Shakim Dunbar soon discovered the differences between playing in Brooklyn and playing in Northampton.

Four years ago, Dunbar made the trip west from the Big Apple and made the necessary adjustments to his benefit. He is an integral part of the team’s 10-3 start this season.

“New York basketball has a shot clock and more man-to-man defense, so you can really only run one play, and you need to get a shot up fast,” noted the senior. “There weren’t too many plays.

“When I got to Northampton, I needed to know plays, and I couldn’t play if I didn’t know them. We could run two or three plays in one possession because there is no shot clock.”

Dunbar cited the team’s long-term commitment as a key to their success.

“The season has been great so far,” he stressed. “Being in the gym every day has made our team chemistry amazing, and we are more of a family now. Working on the little things, boxing out, and running the floor has made us a good team.”

Konkrete Kids head coach Matt Scholl certainly appreciates Dunbar’s contributions. Dunbar has 18 points in a 49-48 victory over East Stroudsburg South, marking his team’s fifth win in their last six games. It brought the team one win closer to clinching a district playoff berth. (See story on page A8)

“Shakim Dunbar has been one of our most important pieces,” said Scholl. “He brings an incredible amount of energy to the court and plays hard on both ends of the court.”

Dunbar was a basketball late bloomer, as he didn’t start playing the game until he was 10. He credits his success to the influence of former recent teammates Issac Harris and Lucas Lesko. He is confident his team can reach another level, comparing them with the team two years ago that went to states.

“I feel this team can be better than our last team that went to states,” said Dunbar, who plans to attend Northampton Community College next year. “But we have to keep working because we got a long way to go. It’s a marathon and not a sprint.”

Scholl has the same feelings as his player.

“Qualifying for districts is our first goal and hopefully, we can accomplish that this week,” said Scholl. “We are winning, but we still have room to grow. This group has put in the work all year long and has a lot of confidence right now.

“But they also understand that we need to improve in several areas if we want to qualify for leagues and have any chance of winning in the playoffs. We had a different high scorer in each of our last three games, and our leading scorer, Brody Graff wasn’t one of them.

“We’re really working as a team right now.”