It didn't take long.

In a matter of less than two years on the bench instilling his impassioned and rapid-paced brand of hoops philosophy and culture, Oxford girls basketball coach Steve Emert, has shepherded his Wildcats from basement-dwellers to the penthouse

The master motivator and tactician, Emert has O-Town looking mighty lethal at the mid-point of the season.

The Wildcats are 8-1.

Emert's club has experience, leadership and a spirited youth-infusion.

Senior standouts Shelby Davis, Miranda Murphy, Kelsey Harrison and Meagan Neff make up the core and the heart and soul of the team. Sophomore sensation Jessica Murphy, Miranda's little sister, is the squad's leading scorer and the Wildcat Cager Cub you should most look out for great things in the future.

But the future is now for Oxford, a frontrunner in the race for an OAA league crown.

Like all Emert teams, the 'Cats run-and-gun and as their coach likes to say, "bring full court pressure from the second we get off the bus."

"Our hard work is netting positive results," the longtime sideline general said. "They trust in each other and they believe in each other on the court. We're creating scoring opportunities from our press and having a lot of fun competing. The process has been extremely rewarding for both me and the girls."

Prior to last season, Emert had been retired from the coaching profession for several years, after successful stints with Walled Lake Central's boys and girls teams and at the helm of the woman's program at OCC.

Then he got the itch and jumped back in the game.

Thank god he did!!!

Two of Emert's former star players are coaching boys prep teams in Oakland County: Walled Lake Northern's Ron Thompson (1993) and North Farmington's Todd Negoshian (1998).

Thompson's senior year at Central was Emert's best season on the bench with the boys, going 25-0 out of the gate, before losing to eventual Class A state champion Detroit Pershing in the Class A Elite Eight.

In 1995, Emert coached the Central girls into the Class A state finals.