When Jon Ancrum isn’t playing basketball, he’s usually rapping. The Fordham Prep guard has performed at clubs in Manhattan, going by the stage name of “Murda Mook” in the group, DOTS.

But he prefers to rap as a solo artist.

“Everybody wants to be on their own,” Ancrum said. “Especially me.”

The senior knows what he’s talking about. The 5-9 Ancrum scored 10 ppg for the Rams this season, playing in all but one game – a feat considering he has been living virtually by himself in a Harlem apartment for the past year.

“It’s been tough,” said Ancrum, 18. “I’ve had to become a man pretty quickly and taken responsibility for myself.”

Ancrum volunteered to put himself in his current position. After living with his great-aunt Juanita Taylor for five years, Ancrum was left with a choice when Taylor had a massive stroke on Aug. 23, 2001 and was eventually sent to a nursing home last spring.

“I could have gone to live with my mother or stayed here by myself,” said Ancrum. “My mom and I don’t usually see eye-to-eye, so I decided to stay here.”

That’s the way it’s been for Ancrum since last May, when his mother, Melody Ancrum, moved to The Bronx.

“She checks up on me on the phone,” said Ancrum, who also visits Taylor several times a week. “But everything is basically up to me.”

He is still supported by his mother: “But she’s out of work right now, so it’s hard,” Ancrum said. The nursing home has been taking care of the apartment fees. “That’s supposed to run out pretty soon and I don’t know what I’m going to do if it does.”

As he says this, Ancrum’s gaze drifts around the living room of the apartment that overlooks the Hudson River and is filled with trophies from basketball tournaments. It’s in good condition considering he has had to take care of it.

“I’ve had to make a lot of decisions that most people my age don’t have to make,” said Ancrum, who spent much of his childhood with a rougher crowd. “I know a lot of people who are in jail now or are still dealing drugs, so I have to be careful. It’s hard, because the money situation can get tight.”

Ancrum often relies on friends and other family members, as well as his basketball coach, Kevin Pigott.

“He’s like another father to me,” said Ancrum, whose actual father lives in Boston. “At times, I’ve felt like I was drowning and he pulled me out.”

Pigott has helped Ancrum both in school and financially.

“He never asks for anything,” Pigott said. “When you do help him out, he’s very appreciative.”

The next thing Ancrum is hoping to get is a college scholarship. He has visited several Div. II and Div. III schools and anticipates making a decision by May 1.

“I’ve got to give it a lot of thought,” said Ancrum, who will play basketball in college and plans on majoring in psychology.

“God was trying to tell me something when my aunt got sick and I had to go through this,” Ancrum said. “He was trying to teach me to be responsible and be a man. I think I am. I’m the king of this castle.”