The King’s Academy boys varsity basketball team last season was talented, driven and team-oriented. Led by head coach Murray Smith, the 2022-23 squad compiled a 27-2 record, won its first district title since 1990 and advanced deep into the Florida High School Athletic Association’s (FHSAA) Class 3A state tournament before falling to Windemere Prep in the Class 3A, Region 2 final.
Two of last year’s seniors — Jack Chamberlin and James Shoenfelt — are now playing college basketball at Spurgeon College and Southern Wesleyan University, respectively. Those are just two of the big shoes to fill, so to speak, from last year’s team.
According to Smith, this year’s squad has the potential to do as well, if not better, than last year’s team, but it’s going to take time and hard work.
“I like the pieces of this year’s team,” said Smith, whose squad is off to a strong 11-2 start this year. “We’re still trying to figure out things such as the right rotation. We often play with four guards and a big. Also, we must be able to finish off games in regulation.”
TKA’s two losses this season have been in overtime. And, in both cases, TKA had a big lead late in each game.
One thing that this year’s team has in abundance is height.
“This is the tallest team that I have ever coached,” Smith said.
Two of the players (sophomore Isaiah McCoy and junior Matthew del Valle) are 6-foot-7, one player (junior Evan Alicea) is 6-foot-6, and two players (senior Andrew Signorelli and senior Ransom Soles) are 6-foot-5. Alicea, Signorelli and Soles are starters. The other two starters are a pair of point guards — junior Javian Jones, who is 6-foot-2, and senior Reggie Workman, who is 5-foot-10.
The other members of the roster include junior shooting guard Matt McPherson, junior shooting guard Joe Dailey, eight-grade point guard Honour Mays and junior power forward Dominic Hunter.
Each player on the roster is contributing to the team’s overall success.
The two main floor generals are Jones and Workman.
“Javian and Reggie are the two starting point guards, and both are good at penetrating into the paint and finding open teammates,” Smith said. “Both are capable scorers who can score when it’s necessary. And both of them are good defenders.”
Soles and Signorelli are pure shooters, who are as effective near the basket as they are from beyond the three-point line.
“Ransom and Andrew are great three-point shooters who are often the recipients of pinpoint passes from Javian and Reggie,” Smith said.
With their height, Alicea and del Valle have an undeniable and powerful presence on the basketball court.
“Evan and Matt are great around the basket and are terrific rebounders,” Smith added.
McPherson is the first person off the bench to give any of the starters a break.
“Matt is our sixth man, and he plays starter minutes,” Smith said.
Dailey has made the transition from being TKA’s starting quarterback on the football team to a valuable guard on the basketball team.
“Good things happen when Joe is on the floor,” Murray noted. “He takes care of the basketball, just like he took care of the football as a quarterback. He’s also a good rebounder, and he doesn’t make bad passes.”
McCoy’s best sport is volleyball, but his potential as a basketball player gets better with every practice.
“Isaiah jumps higher than anybody on the team. He can block shots, rebound and he’s still learning the sport,” Smith said.
Hunter and Mays are two players that have a huge upside.
“Dominic works extremely hard in practice, which helps make him and our team better. He has made great progress in the last year, and he’s continuing to improve,” Smith said. “Honour splits time between the junior varsity and the varsity. He has a very high basketball IQ. He’s very skilled, makes the right pass and is a true point guard.”
With patience, perseverance and a lot of perspiration, there’s a good chance that this year’s TKA boys varsity basketball team can be as good as last year’s team.
Smith and his assistant coach Garret LeMon are looking forward to the team’s first two games back in early January when they play in the New Year’s Showcase on Jan. 4-5 at Boyd Anderson High School in Fort Lauderdale. It will take a talented, driven and team-oriented squad to win those two games and make another deep run in this year’s FHSAA Class 3A tournament that gets underway in early February.
