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Giants stood in Andrew Kostecka’s way.
His AAU squad, Team Takeover, traveled down to Atlanta to take on the Georgia Stars, a national powerhouse. Next year, this same Stars team would win the Peach Jam. Nobody gave Takeover a chance. That’s a feeling Andrew was used to.
Throughout his life, people counted Andrew out. From riding the bench on AAU teams for tournaments to netting no high major offers to lacking mainstream NBA Draft buzz, doubters have been a constant for Andrew.
“I was always the kid that would never be good enough,” Andrew said.
But on this day, none of that mattered. Andrew poured his heart and soul into basketball, on and off of the court. With Team Takeover clawing to stick with the stars, Andrew sold out for a steal, pushing the ball up the floor. Under the rim stood Wendell Carter Jr. – a future Chicago Bull – and Udoka Azubuike – a future Kansas Jayhawk star.
In an instant, Andrew hung on the rim, a thunderous dunk sparking uproars from the crowd. From there, a switch flipped.
“That kind of sparked something in him,” said Darren McClinton, Andrew’s coach at Team Takeover. “From that day on, Andrew just started trying to dunk on people.”
*****
Andrew Kostecka’s family is loaded with athletes.
Both of his parents, Lana and Andy, were accomplished high school athletes. His sister, Laurie, was a varsity basketball player in high school and played softball at the University of Tampa.
Sports were an emphasis early in life, playing baseball, soccer and more. That fostered an environment of competition in the Kostecka household; doing dishes turned into Andrew and Laurie shooting spoons across the kitchen.
“Basketball runs in my blood,” Andrew said.
Andrew’s grandfather, Andrew Sr., a Georgetown Hall of Famer and former BAA (one of the two leagues that formed the NBA) player. Before he passed, Andrew looked forward to visiting him.
“I looked up to him, he’s my biggest inspiration,” Andrew said. “He was always happy, energetic, full of life.”
Growing up in Germantown, Maryland, Andrew’s neighborhood was a close one, the competition of his household extending to large cornhole and soccer tournaments with brackets. Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia – dubbed the DMV – is known for its basketball prowess.
“You’re gonna be battle-tested coming from this area,” McClinton said.
For much of his early life, Andrew was the best player on all of his teams. Playing school and AAU basketball with his neighborhood kids meant Andrew could dominate the competition around him. Venturing into the greater DMV brought new challenges and, thus begins Andrew’s underdog story.
Andrew decided to try out for the DC Assault’s 15u team, one of DC’s two AAU powerhouses, along with Team Takeover. He was the last roster spot on the B team. For the first few tournaments, Andrew didn’t leave the bench.
“I was always the kid that would never be good enough,” Andrew said.
Andrew and his parents sat down to talk. He hadn’t played yet. Andrew didn’t want to quit. He’d never quit anything in his life and he wasn’t starting on this day.
“If I wanna play with these kids I’m gonna have to prove it,” he said.
Andrew continued to work. Eventually, he cracked the rotation. Then, he earned a starting spot. Then, he became a key piece for DC Assault. Andrew wasn’t just a role player, he made a difference and people began to notice him.
“You won’t really be able to appreciate how he impacts the game in so many ways until you actually see him in live-action,” McClinton said.
McClinton got a first-hand look at the new and improved Andrew when his Takeover squad faced DC Assault. Against Takeover, Andrew went a perfect 11-11 from the field with his paws all over the game.
“I was thinking he was going to be the player that we could go at and attack on the offensive end,” McClinton said. “He proved me wrong immediately.”
When the DC Assault program dismantled, McClinton got his wish: Andrew joined Team Takeover, now the only major program in the DC area.
“It was kind of like a coming-out party for him,” McClinton said.
Once a quiet benchwarmer, Andrew developed a propensity for dominant games and thunderous dunks. He posterized the future-NBA twin towers of the Georgia Stars – that dunk marked the first time McClinton had ever heard Andrew scream.
An And-1 dunk in the championship of a Maryland tournament turned the tides – Andrew had played poorly leading up to this moment, but a steal after a timeout led to that dunk which led to a Takeover victory.
