A self-professed “troublemaker” when he was just 12 years old, Masiah Gilyard was no stranger to junior high detention.
“I was a knucklehead in sixth grade,” said Gilyard. “I never listened. I goofed around in class … I was a problem pretty much every day.”
Gilyard was also something else: Coachable.
The teacher assigned to monitor Gilyard’s detention happened to be a basketball coach, and she presented him with a positive alternative: a gym and a basketball.
“I was probably in that gym three days a week at least,” Gilyard explained. “It honestly changed my life.”
Gilyard immediately used his clever introduction to basketball as a way to reroute his life toward a successful run as a prep hoops player as well as a productive two years at Blinn College.
(Pictured: Blinn College sophomore guard Masiah Gilyard)
Now Gilyard, 20, has emerged as a star guard for the Blinn Buccaneer men’s basketball team and is using his upbringing in Brooklyn to fuel his journey.
“It was rough in Brooklyn, and you had to be tough,” he said. “I was lucky to have my teacher believe in me and give me an opportunity that I know a lot of other kids didn’t get. I was fortunate.”
Though he didn’t touch a basketball until sixth grade, Gilyard has since rarely spent a day since without one.
Just a short walk from his childhood home in Brooklyn stood popular Betsy Head Park, a destination spot for street ball. After getting a taste of the game inside the gym of his junior high school, Gilyard practically lived at Betsy Head throughout his teenage years.
“I was playing basketball every single day,” Gilyard recalled. “That’s what made me tough. You’re a kid playing against other kids or adults. You got pushed to be better every day and that’s where I developed my resiliency on the court.”
Gilyard went on to play ball in Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) leagues in the city, often reuniting with the same teacher who gave him a chance in junior high. At McKee/Staten Island Technical High School, Gilyard thrived, averaging 23 points per game and 14.5 rebounds, and scoring at least 30 points on seven occasions. His efforts earned him the prestigious Warren Jaques Award as Staten Island’s most outstanding boys’ basketball player.
(Pictured: Blinn College sophomore guard Masiah Gilyard dunks the ball against Jacksonville College on Feb. 7, 2024)
On his final night as a prep athlete, Gilyard’s life changed again.
“I remember we were upset in the playoffs on a buzzer beater, but shortly after the game I got a call from a college coach,” Gilyard said. “It was Scott Schumacher, and he was interested in me playing for Blinn College.”
Numerous phone calls and a visit to the Blinn-Brenham Campus revealed several truths about Schumacher and his program. The coach believed Blinn men’s basketball was not only an athletic program, but also a family. He treated each of his players like a son. He pushed his athletes to be the best versions of themselves.
“From day one, Schumacher told me he loved basketball and he loved his players and he promised me I wouldn’t just be joining a team, but that I would be a part of a family, Gilyard said. “He was telling the truth. Schumacher loves his guys and I know we love him, too. I’m really just at a loss for words sometimes because it was just a different feeling that he gives off from a coaching perspective. I immediately felt like I had known him my entire life. It never felt like I was just another kid he was recruiting.”
Schumacher said he saw something special in Gilyard from the beginning, adding that watching him grow for two seasons has been a privilege.
“I watched his film and something just popped,” Schumacher said of his first impression of Gilyard. “You can tell when a player is different, and he was. He was such a great rebounder to go with his scoring ability, and he played so hard. Then we get to talking and he comes for a visit, and you realize just how exceptional of a young man that he is. We knew after his visit that we had to have him.”
Schumacher said Gilyard has been “nothing short of phenomenal” since his arrival at Blinn, and his numbers support that claim.
As a freshman on a team that finished the year 23-7 in 2022-23, Gilyard averaged 8.6 points and almost five rebounds, but showed promise with a single-season high of 30 points before later adding an impressive 21-point, 19-rebound double-double in his 25th collegiate game.
(Pictured: Blinn College sophomore guard Masiah Gilyard)
Now a sophomore, Gilyard has taken the next step for the Bucs. He ranks second on the team with 13.7 points per outing to go with eight boards and also tallied eight double-doubles.
The biggest reason for his growth?
“The thing with Masiah and why he has been able to improve so much is that he allows you to coach him,” Schumacher said. “He allows you to help him get better. He played a significant role for us last year, but he has been a very, very, very important cog for this team this season as well, and that’s because he has remained extremely coachable.”
With Gilyard’s help, the Bucs are in the midst of another successful campaign, boasting a 23-7 record as they prepare for the Region XIV Tournament.
“His presence on the court makes us all better,” sophomore forward Kelvin Tamakloe said. “Off the court, he’s like a brother to everybody, giving advice, providing support when things get tough. He’s the type of friend and player you want to be around. Enough can’t be said about Masiah.”
Gilyard said without the positive mentorship he’s been guided by through his time as a student-athlete, he’s unsure he’d have found his way through the challenges of a troublesome childhood. Gilyard added that it was that realization that inspired his team-first mentality.
“I’m always going to be a team player and I’m always going to be that guy who sacrifices for his teammates and believes that they can be better than what they currently are,” said Gilyard. “I had those types of people in my life, and I’m going to always make sure that my teammates aren’t taking what we have for granted. We have to push to be better every day because if we do that, this program gets better, we improve as players, and we improve as young men.”
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 45 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
