Weay does it all for Piedmont basketball

By Blake Colston
Sports Editor 

At the beginning of the season, Piedmont’s coaching staff got a nice surprise.

As first-year head coach Brandon Jackson and company got preseason practice underway, a left-hander with an innate ability to score stood out a little more each day.

The lefty was 6-foot-2 senior Jeremiah Weay, who had transferred into the district from Putnam City over the summer with no fanfare.

“We had no idea who he was at first,” Jackson said.

It took a few weeks for Weay to build chemistry with Piedmont’s team, but after about a month of practices, it was clear Weay would not only start for PHS, but would be one of the Wildcats best players.

“I had to show I was good enough to play and able to play my role,” Weay said.

That hasn’t been a problem. Weay has scored 12.7 points per game and averaged almost nine rebounds while shooting 62% from the floor and hitting 40% on 3-point attempts for the Wildcats, (15-7) who are legitimate contenders for their first trip to the state tournament since 2014.

“We know him pretty well now,” Jackson said.

Weay has a unique blend of ball-handling skills and shooting ability to go with sneaky strength and an iron clad will to put the ball in the basket, no matter what it takes. Weay can miss a shot, rebound the ball and put it back in all before the defense can react.

Size and talent don’t deter Weay, either. Against 6-foot-9 McDonald’s All-American Brandon Garrison of Del City earlier this month, Weay finished 8 of 14 from the floor and didn’t shy away from taking the ball directly at the Oklahoma State signee.

“I look forward to matchups like that,” Weay said.

Lately, teams have struggled with how to matchup with Weay. Smaller guards can’t always handle his strength and bigger post players can’t keep Weay in front of them.

“They try to back off of him and let him shoot and he’s hit some big threes. We’ve been encouraging him to shoot even more threes,” Jackson said. “But I think he has an old man’s mindset set of, ‘why settle for the harder shot when I can get an easier one closer to the basket.’”

Piedmont has plenty of talent that complements Weay, like freshman Hudson Hite, sophomore Walker Kennedy and senior forward Colton Sydnes, but the Wildcats are at their best when Weay is on the court.

“Even when he’s scoring two, three, four points, he does so many little things that we need from him,” Jackson said.

Weay is a solid defensive player and rebounds at an impressive rate given his height and frame. He’s soft-spoken, Jackson said, but he provides a calming presence for a roster with a total of seven freshmen and sophomores and only one other senior in the starting lineup.

“The younger guys never see Jeremiah panic. Whether it’s a game-winning play or the first possession, I don’t think I’ve seen Jeremiah panic,” Jackson said. “That comes with experience, trusting yourself and also trusting your teammates. I think he does a great job of that. His experience with high-level basketball at Putnam City has really helped him.”

Initially, Weay resisted his family’s move to Piedmont. He already had an established role at Putnam City and was going to be a key player for the Pirates football team, too.

Eventually, though, he accepted the change of scenery and now admits it has worked out better than he could’ve imagined.

“I’m really happy I’m here,” he said.

He already knew some of the players on Piedmont’s team from playing summer basketball with them, which helped him adapt to new surroundings quickly.

Now, he’s established as one of the top players in Class 5A and a favorite around PHS. Weay will continue to play with a chip on his shoulder, though.

“I know how much work I put in and I’ve still got something to prove,” he said. “I’ve got to prove that no one in the state can hold me. If you think you can, I’m going to show you that you can’t.”