Saint James' Bradley Thomas and Montgomery Academy's Jamal Cooper Co-Players of the Year

Nigel Card thought he had the ingredients for a good team in 2021-22, but the Saint James Trojans weren’t playing like it.

Card decided to call his best player, senior Bradley Thomas, into his office for a little conversation.

“He wasn’t the same Bradley from a year ago,” Card said. “He had a couple of things going on with him. Physically, coming off the football field, his legs were bothering him. And, emotionally, he was disappointed where he was in basketball, not having the opportunities he thought he would have.

“I told him, ‘Bradley, you never know what the Lord has in store for you.’ We just have to get you healthy, play this year and see what happens.”

The Trojans recovered from their slow start, hit their stride in the latter part of the season and made a historic run to the state tournament.

Thomas, meanwhile, led the team in scoring, averaging 15.7 points per game, and was second on the team in steals and third in rebounds.

His efforts earned attention from the Capital City Conference coaches, who chose Thomas and Montgomery Academy’s Jamal Cooper as co-players of the year. Card was selected as the coach of the year after leading the Trojans to their first-ever appearance in the state tournament.

“As he got healthy, his game started to come back and he really, really had an outstanding year,” Card said of Thomas’ performance. “His presence, his ball skills, his ability to attack the basket all led to us having the opportunity that we had.”

Cooper had a similar effect, leading the Eagles in scoring and assists and guiding Montgomery Academy to a 12-11 record and the 3A Area 6 tournament title. The Eagles reached the sub-regional round for the first time since 2016 and the regionals for the first time since 2015.

Thomas, meanwhile, helped the Trojans win at Straughn to earn only their fifth trip to the regionals since the current format was adopted in 1994. Saint James reached the regional finals for only the second time in school history, then pulled off the biggest win in school history with an upset of area rival Booker T. Washington in the regional finals to earn their first trip to Birmingham.

The Trojans lost to Jacksonville in the 4A semifinals, but its 17-8 record marked the fewest losses for a Saint James team under Card, who just completed his 12th season at the school.

He credited the unique chemistry of his players for their successful season.

“They played football together, spent a lot of time together,” Card said. “When we start the season off, we have the last practice of the day at 4:45 p.m. They would get out of school at 2:30 and go in the locker room and just sit there and have the best time. They just had a great relationship with each other. When they went out, they just held each other accountable. I’ve never had a team, since I’ve been at Saint James, like that. They were playing for each other.”