FORT WHITE — The goal was the same from the beginning. The consistency in Tafari Moe’s vision never wavered: Lakeland or bust.
The Fort White guard had reason to believe in a state tournament appearance. The team had made strides over the last few seasons, nearly reaching the promised land the previous year but falling short one game short in its regional final loss against Hilliard as the No. 4 seed.
Compounding the loss was an injury six months later. Moe broke his ankle playing receiver in the football team’s second game of the year on Aug. 30, 2024. With the basketball squad playing its season opener on Dec. 3, he didn’t think he’d be ready for the court.
“It was definitely a detrimental moment to me when I broke my ankle,” Moe said. “It was bleak.”
What followed was Moe’s best season in his four-year career. He played limited minutes to start the season before quickly reasserting himself as an offensive force.
Moe put up a game-high 26 points in a come-from-behind win against Madison County in the Region 3-R semifinals. He helped avenge that Hilliard loss from a year before with a 16-point performance, and he also netted his 1,000th career point midway through his senior campaign.
At the end of it all, Moe has a pair of prizes to show for it: an appearance in Lakeland and a repeat as the LCR’s Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
Never one to brag on his own accomplishments — including in accepting last year’s award — Moe credited his teammates, including fellow guards Jayden Jackson and Kendall Henry.
“We had a great roster this year,” Moe said. “Everyone on my team contributed to our success. I can’t thank all of my teammates enough for the work they put in and throughout practice and games and film studies in the classroom as well.”
The senior averaged an area-high 18.4 points while bringing down 6.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game on his way to leading the Indians to their first-ever Final Four appearance.
Head coach Elven Sheppard isn’t surprised at Moe’s abilities. He said Moe oftentimes resembles a coach on the court while having the physicality required to excel.
“I think he should go down as one of the top-5 players that ever played here,” Sheppard said. “He has been a pillar for Fort White basketball and a four-year starter. Years from now, when people talk about Fort White basketball, you have to mention Tafari Moe as one of the best ever.”
Moe’s stats are rendered all the more impressive considering he took just four months to fully recover and be able to play in the team’s second game of the year, a trip to Lafayette. Fort White had just come off a 64-33 loss at Trenton two nights earlier, and while he finished with just three points, three rebounds and an assist in limited minutes, it was the first stepping stone to Lakeland.
Before the season, Moe wasn’t even sure if he was going to play at all.
“I wasn’t supposed to come back for basketball,” he said. “The first few days after I broke my ankle, there wasn’t really much I could do. It was just mobility and things of that nature, just learning how to move my ankle again and move my toes again.
“From there I had to learn how to walk again. I learned how to run, jump, change direction, all those things.”
Moe knew he was going to play against Lafayette early though. He recognized the monumental nature of the moment.
“Personally it was just a surreal opportunity for me,” Moe said. “Being able to come back and play the sport that I love was a great moment for me. It was just the start of my senior year on a journey that I set out (on).”
By Dec. 17, the fourth game of the year, Moe was back in full swing. He finished that night — a 57-53 come-from-behind win over Branford — with a game-high 21 points and seven boards while poking away a steal with 27 seconds remaining and driving in for a layup for the go-ahead score.
“Leadership, toughness, he’s just somebody who looks like he’s been playing varsity basketball for four years,” Sheppard said of Moe after that game. “You could tell he didn’t wanna lose that game. Everything about it showed that.”
The season wasn’t entirely smooth sailing from there though. Fort White entered its toughest stretch of the year, playing highly ranked teams in higher classifications en route to losing seven of eight entering late January. That included a two-point loss to Hilliard in which Moe finished with a team-high 23 points and 11 rebounds.
A 41-point loss to Newberry their next game would be the last time the Indians experienced that until the goal was complete. Moe averaged 19.6 points per game over the next 11 wins, with his 26 points against Madison County among his finest performances.
