'You deserve this.' Taft coach Demarco Bradley Sr. made a believer out of 1 teacher

Sinita Scott knew how big of a deal basketball was at Taft High School when she became an English teacher there in 2012.

She knew just a year prior to her arrival the Senators won a Division III crown.

"I couldn't fathom Taft actually winning state again," Scott said. "'Okay, so you won once,' I thought to myself."

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Each year, there was an overwhelming optimist in the Taft hallways, spreading the message that the Senators were coming back to win it all.

It was Taft head coach Demarco Bradley Sr.

"(Bradley) seemed crazy to me, and possibly others, but it didn't seem to matter," Scott wrote in a letter addressed to him and shared with The Cincinnati Enquirer. "Year after year, (he) continued to make the same declaration. I would roll my eyes at your statement, but for the sake of our boys, I would never verbally say how I felt about what I considered a pipe dream."

By the time the 2015-2016 season rolled around, Scott was coming around on Taft hoops. It came from Bradley's commitment to his players off the court and the product he put on it.

"I have watched our basketball program shift from, 'You're just going to take the F in Scott's class and focus on passing everything else,' to (Bradley) bringing all of his players to my room to work on improving their grades in hopes of having the necessary requirements to accept the college basketball scholarships that came their way," Scott said.

After initial hesitation, teachers soon began to view Bradley as an asset, according to Scott, pushing his players to handle their work in the classroom.

"I've seen our team transform from being a group of boys who are good at basketball into a group of boys who learn and grow together as a family," Scott said.

Bradley's approach resonated with Scott, too. She was a better teacher when she pushed her students as the basketball coach does.

"(Bradley) enabled me to build meaningful relationships with students that I would not have been able to otherwise reach," Scott said.

Knowing the coach was serious about his players' academics made Scott a basketball fan, eager to one day see Bradley's state-title aspirations come to fruition. Taft always had the talent, but there were heartbreaking shortcomings.

Twice Taft made the Elite Eight but came up short of a trip to the state tournament. In 2016, Carlik Jones willed Aiken to a thrilling victory over Taft in the regional championship game at Trent Arena. Taft won another district title the next season but lost in the regional semifinal to Trotwood-Madison.

Taft then lost in the district tournament three straight years from 2017-2020, by a combined seven points.

Last year, the Senators reached the Final Four and lost at the buzzer in the state semifinal to Worthington Christian.

"Every year we would have a pretty good run and then something would happen and abruptly end our season," Scott remembers.

She also remembers the naysayers.

"They tore (Bradley) down and berated (him), saying things like, 'He was out-coached' and 'He needs to have some new plays' and some even said (he) needed to be fired," Scott said. "(He) has thick skin, but I knew it was devastating."

In spite of numerous "so close" moments, flowers would bloom in the spring and Bradley would be back – walking the hallways of Taft High School, predicting a state title.

"Every single year (he) returned, focused and intent on winning another state title," Scott said.

There's no doubt there were more doubters out there this season. Taft finished tied for second in the Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference-Red division and entered the sectional tournament with an 11-8 record that inspired few.

Taft had a "revenge tour" from last year's state semifinal run and let nothing stand in its way from completing it. The Senators rolled to seven consecutive double-digit tournament wins before edging Ottawa-Glandorf, 48-45, for a Division III state championship on Sunday.

Scott, who once rolled her eyes at the thought of another state title, was now a full-fledged Senators fan, who was proud of her school, students and coaches.

"If anyone doubts the ability to speak things into existence, I would ask them to look to (Bradley) as an example," Scott said.

"Coach Bradley, you are the epitome of tenacity, dedication, faith, hope and hard work. You deserve this and I am celebrating you!"

[To read the full letter to Taft head coach Demarco Bradley Sr. from teacher Sinita Scott, click here]

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Demarco Bradley Sr. made believer of one Taft High School teacher