cfa Academy boys hitting their stride at the right time
BY HENRY HUTTON hhutton@independenttribune.com
CONCORD – The cfa Academy boys basketball team had an amazing season last year, as the Eagles finished 22-6 overall and earned the third seed in N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association tournament.
That team was led by a trio of talented players, as Nenad Milenkovic averaged more than 20 points a game while Nico Payne and Marquise Beasley also averaged double figures.
However, this group has all moved – Milenkovic at the University of South Carolina at Aiken, Payne at Florida’s Broward Community College and Beasley at Catawba Valley Community College.
Their departure left big hole in the Eagle program, and it seemed as though the level of basketball could drop off as a result.
This has simply not been the case, though, as cfa has a record of 11-5 with a new trio of offensive weapons.
“You rebuild and do what you’ve got to do to win,” senior point guard and captain Weston Edwards says.
A three-year varsity player, Edwards is averaging almost 14 points per game and leads the Eagles in assists.
According to coach Frank Cantadore, replacing the half a dozen players that cfa lost at the end of last season was challenging, but his team has adjusted well.
“We just get them to play together a lot,” Cantadore says, explaining that most of his players are teammates either in AAU or other non-high school leagues.
Another new factor for the Eagles this season was the introduction of junior Nigerian foreign exchange student Stephen Edoka, who now leads the team with 17.6 points and 12 rebounds per game.
Although his stats indicate otherwise, Edoka says there have been a lot of adjustments and growing pains that have come with his transition.
“It was very different for me,” Edoka says, explaining that one of the biggest differences between American and Nigerian basketball is the amount of running.
“Getting here, we had to run a lot, that was the first thing,” Edoka says. “I could barely stand after the first game because I was so tired.”
Whether he could stand or not after cfa’s opener against Tabernacle Christian, Edoka debuted with a team-high 19 points.
He would follow this up with an even more impressive 25-point performance against Elevation Prep just one night later.
“With an international player, it’s always an adjustment,” says Cantadore. “The speed and physicality of basketball over here is a major adjustment for him.
“(But) his basketball IQ is super high, which you don’t always get from a foreign exchange student.”
While his basketball game may have developed well, there are still some things Edoka must adjust to.
“It’s really cold here,” Edoka said. “It’s not cold where I’m from.”
As much fun as Edoka and his teammates seem to be having now, things have not always been easy, as they lost three games in a row after a 4-0 start.
“We lost some games early on because they hadn’t quite gelled how we wanted them to,” Cantadore explains. “We lost a couple close games where we weren’t really putting two halves together.”
The team felt on the verge of falling apart, but Edwards and his fellow captain, Amara Morris, were not about to let that happen.
“After that little stretch, we said, ‘We’re tired of losing. It’s not going to happen anymore,” Edwards explains. “Me and Amara got everyone together for a team meeting and got everything out on the table.”
Said Morris: “It was in the middle of practice, we took everybody into the hallway and we talked to each other and said everyone has to be held accountable.”
Cantadore knew there were some things that he would not be able to fix as a coach, and he encouraged his team to fix them.
“I could see their countenances going down and doing some things that were uncharacteristic on the court,” the coach said. “So I pulled a team meeting, talked to them for a little bit, then said, ‘All right, you guys stay in here until you figure it out.’”
The impact?
“All the other players took notice and stepped up, and it really started our winning streak,” Morris says.
The team meeting clearly worked, as cfa responded to the three straight losses by winning seven of its next eight and making it to the championship game of the Bull City Classic Holiday Invitational in Durham before falling narrowly to Durham’s Faith Assembly Christian.
“I have no idea what they talked about, but they’ve been playing pretty well since then,” Cantadore explains. “Throughout this Christmas tournament I could see things start to click and them doing things together that they weren’t doing early on,” Cantadore says. “It shows me that these guys are definitely growing mentally.”
The Bull City Classic was a great measuring stick for the Eagles, who competed against some of the state’s best teams over the winter break.
“That was a really good experience. We saw a lot of good teams down there, and it was good to get out of Cabarrus County and play those good teams,” Morris says.
Although cfa ultimately fell in the championship game, the loss may have given the Eagles more motivation as they enter the season’s second half.
“It shows you that you’ve got to work hard because other people are working, too,” said senior Amiri Waddell, who is averaging more than 15 points per game.
While everyone on the team has altered their individual thought process, Waddell says that they are now trying to change their process as a team.
As the Eagles slow their game down and prepare for what they hope will be a deep postseason run, Cantadore makes sure to emphasize the goal he aims for: getting his players into college.
“I think six or seven of these guys will go on to play basketball at the next level,” Cantadore says. “That’s one of the things I really focus on is getting the guys who can do it to find the right spot, whether it’s playing Division III, NAIA or what.”
