South Georgia - In The Game High School Sports Magazine

Willie Clayton and Trey Gosier Thomasville High School Thomasville, Georgia by Robert Preston Jr. photography by Micki K. Photography

Two years ago, the Thomasville Bulldogs were nine points away from a state basketball championship. Nine  points. Their opponent, Greater Atlanta Christian, wouldn’t give up, and GAC came away with the title. That game, that opportunity, has been on the minds of the Thomasville faithful for the last two years. This season, seniors Willie Clayton and Trey Gosier have one more shot at bringing a championship to Thomasville, and they are committed to seeing their goal through.

At the beginning of each season, most players have a state championship as their goal. In reality, only a handful of teams in any give state at any sport have a legitimate shot at a title. So what makes Clayton and Gosier different from the thousands of other basketball players who say they want to end their season by cutting a net and hoisting a championship trophy? That one is easy - the Bulldogs have a real shot at winning a title. Thomasville is known primarily as a football school, but the Bulldogs also have a strong basketball tradition, and you can’t discuss the 2A playoff picture without including them (last year, Thomasville advanced to the Elite Eight before losing to Swainsboro). It doesn’t hurt that Gosier and Clayton are two of the best players you’ll find at any school in Georgia. Both remember that state finals game two years ago, and both feel they have unfinished business to tend to before they graduate.

Clayton anchors the Thomasville Bulldogs. At 6’8”, 230 pounds, he is one of the most imposing basketball players in South Georgia. The power forward has been in Thomasville his whole life and first picked up a basketball when he was six years old. What began as a way to have fun and hang out with friends has turned into something much bigger - literally and figuratively. Clayton has become one of the top players in Georgia. According to espn.com, he’s rated a three-star recruit and is the 17th best player in the state, the 49th-ranked power forward in the country.

For the last three years, Clayton has been on Thomasville’s varsity. He’s never spent a minute on the JV team. Last season, he averaged 25 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks per game. His sophomore year, the season that ended with the crushing defeat to GAC, he was named 2A Player of the Year. Clayton also recently signed with UNC-Charlotte, ensuring he will play at least four more years after high school. In short, Clayton has had the kind of career that few players ever get to enjoy. But it’s not enough for him. There’s one thing left for him to accomplish, and he has one more year to get it done.

“We want to win a state championship. We’ve been working hard to get it done. The whole team is committed to our goal, and we want it this year,” he says. The team has been meeting before school and running four miles, then going to the gym to shoot. By the time school starts, the Bulldogs have already put in a full day’s work. Then they are back in the gym after school. It’s a very difficult schedule, and one that isn’t much fun most of the time. But that’s what it takes to be an elite basketball team, and the Bulldogs want to be the last team standing at the end of the season.

In a career filled with big games and highlights, the one moment that has made the biggest impact on Clayton is that championship game two years ago against Greater Atlanta Christian.  “We were nine points away,” he states. “We had it but we let it slip away. I’ve still got a chip on my shoulder from that game.”

Clayton started the title game and flourished in the championship atmosphere. He is used to playing in front of big crowds in big games. Four years ago, he was selected to play with Team USA and has traveled all over the world playing basketball. Clayton tried out for Team USA as a freshman in Houston, Texas. He made the team and has seen basketball in a totally different light. His stops include Argentina, Brazil, France and Poland. In April, he is going back to France. “Playing with Team USA has exposed me to another side of the game,” he says.

In addition to playing on an international stage, he also played against much older athletes. Clayton has shown that he can play against the best competition out there, averaging about 10 points per game with Team USA.

In Thomasville’s first game of the season, a 71-46 win against Westover, Clayton had 28 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks. No matter how the season turns out, Clayton’s future is sealed - on October 1, he made official his decision to attend the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. Clayton had more than a dozen offers, including interest from a few of the big Southeastern Conference schools. He ultimately decided on UNC-Charlotte because he felt at home on campus and with the coaching staff.

Clayton is also interested in more than just basketball. He knows that as good as basketball has been to him, an education will take him much, much farther. “The coaching staff was cool, and when I met the team, there was a real family atmosphere. They will also set me up for a life outside of basketball. We all want to go to the NBA, but that’s not for everyone. They will make sure I have something after basketball,” he says. Clayton would like to major in criminal justice and pursue a career as a detective, possibly in homicide (Clayton’s mother is a police officer.) He has the grades to do whatever he wants. Clayton holds a 3.2 GPA and has always been serious about academics. “I knew I wanted to go to college. I had to buckle down and get serious about studying,” he says.

