Patience.
Of all the life lessons sports teaches, rarely does patience make the list.
Football fans want to see high-scoring, “no huddle” offenses. Basketball fans want to see “up-tempo”, 3-point oriented offensive attacks. Baseball and softball might do a better job teaching patience, but it is still a lesson not often highlighted at those venues.
Most student-athletes learn patience on the recruiting trail. Many players verbally commit to a school and may not sign with that school for a year or two. Many players schedule dozens of unofficial visits in addition to the visits that fall under NCAA guidelines. Social media has done nothing but make the waiting game excruciatingly longer.
There also is the handful of athletes looking for a place to play after high school. For whatever reason, classmates and standouts from rival schools sign left and right. Yet, some athletes have to continue the battle. They hope. They pray. Leads are followed. While still a very hard concept, patience is eventually learned.
Former West Point High School standout Ecurb Forest falls into that category. By all accounts, Forest completed his prep career like most 18-year-olds. He has played basketball his entire life, so it is natural he would want to play at a junior or senior college.
Forest helped West Point High to a 16-16 record. The Green Wave played well down the stretch and found their way into the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A playoffs for a third-straight season. On most nights, Forest knew he would have to be the catalyst on offense for his team to have a chance to win.
Coach Brad Cox has built quite the basketball program at a school regarded as one of the state’s football powers. In seven seasons at West Point, Cox has helped the program break a 25-year drought between region basketball championships.
Under Cox, West Point has packed the gym on most nights. Attending basketball games has become the thing to do in Clay County. The Green Wave plays very fast. They try to use length and athleticism to wear the opponent down at a hectic pace.
Cox has seen several of his pupils go on to play at the next level. Some West Point basketball standouts have thrived in a two- or three-sport role before choosing to play football in college. Cox is at his best teaching the game and helping raw athletes learn the nuances of a game he loves.
Thus it seemed natural Forest would find a place to play when his high school career ended. After all, he and football standout Dason Thomas were the team’s seniors who played the most minutes. Forest was an offensive specialist and a pure basketball player.
Earlier this year, Forest and Starkville High rising senior Tyson Carter were chosen as The Dispatch’s All-Area co-Players of the Year. In a loaded field of seven or eight worthy candidates, several area coaches repeatedly talked about Forest and how he would shine on a team with a few more playmakers.
When it came time to do the Player of the Year interview, Forest was engaging, witty, and funny. He was humbled by his playing experience. The good moments far outweighed the bad. He was so endeared to Cox he even played golf under him earlier in high school career.
Upon completion of the interview, Forest asked a question that took this writer aback.
“I want to play on the next level,” Forest said. “What can I do to become a better basketball player?”
Typically not at a loss for words, this writer attempted an answer and then begged for more time. Surely, Forest has something lined up. Surely, a phone call would send him into some school’s offseason weight and conditioning program. Players of lesser talent around the state already were scheduling their signing parties.
However, Forest was ready but unsure about how to take the next step. In other words, it was time for a little patience. The emails to coaches began. The letter writing followed. If there was a tryout at one of the state’s 15 community colleges, there was going to be a conscientious attempt to be there.
No one at West Point said anything bad about Forest. He was a hard worker in the classroom and on the basketball court. His engaging personality makes you want to spend an extra minute with him. He also had the proper family support system in place to give him all he could want, and more.
Forest learned patience. His Twitter handle even includes the word “patient.” When things looked bleak, the work ethic and desire remained that made you believe something would break.
Finally it did. When East Mississippi Community College lost men’s basketball coach Mark White to another job in May, Billy Begley — a former assistant under White — returned to Scooba to take over the program.
Begley and Forest met. A tryout ensued. An opportunity to play with the Lions fell into place.
Now Forest has a new gym to call home. While the Aug. 17 report date still seems a long way away, Forest will use patience to get to that point. This time, it’s a good kind of patience. It’s the kind of patience that will allow him to be more thankful for the game of basketball and the opportunities ahead.
Scott Walters is a sports writer for The Dispatch. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @dispatchscott.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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