CONCORD — It was the last Friday of the high school football regular season, and West Rowan had just won its game at Central Cabarrus to clinch the SPC championship.
Falcons stood around the field celebrating, some quietly, some not so quietly. The smile of one of the quieter Falcons, a senior defensive back named Terris Sifford, doubled in size when he saw a blonde kid wearing a Central letter jacket jump the railing and make a beeline in his direction.
“Nate!” yelped a delighted Sifford. “T!” whooped Nathan Cranford. And then the two tall teens threw a few phantom punches at one another. Then they danced around and embraced like they hadn’t seen one other in 10 years.
Actually, though, it had only been a few months since Sifford, regarded as one of the best defenders in the state, and Cranford, a hoops hero ever since he shocked Rowan middle school coaches with his advanced skills as a J.N. Fries eighth-grader, had been AAU basketball teammates.
Those summer AAU games aren’t covered by the newspapers, but in terms of establishing national and state-wide reputations and landing college scholarships they are at least as important as the high school season. Teammates get close in the heat of that intense summer competition and on those long van rides to tournaments. It’s safe to say that through AAU, Cranford is nearly as tight with West’s Sifford and Donte Minter as he is with his high school teammates.
Cranford managed to show his Falcon friends the state 3A championship ring he earned in Chapel Hill (shortly after leading his team past West in the
regionals) every single day last summer. And all they could do was smile and say, “Now,
Nate. Gonna get you this year, Nate.”
Cranford was devastated when the news trickled down to Cabarrus that Sifford had torn up a knee in a pickup basketball game over Thanksgiving weekend.
Then, ironically, three weeks later, word drifted to Rowan that Cranford had suffered a collapsed lung while helping his father install a fireplace over the Christmas holidays.
Cranford’s high school coach, Scott Brewer, had noticed that his star was wheezing a few days before the lung collapsed. He could hear him breathing in the huddle when Central beat 4A Butler in overtime. But between wheezes, Cranford had scored 38 points, so no one had any inkling of how severe the problem was.
“I was just sitting around feeling all bad for Terris and than I guess I had my own little setback,” is how Cranford puts it.
Doctors had a rough time re-inflating Cranford’s lung and his stay in the hospital was lengthy. While he was hospitalized, there was an amazing outpouring of support — dozens of cards and letters and in-person visits from foes such as West coach Mike Gurley and Minter, East assistant Rick Roseman and Sun Valley head coach Quinton
Toxey. Gurley called Cranford “a golden human being” and obviously there is a respect for the 6-foot-2 junior as a person and player that is quite extraordinary.
“There are some players around that I don’t think anyone would have come to see,” laughed Brewer.
A relieved Brewer can finally smile and joke a bit these days, because Cranford is not only out of danger, but may even return to the court in February. A full recovery is anticipated. Brewer’s going to start Cranford out shooting free throws and jogging and things should progress from there.
The first Central game Cranford saw after exiting the hospital was West Rowan’s visit last Tuesday.
“That was tough,”Cranford says. “Partly because it was the first time I had to watch my teammates play without me and partly because it was West. I hated to miss a West game.”
Of course, Sifford, who is close to returning, loathed missing that one too.
Cranford was again seated behind the Central bench on Friday, looking nothing like a hoops superstar in his braces and blue jeans. He chatted with legendary coach Bo Brickels as the Vikings battled East Rowan. This time Cranford got to see his teammates win.
“I sat around all day saving up my energy so I could be here for them,” Cranford said. “My energy’s really down and I’ve lost about 10 pounds.”
But the main thing is that he made it to the arena. That was an inspiration to everyone in green and gold, because he’s been the Vikings’ leader since his first practice as a ninth-grader. Brewer handed him the reins that day and has never had reason to take them back.
At halftime, Cranford even stationed himself under the hoop, rebounded, and floated lefty passes out to his teammates.
“You can see he’s starting to get a little antsy,” smiled Cranford’s tall, bespectacled dad. “I hate what’s happened — I hate it for Nathan — because he loves to play the game so much. But when he was lying there in the hospital, we weren’t thinking about basketball. We just wanted to see the boy well. And now that we’ve got that, we’re very thankful.”
And with a little luck, when the Vikings visit Mount Ulla on Feb. 9 to finish the regular season against the Falcons, a familiar gold No. 44 will be in Central’s lineup. Because you know how Cranford hates to miss a West game.
And with a bit more luck, his buddy, Sifford, will be right there to guard him. That would make it a night to remember.
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Mike London is the assistant sports editor of the Post.
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