Not that Famous

I think that we all have some appreciation for the stereotype that star athletes are usually not very cool in person. Whether they don't think or talk the way that we expected them too, or even don't look so big up close, many a fan's experience with meeting stars is underwhelming.

Yesterday, I felt like I had a somewhat similar experience, although I want to explore it differently. Last night, one of the houses on Patterson Court sponsored a program for questions and perspective with some professional athletes. Although several football players were expected, only two showed up. Former lineman T.J. Washington and Panther CB Ken Lucas. I was down at the house with one of my friends who is a huge Ken Lucas fan.

People started asking questions that ranged from perspective on groupies to what happened with the field goal against Dallas. As people began asking more and more things about former players, new players, draft analysis, I realized that Ken wasn't trying to be protective in his answers. He gave his totally honest assessments on Keyshawn Johnson and the Falcon offensive attack as he best knew how. I was mostly amazed that every football fan in the room already knew everything he said.

OK, before I get pegged for supposedly labeling Ken Lucas as stupid or something, let me explain. I really believe that the sports' fan culture of the present day is at a level of knowledge and immersion that has never happened before. If you read ESPN.com a little bit, you can find out everything you need to know about every thing. Lucas admitted that he didn't find out that his former teammate Ricky Manning Jr. had been arrested until he was browsing the internet a long while later.

We assume that all of these athletes have all these secrets and tricks of the trade that they hide behind their helmet and witticisms. But there was no place more relaxed for an athlete than sitting in front of 20 college kids, most of them football players, talking about girls. Lucas revealed his side of the story and his perspective on most things. Unfortunately, I felt like the media beat him to it and told me that a while ago.

Sometimes I think it's scary that meeting your hero in the parking lot after the game doesn't mean that much anymore. Maybe I've just grown up. But maybe we know too much now. Maybe we are closer to the game than the people who play it. I do know that the media is all-powerful now. It possesses power over us in telling us what to believe and when to believe it. We are told what's important and we buy into it. Mel Kiper tells me more about the draft than Ken Lucas ever cared to know. Tom Jackson will break down the west coast defense like Lucas' defensive coordinator. But somehow, we the fan want to be out there. We want to know everything about the game and how to play it, no matter how out of shape we are. It doesn't matter whose fault this is, but it's certainly not going away anytime soon. And until then, I will nod my head at Ken Lucas and think "yeah, that's nice. Tell me something I don't know."

Perspective

Perspective. An attribute often heralded amongst intellectuals who claim that a certain individual has the ability to see the “forest above the trees,” so to speak. Perspective. It is often something that Davidson students lack around this time of year, as finals, papers and summer plans breathe down their necks. We often judge toughness, intelligence, and ingenuity as more important than perspective merely because we assume that it is beyond our control. We assume that perspective is inherent in those who travel to third-world countries and who really understand what hardship is like. Perspective emanates from those who are well-read and well-traveled. Perspective flows from those who lose a loved one. Perspective cannot be achieved by ourselves in our current circumstances. We think that external properties force perspective upon us.
Over this Easter break, I have been reading Tuesdays with Morrie, a book by Mitch Albom about the death of an old sociology processor and perspective on life as he was eaten alive by Lou Gehrig’s disease. Reading many anecdotes filled with prophetic aphorisms about the need to love and stop worrying about work, I began to find myself jaded. I looked at my worldview and thought that I know that money is bad and people are good, but that somehow getting through tomorrow seemed altogether different. Life seemed to be about the next step in front of you and not worrying about everything else.
I was thinking this until I came upon another little moralistic truth of Morrie. He asks the author, Mitch, to look out the window. He describes the way that he notices nature because of its changing, and he therefore notices his life. Knowing that he only has months to live, the essence of life is constantly before Morrie, unlike those people around him who don’t have time to think about death. Morrie described how he’d traced the angle at which the sun always shines on this tree and the relative activity that the animals have been doing in preparation for the winter. He says that he has a fixed perspective from which to view the progression of life.
So often, we are able to go through months and years without a fixed perspective, as high school and college become things of the past and our work and families are always changing. This weekend, I returned to the house at the beach that I have been coming to for 20 years. In two decades, the degree of decay and rot on the old wood lookout become apparent. I notice how outdated many pictures seem that have occupied the same place for years. This house serves as a fixed reminder of what has come before, and what will come in the future. I realize that I have changed and will never return to what I was. The old bed now seems small to me. The once-beautiful painting is now faded. And yet the tide keeps coming in. I still feel the cold shock of the water on my feet that reacts with the warmth of the sun on my shoulders. I look north and south and realize that whatever I do to make a living will never compare to my identity at this place.
Unfortunately, it feels like perspective is still being forced upon me from the external. What if I hadn’t picked up Albom’s book? What if I didn’t come to this house? What if I were always sad? Perhaps, we will never be able to engender perspective completely independently. But then, that would deprive us of our purpose of living in a community of people. Let us not forget our affect on others in our rush to save our own lives in cash. Surely we can appreciate everything that everyone else has done for us.

