Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News
As Clint Sargent stood at the edge of the Nutter Center Court the other afternoon and talked about the mix of players Wright State will have this coming season, the new Raiders coach voiced a special appreciation and respect — and even some wonderment — when he got to Brandon Noel, who sat quietly, just out of earshot on the bench not far away:
“He’s a dying breed of college athlete.”
Sargent could have been — but was not — referring to the way Noel soldiered through the especially rough start to his college career when he was redshirted TWO straight years after tearing his ACL in one of his first practices at WSU.
And he could have been — but was not — talking about the way the 6-foot-8 forward excelled after his forced exile and became not only one of the best players in the Horizon League over the next two years, but one of the conference’s All-Academic and Dean’s List stars who’s already gotten his undergrad degree from WSU and is positioning himself to leave with a master’s degree in chemistry, as well.
Sargent’s sense of awe stemmed from something even more remarkable — considering the transitory times of college basketball these days — that Noel has done.
After last season, with his glowing hoops resume and diploma in hand, he chose to stay at Wright State rather than jump ship for more Name, Image and Likeness money and the national recognition that comes with more prominent basketball programs in more ballyhooed leagues.
