Ta’Vaughn Gregory’s Mamba Mentality: St. Martin special needs manager defying the odds

In the wake of the shocking and tragic passing of Kobe Bryant last Sunday, there’s a St. Martin player that wore his number 24 with the utmost pride on Friday.

Senior Night just so happens to be the first time Ta’Vaughn Gregory ever got the chance to dress out with the Yellowjackets.

Even though it certainly wasn’t the first time he turned a ‘you can’t do that’ into a ‘I just did.’

Shenita Graham, Ta’Vaughn’s mom, said, “Well, this night is very special to me because my son is a special needs child. He was born at 25 weeks. He had a lot of things wrong with him. He had hydrocephalus, fluid on the brain. He had cerebral palsy on his right side, and they basically told me he had a two percent chance of life.”

The Senior Night that almost never happened for Ta’Vaughn Gregory and his mom who says she couldn’t even name her child for the first 30 days. “They didn’t think he could live long enough, so this to me is the possibilities of what could happen because at the time when he was younger, I did not know what to expect.”

Ta’Vaughn shattered those expectations, but this thing is: those expectations were never his. “I’ve been dreaming about playing basketball since I was little.”

Special Education Teacher Robert Scott said, “His mother has raised him not to ever use his disability, he performs much higher than his abilities. And nothing holds him back. He gets in there playing basketball in PE with the general education students and he holds his own.”

Dating back to his freshmen year at St. Martin, Ta’Vaughn has been a loyal member of the basketball family as the team manager, unafraid of being told he can’t because deep down he knows he can. St. Martin Head Boys Basketball Coach Charlie Pavlus said, “It’s not every day that somebody in Ta’Vaughn’s shoes gets the chance to play organized sports, and so giving him this opportunity to be out here in front of the crowd and hear his name called in the starting lineup and hear those fans chanting for him, it’s a moment he deserved and he’s earned. I mean he’s done everything we’ve asked him to do, and here’s his chance to go make that lay-up.”

“(What went through your mind when Coach said hey, you’re dressing out?) Shocked at first, but happy to be dressed out.”

“(And now that you’ve got the uniform on, does it feel normal?) Yeah, it feels normal.”

But Friday’s game against D’Iberville led by former St. Martin assistant Robin Sikes was anything but normal. “Ta’Vaughn man, Coach Sikes. Love you dearly, man. Congratulations on your senior night. Enjoy your moment, man. Love you.”

Ta’Vaughn is now the first team manager to ever dress out for a varsity game during Coach Pav’s 12 years as head man. Consequently now the first team manager to ever score in a varsity game. “He’s a guy that walks these halls and everybody is coming to give him a hug, high-five. He’s the true spirit of St. Martin and what we represent here. Again, giving your best, giving your all. Once a Yellowjacket, always a Yellowjacket.”

From clinically deaf and blind at birth to giving rebirth to the idea of what it truly means to have special needs, Ta’Vaughn has always been able to channel his inner Mamba Mentality when he needs it the most. “I’m overjoyed that he’s made it to this point. Again, he’s overcome so many hurdles. He’s walking, he’s talking, he’s moving around, he’s speaking, he’s open. And to me, that’s different. So I’m just glad that he didn’t give up.”

St. Martin went on to defeat D’Iberville on Senior Night by the final score of 59-42.