“Do I have any dogs in this place?”

Potomac held the second Kyle Honore tip-off tournament to honor the former Panthers star, who died in August 2022 at age 19 and embodied the traits that kept Potomac in contention for so long. He was a compassionate leader and dogged competitor whose gritty game often left him sprawling across the hardwood.

Their teammates died. Through high school hoops, they grieve.

Throughout Saturday’s eight-game slate, teams from Prince William County attempted to replicate that — Freedom (Woodbridge), down to just six varsity players with many teammates in the football state championship, played to the buzzer in a loss to Langley; Patriot, the county’s top team, was dominant in a win over Stone Bridge — but none did so more than the Panthers, who defeated Centreville, 71-63, in the nightcap.

“We’re more disciplined this year, everybody’s willing to work,” said senior Kenny DeGuzman (30 points, game MVP).

“I feel like last year, there was a lot of distraction,” sophomore Medwyn Opoku-Authur added.

“We all like each other — everybody wants to play for each other,” senior Terrance Bethea said back.

The school displayed dozens of framed photographs and highlights from Honore’s career, while players wore a KH11 patch on their jerseys. Keith Honore, Potomac’s former coach who brought the team state titles in 2014 and 2016 and Kyle’s father spoke before the final game.

“This all took a lot of time and thought,” Honore said. “One of the things that made Kyle special was he was always very appreciative of anyone who did anything for him. … We thank you all.”

The Panthers (3-0) instantly struck that Honore-esque timbre against the Wildcats (3-3). When they inbounded the ball, they took off. When Centreville inbounded, they provided 90 feet of anxiety-inducing pressure. The instant an and-one shot from a grinning Bethea fell through the net, senior guard Peter Mitchell hoisted him up. The first-half tally told an energized tale: seven offensive rebounds, two steals by diving players, a louder bench than last year and three attempted charges drawn (all failed).

As they returned to the court in the second half, the score knotted at 31, 12 of the 15 players broke into miniature huddles of two or three, addressing adjustments. Bethea and DeGuzman spoke most passionately. That drew back to a preseason meeting, when Coach Honore returned to their gym and said there were three people who weren’t allowed to have a bad day. He pointed at Bethea, DeGuzman and Mills.

A 24-10 third-quarter advantage, ignited by Guzman, kept a Centreville spoiler out of reach.

So, the year after the tragedy, after six freshman and a couple of transfers arrived, did their coach’s description of them, as dogs, apply?

“Yeah,” DeGuzman, Opoku-Authur and Bethea said in unison.

“Everything we do is for Kyle,” Bethea said.