Athletes of the Week: Kendrick Morris and Tony Karalekas

Two great friends. Two great basketball players. Two great leaders. Tony Karalekas and Kendrick Morris. Both these boys have been wowing Exeter for years on and off the court with their expertise in the sport, their overwhelming amount of dedication, and their overall quality as people.Both Morris and Karalekas grew up around sports, with great role models and coaches: their dads. “My dad has the best work ethic, he played college hockey and he works out everyday; he’s a very focused man. I just want to be like him in any way I can,” Karalekas said. Similarly, Morris said, “My dad is definitely my role model, especially for sports. He played college football at Texas State, he was always my coach growing up, and he taught me everything I knew about sports.” With their fathers ensuring these boys had a good foundation of sports knowledge and motivation from the beginning, these young men were destined to do great things.So, how did these two start playing basketball? Well, for neither of them was it their first choice. Morris’s passion was baseball and Karalekas’s was ice hockey. After a shoulder injury Morris couldn’t continue on with baseball, so he chose basketball, and it didn’t hurt that he was 6’4” in eighth grade when he picked it up. Karalekas had to choose a sport to focus on that his school in Florida offered, and he chose basketball. These boys did not choose to play basketball, but they have certainly capitalized where fate has guided them. They have thrived playing basketball for Big Red and will continue to thrive playing in college next year.Karalekas, coming in as a prep, and Morris, as a lower, have both improved tremendously since joining Exeter’s basketball team. Under Coach Tilton’s program they really grew as players but also as people. “Exeter has helped me more maturity wise than anything else,” said Morris, “It has helped me be more of a leader and more vocal, I used to be a quiet kid.”Karalekas agrees that Exeter basketball has been a great experience for him and his career, “Four years in Coach Tilton’s program, I have seen myself grow both on and off the court as a student athlete. I came to Exeter, and the only thing I could was shoot and think about scoring, but now under Tilton's coaching, I feel like I’m more of an all-around player. I’ve gained a really good court sense and feel for the game and all around confidence and the correct Exeter style basketball.”Players on the team can only back up these statements and add wonderful things to say about Karalekas and Morris. Lower James Foye said, “Tony and Kenny are both great guys to have on our team. They add much needed experience and senior leadership. Most importantly though, they’re both stand up guys and great friends.”Lower JT Thompson added, “Tony has been a role model on and off the court all year. He has stepped up this year and has led the team by example. His character has rubbed off on all of us and our team camaraderie couldn’t’ be much stronger. He is an intense player on the court and it fires up the team. Our captain has done it the right way all year. Also, Kenny has been an impact and a force inside the paint in each game he has played in. He is a competitor and a winner and a great teammate. He continues to get better and better every day and can play the best of post men in our league.”The dedication these two athletes have put in to the basketball team is enormous. They have worked hard in workouts all year to get ready for the season and succeeded in making another great team that may be able to match last year’s championship in Exeter’s division. “This is a completely different team and you just have to look at it differently, you can't look back at last year, but personally I think we're going to win it all again,” Morris said.As seniors, leaders of the team, and two of the three returning players, they have played a huge role in taking all the new players in the program and making a close-knit team. “Every year we have a really close team, but I’d say this year is the closest year I’ve had in my four years,” Karalekas said.The impact they have made on the Exeter varsity basketball team has been immense over the year, but the impact these best friends have made on each other is something that can’t be ignored. Morris said, “Tony was actually my tour guide here, when I first visited. He was a repeat freshman and I was a sophomore applying for sophomore year. My mom said you’re either going to hate him or he’s going to be your best friend, and he ended up being my best friend.” They were pals from the start, and have kept the friendship going for three years.They only have great things to say about each other. Morris said, “Tony’s definitely a people person, very outgoing and sanguine. It’s fun bonding with basketball. I love him to death, its fun to play with him; we have good chemistry on the court for sure. On the court he’s definitely developed physically, he played varsity for four years, but he’s definitely come into his own this year, which is fun to watch.”Karalekas said, “Kenny and I are opposite players so we gel really well together, we’re extremely close off the court, he’s one of my best friends on campus. I like to think that it shines through in our games and our collaboration. His confidence has gone through the roof in a good way and off the court he’s one of the smartest guys I know. He’s very, very easy and enjoyable to talk to.”Next year, Karalekas and Morris will be leaving us and their well-loved legacy here at Exeter to continue their education and basketball careers in college. Karalekas is headed to Colby, ready to represent the Mules and show Maine how great an Exonian really is. Morris is going to Claremont McKenna next year, where he hopes to get minutes as a freshman in the best team in the conference.