SC youth wheelchair basketball team wins national title: 'It was just wonderful'

The coaches and players of the Roger C. Peace Rollin' Tigers wheelchair basketball team have been called a lot of things: Inspirational, courageous, even Community Heroes. They can add a new one to the list -- national champions.

Led by coaches Jeff Townsend and Lindsey Metz, the team traveled to Wichita, Kansas, the last weekend of March to compete in the National Wheelchair Basketball Association championships in the Prep Division for players 13 and younger.

After a victory over the Lincolnway Special Recreation team from the Chicago suburbs, the Rollin’ Tigers hoisted their trophy as national champs. The team won four games in a little less than 48 hours.

Community Heroes: Rollin' Tigers coaches lead a South Carolina wheelchair basketball team

“Oh my gosh, it was just wonderful,” Metz said. “The kids played so consistently well and consistently together-- it was really exciting to see and amazing to be a part of.”

Championship season took Rollin' Tigers on the road

The championship capped a 23-1 season that began in October and took the players and their families, as well as the coaches, to frequent out-of-town tournaments -- the team played only four games in South Carolina. 

Players and their families made the 16-hour drive to Wichita or took a flight with gear that often included both a wheelchair for regular use and a specialized custom chair used for competition.

Several players got sendoffs at their schools, high-fiving classmates as they rolled down hallways lined with cheering students.

Many family members and extended family members made the trip to Kansas and provided enthusiastic support at the games, Townsend said.

“Our fans were super-excited and rowdy and cheering for us,” he said. “Parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles -- we had a great showing,” he said.

Townsend said he’d told the team the atmosphere around the title game would be “unlike any you’ve ever played before because they had player introductions and announcing and commentating during the game.”

The team took it in stride, he said.

'A little bit of nerves,' in title game, but 'we knew we could do well'

“There was a lot of excitement and a lot of anticipation,” Townsend said. “There was a little bit of nerves before the game, but once that ball gets thrown up, they just settled right in. We knew we could do well if we played the way we’re capable of playing.” 

The Rollin’ Tigers led from the opening tip and won 29-21.

Joe Brady, the team’s tallest player and leading scorer, faced double- or even triple-team defense for almost the whole game. Still, he had six points and grabbed 10 rebounds. 

And with Brady drawing so much attention, the other Rollin’ Tigers took advantage and put the ball in the hoop.

“For those other four players to step up big when Joe was being double and triple-teamed was huge,” Townend said. 

Rollin' Tigers team member named MVP of title game

Hudson Tucker, named Most Valuable Player of the title game, scored 12 points, and every player on the floor contributed to the scoring.

"Winning the championship felt amazing," Tucker said. "I love how our team has grown and become friends as well as teammates."

Both Metz and Townsend said that the most indelible moment of the game was with about three minutes remaining when the Lincolnway team started fouling to try to stop the clock and catch up.

“We’ve been working on free throws all season, and we were making them and inching further ahead,” Metz said. “At one point, Brandon (Noblett), who plays and pushes with one arm, got fouled and he sunk a free throw.”

It was his only point of the game but helped seal the victory.

“That was really, really fun to see,” Townsend said.

‘We’re about to win the national championship game!’

“That’s when it hit me: ‘We’re about to win the national championship game!’,” Metz said. “It was an amazing moment. What got us there was the things we had been working on all season, being more balanced, so it wasn’t just about one or two players.”

The team played in the nationals last season and finished fourth, so returning and winning the title was a goal this year.

“This year, we definitely had a feeling of ‘We’re ready now. We know what to expect.’ There was some motivation there,” Metz said.

Townsend teaches Sport Management classes in Clemson's Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department and works with the university’s small, but growing adaptive sports program.  He is an accomplished athlete, competing in wheelchair basketball in college at the University of Illinois, as well as the wheelchair versions of tennis and rugby.

Metz, a Child-Life Specialist with Prisma Health in Greenville, was in a car accident when she was 11 that left her with a spinal cord injury.  She went on to play wheelchair basketball at the University of Alabama.

This was the fourth national championship team Metz has been a part of. With the Crimson Tide, she won two collegiate women’s titles as a reserve player. And as a senior in high school, the Charlotte-area team she played on won an NWBA youth division title.

“That’s the one I still remember to this day. I still have pictures on my wall.”

This championship is special in a different way, she said.

“As a coach, I just feel so proud of the kids and the way that they have worked so hard as individuals and as athletes,” Metz said.

Townsend and Metz have coached the Tigers since the team’s beginnings in 2016.

What's next? Rollin' Tigers will recruit second team at Varsity level

Now that the season has ended, the team will begin preparing for the next one. This coming year, the Rollin' Tigers will set up a second team, at the Varsity level. About a half-dozen of the Rollin’ Tigers players will have turned 14 by next season and will no longer be eligible to play in the Prep classification after this year.

“Hopefully this catapults them and gives them a boost of confidence to know that they can do it, that they can make it at the next level,” Townsend said.

The Varsity level brings new challenges for the players who advance – playing against older opponents and shooting at a 10-foot hoop. It also offers more opportunities for the remaining Prep players, too.

“It’s going to be a whole new set of challenges,” Metz said. “They’ve gone a long way toward proving that they’re ready for that. But for right now, they’re just really enjoying the experience.” 

The Rollin Tigers program is looking for more kids interested in playing adaptive sports at both the Prep (ages 5-13) and Varsity (ages 14-19) levels.

“And obviously, we need some more help with assistant coaches because we’re being pulled in different directions,” Townsend said. “It’s exciting. This is the evolution and growth of the program. We want those kids to continue to play and they’re excited for the next level.”

Townsend and Clemson’s Adaptive Sports Program are running a wheelchair basketball camp for junior division players, ages 12-19. The camp is June 11-14. More information is available at clemson.edu/adaptivesports

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: SC's Rollin' Tigers wheelchair basketball team wins national title