The Nottingham High boys basketball team entered the season as the team to beat. As in, everybody thought they were going to beat an inexperienced squad.
The Northstars returned just two players who saw any time for a 13-2 team in the 2020-21 season, and they had combined to score a total of 16 points. Opponents thought it was payback time against one of the Colonial Valley Conference’s premiere programs.
But it wasn’t.
Nottingham went 19-8, reached the Mercer County Tournament semifinals and won a NJSIAA Group 2 Central tournament game. The reasons were numerous.
Start with Chris “The Baron” Raba, a coach beyond reproach when it comes to getting the most out of his talent. Then there was a stable of strong underclassmen such as juniors Joe Lemly, Q McMillian and JP Dickerson; and sophomore Jordan Raba.
But this young bunch was in need of guidance and support, and therein lies the greatest intangible of the 2021-22 Northstars: the leadership of seniors Temi Kabiawu, Aiden Holman and captain Lewis Harvey. Were the young talent allowed to run roughshod, things might have gone astray. But the team-first trio held things steadfast.
“The three seniors were the glue to our team,” Raba said. “Some games they didn’t play at all, some games they played. But they’re the first guys at practice, the first guys getting kids water. They may not play for two games and then they’re ready to play when their number’s called. They never complained; never felt entitled that they should play. They’re happy they’re winning.
“In my 20 years of coaching,” he added, “those three could be the best senior leaders I’ve had.”
Considering Raba has won two state championships and over 300 games, that is a powerful statement.
“That means a lot,” Kabiawu said. “Coach Raba’s coach Raba, you know. He’s had a lot of great teams and coached a lot of great players. For him to say that about us means a lot. I’m gonna take it a long way.”
Kabiawu played the most of the three seniors, appearing in 22 of the 27 games and providing a big spark off the bench. He averaged 6.5 points and pounded the boards relentlessly.
“It’s just all about making sacrifices,” he said. “Coming into the season, me, Aiden and Lewis knew we’d have to make sacrifices for the team, which included playing time. So I just told myself ‘As soon as you get in the game, make sure they don’t take you back out. Stay in the game.’”
Holman and Harvey had lesser roles, with Lewis playing in 21 contests and Aiden appearing in 13.
It certainly wasn’t easy, as the seniors figured this was their year to shine, only to end up sitting behind younger players. But they still made an impact.
“It takes special people to accept that role, and be the best that they can be, in the role that they have,” Raba said. “I get a little teary-eyed talking about them. What Lewis, Temi and Aiden brought to our program this year can never be told in words.”
Holman admitted it was hard to accept that he may get more bench time than playing time. Fortunately for the Stars, he looked at the big picture.
“I was never taught to be a quitter,” Holman said. “I just want to push my teammates to be better on the court. At the end of the day a W is a W, it doesn’t matter. As long as I contribute in my own way the best I can, I’m happy with the outcome we had.”
Harvey came in with that same thought: winning is better than whining.
“Coming into this year we always heard we weren’t gonna be good, it’s a rebuilding year, and I was kind of getting sick of hearing it,” the captain said. “I told myself I want to prove everyone wrong and I told the same thing to my team and we were all on the same page.
“So as far as me not playing that much, I just wanted to see my teammates shine and for us to win. I’m not that type of person to be that selfish.”
Accepting their reserve roles was just part of the equation. Providing leadership was equally important.
“Pushing the younger guys to be better makes the whole team better. We get a better practice, everyone contributes more in the game,” Holman said. We have energy on the bench. We’re a family, we’re based on energy so the energy we put out on the court gets us our wins.”
Kabiawu feels that part of their leadership qualities come from the top.
“We all know coach Raba appreciates all the little things,” he said. “He’s not really a guy that likes a lot of big things. He’s a humble guy. If you start praising him he doesn’t want that. He’s a quiet guy, he’s decent. We try to be that way.”
To be fair, good leaders don’t matter without good followers. There need to be underclassmen who respect the seniors. It would be easy for All-CVC picks like Lemly and McMillan to think they don’t need any help, since they’re playing and the older guys aren’t. That wasn’t the case.
“That’s one thing I really appreciated; they opened their ears to listen,” Kabiawu said. “A lot of players are arrogant, they don’t listen to anybody. So I really appreciated that. Coach told the team to just listen to the older guys, they have experience, they know what they’re talking about. And they listened.”
Harvey is proud of what the younger guys accomplished.
“I can’t even put it into words,” he said. “Seeing all the young kids take these big roles and responsibilities and just going with it. And me being the leader of it, I’m really happy to see them shine.”
The seniors have as much cohesion off the court as on it. Harvey and Holman grew up together, and became close with Kabiawu as freshmen. All three plan on attending college, with Holman looking to play soccer at Mercer. Harvey and Kaiawu are still unsure of where they are headed.
Although they may go their separate ways, they will be bonded by what they did behind the scenes for a surprisingly good Northstars team.
“Other than playing time, this year exceeded my expectations,” Holman said. “Personally, I had doubts with the team losing a bunch of players. But when I saw things coming together I saw we could make it far.”
And they did it thanks to an unselfish trio that put winning ahead of all else.
Nottingham seniors Temi Kabiawu, Lewis Harvey and Aiden Holman were “the glue to our team,” said Coach Chris Raba. (Photo by Rich Fisher.),
