Demetrius White’s arrival from Palmer Charter has made Frankford’s 0–10 season in 2013–14 seem like ancient history.
Sometimes, Quadire Truesdale felt like he had to do too much, so he lobbied for one of his best buds to come join him on the basketball court.
The move is paying major dividends for Frankford basketball.
Truesdale was the only returning starter for the Pioneers coming into this season, and he realized throwing up too many shots only hurt his team in the long run. Plus, Truesdale wanted to be more of a true point guard, so when he heard of the imminent closing of Palmer Charter, he pitched the idea of coming to play at Frankford to his good friend and fellow senior guard Demetrius White.
The two are simpatico on the court together, which was on full display in the Pioneers’ 67–58 win over visiting Sankofa Charter on Martin Luther King Day. The gym was packed to the gills, with fans turning out in droves for a pregame ceremony in which Frankford dedicated its basketball court to the late Vince Miller, who coached the team for 27 seasons, winning 351 games and two league titles.
Spectators stayed to see White and Truesdale put on a show.
Truesdale scored eight points and dished out eight assists, many of them finding the fingertips of White, who deposited 22 points and grabbed six boards in a contest Frankford led throughout. A victory over Olney the following day was the Pioneers’ fifth straight, ushing its record to 7–2 in Division B, two behind Washington and a game-and-a-half behind Boys’ Latin with three to play before the postseason. After some inconsistent, up-and-down play to open the season, the Pioneers seem to have found their rhythm, starting with their two leaders in the backcourt.
“I’m feeling good about this season, and I’m glad I came over here,” White said. “Quadire is one of my best friends, and it’s easier to play when I’ve got him next to me. I love playing with someone like that who passes me the ball. The game comes easier to me when I have a point guard who can help me out like that.”
The two have been close since eighth grade, when they attended the same middle school. When most of Frankford’s roster left following an 0–10 season in Division A, Truesdale stuck around for his final season, believing the Pioneers would have a stronger showing in moving down to B.
He was right.
“I didn’t feel as though it would be cool to leave and start a new journey as a senior,” Truesdale said. “I’m already here, and we only had two guys total coming back (seniors Jemire Solomon and Aleem Griffith). I knew Demetrius could score, and that’s what we needed. I already knew I could play with him, and I also knew that if he came on board, I wouldn’t have to score so much for us to win. If I focused on being a solid point guard, I figured we’d keep winning.”
Overall, Truesdale is still the team’s overall leading scorer at 14.7 oints per game. But White has taken on that role within the division, posting a 17.2 er game mark in nine contests. Between them, they have six 20-point division outputs (four for White, including three straight), so White’s emergence as a confident scorer has relieved some of the pressure off Truesdale in that department. As a result, others like freshman Francisco Campo (11 points against Sankofa) and senior forward Tashawn Twiggs (10 points, five rebounds) have flourished in bigger roles.
“When Quadire is facilitating, that’s when this team is at its best,” head coach Dave Huzzard said. “We don’t want him to feel like he has to do too much, especially since Demetrius and Christian are such good shooters and scorers. Quadire works so hard, and I don’t take him out of the game. He’s a great dribbler, so I don’t have to hold my breath trying to get the ball across halfcourt. He makes sure everyone is in the right positions defensively, and he really is another coach out there because he has more experience than the other guys. We’re on a bit of a roll, and we hope to keep it going.”
Frankford knows it has the horses to compete for a championship, and it’s really only a matter of putting it all together at the right time, something the team is still admittedly working on. For example, the Pioneers led undefeated Washington by 20 at halftime on Dec. 22 before a nightmare second half produced a 14-point loss, and lost to Boys’ Latin by only one on Dec. 11, all while still working on team chemistry as a new group still getting accustomed to playing together.
“If we get our chance, we just have to show up,” White said. “I think we can have a strong playoff run and compete for a championship if we just keep playing together and working hard. Everybody is dedicated. I don’t know how we got the chemistry to work so fast, but everyone is playing his part.”
Truesdale has experienced both ends of the spectrum, from a playoff victory as a sophomore to a winless division season as a junior. Now, he has Frankford back close to the top, and Truesdale has no interest in wasting his final opportunity at glory.
“I feel like we’re in the same category as most of the best teams in the league, and we’ve played most of them tough,” he said. “We get better every game and always work as hard as our opponent, so people should be talking about us more. I believe we can go real far.”
Huzzard called the recent success “gratifying,” mainly because he had no idea how things would shake out with such a new group. With a wily veteran and a rising newcomer leading the charge, Frankford is having fun on the basketball court again.
“My old school was so small, so playing in a better atmosphere for a bigger fanbase is fun,” White said. “I really like playing here. I don’t know why people aren’t talking about us more, but they should be, because we plan on making a big impact in the playoffs.”
His best friend agreed.
“I waited all my life for this opportunity,” Truesdale said. “I’ve been working for this moment. I knew I’d be here one day, and it would mean everything to me and the whole team to be in a position to compete in the playoffs. It means more of us will be getting looks to go to college, and that’s really what it’s all about, getting to the next level.
“It feels great making everyone around me better as the point guard, especially Demetrius. We grew up together, and I consider him my brother. He and the team are listening to me, and it’s turned into a brotherhood. We trust each other, and everything we do, we do together.” ••
Senior Quadire Truesdale, Frankford’s most experienced player on the hardwood, has the Pioneers sitting with a 7–2 record in Public League Division B play. MARIA POUCHNIKOVA / TIMES PHOTOS
