Since the beginning of his high school basketball career, Tufts point guard KwameFirempong has often played in the shadow of others. Now, though, the sophomore has come into his own. He is gaining experience as the starting point guard and defensive leader for the men's basketball team, which itself is emerging as a top team in the NESCAC.
State champions
It's extremely rare for future college basketball players to be overlooked on their high school teams. At Windward School in Los Angeles, however, Firempong started alongside four future Div. I players at one of the top programs in Southern California.
"My first two years, we were sort of building our program, our name and our reputation around the city," Firempong said. "But by my junior year, we came into the season with a lot of expectations. We had a lot of talent and a couple big-name players on our team, so we set our goals pretty high for that year."
After losing a few games early in the campaign, Windward responded with 19 straight wins to finish the season 29-6 overall. In the Division V state championship final against perennial powerhouse St. Joseph Notre Dame, the Wildcats out-rebounded St. Joseph, 37-20, en route to a 69-53 win and their first-ever California crown.
"It was pretty special for a small private school to win a state championship," Firempong said. "It was definitely my most memorable sports moment in high school."
That season, Firempong played with center Anthony Stover, guard Malcolm Washington and forward Wesley Sanders, who all went on to play Div. I basketball at UCLA, Penn and Harvard, respectively. (Besides being a future Ivy League player, Washington is also the son of actor Denzel Washington.)
Windward's best player in 2008-09, though, was clearly then-senior guard Darius Morris, who was ranked as the No. 15 senior point guard in the country by Rivals.com and averaged 27 points per game as a junior. Firempong, who has stayed in touch with Morris, looked up to the star guard as his mentor on the court.
"I learned a lot from Darius," Firempong said. "I feel like a lot of my game is modeled off of his game, and he's always who I looked up to because he was a year older than me."
Morris chose the Michigan Wolverines out of a plethora of Div. I offers and made an immediate impact during his freshman season. After a breakout sophomore season in which he averaged 15 points and nearly seven assists per game and was elected to the All-Big Ten third team, Morris elected to leave Michigan early and declare for the 2011 NBA Draft. Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 41st overall pick, Morris is now playing professionally for the team that he and Firempong followed for years.
"Not only is [Morris] in the NBA, but he's on my favorite team," Firempong said. "It's pretty surreal to be honest, and it's kind of scary."
"An energy guy"
Firempong did not undergo nearly as intense a recruiting process, and he ended up applying to Tufts after only a few brief conversations with head coach Bob Sheldon and assistant coach Matt Malone. An Inglewood, Calif., native, Firempong visited nearly a dozen East Coast campuses on a college trip with his high school classmates but was instantly drawn to the Hill.
"I visited Tufts for the first time, and I really loved the campus and the atmosphere," Firempong said. "And then, senior year came around and I decided to apply and thankfully got in. Tufts seemed like the best fit for me, and I'm glad to be here now."
In the end, the combination of Tufts' academics along with Firempong's desire to play basketball at a high level sealed his decision. After seeing Firempong play at a basketball camp between his junior and senior years of high school, Sheldon and his coaching staff knew that they were also interested in the dynamic point guard.
"He wanted pre-med, and he wanted to go where he could play," Sheldon said. "So this kind of was a good fit for everyone. Kwame is a little different from some of our other guys because he's really athletic. He's an energy guy who can push the ball, so when we saw him we were excited."
At the beginning of his freshman season, Firempong — nicknamed "Kwam" by Sheldon — impressed the Jumbos' coaches with his speed and agility. His athletic ability manifested itself mostly on the defensive end, where, even as a freshman, Firempong established himself as one of the team's best defenders after finishing the 2010-2011 season with 33 steals, second on the team behind now-senior tri-captain guard AmaurisQuezada.
"He's able to defend very well, and he can just keep guys in front of him," Sheldon said. "He can change the course of a game with his defense because of what he can do to the other team's point guard."
Freshman slump, sophomore sensation
Firempong's constant high level of energy, however, sometimes got the young point guard in trouble on the offensive end. He was second on the team in turnovers with 63 and struggled with his decision-making and ball-handling as he adjusted to collegiate competition.
