Mount Vernon’s Robert Smith and West Potomac’s Martez Redfearn were standing on the bleachers at Wakefield High School when a reporter approached the duo with an interview request.
As they stepped forward, Redfearn jokingly pushed Smith aside and said, "Not you!" Smith walked away and was interviewed after Redfearn. But while the West Potomac guard pulled a fast one on his Mount Vernon fiend, Smith likely laughed it off while experiencing the joy of victory.
Smith and the Concorde & National All Stars came out on the winning end of the Northern Region all-star game, beating the Liberty & Patriot All Stars 102-99 on April 24. Standout seniors from the Liberty and Patriot districts faced athletes with similar credentials from the Concorde and National districts. Mount Vernon’s Alfonso Smith coached the C-N team and Langley’s Travis Hess led the L-P squad.
Robert Smith scored six points, including a transition bucket with 5:50 to play in the fourth quarter that gave C-N an 83-73 advantage. The 5-foot-11 point guard said he wants to play basketball in college next season, possibly at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College. He said the better team won the all-star game and he enjoyed the environment and playing against some of the top talent in the region.
"Everybody knows our names, everybody knows who we are everywhere we go," Smith said. "Little kids look up to us. We’re having fun. … We got the better side of our districts. They were real competitive. At first they jumped out on us early but we pulled it out in the end."
Alfonso Smith, who led the Majors to a second consecutive National District title this season, said it was fun getting to coach such a talented team. He also enjoyed getting the chance to coach his point guard one more time, after the Majors ended the 2009-10 season with a loss to Chantilly in the regional semifinals.
"Robert, it seems like he’s been an extension of the program forever," Alfonso Smith said. "I was happy to have another opportunity to coach him. The last time we were on the court together we went out with a loss. To have an opportunity to come out here and get a win is special. He’s been a special part of our program over the last several years and I’m definitely going to miss him."
Redfearn scored 11 points for the L-P All-Stars. The 6-foot-3 guard wants to play basketball in college and major in business.
"We all shared the ball," Redfearn said of the L-P All Stars. "First time doing this, it was nice. I really had fun."
After shoving Smith out of the way prior to the interview, Redfearn continued to joke during.
"They should have [passed the ball] to me" late in the fourth quarter, he said. "I was wearing No. 24 — Kobe Bryant — they should have just given me the ball."
Redfearn didn’t get the ball on his team’s final possession, but he played a role in giving the L-P All Stars a chance. The C-N All-Stars led by two with 5.7 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and Mike Veith (Yorktown) was headed to the free-throw line looking to extend the advantage. That’s when Redfearn and teammate Ryan Yates (T.C. Williams), who scored a game-high 24 points, approached Veith to give him some words of "encouragement."
We told him "if he missed it, we would let him party with us in Alexandria," Yates said of the duo’s attempt to disrupt Veith’s concentration.
Veith made 1 of 2, giving the L-P All Stars a chance to tie with a 3-pointer, but they came up empty.
Redfearn and West Potomac teammate Keevyn Hankins competed in the dunk contest prior to the game. Hankins advanced to the final against Oakton’s David Larsen, but Larsen stole the show by throwing the ball between his legs and off the glass before catching it and stuffing it home.
Hankins’ go-to dunk was the windmill, but he couldn’t get it to drop.
"It was a good experience because I’ve been wanting to do it since I was a freshman," Hankins said. "I’m just kind of mad that I lost. [The windmill has] been going down for me, it just wasn’t going down today."
West Potomac coach David Houston III, who led the Wolverines to their first Patriot District title since 1996, watched the evening’s festivities from the stands.
"We actually do some stuff through out the year and have a little [dunk] competition every couple practices or so," he said. "It was good to see those guys out there. I think they were a little nervous because I’ve seen them do much better."
Hayfield senior and C-N All Star Reggie Tate was named the game’s most valuable player. Larsen won the dunk contest and Centreville’s Warren Denny won the 3-point shootout.