‘Lord, let’s get this money’: Justin Bufford brings the grind to Catholic – Montgomery Advertiser

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Since he was in the sixth grade, Catholic'sJustin Bufford has always been intentional with what he wants out of basketball. The 6-foot-6, lanky wingmanmethodically sets the tone and pace always the master of his own ship. He leaves nothing to fate, he insists. Those who know him say hes a grinder, and whatever he wants he goes and gets it.

Bufford was a 6-foot-1, 12-year-old when he picked up the game, and the only thing he was good for was "being clumsy and falling down," he admits.

Nevertheless, Bufford figured if he could do anything well, he could work hard and play with energy. That's what he could control; that and the team he played for.

So, when he was drafted by the Blackteam in his YMCA league, but wanted to play for the Blue team, coached by Calvin Marshall, he brokered a deal. At age 12.

"The way (Marshall) was selling it to me was 'You better come to the Blue team. We're going to win it, we got them dogs over here,'" Bufford said. But he was raw, and the trade didn't really profit his growth as a player. "I was not good at all. I was just tall."

That's not what Jeremiah Whitt saw, a coach of the YMCA's White team and now a close mentor for Bufford. Whitt recognized how hard Bufford played, how bad he wanted it. He saw potential and was the first to tell Bufford that.

"You could see the want and the energy," Whitt said. "You could see potential in him, if somebody was to point him in the right direction." Whitt took that upon himself and approached Bufford's mother and offered to train and develop Bufford.

Lee's Jakel Williams (12) defends against Catholic's Justin Bufford (1 at the Catholic campus in Montgomery, Ala., on Monday January 20, 2020. (Photo: Mickey Welsh / Advertiser)

From there, he worked out with Whitt 4-5 days a week from his sixth-grade summer until 10th grade.He said Bufford was always receptive to criticism and advice, which prepared him to be a standout player at Selmas Ellwood Christian, earning the nickname "The Closer" for his clutch play,from the eighth until he departed for Catholic this season.

"It's a lot of love at (Ellwood)," Bufford said. "I love everybody at that school, but I knew if I wanted to go to the next level I had to get somewhere that could help me get to the next level."

Leaving Ellwood and his native Selma wasnt easy. It was Buffords roots. On one hand Bufford described and reveredhis hometownas a historically renown civil rights emblem rememberedby the"Bloody Sunday" bridge crossing.

But on the other hand, the city he loves has also evolved into one of "good and bad...the bad? The crime.The violence.The hatred," Bufford said. "There's a lot of distractions in Selma, but my passion for the game of basketball kept me focused, out of the streets, out of the gangs and always left a smile on my mother'sface."

He's seen his city swallow people his age and take away thoseheloved, such as 17-year-old Christopher Devon Lee III, a close friend to Bufford and Ellwood Christian basketball player,who waskilled in a drive-by shooting in July of 2017.

Justin Bufford, 12, shoot free throws at a YMCA basketball game.(Photo: Justin Bufford/Contributed)

And according tothe Alabama Law Enforcement Agency's last report in 2017, Selma was responsible for 1,482 crimes that year in a city with a population less than 20,000. Those numbers accounted for 71% of the crime record in Dallas County that year.

"Everybody knows how it is down there," Bufford said."It's grimy down there...It's hard trying to make it out playing sports. It's hard trying to make it out doing anything. Being down there gives you the mentality: 'This is not a joke to me.' That's why I bring my all every day. Practice, game, workout, it don't matter."

This is the edge Bufford plays with, and his obsession with intensity, energyand hard work makes him determined to leave nothing to chance. He can't afford it.

Thats why he believed Catholic was the place for next level for him, but the transition wasnt seamless.

In May of 2018, Bufford's mother, Beverly Smith, lost her job when Concordia College closed that Spring, making relocation a murky proposition. It was during the same year that Bufford's AAU coach with Nightrydas Elite, Reginald Sprouse, introduced him to Catholic coach Mike Curry.

But considering the circumstances it wasn't the right time for Bufford to leave, and he chose to return to Ellwood, his mother said. But the choice to return didn't go as he planned.

"When school was out the following year, he told me 'Mom, I'm ready to go,'" Smith said, and after courting a several options they chose Catholic over John Carroll Catholic in Birmingham.

However, neither choice would come without sacrifice. As a single mother, Smithcould not leave Selma to move to Montgomery immediately. So, when school started Bufford moved in with his father, Tony Bufford, until his mother and sisters moved to the city in October.

"It was a big sacrifice, because my job was in Selma, and I couldn't find a job in Montgomery at the time either," Smith said. " So, I was driving back and forth from Montgomery to Selma for work.