BY HENRY HUTTON hhutton@independenttribune.com
CONCORD – The cfa Academy boys basketball team had an amazing season last year, as the Eagles finished 22-6 overall and earned the third seed in N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association tournament.
That team was led by a trio of talented players, as Nenad Milenkovic averaged more than 20 points a game while Nico Payne and Marquise Beasley also averaged double figures.
However, this group has all moved – Milenkovic at the University of South Carolina at Aiken, Payne at Florida’s Broward Community College and Beasley at Catawba Valley Community College.
Their departure left big hole in the Eagle program, and it seemed as though the level of basketball could drop off as a result.
This has simply not been the case, though, as cfa has a record of 11-5 with a new trio of offensive weapons.
“You rebuild and do what you’ve got to do to win,” senior point guard and captain Weston Edwards says.
A three-year varsity player, Edwards is averaging almost 14 points per game and leads the Eagles in assists.
According to coach Frank Cantadore, replacing the half a dozen players that cfa lost at the end of last season was challenging, but his team has adjusted well.
“We just get them to play together a lot,” Cantadore says, explaining that most of his players are teammates either in AAU or other non-high school leagues.
Another new factor for the Eagles this season was the introduction of junior Nigerian foreign exchange student Stephen Edoka, who now leads the team with 17.6 points and 12 rebounds per game.
Although his stats indicate otherwise, Edoka says there have been a lot of adjustments and growing pains that have come with his transition.
“It was very different for me,” Edoka says, explaining that one of the biggest differences between American and Nigerian basketball is the amount of running.
“Getting here, we had to run a lot, that was the first thing,” Edoka says. “I could barely stand after the first game because I was so tired.”
Whether he could stand or not after cfa’s opener against Tabernacle Christian, Edoka debuted with a team-high 19 points.
He would follow this up with an even more impressive 25-point performance against Elevation Prep just one night later.
“With an international player, it’s always an adjustment,” says Cantadore. “The speed and physicality of basketball over here is a major adjustment for him.
“(But) his basketball IQ is super high, which you don’t always get from a foreign exchange student.”
While his basketball game may have developed well, there are still some things Edoka must adjust to.
“It’s really cold here,” Edoka said. “It’s not cold where I’m from.”
As much fun as Edoka and his teammates seem to be having now, things have not always been easy, as they lost three games in a row after a 4-0 start.
“We lost some games early on because they hadn’t quite gelled how we wanted them to,” Cantadore explains. “We lost a couple close games where we weren’t really putting two halves together.”
The team felt on the verge of falling apart, but Edwards and his fellow captain, Amara Morris, were not about to let that happen.
“After that little stretch, we said, ‘We’re tired of losing. It’s not going to happen anymore,” Edwards explains. “Me and Amara got everyone together for a team meeting and got everything out on the table.”
Said Morris: “It was in the middle of practice, we took everybody into the hallway and we talked to each other and said everyone has to be held accountable.”
Cantadore knew there were some things that he would not be able to fix as a coach, and he encouraged his team to fix them.
“I could see their countenances going down and doing some things that were uncharacteristic on the court,” the coach said. “So I pulled a team meeting, talked to them for a little bit, then said, ‘All right, you guys stay in here until you figure it out.’”
The impact?
“All the other players took notice and stepped up, and it really started our winning streak,” Morris says.
The team meeting clearly worked, as cfa responded to the three straight losses by winning seven of its next eight and making it to the championship game of the Bull City Classic Holiday Invitational in Durham before falling narrowly to Durham’s Faith Assembly Christian.
“I have no idea what they talked about, but they’ve been playing pretty well since then,” Cantadore explains. “Throughout this Christmas tournament I could see things start to click and them doing things together that they weren’t doing early on,” Cantadore says. “It shows me that these guys are definitely growing mentally.”
The Bull City Classic was a great measuring stick for the Eagles, who competed against some of the state’s best teams over the winter break.
“That was a really good experience. We saw a lot of good teams down there, and it was good to get out of Cabarrus County and play those good teams,” Morris says.
Although cfa ultimately fell in the championship game, the loss may have given the Eagles more motivation as they enter the season’s second half.
“It shows you that you’ve got to work hard because other people are working, too,” said senior Amiri Waddell, who is averaging more than 15 points per game.
While everyone on the team has altered their individual thought process, Waddell says that they are now trying to change their process as a team.
As the Eagles slow their game down and prepare for what they hope will be a deep postseason run, Cantadore makes sure to emphasize the goal he aims for: getting his players into college.
“I think six or seven of these guys will go on to play basketball at the next level,” Cantadore says. “That’s one of the things I really focus on is getting the guys who can do it to find the right spot, whether it’s playing Division III, NAIA or what.”
