West Bladen’s Jackson Pait, Travis Pait set for final season

Jackson Pait has lived and breathed West Bladen boys’ basketball since his father, Travis, became head coach in 2011. He has practiced with the team and attended games almost his entire life.

He may not actually bleed Knight purple, but the program definitely is in his blood.

So, when it came time to start high school, it was obvious that Jackson would enroll at West Bladen, right? Play basketball for dad, right?

Travis Pait wasn’t so sure.

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Coaching your child in youth sports can be difficult. Coaching your child in high school, where the attention is magnified, can be more so.

“I didn’t want him to play for me,” Travis Pait said. “I was going to send him to play for Jerry Singletary at Whiteville.”

Travis Pait asked his son if playing for Singletary at Whiteville was something he was interested in. Jackson Pait wasn’t on board with that idea. Even though Jackson “loves Uncle Jerry,” as he calls him since Singletary and Travis Pait are close friends, “I shut that down really quick.” After all, Jackson’s friends and middle school teammates would be at West Bladen.

“I knew I wanted to be a Knight,” Jackson Pait said.

Four years later with Jackson beginning his senior year as the point guard for the West Bladen boys’ basketball team, the earlier concerns of the father have been forgotten with the success of the son and the Knights.

West Bladen has won or shared three conference championships, posted a 69-12 record and reached the semifinals of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 2A state playoffs last season. Jackson figures to surpass 300 career 3-point field goals this season and will continue to run the offense. He has averaged scoring in double figures in his three previous seasons.

“It’s been a pretty good experience for me,” Jackson Pait said. “I’ve been around the program for as long as my dad has been. I’ve been coming to practice, seeing how practice works, seeing how he coaches.

“Obviously, he’s my dad at home. Here (with the team), it’s more of a coach and player type deal. I call him coach. I don’t call him dad whenever I’m at school or practice.”

Before Travis Pait agreed to his son joining the West Bladen program he set a few guidelines. He would be tougher on Jackson than other players, he wouldn’t discuss Jackson’s play in media conferences unless asked specifically and, if the father-coach/son-player combination didn’t work out, then Travis would step down as coach so Jackson could play his high school career at West Bladen.

“I’ve been harder on him than anybody else,” Travis Pait said. “Every kid that’s been on the team the last three years will tell you that. I told him any recognition you get will not come from me. He’s a team first guy, so that’s made it great.”

To top it off, “Uncle Jerry” Singletary, the former Whiteville High coach, now is coaching at West Bladen with Travis Pait.

“It all worked out,” Jackson Pait said. “I get to play for both of them now. That’s pretty cool.”