It’s double the fun for Kingston’s Thawe
Tigers senior earns second straight Freeman Player of Year honor
Teammates of Kingston High senior guard Ke’Montae Thawe say he’s pretty quiet around school. He’s much more exuberant on the basketball court, though.
“He’s more open on the court,” Tigers senior forward Eli Abrams said. “He’s very expressive on the court. Off the court, he’s more reserved.”
Thawe averaged a teamhigh 18.4 points a game this season as the Tigers finished with an 18-5 record. He added 4.1 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.2 blocks a game.
Thawe led the team in 3-pointers (57) and steals (57) and shot 48 percent from the field. He connected on 70 percent of his free throw attempts.
Thawe finished his illustrious career with 1,163 points, which is fifth all-time in Kingston boys basketball history.
After getting knocked out of the playoffs his junior year by archrival Newburgh Free Academy (NFA), Thawe helped the Tigers win the Section 9 Class AAA championship for the first time in five years with a 55-51 overtime victory over Monroe-Woodbury on the Crusaders’ home court.
Kingston also ended an eight-game losing streak to NFA with a crushing 80-45 win in its regular-season finale.
With Thawe and a strong senior supporting cast playing inspired basketball all season, Kingston advanced to its second New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Final Four in the school’s history. The Tigers lost to eventual state champion Green Tech of Section II, 52-45, in the semifinals.
For all of his accomplishments, Thawe has been selected as the Freeman Boys Basketball Player of the Year for the second year in a row.
Asked about leading the school to the Final Four, the modest Thawe said he was gratified with the way things turned out.
“It was good,” he said. “It was fun. I felt very happy. I feel like we accomplished a lot. I enjoyed everything about the season. We came up short last year and we just wanted it this year.”
Thawe made more of an effort to be a leader in his senior year, he said.
“I think I matured a lot as a person and being a better leader,” he said.
Thawe is undecided about his future plans after graduation.
“In the summer, I’ll see what my options are (for basketball) and choose from there,” he said.
Kingston coach Ron Kelder said Thawe was a coach’s dream.
“He was motivated for the entire year,” Kelder said. “He was focused on having a great senior year. When we beat Newburgh, it was like turning a switch on for him. He was like, ‘We’ve never beaten Newburgh.’ We got them this time and he was a major part of it.”
Kelder was pleased to see Thawe go over the 1,000-point career scoring mark with a stellar 29-point performance in a 70-52 win over Monroe-Woodbury in front of a large home crowd at the Kate Walton Field House on Jan. 29.
“That was one of the nights for the ages for a coach to see a kid go out and play that well, knowing what he needed to get,” Kelder said.