After earning their first win last year, The Nawf is hungry for more in West Virginia
The Nawf made their debut in 2023, losing by five as the eight seed. Last year, they were given the six seed, and they came out on top, beating the three seed before losing to La Familia in the next round. The seed keeps going up, and they’re the five this year, and hopefully that means more wins for them.
They bring back their three leading scorers from last season, and hopefully, that experience and chemistry can take them a long way.
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Current Roster:
- AJ Cheeseman (New Orleans & UMES)
- Alphonso Willis (Texas A&M Commerce)
- CJ Wilson (Young Harris)
- Damion Rosser (New Orleans)
- Derek St. Helaire (University of New Orleans & Jacksonville State)
- Devante Foster (Arkansas Tech University)
- Elias King (Middle Tennessee State)
- Kendall Lewis (Illinois State)
- Lamar Peters (Mississippi State)
- Michael Zabetakis (West Georgia)
- Navar Elmore (Livingstone College)
- Qiydar Davis (Louisiana Tech & Illinois State)
- Robert Dozier (Memphis)
- Roberto Gallinat (Pacific)
Coaching Staff:
- Cyrus Lavant (GM)
- Shay Agboola (GM)
- Wesley Witherspoon (Head Coach)
- Martin Johnson (Asst. Coach)
- Patrick Shokpeka (Asst. Coach)
Region: West Virginia
All-time Record: 1-2
First Matchup: vs. Court Street Kings (July 18 at 4 p.m. EST)
Team MVP: Damion Rosser
Rosser led the team in scoring last year, averaging 14.5 PPG. This included a 22-point, six-rebound, two-block game in the win last year. He struggled in the following game, with just seven points on 2-10 shooting. They don’t win that game without him, and they’ll need him to be that leader again.
Rosser is going to kill you from the inside. He’s not a three-point shooter, but his ability to score inside makes him tough to guard.
Make-or-break Player: Derek St. Helaire
In 2023, St. Helaire was awesome for the Nawf, scoring 21 points to go with 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Last year, the scoring was there, but boy was he inefficient. He averaged 13.5 PPG, but shot 25.7% from the field and 11.8% from three. In the first game, he shot 5-22 from the field.
If he can shoot the ball more efficiently, he can give The Nawf a serious chance to pull off a few wins. Between him and Rosser, they have two really talented guards. However, if he shoots like he did last year, he can shoot them out of this tournament, which would obviously be very unfortunate for him and his teammates.
Team Outlook
The Nawf look to add another win to their name in round one, where they’ll face Court Street Kings, the Ohio alumni team. If they win that one, they’ll face the one seed, Elite Nation, who got a first-round bye in the tournament. It’s quite the trek from Atlanta, where the Nawf is based out of, to West Virginia, but perhaps they’ll have some fans make the trip.
The Nawf also returns Roberto Gallinat, who scored 23 points for them last year. With 14 players on the roster, depth shouldn’t be an issue; it’s all about finding the right combos to guarantee the most success for their team.