Will Souza said. “I’m the youngest so I always try to beat them in everything we do.”
Last Thursday, not only did Will Souza top one of Nick’s records, he did so with one of the best games any Kardinal has had in years.
Will Souza erupted for a career-high 39 points in Kearny’s 60-51 victory over Ferris in Jersey City. Souza’s 39 points were the most by any Kardinal in nearly 12 years since Dylan Hotch’s 49-point game in 2013
Will’s scoring outburst not only makes him the latest Observer Athlete of the Week, it gave him some bragging rights. Nick’s career-high for points was 35, which he got in December of 2019.
“It was definitely a goal of mine to break his record,” Will Souza said, adding he was very surprised to learn he finished with 39. “(When I did it on Thursday), I didn’t have to say anything, I just sent the screenshots of the boxscore.
“(Nick) just said congratulations. He was really happy. He was happier than me actually.”
“I think it was a combination of his work ethic and his ability all just kind of caught up with each other on the same day,” head coach Marc McCaffrey said. “His efficiency was really high that day. It was all within the flow of the offense. He was a facilitator as well as a scorer. He just had one of those games.”
For Will Souza, the performance at Feris was the highpoint of what has been a breakout season for the senior. The senior guard has been one of the state’s top scorers this season, averaging 20.8 points per game so far, a dramatic improvement from a year ago when he averaged just 8.0 per game as he reacclimated himself to basketball in New Jersey.
Souza and his family had moved from Brazil to Kearny when Will was 9 years old. They had moved back to Brazil during Covid, returning before the start of last season.
“Last year, I didn’t really have a good season, but I knew (a better year) was coming,” said Souza. “A lot of the scorers from last year were gone, so I knew this year was going to be a good year.”
Souza credits his work in the offseason with former Kearny head coach Julius David at Hickory Park as well as playing AAU basketball with Poise this summer. Souza saw the work pay early dividends when he averaged roughly 25 points a game in Kearny’s summer league games and it carried over to the high school season.
“You could tell he had worked on his game in the offseason. His ball handling has gotten better and his shooting has gotten better and also his finishing around the rim has gotten better,” McCaffrey said. “A lot of his points, even in the 39-point performance, were inside the paint. He finishes very well inside the paint for a guard.”
“We have a lot of really good shooters so I feel like I have to be the guy to drive and create opportunities,” Souza said. “That’s what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to be aggressive and kick it out when I have to.”
Souza’s play has helped spark Kearny to a 3-0 start within the HCIAL National Division as it seeks to win its first league division title since 2016.
In addition to winning a division title there is still one more bit of sibling bragging rights Souza would like to get.
“(Nick) got 532 points that (senior) season,” Will Souza said. “I’m definitely trying to beat that by the end of the year.”
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)