By Sunday, the DMV Hoopstarz 17U National Team was shorthanded and reeling off two games they let get away at the PUMA’s NXTPRO Hoops Valley Forge Session. With their backs against the wall, head coach Andre Davis learned a lot about his squad.
Justin Davis (Chapelgate Christian Academy—MD) scored a team-high 18 points, draining five three-pointers, as the Storm Chasers closed the session with an impressive 70-46 win over AIT 17U. However, it was the show of fortitude that was the story.
After opening the session with a comeback victory on Friday night, the Storm Chasers dropped two games on Saturday by seven points. The team left the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center that night, pointing to what could have been. Coach Davis stressed missed free throws. Star player – 6’5 big Kendrick “KD” Tche-Tafon (Annapolis Area Christian – MD) echoed the missed free throws and how the team got beat on the 50/50 balls.
On Easter Sunday, the Hoopstarz were down to six active players. Tche-Tafon sat out with an apparent knee injury. Yet, the team responded with an inspiring performance despite being without its leading scorer and rebounder through three games.
King Motley IV (Bladensburg HS – MD) had already established himself as a stud defender for the Hoopstarz throughout the session, guarding 1 through 5 as the Hoopstarz needed. However, it was his offense that helped spark the team on Sunday.
In his first start of the session, Motley scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half. Throughout the half, Motley attacked the basket off the dribble. When he scored an And-1, the Storm Chasers held a double-digit advantage en route to a 43-24 halftime lead.
Motley understood that with three players, including Tche-Tafon, down, he had to step up, as he explained, talking about his hot start in the first half.
“It’s an opportunity,” Motley said. “We were shorthanded, so everyone had to step up. A lot of us stepped up. I knew we needed me to get going early to build a comfortable lead. That’s why I just started attacking early.”
While Davis and Motley were the usual names that stood out for the DMV Hoopstarz, Omari Atkins (Northwood HS – MD) and Emre Tari (Gerstell HS – MD) broke the ice in Sunday’s session finale.
Tari finished with 16 points. He scored more in Game 3, but his efficiency shooting was much higher on Sunday. The floor seemed to open up more for Tari, with Davis hitting threes and Motley attacking the bucket. Tari was able to get loose with his mid-range and floater.
Tari admitted he felt more comfortable as the session went along, which led to his performance against AIT.
“The pace of the game was different from when I was in high school; AAU is a lot faster; just calming myself down, playing with pace allowed me to be more confident,” Tari acknowledged.
Atkins added 13 points. He also attacked the basket off the dribble, adding to the Storm Chasers’ scoring barrage inside the paint. Atkins also flashed more aspects of his potential with passing and weakside defense.
One of the game’s highlights was the great team defense displayed by Tari, Motley, and Atkins.
Tari guarded the ball on the wing, and Motley helped; first, he negotiated a drive lane, then called out the pick to Tari’s right. Next, Motley tried jumping a pass for a steal, running the shooter off the corner, forcing baseline cut right into Atkins, rotating for an emphatic block.
Atkins pointed out that there is an adjustment to getting used to the circuit’s environment and playing with new teammates:
“You know, I’m getting more comfortable with the team and the space and environment we’re in. Being here in the NXT circuit is like every game is a fight. And us being a new team, we’re learning how to come together and move as brothers and a unit.”
For Coach Davis, those words will cement his hard work of integrating seven new players with his returning stars.
The inconsistency in Game 2 and Game 3 losses was not in Game 4.
In Game 2, the Hoopstarz know they should’ve closed the deal against Select Elite. The Storm Chasers’ 11 missed free throws overshadowed Tche-Tafon’s 22 points and 20 rebounds and Davis’s 19 points.
Down 70-67, Motley stole a pass across mid-court before kicking it out to Davis on the wing for a three that rimmed out. Tari’s desperation corner three after an offensive rebound fell short at the buzzer.
Later on Saturday. a back-and-forth contest against the Brooklyn Wildcats ended in a 75-71 loss. Again, missed free throws and momentary lapses in defense were the culprits.
Yet, down three players Sunday, Tari explained the team had the mindset of taking care of business:
“We all needed to go out and get rebounds because KD grabs like twenty rebounds a game for us, so everyone knew that we all had to crash the boards. That was our mentality, crashed the boards.
Davis, Motley, Tari, and Atkins each had at least five rebounds for the game, which is equivalent to the “twenty” KD typically rounds up.
The 24-point win on Sunday flushed away some concerns from the two losses. Considering being shorthanded, ending on a high note is a huge plus for the DMV Hoopstarz going forward.
No secret to biggest need of improvement
From coaches to players, missed free throws were the theme for the two losses. The DMV Hoopstarz shot 5-of-16 from the charity stripe in the loss to Select Elite.
“We actually lost the game at the free throw line,” Coach Davis stated. “Our goal is to shoot 40 percent from two, 30 percent from three, and 70 percent from the free throw line. [Against Select Elite] We were 31 percent. We were 5-of-16 from the line, that’s the game. We lost by three.”
Adjusting to the circuit environment, the players echoed tight rims, the shooting background, and constant noise and whistles contributed the up-and-down session. Yet, shooting free throws is a controllable variant of the game.
“I feel that the only two games we lost were close games; if you look at our free throw attempts, we missed too many,” Motley added. “If we hit at least more than half of our free throws, we’d probably won those games. I feel like we’re a good team. We’re going to head into practice, looking to pick up the intensity.”
DMV Hoopstarz are building depth and banding together
There is no denying Kendrick Tche-Tafon and Justin Davis were standouts. Tche-Tafon led the team with 20.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Tche-Tafon dominated the paint throughout the session with his physicalitiy and relentess effort on the glass.
Meanwhile, Davis controlled the pace of the game, averaging 18.8 points. Davis displayed his ability to score on all three levels. He also played with excellent pace. His ability to stop on the dime on pull-ups kept opposing teams on their heels throughout the session.
Needing depth beyond KD and Justin was a concern, playing with seven new players.
King Motley IV established himself as a key defensive player. The Hoopstarz coaching staff praised his defensive prowess. When the team needs defensive stops, the coaches turned to Motley. His defense made it hard for Coach Davis to take him off the floor.
He also flashed his offensive abilities in Sunday’s finale. Motley loves to attack the basket by getting downhill. His first step, speed, and power off the dribble makes him an intriguing addition to the rotation moving forward.
Emre Tari got more comfortable as the session progressed. He scored 33 points over the final two games. Tari can handle the ball and create his own shot. He’s discovered the lost art of the mid-range jumper. He also has a floater and ability to get a shot up over defenders in the paint. Getting used to the pace of the game on the circuit allowed him to score in bunches.
Omari Atkins has the size and movement. His early session struggles were more about fitting in. Once he got comfortable around his new teammates, he shined in Sunday’s finale, showing what he could bring to the table in all aspects of the game, rebounding, passing, and protecting the rim.
As the DMV Hoopstarz were without two returning players and losing three additional players as the session continued, Atkins, Tari, and Motley proved reliable assets to go along with their leaders, Tche-Tafon and Davis.
The PUMA NXTPRO is full of good teams. This DMV Hoopstarz team is deep across the board. They have size, physicality, speed. As the team bands together and more roles are established, the Storm Chasers can be a formidable group.
