By Blake Colston
One by one, players shuffled single file out of Piedmont’s locker room Saturday night.The raw emotion on their faces told the story of a season’s abrupt end.
In an instant, coach Brandon Jackson transformed from coach to consoler. He met each player outside the locker room with a hug, a handshake and a heartfelt thank you.
“I’m so proud of these guys,” Jackson said after the Wildcats’ 47-46 loss to El Reno in the Area Consolation Championship game Saturday night.
Sports can be cruel and they were to the Wildcats last Saturday night. Diante Palmer’s banked-in 3-pointer at the buzzer dashed Piedmont’s seven-month-long goal of making the state tournament.
In two seconds, months of hard work and dedication to a common goal was, seemingly, wiped away. That’s not what I saw, though.
I saw a basketball program on the verge of becoming a powerhouse just two years after a winless season. Jackson has orchestrated a remarkable turnaround in less than a year – if he’s not the Suburban Conference Coach of the Year, an investigation should be opened immediately – and the best is still to come.
Tangibly, Piedmont has talent like Hudson Hite, Connor Beard, Walker Kennedy and Ethan Holliday to build around. Intangibly, there’s a deep connection between these players and the coaching staff. That was clear throughout the season and particularly after the loss on Saturday.
Senior Colton Sydnes cried on his coach’s shoulder afterward. Jackson and Sydnes met for the first time just this summer, but Jackson literally gave Sydnes the shirt off his own back when the Sydnes’ family home burned down on New Year’s Eve.
You can’t fake that sort of camaraderie and caring. That’s real, it’s powerful, it’s long-lasting and it will help Piedmont down the road.
In time, the pain from this loss will fade, but the bond built between these coaches and players will last.
In one way, Saturday was an ending, but really it was only the beginning for Piedmont’s basketball program.