It could have been anyone

Last night on Davidson campus, Josiah Cameron was found dead in his sleep with his door locked. Although he had a history of seizures, the final analysis of the cause of death has not been determined. Cameron was a freshman living on Fourth Richardson and was a member of the football team.

It is not often that the Davidson community is torn like this and everytime something happens, our immediate reaction is to realize how prone we are to things that happen in the real world. It seemed very appropriate that yesterday morning I was in a bible study talking about the nature of suffering in this world. Discussion began to focus on whether our suffering as Davidson students had any legitimacy in the context of the wider world. This morning, there is no doubt in my mind that there is no wider world. Every little part of this world, from the country clubs to the ghettos to the war-torn nations is a part of a world that is broken and is trying to find its way. Only two days before students head off for Easter break, the Davidson community will be faced with the decisions of providing support, memorializing Cameron and yet moving on. However, hopefully it is with a greater perspective.

These past two weeks, I have had numerous conversations with people who are so frustrated this time of year with all of the activities and obligations that got pushed into the home stretch. We expect a lot here from ourselves and from each other. Oftentimes we miss out on being able to love on another in our goals. I can't imagine what I would have done had it been my best friend who I blew off for dinner yesterday so I could finish this project. Or the person that sat next to me in class all semester that I never talked to. I couldn't imagine being a roommate who is never around for support and then comes in one night to find your roommate dead.

My prayers go out to the Cameron family, and more especially the Davidson family. May we grow in love and support for each other, so that so many people may not be lonely together anymore.

Basketball pictures

I have recently discovered the website of a professional student photographer who has been taking pictures at Davidson basketball games all season. Although you have to pay for them, many photos are worth the money. Check it out at
www.davidson.smugmug.com

Update

According to several news sources, Ohio U.'s Tim O'Shea looks to be the front-runner now in the job process at Seton Hall. After a fallout between Manhattan's Bobby Gonzalez and SH AD Quinlan, McKillop and O'Shea moved into the top spots. Although there has no been no official press release, Quinlan is rumored to announce O'Shea's hiring by Friday.

Coach?

According to several news sources, including the Charlotte Observer, Davidson coach Bob McKillop is considered one of three finalists for the head coaching spot at Seton Hall. According to the New York Daily News, Manhattan's Bobby Gonzalez appears to be the front-runner after an extensive interview with Seton Hall AD Joe Quinlan at the Final Four this weekend. Coach McKillop was also interviewed along with Ohio University's Tim O'Shea. There will be more on this developing story as it becomes available.

Winters for Three....

What does someone, who has dedicated so much of his time and energy to basketball, do after the season ends?
Mope around in dejected purposelessness?
Actually begin focusing on that little annoyance called classwork?
How about reigniting all of the old friendships that went to waste over my various roadtrips.
Zilch, nada, (chuckle).

There is no such transition for this beat writer and obsessive-compulsive observer of all things Davidson. After spending nearly 18 hours of my weekend compiling video clips, I feel like I have a pretty good feel for Davidson's offensive sets. Although I still don't know what it means when the players yell "Duhneely," I have figured that it is some effective formula for putting the ball in the basket.

Heck, after watching all of this film, I don't understand how an opponent doesn't completely key on all of our tendencies. Ian trailing the play, Brendan's drive-pullups, J-mo on backdoor baselines, Kenny driving the paint on big guy seals. After a while, it really begins to get boring seeing all the same guys keep shooting that ball into that hoop. Maybe I should dedicate my time to something more productive, like my research paper on Maurice Barres and the rise of French nationalism at the turn of the century...or not. I can watch Brendan hit one more reverse layup. And one more. And one more...

Have I said anything in this post? Perhaps, but it surely seems self-evident. Although most of what writers say is self-evident to the people who are smart enough to already know it. In that case, consider yourself an intellectual....

Thoughts

I apologize for the lull in postings, it has been a hard week around campus and I haven't been able to eek out any more articles. But here are some of my lingering thoughts as we head into the weekend:

-Writers, most especially myself, tend to be hypocritical. While I spent nearly all of last week ranting on the corrupting powers of the bracket, I found myself rooting for UCLA (bracket) last night when I really had all of my personal interests in Gonzaga: mid-major success story, unconventional player of the year candidate, new dog in town, etc. etc. While the game was exciting in the end, I really shouldn't have been laughing at Morrison's tears when UCLA took the line with 1.9 seconds remaining. Shame on me.

