Men’s basketball has begun and the team has welcomed 12 new players. One of those players, sophomore and computer science major Noah Gathings. He mentions that the team chemistry has already made improvements since last year. His teammates said that the level of competitiveness is much higher.
To Gathings, the competition for spots is encouraging since it allows athletes to “keep a fire burning for the game.” Starting off in Redemption Christian Academy, then making his way to Jackson college, the transfer has come ready to adjust to the level of play and workload that comes from playing Division II athletics.
Reflecting back on his years, Gathings spoke about how he has always played basketball. “I’ve had a ball in my hands honestly since I was a baby.” He was never forced into it, rather he was drawn to it. Even though his high school experience challenged his love for the game, Gathings said that his fire never truly went away, and it has continued to burn since then through the ups and downs.
Gatherings’ heart has been set on college ball since he was in middle school, saying, “I had a passion for the game and wanted to play as long as I could.” That dream sparked a work ethic that drove him to put in the extra hours outside of practice. Since he was a “late bloomer” in terms of his size and height, he believed that improving technically was even more important for him.
He explained the repetitions he would go through on his own. It was “a lot of shooting, ball handling and passing. But mostly shooting because shooting is my thing.” He drilled every aspect of the game he could think of and worked on things even if they seemed very minor. On the court and even throughout his house, he said, “there was always a ball in my hands.”
All of this work finally paid off when he hit his growth spurt and he could pair his size with his gathered skill set. He said the most important part amongst it all is “getting comfortable with the ball in your hands.” After that, movements with the ball are like second nature.
Being familiar with the ball is one thing, but it is another to be confident with it. Gathings reflected back on his year at Redemption Christian Academy when he came into the season injured. He was forced to sit out for a month, which he said was discouraging because he “already felt very inexperienced at that point with the collegiate level.”
After struggling to adjust to the speed and not hitting as many shots as he usually did, Gathings finally felt his pivoting moment. He showed up to practice one day and hit almost every shot he took. From that point on he said, “I don’t put so much of my confidence in my performance. Now people know what I can do. It felt good to know what I can really do and I know I’m not thinking I’m something that I’m not.”
Gathings’ journey has taken him all over the place. He said “uncertainty has been the story of my life for the last two years.” However, from those experiences he has learned to be more content with where he is at and to put his faith in God. His goal is “continually inviting the Lord into different areas of my life [and] fully putting more faith in Him. It’s easy to do that when you can see the next step but not when things get uncertain.”
This year, since playing time is up in the air, Gathings is just set on self improvement and being a good teammate. To him, a winning team needs a strong mindset and a well of positive energy. He intends to take on that role and be there for each member of the team. He put it simply, “I just want to be a light.”
Photo Credits: Matthew Carlson
