Kaufman molds Moon boys basketball into unselfish, successful group

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, December 31, 2018 | 6:06 PM

If not for Barry Walsh’s record-keeping, no one would know Adam Kaufman had won 200 games and counting as a basketball coach.

Walsh, an assistant coach, has followed Kaufman from team-to-team for 12 years, the latest stop at Class 5A No. 2 Moon, where the Tigers (9-0, 3-0 Section 2) are undefeated halfway through the season.

The milestone surprised Kaufman, who doesn’t believe he should receive recognition for it.

“In all my years of coaching, I’ve never made a shot,” Kaufman said. “I’m not scoring points. I’m not boxing out and battling for loose balls. Those kids won those games. They deserve the credit.”

Kaufman also wants his 200th victory be a forgotten footnote in Moon’s season, one with championship aspirations.

He believes the Tigers have a chance to be special if they play selfless, consistent basketball, which was his message to the team Sunday morning, a day after Moon struggled to get Kaufman win No. 202 against Steel Valley.

“I feel like things are going a certain way in culture,” Kaufman said. “You see kids quitting sports, because they’re worried about playing time. So I’m proud that my kids show up every day and practice hard like they did today, whether they played one minute or 30 minutes the night before. It’s really fun to be around.”

Team captain Tre Carter, who wants this team to be the “best ever” at Moon, is the embodiment of the selfless culture Kaufman aimed to establish beginning four years ago when he became the coach.

Carter helped keep Moon’s undefeated record intact Saturday by hitting three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to put away Steel Valley, 48-38, after trailing by nine at halftime.

Carter’s emergence is remarkable considering he was cut from middle school teams and didn’t make the varsity team until his senior year, but he always came to the conclusion he must not be working hard enough.

“I worked as hard as I could to get to where I am now,” Carter said. “I never quit. I always kept going. I didn’t show any emotions. I just told myself I had to work hard. I just knew in my mind I wasn’t working hard enough, so I’m proud of myself for where I am now and of my teammates for helping me get better.”

A team-first attitude like Carter’s will be the only way Moon can have a deep WPIAL playoff run, according to senior point guard Jioni Smith.

The Tigers, who won the WPIAL two years ago, lost in the quarterfinals to Franklin Regional last season.

“I’ve been thinking about it ever since we lost to Franklin Regional last year,” Smith said. “We’re all just really hungry this year. We just weren’t prepared for that game. We just overlooked a team. We’re not overlooking anyone this year.”

No one should overlook Moon either, not with its scoring capabilities.

Senior Donovan Johnson transferred from Our Lady of Sacred Heart to Moon in the summer, rejoining teammates that he played with in middle school.

Johnson, a younger brother of North Carolina starter and former Pitt player Cam Johnson, averages 12 shots and 21 points per game to lead the Tigers in scoring.

Twin seniors Austin and Connor Ryan have watched their points totals — they had 30 combined points per game last season — dip because of Johnson’s emergence. Center Taru Jones averages 8 points.

“We don’t care about numbers on this team,” Smith said. “If we have a mismatch we go after that. When we don’t have an obvious mismatch, we set screens and find ways to help each other get open to take get high percentage shots. Everyone has an equal part on this team.”

With the way Kaufman said his team plays together, he should expect to add a lot more wins to add to his career total this season.

“If you truly care about winning and winning first, it doesn’t matter what your stats say,” Kaufman said. “It doesn’t matter if you scored 20 points or had 20 assists. If you won the game, the rest of it is irrelevant. People make sacrifices daily for this team, because they see the bigger picture.”

Shawn Annarelli is a freelance writer.

Tags: Moon