"It's a big sacrifice, but I'd do it over and over again."

Justin Bufford sizes up a defender, as member of Ellwood Christian Academy, prior to his departure for Montgomery Catholic.(Photo: Justin Bufford/Contributed)

Bufford was nervous about his move, but he said his teammates welcomed him as a brother. And though he reciprocated the love, it stillwas time for business.

"It's the grind over here," Bufford said."We get up at 6:30 every morningto practice andlift weights. It's different, it's a good different."

This is the stuff Bufford loves, and he expects that same mentality from the players around him.

That was the deal from day one, Curry said, and Bufford didn't have an issue vocalizing theexpectations he had forhimself and the program, even as the newcomer.

"He's pushing guys every day," Curry said. "And then if it's not so much vocal, it's with his play that says 'I'm about to give it to you everyday, if you ain't ready to play.'"

This attitude helped set the pace for the Knights 25-4 regular season recordand spread throughout the rest of the club.

BTW Magnet's Royelle Comer (4) and Catholic's Justin Bufford (1) fight for a loose ball at Montgomery Catholic in Montgomery, Ala., on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019.(Photo: Jake Crandall/ Advertiser)

"Since I met JB he's always had that vibe that he wants to get to work," senior guard Jalen Fountain said. "He's always trying to work, and it carries over tousdayswhere we come in flat, and those days we don't want to be here. Even with him, he probably doesn't want to be here, but he doesn't show it."

That wasn't something Curryinitially anticipated when scouting Bufford at the North-South All-Star game this past summer where Buffordled all scorers.Curry said Bufford's intensity and energy were evident, but he didn't assume Bufford would bring thatevery day in every setting.

"You knew he could play at that level, because that's the best of the best," Curry said of the All-Star game."But I didn't really know how that would be on an every day basis, but he's an 'every day' guy,' with his energy, with his effort, with his attitude."

Catholic's Justin Bufford (1) blocks a shot by Lee's Nicholas Barnes (11) at the Catholic campus in Montgomery, Ala., on Monday January 20, 2020. (Photo: Mickey Welsh / Advertiser)

Bufford's expectation of excellence was no more evident than following a mid-season loss to Oneota High School in Florida. The Knights were 12-1 and building on an eight-game winning streak before breaking down and losing the contest 71-66.

Bufford finished with 24 points that day, but that wasn't his concern. It was Catholic's first game in the tournament in Freeport, Florida,and the boyscame out flat and fell on their face, Curry said. Another loss and they would be eliminated.

In the locker room following the game, Fountain saidBufford stood up in front theteam and said, '"I'm not trying to go home. We came down here for business first."'

"Next game, he came out and dropped 40," Fountain said. It was actually 41, and 10 rebounds for good measure, in a 86-53 blowout win over Sand Rock. Catholic didn't lose another game in Florida.

"Ever since then, he's had his foot on the gas,"Curry added.

Now as the Knights enter postseason play, Bufford is averaging22.2 points,10.6 rebounds, 3.7 blocks, and 3.6 steals per game,gaining interest from Mercer, UAB, Tennessee State, Northwestern State, Georgia State, Jacksonville State and Wichita State,while securing offers from multiple JUCOs.

It's the best season he's ever had, and an improvement in his jump shot, which he credits assistant coach Donnell Taylor forhelping to make "the game easier," he says.

"To be honest," Taylor said, "I never had to go to him and ask him let's work on it. Healways texts me or calls 'Coach, let's get in the gym; I want to work on my jump shot'...he wants to learn, he wants to get better."

And to sum up Bufford for all parties involved, Curry made it really simple: "He's a different dude," with all intentions of outworking the next man. Selma bred that in him, now Montgomery is witnessing it.

Montgomery Catholic wing Justin Bufford slams one home against LAMP.(Photo: Justin Bufford/contributed)

"What's my story?" askedBufford, who points out that he still has a few more inches to grow. "Underdog. Ever since I was little nobody looked at me to be big time. People still don't look at me like that, but of course I look at me that way, because nobody knows the work I've put in, especially coming where I come from."

Before the lights get their brightest,before whistle blowsand before the ball is tipped, you can find Bufford surrounded by his teammates in his new home, quietand at peace.

Hishead is usually bowed, headphones on, music bumping, praying to God with sincerity. No prayer is ever the same, he said, but he alwaysends it the same way:"Lord, let's get thismoney," because there is no other option.

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Andre Toranat 334-322-4631or AToran@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @AndreToran.

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'Lord, let's get this money': Justin Bufford brings the grind to Catholic - Montgomery Advertiser