Gosier has the same commitment to basketball and academics as Clayton. Gosier is a 5’8”, 162-pound point guard who was also on the court during that fateful championship game two years ago. Like Clayton, Gosier made varsity as a freshman and had worked his way into the starting line-up by the time he was a sophomore.

Gosier put everyone on notice that he had the makings of a special player in the summer prior to his freshman year. He also showed that he is willing to play through any and all kinds of adversity, even broken bones. That summer, Gosier was playing a game in Valdosta. He showed out, scoring 30 points, but also breaking his foot in the process. He didn’t know his foot was broken until the game ended. He was in a cast for three weeks, but got out of the cast in time to make a road trip with the team to Alabama. His coach was taking it easy on Gosier, just to make sure his foot was properly healed. “He wouldn’t even let me warm-up,” recalls Gosier. He remained on the bench for the entire game. Then, with just a couple of seconds left and the team down by two points, his coach sent Gosier into the game. “He told me to stay in the corner, get the ball and knock down the shot,” he says. Gosier did exactly what he was told, and hit a game-winning three-pointer from the corner.

When Gosier reached high school, he found a home at point guard, and showed he could match up well against older, more experienced players. He is a very good point guard who can score on his own if needed, but he is also a very unselfish player who gets the rest of the team involved in the game. Last year, he averaged 17 points, eight assists and six rebounds per game. Heading into this year, Gosier knew he had to step up and be more of a leader. He has the big-game experience, and he knows what it takes to be successful at both the region and state level. When he’s on the court, he’s in charge of running the team. It’s only natural that he leads off the court as well. “We need our key players, and they need to play at a high level. I want to help them do that,” he says.

Playing for a title also made an impression Gosier, one that he hasn’t forgotten. When the 2009-2010 season began, Gosier says he had no idea the Bulldogs would play for a title. “I wasn’t thinking about a championship. I just wanted to do what I could to help the team. I didn’t know I was going to have such a good year,” he recalls. During the course of the year, the Bulldogs faced difficult situation after difficult situation, and they just kept winning. As the wins piled up, the Bulldogs realized they had a shot at the championship. Gosier remembers the title game vividly. “The atmosphere was great. I was nervous. We were all anxious. The stakes were high and the crowd was loud,” he says. During the game, Gosier scored five points, but fouled out late in the fourth quarter. Playing for a championship was a great experience, but Gosier isn’t happy with a runner-up finish. He is confident the Bulldogs have what it takes to win a title, and, like Clayton, he has dedicated himself to getting his team back to the championship game.

Gosier should also have a chance to play basketball when he graduates. He has the grades - a 3.3 GPA - and the ability to find a spot on a smaller school’s roster. He has had some interest from a few colleges, including Albany State and Lincoln Memorial, but no program has made him an offer. He’s being recruited as a point guard, and he says he is comfortable playing in any kind of system. “I would like to play with a team that loves to run, but I can slow things down as well,” he says.

When Gosier finally decides on a school, he says he plans to major in computer engineering, though he also says he could see himself teaching and coaching. He loves education and has never slacked off when it comes to school. “You can’t go anywhere without grades,” he says.

There are a lot of similarities to the way Clayton and Gosier approach the game. They work extremely hard, and their dedication to basketball and postseason experience make their goal of winning a championship realistic. It’s a long road through the playoffs, and a lot of things can happen along the way. But teams that work hard and take care of the details seem to get luckier than those that don’t. What will happen over the next two months? That, of course, is uncertain. But you can’t talk about the 2A state title without including the Thomasville Bulldogs. Clayton and Gosier are big reasons why.

Willie Clayton:
Willie Clayton has won several important awards in his career. In addition to traveling the world with Team USA, he is the youngest player ever named 2A State Player of the Year, which came in his sophomore season. He has also been named First Team All-State and All-Region all three years of his high school career. “All the attention I’ve gotten doesn’t excite me much. I try to stay humble and just play basketball,” he says.

Trey Gosier:
Trey Gosier also play tennis and runs cross country. He joined the tennis team because he needed to work on his footwork for basketball. He heard tennis would help, so he signed up. Gosier usually plays in the number-one doubles spot but also plays singles when necessary. Cross country helps keep him in shape in the fall as he gets ready for basketball. He averages sub-7:00 miles and holds a 5K personal record of just over 21:00.