Meridian High School center Ty Brewer remembers his freshman year of basketball.

As a member of the school’s ninth-grade boys team, Brewer was part of a squad that at the time became back-to-back undefeated, district champions. Now, as the junior tries to help the varsity Wildcats compete for a Class 6A championship, there’s a new crop of ninth graders who just went undefeated and won district at Meridian — making it the fourth year in a row the Wildcats have accomplished such a feat.

“Coach T (Tony Tadlock) has obviously been doing something good for us to keep winning,” Brewer said. “He’s been doing the same thing: making us go hard every day.”

Tadlock, who also helps varsity boys coach Ron Norman as an assistant, heads up the ninth-grade boys team, meaning he has to make a winner out of a new group of players every season. As he’s watched guys like Ty Brewer and junior Miles Miller have success on the court, Tadlock said he remembers coaching the pair as freshmen and moving them up to the varsity team right before the ninth graders played in the district tournament. 

The ninth-graders were able to win the district that year anyway, and Tadlock said it’s all part of an effort to help feed the varsity program. The success the players have as ninth-graders help condition them for future success, and whether it’s for Norman or former Wildcats coach Randy Bolden, Tadlock said he’s enjoyed preparing his players for Class 6A competition.

“That’s one thing I understand is my role as the ninth-grade coach,” Tadlock said. “Coach Bolden and now Coach Norman have given me the opportunity to be the ninth-grade coach, and that’s one thing I prepare them for. I don’t treat them as ninth-graders, because I know within a couple of months they’ll be playing varsity ball, and my job is to get them ready for those coaches.”

That’s a big help, Norman said, because having freshmen move up who are well-prepared and versed in Meridian’s program cuts down on a lot of adjustment time.

“They’re the feeder program,” Norman said. “They’re the next extension to the high school. Everything he’s doing on the ninth-grade level translates to the high school level. When they’re not a big window to improve from ninth grade to high school, then you just hit the ground running. The next core of kids just come in, and Coach Tadlock has done a great job for Coach Bolden and for me this year continuing to get our kids ready for me at the varsity level.”

The winning streak of the Wildcat ninth-graders now sits at 52, and Tadlock said he owes his success to the quality of players he gets from the city’s middle schools each year.

“I’ve been really blessed with really good players and kids that have bought in and done what we’ve asked them to do, not only on the court but off the court as well,” Tadlock said. “One thing we always stress is, we’re going to win long before we step on the floor. That’s one thing our guys have done over the last four years.”

Freshman guard Phillip Mosley said he enjoys playing for Tadlock because of Tadlock’s desire to see his players succeed in all aspects.

“Coach T is a great coach,” Mosley said. “He cares about us on and off the court, mostly off the court.”

Said Norman, “He’s a Meridian guy. The kids know him and trust him. They believe in him. The proof is in the pudding. He’s going to be a really, really good high school coach one day. I hope I never lose him, because he’s been a great asset to the program.”

One of Tadlock’s biggest challenges is developing a chemistry between members of each team, since they’re not all coming from one middle school.

“It’s unique in that each year we have a new group, so it brings new challenges every year from a standpoint of getting kids to buy in during the summer and getting kids to go to class daily and make good grades,” Tadlock said. “It translates on the floor, because we get them from three different middle schools, so having to bring them together and making sure we’re on the same page is a unique challenge.”

Fortunately, Mosley said it’s not too difficult for the players to adjust to playing together.

“All of us have been playing together for a long time, like during the city league and stuff, so it was easy to just come together and become one,” Mosley said. 

While he’s now making plays at the varsity level, Brewer said one of his favorite memories comes from playing as a ninth grader.

“I remember the first game we had to play versus Hattiesburg, and I got on a fast break and jumped over a guy, and the whole gym got hyped,” Brewer said.