GW Hoops / Recruit: Tafara Gapare, Forward, 2022 - (Committed to Massachusetts)

**Posted by dmvpiranha** 5/22/2020 7:37 pm

Tafara Gapare
Year: 2022
Position: SF
Height: 6-10
Hometown: Wellington, New Zealand
High School: South Kent School (South Kent, CT)
AAU Team: Team Melo (MD)

Offers: Arizona State, Connecticut, DePaul, Fairfield, Hawaii, Illinois, Iona, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Mexico State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, Towson, Virginia Tech, Washington State, Xavier

Links
247Sports
FIBA
Hudl
Insta
NCSA
Twitter Account
Verbal Commits
Wellington Basketball

Last edited by dmvpiranha (8/11/2022 8:08 pm)

**Posted by GW0509** 5/22/2020 7:38 pm

Awesome! New Flag Alert!!!!

The dunk starting at the 1 min mark will look VERY VERY nice in the Smith Center: https://247sports.com/Video/Tafara-Gapare-Scots-College-Highlights-vs-Strive-for-Greatness-9776032/

EDIT: Dunk was too good not to GIF

Last edited by GW0509 (5/22/2020 8:23 pm)

**Posted by MG14** 5/22/2020 7:44 pm

Can't wait to see the New Zealand flag in the arena!

Looks like he oozes athleticism. Will need to gain a little weight, but there's plenty of time for that.

Looking forward to seeing him play.

**Posted by CT Colonial** 5/22/2020 7:55 pm

https://247sports.com/Article/Tafara-Gapare-George-Washington-Basketball-Commit-147432374/

"Gapare is arguably the most talented prospect to commit to George Washington in the Jamion Christian Era. At 6-foot-8, Gapare is oozing with upside and potential. He has an impressive physical make up, good mobility, length, athleticism, versatility, defensive potential and an improving skill set. "

"Gapare will be rated as a four-star prospect on 247Sports, and is George Washington's first commitment in the 2021 recruiting class."

**Posted by BM** 5/22/2020 8:40 pm

Extended highlights

https://www.instagram.com/tv/B5Yl87apj8h/?igshid=3355mo6z52n8

**Posted by MG14** 5/22/2020 8:57 pm

According to that Instagram video, he has a 37.4 inch vertical jump which would've been tied for 16th best in the 2019 NBA combine.

I'm no talent evaluator, but this kid reminds me a little of Yuta. Tall, lanky, explosive athlete, and the ability to hit some 3s. May not be as good of a defender, but 1) that is a high bar and 2) that remains to be seen.

Last edited by MG14 (5/22/2020 9:03 pm)

**Posted by GW0509** 5/22/2020 9:14 pm

He's also still only 16! Assuming natural physical progression I think the sky's the limit for him. He's basically a slightly lighter Regis Koundjia right now. Now project that out to how strong he'll be in 4 years. Yeeeesh.

**Posted by BM** 5/23/2020 7:51 am

Very little buzz about him on the web, forums or social media outside of NZ press. Wondering where the four star reference comes from. Would make sense if there were P5 schools after him too, but I can’t find any sign of that yet. Video looks great though. Game seems to come to him effortlessly for a kid that tall and lanky. Seems like fellow Kiwi Steven Adams of the OKC Thunder has taken Tafara under his wings for many years now.

2.05 meters is 6’9” BTW.

Extended highlights from that game vs Strive for Greatness last year with Lebron in attendance. SFG is a loaded AAU team with Bronny James, Dior Johnson (#1 2022 PG, Syracuse) and a few other Div I recruits on the roster.

https://youtu.be/Wt5qTe7mCGY

Last edited by BM (5/23/2020 8:13 am)

**Posted by Florida Colonial** 5/23/2020 8:11 am

BM I get your point on his rating given the lack of reference to him in US media. I must say that Evan Daniels is one of the bigger voices in the US HS recruiting circle so that certainly adds credibility to his statement. I'm assuming its his opinion and he may not get a similar rating from other services as he will from 24sports..
Here is most likely where Daniels saw him.
"Last summer Gapare made a trip to the United States with the New Zealand Basketball Academy to play in the Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas. The team was coached by Kenny McFadden, who helped discover and mold NBA big man Steven Adams."
In addition it seems Kenny McFadden is an well respected coach in New Zealand, who most likely has given his opinion to Daniels.. With that said even if he is a 4 start recruit it so subjective. Who Knows.

