A star heaven sent
By HAYES PERMAR : Herald-Sun correspondant
Apr 20, 2002 : 11:37 pm ET
So I’m down 10-2, playing to 11, to Southern senior David Noel.
You know Noel — he’s about 6-5, 212 pounds, could’ve played wide receiver at UNC on their nickel but instead is going to walk on to the basketball team. That’s the one.
He just dunked on me (not the first time) to take a comfortable eight-point lead and now he’s scowling at me.
You know the scowl. He wore it every game, every play this season. Up 20, scowl. Down 10, scowl. Hit game-winning shot against East Chapel Hill in conference semis to finish with a game-high 27 points, scowl. It’s the 74-year-old Catholic school teacher to a class of giggly third graders look that would silence them in a cheetah’s blink.
This is fitting, because in challenging Noel to a game of one-on-one, I realize I have done something terribly wrong.
"I’m a very emotional player. On the court I try not to show my emotions, though. I just try to keep the same face on, not really to intimidate, but…"
Yes, to intimidate. He’ll let his two diamond stud earrings smile at people. He’s keeping the area’s best poker face.
How did I get here? After scoring the opening bucket — a nice up-and-under move capped off with a baby hook, thank you — I have been thoroughly D’ed up.
Noel bumps you in the post, harasses you on the perimeter, elevates quickly to contest shots. I fade away and throw up a jumper at a ridiculous angle just to avoid it being blocked. Noel blocks it.
How did he get here? Well, the 8-0 run helped. During the run, Noel backed me down, crossed me over, went by me, over me and through me. He pulled up from 15 feet, pulled back and hit from 20 feet, and when he dunked he had two feet up around my eyes but had the decency not to hang.
But how did he get here? Here, where he is, with apologies to Hillside’s Bobby Perry, the area’s most complete player?
Noel remembers a childhood of moving from apartment to apartment with his mother. Sports were fun and came fairly naturally, but being this good doesn’t just happen.
"One thing about David," Coach Levi Beckwith said, "he has a work ethic that is second to none. He kind of carries guys on his back, not only game-wise, but practice-wise, too."
Noel also stuck with his faith in God. His two ‘WWJD’ wrist bands and recently acquired tattoo of an angel holding a basketball with the words ‘Heaven Sent’ are tributes to divine influence.
"God blessed me with the talent to play basketball, and I just thank him," Noel said. "Every day I wake up in the morning saying ‘Thank you Jesus for another day.’"
With God’s blessing, Noel scored 17 points, grabbed six rebounds, made three steals and blocked three shots a game this season, and he has a similar line going against me.
He’s a do-it-all player who does it all.
He’s a point guard who can dunk — oh, can he dunk — he’s a post player who can shoot. He calls himself a small forward, which is sort of like calling Wal-Mart a grocery store — it is, but it can be so much more.
Of course, there are those who will focus on Noel’s versatility and wonder what it could have meant on the football field. A giant with Charmin–soft hands who can run a 4.5-second time in the 40?
Why would he even think about playing basketball? Because he wants to.
"Football was there just for fun while I was in high school," Noel said. "I didn’t know I was going to get the recognition that I got. The reason I chose basketball was because it was my first love. That’s what I love to do, and I felt if I was going to go to college and be dedicated to a sport, it might as well be the one I love the most."
You get the sense that he’s made a good decision, because as Beckwith puts it, "It’s his decision." Not the decision of some coach or scout or agent.
Noel makes a good decision on the basketball court and decides our game is over. Needing one point to win, he fittingly pulls back for a two, just to bury his hapless opponent. The ball has barely left his hands when he calmly says, "Game."
It ends 12-2.
Noel scowls and prepares to lift weights and run some drills like he does every day after school — basketball drills.
Good thing, because there’s no way I’m lining up against him in football.
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