-With the omni-presence of the internet now (i know this kind of statement is so 1990's), it seems that people have time and space to talk about nearly everything revolving around sports. Some of the most read columns on ESPN.com revolve around sports fashion and commercial critiques. Sometimes I wonder whether people actually work anymore during the day. I know I don't.

-I don't like being a reporter sometimes. While the last two weeks have been characterized by this great news nation sweeping down upon little Davidson, I realized how much I hate bothering these players. Having done group interviews at various times over the season, I never saw such boredom with the same old questions as last week. I refused to even mention the word "father" for fear I would get beaten. I really would hate it if I had to do interviews as much as these guys do, and they have it relatively easily compared to JJ Redick. I officially don't like interviews (hypocrisy, again. I told you.)

Glass Slipper Shattered

The Davidson Wildcats were so close to pulling off the miracle in the corn fields yesterday. The only problem was that Gene Hackman (Thad Matta look-a-like) was coaching on the other bench and pulled off quite a comeback.

Davidson was leading by four at halftime when Ohio State seemed to wake up in the paint and their three-pointers started to fall. Terence Dials got away with moving picks as he just moved defenders with his large body around the court.

The key to the first half was Davidson's aggressive attitude in the paint. They challenged the Buckeyes to leave one man on Ian Johnson and he burned them, baby hook after baby hook. Unfortunately for the Cats, they were unable to take advantage of a 1-14 OSU performance from behind the arc by going 2-11 3PT on their side and missing several open layups. Although Davidson completely dominated the first half, they were only up by four at the break.

The outside shooting woes continued for the Wildcats in the second half as both teams struggled to extend any sort of lead. After two consecutive Buckeye three-pointers, Davidson found itself down by three points for the first time in a long while, and the Ohio State crowd found their voice. The game was over.

Although Davidson could have sufficiently mounted a comeback to make it a single possession ballgame, several factors were now strongly against them.

-Several no-calls had many Davidson players frustrated at the referees and defensive possessions seemed to be debate matches more than tough basketball

-The Buckeyes found their range from the outside which opened up Dials to have a single man on him for rebounding situations. His second chance putbacks were the Bucks' biggest points.

-When down by 6 or 7 points with three or four minutes remaining, Davidson reverted to its losing formula. Go for defensive slamdunks (resulting in easy Ohio State baskets), and trying to jack three-pointers. The nervousness of the Wildcat seniors was palpable and it seemed like they were the ones with so much to lose. Leaving its gameplan, Davidson was unable to extend the game against a poor free-throw shooting team, and instead gave up easy baskets inside.

Leaving the game, every Davidson fan felt legitimately sad. Our performance hadn't surprised anyone and we all knew what this team was capable of. These seven Davidson seniors left the court knowing that they had upped the ante on an already strong basketball program.

Davidson students watched the game yesterday from multiple large venues and an entire community rallied around the spunk of 15 players, 5 coaches, 3 managers, 2 sports information employees, 2 radiomen, 2 student writers, 2 promotion directors, many brothers, wives and cousins, best friends, girlfriends, long-time supporters, first-year supporters, 45 students that had been up for hours, 1 post office lady, 3 faculty members, 1 school president and 14 pep banders. For 2 hours, we all traveled into the middle of the corn fields in Dayton, OH to believe in something that we weren't supposed to have. Davidson was not supposed to win. That's what the 15 seed means. As we check ESPN.com this morning we are faced with pictures of Northwestern St. and Bradley. They accomplished what we were unable to.

But in the end, we still have what every team dreams about. We all have the memory of where we were on that day. The halftime feeling that our school could become famous. The solidarity of person that comes only from the mutual respect shared for strangers who humped it to Dayton together, or who crowded into Commons to cheer for a team they knew was special. This is sport. For all who might forget, this is why we play and this is why it's important.

Bracket Madness

The madness has started. After UW-Milwaukee drew first blood, we all turned to the Pacific-BC game looking for upset number 2. As the crowd began to gather around the Union TV and Pacific mounted a comeback, a peculiar thing happened. People started cheering for Boston College. Now I know that there weren't many Massachusetts natives in the building so I asked around about why there was no love for the upset story.

"Are you kidding me? I have BC in the final four! Pacific is screwing my bracket!"

And so, just one day after we all dreamed about upsets and great comebacks, students at the school of the little man (Davidson) are pulling for the big dog to hold on. The Eagles were able to hit two free throws at the end of the first overtime and spoil the spoilers. Bracket-lovers breathed a sigh of relief. I sat there disgusted.

While we know how important the bracket pools have come for the casual watcher of the NCAA tournament, they shouldn't mar the 4th article of the U.S. Constitution: always pull for the underdog.

Brackets are fun. I have several and most of them have BC in the regional finals. While I sure am happy that I still have a chance to win the pool, I know who I am pulling for right now between Winthrop and Tennessee. I don't care if Tennessee is supposed to advance in my bracket.