Either way I'm excited to have a Kiwi on our team (apparently their best prospect) and a kid who appears to have a huge upside. Now lets hope we're playing basketball soon and a HM doesn't convince him to recommit before the signing period.

**Posted by BM** 5/23/2020 8:28 am

Florida, I’m just conditioned to expect scouts to rank kids by their offers, not abilities. I’ll take your word on Evan Daniels.

**Posted by Florida Colonial** 5/23/2020 9:17 am

BM.. You're 100% right. I'm surprised that Daniels would say that about a non Power 5 commit.. Maybe he would be 5 star if he had committed to a ACC school lol. I'm sure the other recruiting sites won't even bother to rate him.

Either way its great how we actually get recruiting news now and the staff is so active on social media when something happens

**Posted by BM** 5/24/2020 9:56 am

Great article about Kenny McFadden, the NZ youth development coach who has been working with Tafara. Looks like he’ll be receiving some fantastic coaching before he comes here in a year.

https://oklahoman.com/article/5602976/meet-kenny-mcfadden-the-man-who-shaped-steven-adams-and-new-zealand-basketball

**Posted by Cutis** 5/25/2020 7:37 am

This recruit seems outstanding. There is always a but. My friend Charles Driesell frequently stated that he loves when a recruit offers a “verbal”. Then he knows where his competition is and he can begin his recruiting in earnest. The true meddle of JC and his coaching staff will be if he can actually sign this young man and bring him on campus. My hope is that they can.

**Posted by Free Quebec** 5/25/2020 4:37 pm

I’m excited about this signing. That windmill jam against Bronnie James’ aau team! Wow!

Cutis, as far as I know, there’s only been one verbal to GW who backed out (Nigel Johnson). Not sure how common that really is, but I’m confident this kid is coming here.

**Posted by Mike K** 5/26/2020 6:38 am

Sounds like we may have gotten an early signing steal from the big boys.

Congrats and welcome Tafara! You are going to love the resurgence of the program and will teach us fans a little about New Zealand!

**Posted by Gwmayhem** 5/26/2020 9:24 am

This is exactly the kind of recruit that this program needs to be taking chances on. You can't stock an entire roster on hit-or-miss prospects but you can pick and choose your spots wisely. This prospect looks like a very wise choice to take a chance on. Looks like Coach Nima was very involved so congratulations to him (and the entire coaching staff) for securing a verbal commitment.

I gave some thought to others who reneged on a verbal in the past and as FQ suggests, Nigel Johnson was the only name that came to mind. That said, there could be others who we are forgetting. Or, there could be others that were never publicized, more like an informal agreement that was not made known to the public. I will say that while it is always possible for a verbal to renege, I'm tired of waiting for the other shoe to drop when it comes to this program. Rather than worry about major conference schools approaching Tafara, let's just be really happy about this. Welcome Tafara; we can not wait to see you play in DC.

**Posted by jf** 5/27/2020 10:04 pm

Welcome Tafara and family to our Colonial family!
With the embassy here in Washington, New Zealanders can easily watch Tafara play.
What a great choice to join us. We are excited about it.

**Posted by GW0509** 5/28/2020 5:36 am

jf wrote:
With the embassy here in Washington, New Zealanders can easily watch Tafara play.

Let's just hope the embassy doesn't assign Murray Hewitt to market Tafara while he's in the states.

**Posted by B_Loud** 6/10/2020 9:36 pm

247 has Gapare as the #99 ranked player (4 star) in the country for 2021. No composite ranking yet.

Other players ranked #99 (247 and composite):

2021 (composite) - Malik Thomas, USC (.9601)
2020 (composite) - Jamar Sibley, Georgetown (.9588)
2020 (247) - K.D. Johnson, Georgia (.9662)
2019 (composite) - Khalif Battle, Butler (.9572)
2019 (247) - Dontaie Allen, Kentucky (.9477)

**Posted by BM** 6/11/2020 9:55 am

B_Loud wrote:
247 has Gapare as the #99 ranked player (4 star) in the country for 2021. No composite ranking yet.

Good catch! Evan Daniels said that he's a four star in the note, now he's put that on paper in the rankings. Highest ranked A-10 recruit for 2021 as of now.