"When he came in, he played a little out of control," junior forward Scott Anderson said. "He always was a good defender, probably one of our best defenders for sure, but he was a little out of control and had a good amount of turnovers. He probably wasn't going to get a lot of playing time because of how out of control he was, but that's something he's definitely worked on this summer."
With a year of college basketball under his belt, Firempong spent his summer playing with BTI, an elite AAU team based in Southern California. According to Malone, Firempong's summer experience vastly raised his level of play.
"I think he learned how to run the show with some really good players around him," Malone said. "He just came with so much more confidence this year. We were kind of waiting for him to get there, but now he goes out and gets after it. I think our guys wait for him to get us going."
Anderson — who has benefited from many of Firempong's 35 assists this season — believes a freshman slump is natural for players who have not yet adjusted to the grind of the NESCAC season.
Last season, Firempong found himself in a familiar supporting role. He started just three times and averaged only 18.1 minutes per game in a complementary job as the backup to then-freshman point guard Oliver Cohen, who drew 19 starts. Both players have a set of unique strengths; Cohen is a better outside shooter who likes to slow the pace and manage the offense, while Firempong looks to push the ball and slash to the basket.
"We like the situation that we're in because Kwam and Oliver split time last year and they're going to split time this year, but they're both such different players," Sheldon said.
Having put his freshman slump behind him, Firempong is enjoying a breakout sophomore season, averaging 10.5 points, 4.4 assists and 1.4 steals thus far. He is also excelling in clutch situations. With 25 seconds left against Babson on Dec. 3, Firempong hit two free throws to extend the Jumbos' lead to four. With six seconds left, he hit two more to ice the game and give Tufts a 54-48 win.
"I think I've been more patient this year," Firempong said. "Last year, I was moving too fast trying to use my speed. I need to be able to hit my spots when I want to score and when I want to get my teammates involved."
As a team, the Jumbos also seem to be on the rise. Tufts is off to a solid 6-2 start overall and has benefited from increased depth at every position.
"Best-dressed" team leader
As Firempong continues to change his game, one thing about the point guard remains the same — his fashion sense off the court.
"Kwame is the best-dressed guy on the team on and off the court," Sheldon said. "Always matches top to bottom from day to day. He's got a Burberry top; I mean who has a Burberry top? And the first time last year on the road trip, he wore a bowtie; who wears a bowtie? Kwame does and he tears it up. He's got to have at least 30 pairs of shoes."
But as Firempong continues to impress his coach off the court, he is doing even better by stepping into a leadership role on it. In team huddles during games, Firempong — not Sheldon or a senior captain — normally motivates the team.
"When we put our hands in, somebody says ‘focus on three' or ‘defense on three,'" junior forward Scott Anderson said. "[Kwame] is one of those guys who always steps up and says something right away. You can tell that's something he was used to doing more so than other guys."
"I've sort of always been a point guard, and I've always accepted that leadership role, so I guess I'm just used to it," Firempong said. "Even on my high school team when I had numerous amounts of talent, I was still somewhat the leader on the court."
Due to his improved offensive consistency, Firempong has been rewarded with increased playing time this season. He has started every game except for Tuesday's 79-73 overtime loss to Plymouth State, to which Firempong arrived late due to an academic conflict. According to Sheldon, Firempong has sky-high potential that can be reached if he improves his one weakness.
"I think All-NESCAC is his ceiling, but he needs to work on his outside shooting a little bit," Sheldon said. "Right now, I think teams are going to back off of him. If he can knock it down, and they have to get up on him, then he'll be able to blow right by."
Both Firempong and the Tufts men's basketball program are striving toward new heights this year. Last season, the Jumbos were merely looking to put a disastrous 2009-2010 season behind them and show improvement. This year, however, Sheldon and the squad like their position in the conference and have established a clear goal.
"We told the guys this year that we want a NCAA tournament bid," Sheldon said. "We like where we are in the league ... We want to go out and be a dark horse in the league and try to earn respect. If we get some wins, that will change things a little bit."
If Tufts achieves its goal of stepping out of the NESCAC shadows, it'll be in no small part due to their new starting point guard doing the same.
