Marty Gordon
RADFORD – Sarah Cranford was hoping to watch her favorite basketball team on Wednesday at Radford University with little or no fanfare.
The school was hosting the Pulaski County Education Day with hundreds of youngsters. Little did she know her three-year-old son would become the highlight not only for the local crowd but also others nationally, including Barstool Sports.
Shortly after her eight-year-old daughter sang the national anthem with the youth choir from Riverlawn Elementary School, the little brother would steal the show.
During a timeout, Jayden took to the floor and would run from baseline to baseline. The television crews caught the adventure that would only end when RU player Truth Harris picked him up and handed him to the school’s athletic director, Robert Lineburg.
Thus, Jayden became the “sixth man” on the floor.
“I was embarrassed at first,” his mom said. “I thought they would kick me out because of what he had done.”
The school did not, but the family left early to duck all the attention.
“I never expected it to go crazy like it did, going viral,” she said.
The Today Show on NBC and others laughed as they watched him steal the headlines through the country on national TV.
On the floor, Radford men’s basketball program went national (with the help from their newest little friend) as the Highlanders knocked off Gardner-Webb by a 79-75 margin in a thrilling Big South clash inside the Dedmon Center.
Radford Coach Darris Nichols said he leaned into the game’s official and asked: “please don’t give me a technical foul for that (the little kid running on the floor).”
The referee did not, instead getting a chuckle like everyone else watching Jayden.
Sarah Cranford said on Saturday they have been invited back to a future RU basketball game. In addition, the Big South Conference, of which RU is a member, has given Jayden its “Sixth Man of the Year” Award. They tweeted the unofficial honor on social media.
