Like many college seniors, Trevor Noack has yet to decide what he will do after graduation.
But unlike many of his peers, the Keller Central alumnus knows next week he will play on one of the grandest stages in all of American sport —March Madness.Noack is the starting center for the Belmont Bruins (26-6), who earned an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament with a 70-68 win over Murray State in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship last Saturday.Despite facing much taller opponents most nights, the 6-foot-7, 240-pound senior is averaging career bests of 12.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.“I didn’t think we’d be talking here at 26-6, I didn’t think this team had that kind of season in them, especially with the type of schedule we played,” said Belmont coach Rick Byrd, who is 571-290 in 27 seasons at the school. “So Trevor and a couple other guys, but Trevor most notably, his improvement has put us in the position that we’re in.”Noack showed a similar arc of improvement in high school, where he led a fledgling Keller Central program to its first two playoff berths and averaged 17 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks per game en route to District 5-5A MVP honors as a senior.“He was a varsity basketball player all four years of his career and he proved a lot every year,” said former Keller Central coach Kit Pehl, who is now at Coppell. “He just has a great basketball IQ, he’s a tough kid and just the kind of kid you love to coach. It’s no surprise he’s having success at the next level.”Belmont has claimed four consecutive regular-season conference championships and three straight conference tournament titles, but the Bruins, who moved up to Division I from NAIA in 1996, have never won an NCAA Tournament game.Belmont, which is based in Nashville, is making its sixth tournament appearance since the 2005-06 season. The Bruins have fallen to storied programs such as Georgetown (twice), Wisconsin, UCLA and most notably a one-point heartbreaker to Duke in 2008.On Sunday, Belmont will find out who it will face and where in this year’s tournament.ESPN bracket expert Joe Lunardi’s most recent prediction has Belmont as a 12 seed taking on Syracuse in San Jose, Calif.No matter whom the Bruins play, they are mere days away from tipping what many are calling perhaps the most wide open NCAA Tournament field in history. Maybe Belmont can pull an upset and make a little history of its own.“That would be huge, just getting to win that first-round game has been kind of a lifelong goal for me,” Noack said. “That’s the next stepping block for our program, and it would mean a lot to the seniors we have on our team.”Whether Belmont becomes America’s next Cinderella or bows out in the first round, Noack is scheduled to graduate with a marketing degree in May, and has left his options open.“If the opportunity arises I’d like to go play basketball overseas somewhere,” said Noack, who turns 22 on Tuesday. “If that doesn’t work out, then at this age I am willing to move wherever and I’m interested in getting out and seeing what happens as far as a job is concerned. I wouldn’t mind moving back to Texas. That’s kind of where I’m thinking I’ll end up at some point, but it doesn’t have to be right after college.”Jarret Johnson, 817-390-7760 Twitter: @JohnsonJarret
