Malachi Jeffers-Viera and Aaryan Dadan are both senior forwards who bring different elements to High School North boys’ basketball.
Their contributions have been equally important to carrying the Knights to a historic 11-0 start. No North team had ever won its first 11 games.
“I think we’re playing better than we ever expected,” said Dadan. “We’ve had some close calls, but we put them away.”
The Knights have done so with different players stepping up every night and doing what they do best. For Jeffers-Viera, that means doing a bit of everything on the offensive end.
Fifteen games into the season, he was averaging 18.9 points per game, 8.4 rebounds per game and 4.2 assists per game and on track to score his 1,000th career point by the start of February.
“Malachi has been really good for us,” said North coach Luke Beesley. “I think the best thing that he’s done this year is his maturity level, his emotions, he’s really stepped up in the leadership role.”
According to Beesley Jeffers-Viera is playing with friends he has grown up with, from middle school to high school. That’s what high school sports are about—playing with friends and enjoying the experience, he said.
Dadan’s biggest impact has come at the other end. He hasn’t scored more than six points in a game, but North wouldn’t be where they are without him. He averages more than five rebounds per game and brings energy and intensity to the Knights.
Dadan is one of the team’s bigger players and contributes in ways that don’t always show up on the stat sheet, Beesley said. He’s a tough, physical athlete. who played left guard for the football team, where he never left the field, and now in basketball, he handles the gritty tasks that others might avoid.
The front court duo is part of a senior class that has made a huge impact while seeing the program and culture change during their high school careers. Most of them played together on their freshman team that went 14-1, and as they moved up to varsity the win totals rose, finally hitting record levels this year.
The varsity won only two games during Jeffers-Viera’s freshman year, and four his sophomore year. Things took a big turn last year in a 14-13 season that included a trip to the Mercer County Tournament final and a berth in the Central Jersey Group 4 state tournament. North returned this year with a huge senior class of eight that had been gearing up for a big finale.
“Back in middle school, we all played on the basketball team or some of us didn’t make it, but we were all friends back in middle school too so we all played AAU together,” Dadan said. “From there we had chemistry that I don’t think a lot of teams have.”
The mindset has changed for the team. They’re no longer going into games looking to upset teams. They played a new level when they ripped Robbinsville to open the year and edged Hopewell Valley in a tight game, 53-50.
“One thing we wanted to make sure was that we started off well because last year we didn’t do that great to start,” Beesley said.
In addition to Jeffers-Viera, North also gets a lot of scoring from senior Ryan Jean-Baptiste and junior Blake Amos Whitfield.
“We’ve had games where we’ve had different leading scores and I think that’s a sign of a good basketball team,” Beesley said.
Using that depth and experience early showed that last year’s big jump wasn’t a fluke. It was a sign of things to come. North put in a ton of work in the offseason. They played summer leagues, attended team camp together and played in the live period, facing plenty of talented teams to prepare for this season.
“Last year was kind of a proving point, like we’re a team to look out for now,” Jeffers-Viera said. “Now we’re one of those top teams and people have a target on our backs.”
The Knights have made big plays to pick up some close wins. In addition to the early win over Hopewell, they got by Somerville for a three-point win to claim the West Windsor-Plainsboro Holiday Tournament, and won by three at Tornado Alley to stop Trenton.
“I tell them that I had that trust in all of them,” Jeffers-Viera said. “A lot of these players are like my best friends that I play basketball with all the time.”
The Knights also have learned from their losses in their 13-2 start. Lawrence beat them by two points in a double overtime game and Hunterdon Central picked up a one-point win.
Those narrow defeats keep them motivated to improve. In the Lawrence game, North felt they allowed too many points early. In the Hunterdon Central game, they hit their goal of keeping teams at 49 points or under, but lost because their offense wasn’t as effective.
Dadan is a vital part of the defensive efforts. He has gained confidence in his athleticism and ability to compete with anyone after coming out of football.
“I’m best at playing defense, so that’s why I’m on the court and my hustle plays,” said Dadan.
Dadan had a few starts as a sophomore, then played more last year. This year, he’s been a full-time starter from the outset and his maturity and experience have shown.
“I’m better at calming down,” he said. “I used to be like a hothead. I used to get angry over little things and stuff.”
Jeffers-Viera has seen his numbers climb each year. He played sparingly as a freshman before averaging 12 points per game as a sophomore starter.
That average rose to 14.1 points per game last year and included a 26-point outing in an upset of Ewing. This year, he’s taken it to another level and it’s drawing interest to continuing playing in college.
“I’ve been talking to a couple schools for basketball,” he said. “I’m really seeing where things take me.”
It’s been quite a ride for the North seniors so far. They started in the program the same year that Beesley was brought in, and they are seeing the fruits of their dedication and commitment this season.
“I feel like it’s a really big part of my life,” Dadan said. “Our previous varsity teams haven’t been doing as well. And with the new coach coming and stuff, it was a blessing to be a part of the team.”
“Now we have basically an all-senior starting lineup except for one player who’s a junior,” Jeffers-Viera said. “We used to get bullied around. and it’s kind of vice versa because of our age and experience.”
All the pieces are in place for North. The Knights got off to the start that they wanted, and now the focus is on finishing the way that they have dreamed.
“We’ve made the right play a lot this last month,” Beesley said. “We’re trying to continue to do that and continue to get better so we’re playing our best in the end of February and early March.”
WW-P High School North boy's basketball player Malachi Jeffers-Viera/,