“Somebody’s gotta make a play,” said Antar Crawley, a Takeover assistant. “Watch, Andrew’s gonna make a play.”
Despite Andrew’s eye-popping success on the AAU circuit and in high school, Andrew failed to garner the attention of many Division I schools and no high majors.
Andrew initially accepted an offer from Holy Cross – the coaches weren’t initially sold on Andrew during drills, but they offered him on the spot after the scrimmages concluded.
But when the Holy Cross coaching staff dismantled, Andrew re-opened his recruitment. Loyola Maryland and G.G. Smith offered Andrew to play for them. Andrew loved that it was a smaller school, close to a big city, a cafeteria right next to the gym. Yet, playing at a low major program that hasn’t sent a player to the NBA since 1950 means Andrew would, as he always has, have to keep proving people wrong.
*****
It was Tavaras Hardy’s first time coaching against Holy Cross.
Hardy, hired as Loyola’s coach in March 2018, just defeated Holy Cross for the first time of his career off of a game-winner from his new star player, Andrew Kostecka.
In his third college season – Hardy’s first – at Loyola, Andrew took a massive jump statistically, up from 11 to 23 points as a junior. A game before the Holy Cross match, Andrew scored 27 against N.C. State. Despite an entire regime change, Andrew thrived more than ever.
“This was a kid that wanted to be coached and he wanted to be good,” Hardy said.
In a situation when many would falter, Andrew blossomed. He put his head down and worked as always. Hardy’s new offensive system allowed Andrew to excel.
“Our style of play is one where the more you can do, the more we let you do,” Hardy said. “What Andrew showed was that he was a complete basketball player.”
Andrew’s athleticism always stood out. Now, he was handling, passing and hounding on defense with his natural instincts. He even began to develop an in-between game.
But whenever Andrew picked up steam and began to string together success and attract attention, repeated ankle injuries derailed him. Over and over, there were freak accidents – a defender landing on his foot after a jumper, a foot clanging another in just the wrong way.
Andrew’s senior season ended this same way. Against Navy, his foot nicked an offensive player and he instantly collapsed in pain. Just like that, his senior season and his career had ended.
“Having to watch those last three games and knowing that you’re not able to play is definitely a hard feeling to have,” Andrew said,
The coronavirus pandemic discombobulated every NBA Draft hopeful. But instead of training for his next stop however he could, Andrew spent his offseason rehabbing his ankle and taking cortisone and PRP injections.
Andrew surrounded himself with positivity to emerge healthy. Now, he’s training harder than ever with McClinton.
“He came back from those even better – maybe even came back quicker – than they thought he [would],” McClinton said.
They’re changing their approach – McClinton has to prepare Andrew’s speed of the NBA game. Tactics and strategies are ever-changing. Andrew’s work-ethic will not.
“If you’re ever going to do something, do it 100%,” Andrew said.
*****
Andrew Kostecka’s words flowed from the screen.
A year ago, Daveyon ‘Doc’ Barnes passed away in a car accident. He was the captain and the lifeblood of Team Takeover.
On the one year anniversary of his passing, Andrew eloquently delivered a video message to his mother commemorating his former teammate.
These types of actions are commonplace for Andrew, despite his naturally quiet demeanor.
“He would lead, but through his actions,” McClinton said.
Andrew’s circle extends far, friends with other athletes at Loyola – he unofficially walked onto the golf team during his senior year – and doing service in the Baltimore community. Andrew spent his Wednesdays volunteering with the York Road Initiative, spending time with and coaching kids.
“The way I used to look at my coaches, it’s like they were LeBron James,” Andrew said. “Hopefully some of the kids that I’ve coached look at me the same way.”
When he’s not playing basketball, golf, or any other sport, Andrew spends his time playing the piano. He picked it up from his grandfather at a young age. It provides a necessary break from the hyper-competitive nature of Andrew’s normal life.
“There’s no right or wrong in it,” Andrew said. “You have fun.”
Andrew’s focus still remains on basketball, though. To make it at the next level, he’ll have to continue to prove himself. That’s no problem. It’s all Andrew knows.
“I’m not the biggest, not the strongest, not the fastest, so you have to ask yourself: ‘What are you good at?’”
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