Go Underdogs! Screw the brackets!

Boring Start

We are just under 2 minutes into the NCAA tournament. Let's hope it picks up from here. The announcers have absolutely no idea who Seton Hall and Wichita St. are, and they have nothing to say. After the initial tip, Dan Bonner said, "well, this is it. We started. Wow." Wow is right. This is nothing like the palpable moment when the ball is kicked to start the Super Bowl. Alright, back to the action. 7-4 WSU.

The Day of the Writer

The Wednesday before the NCAA tournament should be hallowed as the day of the writer. This is the day where good writers all around the country try to capture the magic of the potential. They tell the nation about the Winthrops, Davidsons and Oral Roberts' of the tournament. They employ metaphor and alliteration to bring us to a higher state of being. They lift us to that place that every person feels after the first time of watching Hoosiers. This is the feeling we get after watching Rudy and you go out to your car and dream that the empty parking lot is that lone field and there should be some lowly camera encapturing the profoundness of the moment.
On Thursday or Friday it is nearly guaranteed that an upset will happen. All of the nation waits for their prediction to be legitimized. But for all of the upsets over the years, most of the 15 seeds go home with nothing. For all that we might want to believe that Davidson fans will be in Dayton on Sunday, the student bus plans to be back on campus by 11 o clock on Friday night. Could it happen? Of course. Will it happen? Very unlikely.
This is why Wednesday is the best day of the tournament. Everyone believes because they want to. And in the end, our lifelong joys are never really produced by reality, but rather they come from faith. Faith in a universe of purpose. Faith in a person that we love. Faith in the Davids against the Goliaths.
This is what college basketball is all about. This is what we knew that we missed last year in the NIT. Last year, everyone said that we would rather lose in the NCAA tournament than win in the NIT. Why? Because of the Wednesday of the Underdog. There are no Wednesdays in the NIT. This day is dedicated to us.
The North Carolinas and Dukes can get all of the championship Mondays that they want. But they will never have the Wednesday of the Underdog.

Tourney Time

It's time to start doing this whole tourney thing all over again. I will be traveling up tomorrow afternoon and spending the night before Friday's game. I am hoping to be able to post before, during and after our 12:15 game on Friday. This will depend on the internet hookup capabilities of the Dayton Arena. While I cannot promise anything between now and Saturday, please stay tuned for analysis and in-depth coverage. I will try not to disappoint.

Monday Morning Thoughts

As I sit here this morning mulling over my thoughts for the NCAA tournament, I am struck by several interesting tidbits:

-In so many ways, this really is the funnest three weeks in sports. While I will never condone gambling, filling out brackets and competing against friends is quite a rush. There is nothing like tuning into the last five minutes of the San Diego St./Indiana game on a random Thursday in the Union with the whole middle section of your Oakland bracket on the line.

-I am absolutely convinced that Coach McKillop isn't going anywhere. Last night, I interviewed Matt on my radio show and he said that his father had some pretty strong ties to the town with his son and wife and that he certainly wouldn't leave until Brendan graduated (next year). That being said, Coach is in a great position to retire here. He's getting to a point where starting over again would not be desirable. I also think that despite all of the riffs between the Admissions office and basketball recruiting, Coach loves Davidson's reputation and its personality. He loves the types of players that get in here, and he loves what they go through outside of practice. That's something Kansas State won't offer.

-This bracket is really hard. In many "Guides to the bracket," the experts say to go through it and make gut picks on the spot without analysis. After doing that, I realized that I picked all four 11-seeds to advance (SIU, SDSU, UW-Mil, George Mason). While GMU is a reach, I truly do believe that the other three can win. Am I crazy? What about the 12-5's. I didn't pick any of them to upset. I just don't see one (outside of a possible Montana-Nevada). Finally, I look at all the heavy teams that I have seen and don't like their chances. Duke has had too many close calls. Villanova will miss Ray. Gonzaga hasn't played anyone. Memphis? You need to have more than athleticism. Texas has been extremely beatable and unstoppable. And Connecticut. Well Syracuse found a way. I don't even want to rule in Ohio St. because Davidson will take them down.

-That's all for now. Keep the brackets rolling, and keep giving my blog hits. I love it.

Radio Show

Blake and I will finally get a chance to have another radio episode tonight. Due to WALT's schedule, we are only able to broadcast on Sunday nights, contributing to our low output this semester. If you are a Davidson student you can tune in at www.walt1610.com live at 7 (right after the selection show), and anyone can download the show from that same site on Monday morning.
We will have highlight clips from John Kilgo's calling of the title game, as well as a live interview with Davidson guard Matt McKillop. We will go down the bracket for you and make our picks for upsets, advances and the Final Four. Make sure to tune in.