Initially dour after the two-point win to advance to the regional final, Moe now remembers it fondly as one of his best outing of the season.
Sheppard agreed, saying that game stuck out to him as well.
“We needed some buckets, some big-time plays and big buckets,” Sheppard said. “He showed up.”
Part of Moe’s effectiveness is his work in the paint. The 6-foot-2 senior did hit on 31% of his 3-point attempts, but he made his presence felt inside, shooting 45% shooting from the field overall.
The technique from Moe in the paint is unique, often landing on two feet after a high leap into the circle to get defenders off-balance while also keeping his own. Sheppard says he goes over the technique with his whole team all the time.
“It’s just something that resonated with (Moe),” Sheppard said. “It’s a move that he felt comfortable with. With his athleticism and strong body, just playing off of two feet allowed him to finish the ball better and go through defenders.”
It’s a move that Moe said he’s always used from his first days playing basketball with his brothers at the park. That technique has gotten refinement with the help of Sheppard.
“I’ve always played off two feet,” Moe said. “But coach Elven always convinces us to play off two feet because it’s way more controlled that way. You can manipulate your defenders better that way…Just one of my staple moves, I guess you can say.”
Moe’s journey apexed with his 16-point, four-rebound, three-assist effort in a 62-59 win over Hilliard to finally advance to the state Final Four in Lakeland.
“It’s a tremendous feeling,” Moe said after that game. “Words can’t explain it. This has been my goal since first ever picking up a basketball, to win a state championship and make it to that floor (in Lakeland).”
Half of that dream came true at least. The Indians ultimately fell in the state semifinals, a 46-37 loss against Crossroad Academy. It was a moment, Moe agreed, was bittersweet at best.
But Moe and his teammates found some clarity on the hours-long bus ride back to Columbia County.
“You take your losses like your wins and your wins like your losses,” Moe said. “God blessed us to win those games and move that far. In every loss in sports, you can take a lesson from it. You don’t always win in life. So when you lose, you’ve gotta know how it feels so that when you win, it could feel that much better.”
Moe, who’s still running track for Fort White before his graduation, will soon be moving north. He’s set to start training for football while attending Harvard in the fall, the second Fort White athlete to have ever committed to the Ivy League school.
While most of his focus will be on the gridiron, Moe said he’s still exploring the possibility of trying out for the basketball team. But Moe can now look back on his time at Fort White with pride.
“We accomplished something so great,” Moe said. “As far as making school history and getting to that stage, I’m just grateful.”
ALL-AREA TEAM
G: Tafari Moe
Fort White, senior
The LCR’s Boys Basketball Player of the Year led the area in scoring at 18.4 points per game and shot 45% from the floor while also averaging 6.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.4 steals to lead the 15-10 Indians to their first-ever state Final Four.
G: Jayden Jackson
Fort White, junior
Averaged 16.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.6 steals as Moe’s counterpart in the backcourt.
F: Zavian Douglas
Columbia, senior
Led the area in rebounding at 7.3 per game and led the 16-11 Tigers in scoring at 12.5 points per game, helping them reach the playoffs.
G: Zamarion Jones
Columbia, senior
Did a bit of everything for the Tigers as their point guard, averaging 7.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.6 steals.
G: Jordan Murphy
Lafayette, senior
Led the Hornets with 11.7 points and 2.4 steals per game while also averaging 4.7 rebounds.
G: Anthony Washington
Branford, junior
Led the Buccaneers with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals per game.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Elven Sheppard, Fort White
Sheppard led the Indians to a 15-10 record and their best season in program history. Fort White defeated Trenton 45-44 on a buzzer-beater to win its first district title since 2014 and then went on to edge Madison County 46-44 in the Region 3-R semifinals to advance to the regional finals for a second straight year. It was there where the Indians got over the hump, defeating Hilliard 62-59 to win the program’s first regional title. FWHS ultimately fell to Crossroad Academy 46-37 in the state semifinals.