His magic moment
- Updated: February 4, 2021
Oxford coach makes senior manager’s dream come true playing him in Senior Night victory
By Brant Locklier
For East Alabama Sports Today
OXFORD – Oxford coach Joel VanMeter turned Senior Night into a very special night for one senior who works behind the scenes in his basketball program.
With about a minute left in Thursday night’s game and the Yellow Jackets’ 75-58 victory over Scottsboro well in hand, VanMeter called time, looked down the bench and summoned the latest addition to his roster.
“Noah, get in there,” the Oxford coach commanded.
Up popped senior manager Noah Brady and instantly the tenor of an already festive night blasted off the charts.
In a move reminiscent of Clemson coach Cliff Ellis putting Dennis Hopf into a 1989 game at Duke when his roster was short on players, VanMeter went to a guy for whom the term “putting it up” means something entirely different than it does the likes of Rylan Houck, Justin Moore and Roc Taylor.
The manager was in the game and everyone in the Sports Arena went crazy.
Brady, the Jackets’ manager the past two seasons after transferring from a small school in Mississippi, was a last-minute addition to the scorebook and had never played high school basketball before Thursday night. The 5-11 guard set the wheels in motion to fulfill his dream before the season started.
“I asked Coach that if there was any way possible could I dress out for Senior Night,” Brady said. “It was my dream to play high school basketball.”
VanMeter approached Oxford athletics director Larry Davidson around the holidays to see if it were possible and was told the Jackets could make it happen.
“He loved the game, he always wanted to play,” VanMeter said. “It’s just one of those deals where you see how badly somebody wants it and if you have an opportunity to help somebody get it you want to take it.”
So then it all came down to Thursday night.
“I told the guys and they bought into it,” VanMeter said. “I told (Brady) we would have to win the game first and no promises.”
Brady got the news earlier in the day, pulled on jersey number 00 and went out for pre-game warmups. His chances of getting into the game did not look promising until the Jackets broke it open with six minutes left and the starters were pulled.
“I was so nervous,” Brady said.
The Oxford bench was on its feet cheering as teammates kept feeding Brady the ball in hopes of getting him into the scoring column. He shot three long jumpers that rimmed out as the clock was running down, but as time was running out, Brady got a pass under the basket and laid in the bucket. He was mobbed by his joyous teammates after the horn sounded.
“I just want to thank my teammates for helping me and Coach for giving me a chance to fulfill a dream,” said Brady.
“It was a neat moment, a moment you could help somebody make a memory that lasts a lifetime and our guys did that,” VanMeter said.
Asked if Brady’s appearance would be more than a cameo, a grinning VanMeter said, “he is one-and-done as a player and will be back managing in the next game.”
As for what happened before Brady got in the game, the Jackets (26-2) jumped out to a 16-8 lead and fought off several runs by the Wildcats (20-4) before going on a 17-2 run late in the third quarter to secure their 22nd straight win.
Scottsboro held leads at 26-25 and 32-31 behind a barrage of 3-point baskets; it had 10 in the game. Each time, the Jackets would pull back out in front and then finally pulled away in third quarter behind Taylor’s eight points.
Taylor scored 26 points and had seven rebounds and Scottsboro had no answer for him. When the Wildcats pulled into a drop zone to try and stop the Jackets’ rebounding and shooting around the basket, Taylor would pull out and bury the 3-ball, getting 15 points that way.
“It was senior night and you are supposed to have fun,” Taylor said. “This would be the last regular season game with the guys and it has just been a great year for us.”
Taylor helped lead Oxford beat 5A No. 1 Ramsay Monday in Birmingham. The next day, the all-state football receiver had his scholarship offer from the University of Tennessee pulled at the last minute, which caused a national embarrassment for the Vols, and that night he helped Oxford to a win over 7A Gadsden City also on the road.
On Wednesday, he finalized a football scholarship with Memphis and then on Thursday had the Senior Night win over Scottsboro.
“It has been one heck of a week,” he said. “I think I am going to go rest now.”
Fellow senior Moore had 15 points and five rebounds. Senior Josh Patton came off the bench to score six points. Houck, a junior, had 12 points and nine rebounds.
It was also a night for comebacks as Kyler Wright, who has come back from ankle surgery about six weeks earlier than expected, had his first serious playing time this year and buried a pair of 3s that gave Oxford back the lead twice in the second quarter.
”He has really worked hard to get back this year and look what he did for us tonight,” VanMeter said. “He gives another weapon going into the post-season.”
The Jackets enter the Area 13 tournament with perhaps the most impressive resume in their program’s history. Their record of 26-2 includes a 18-2 mark against teams that have been ranked in the top 10 at some point during the regular season in their respective classes.
They have beaten the current Nos. 3, 6 and 7 in Class 7A. They have beaten the Nos. 1 and 6 teams in Class 5A and have three wins against the Nos. 2 and 3 teams in Class 4A. They are undefeated in Class 6A and 7-0 against 6A ranked teams.
“One of the reasons we play such a tough schedule is to get us ready for the playoffs and tough teams,” VanMeter said. “You cannot be ready as you want to be by playing weak teams and not having faced these situations before. These kids this year are special along with the coaches.”
And they were celebrated on a special night, a really special night for one manager.
Oxford 75, Scottsboro 58
SCOTTSBORO (20-4) – Tyson Sexton 2 0-0 5, Andrew Bell 6 1-2 17, Jarvis Branford 2 0-0 4, B.J. Harris 7 2-2 19, Blake Jones 0 0-0 0, Clay Giles 0 0-0 0, Cordell Worthy 0 0-0 0, Seth Whitmire 0 0-0 0, Jordan Davis 0 2-2 2, Noah Linville 2 0-0 4, Samuel Cobb 0 1-2 1, Micah Kritner 0 0-0 0, Kyle Wright 2 0-1 6. Totals 21 6-9 58.
OXFORD (26-2) – Avelon Bush 0 0-0 0, Cordell Chatman 0 2-2 2, Rylan Houck 5 2-3 12, Peyton Watts 0 0-0 0, Mike McGraw 0 0-0 0, Roc Taylor 9 3-4 26, Bakari Dailey 0 0-0 0, Justin Moore 7 1-2 15, Josh Johnson 2 0-0 4, Josh Patton 2 0-0 6, Kyler Wright 3 0-0 8, Zurrell Garrett 0 0-0 0, Aaron McFarland 0 0-0 0, Jarek Burroughs 0 0-0 0, Noah Brady 1 0-0 2. Totals 29 8-11 75.
Scottsboro 15 15 19 9 – 58
Oxford 19 18 19 19 – 75
3-point goals: Scottsboro 10 (Sexton, Bell 4, Harris 3, Wright 2); Oxford 9 (Taylor 5, Patton 2, Wright 2).
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