Well looks like my future holds a lot of uncertainty, and another blog. After writing the last blog I realized I had three things I wanted to talk about. One was the final four; another was my different divisions of NCAA schools that i went to. Also, to update if I did anything memorable at graduation like I said I would.
As far as being at a Division 1, 2 and 3 schools, it all came at different points in my life. The division 2 school, I arrived at 17 years old and was not ready. I was on a baseball scholarship and it didn't take me long to realize I loved basketball more. My division 3 school was a blast. I played a lot and everyone played for the love and pure enjoyment of the game. Division 1, I learned is a business. Yes the guys love it and it's fun, but its also a job. Hopefully after reading this blog people understand the full time commitment that goes into college athletics. After going to school for baseball I ended up sitting out a semester. Then I played Division 3 basketball for two years. Finally I finished up at Charleston Southern for two years. I wonder how many people can say they were a part of an athletic team at all 3 levels of NCAA sports.
My next adventure after the season was going to the Final Four. The final four was an experience that I will never forget anytime soon. It started with a road trip with the 2 graduate assistants from Georgia State. I left Charleston early Tuesday morning headed for Georgia, this is 4 weeks out of ACL surgery mind you. After arriving in ATL I got in the back seat and we drove to Kentucky. We meet up with one of Claude(Georgia State ga) buddies, who was one of the video coordinators at THE University of Kentucky. While there we got a tour of the facilities, the locker room and weight room, which are out of this world. The lodge where the players stay is unreal; I don't know how that is allowed by the NCAA. Seems like an unfair advantage for Kentucky. We spent the night on a couch at Claude's friend's apartment. The next morning we headed out early for Indy. Our goal on this trip was to spend the least amount of money as possible.
So the 3 of us were cruising down the road in a Cadillac with over 400,000 miles on it, and it required premium gas, which was a killer. While driving we would eat PB and J so we didn't have to spend money. On the way I found out that where i would be staying, fell through. So on the way to Indianapolis I was without a place to lay my head at night. A lot of people would panic in this situation, but i figured that i would always have the car at the worst. I decided that since the other 2 guys had a place to stay, I would offer to buy them each a Buck Double to help my cause later in the trip( i used straight coins to pay for this). The first night there I ended up crashing on the floor of Coach Smalls from Georgia State. Who I met earlier that night, luckily I thrive on awkward situations. The next night, I again didn't know where I would be staying. But i didn't let this slow me down during the day. I went to the Coaches Convention and was able to sneak in with help from my buddy Clint, who had an Athletes in Action booth. He was my tour director from the Athletes in Action trip i went on in 06. I was on a mission to meet as many coaches as possible. That night Coach Powell got me the hook up on his floor with Earl Grant who was at Wichita St., but is now at Clemson as an assistant. Again another coach that I had never met up until that day. The next day was a lot of the same, going around meeting coaches and trying to network. But I decided that I needed to do a knee workout because my leg was tighter then my wallet. Which is impressive, because up until this point i spent 0 dollars, I did spend 3 dollars in change at BK (Three buck doubles on me). This is where I found a hotel weight room that I snuck into. After working out I found a bums heaven. In the bathroom there was mouthwash, toothbrush, shower, shampoo, toothpaste and towels. The problem was you needed a key to get in, but I was pretty good at standing around and acting like I couldn't find my key. Then I would slide in behind then the person going in and set up shop. As that day unfolded I didn't know where I was going to sleep. I was hanging out in the Hilton lobby and couldn't get a hold of anyone. I ended up sleeping in the Cadillac that we drove in. This wasn't as bad as it sounded, minus having to keep my leg straight. The positive was when I woke up, I took the elevator to the hotel's free breakfast.
Yes the car was a good story, but it gets even crazier from here. That day I ended up not being able to get a hold of Claude, the guy I came with. I just wanted to get back into the car to get some PB and J and some chips. After calling him repeatedly, I had to open my wallet for the first time, and bought a meal at Ruby Tuesday. I was able to not spend money because at the final four there is coaches parties and they seemed to always have free food. Just had to finagle my way into the party, usually I found a way in somehow. After I spent 10 dollars at Ruby Tuesday, I walked back into the hotel lobby and found a 10 dollar bill. Life is good at this point. Since I slept in the car the night before i made my way back to the hotel I found the day before. I worked my knee out and then enjoyed a luxurious shower. As the day turned to night I was again wondering where I was going to sleep. I was in the hotel lobby meeting coaches the best that i could, this is when I met Art Hamm. He heard me say that I was going to stay in my car and he offered to let me stay in his room, because he had an extra bed. I love doing crazy things such as hitchhiking, but this had me worried at first. I went and Art was a very nice guy and was gracious enough to let me stay in the extra bed and didn't ask for any money in return. Turned out to be a great guy, and i love random encounters such as these. Really shows you that there is still good people out there. His son is the Amherst baseball coach, because he was a gracious host, I am now a Amherst baseball fan for life.
The next day I met up with the 2 guys I came with and drove back to ATL. Now we're all still looking for jobs. I hope that someone will be willing to give me a chance. I am officially a college grad. Yes, I did something at graduation that was memorable to me. As my name was called I walked across the stage without a limp and reached out and took a picture with a disposable camera. I didn't get in trouble, and the picture came out great. As Rob the radio guy said" I called my shot and then got it done" Hopefully people will remember I was that guy that took a picture of himself getting his diploma. What a way to be remembered.............
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Closing Time
In finishing the season up we unfortunately lost at home on Senior night. It seemed fitting that the last games as a Buccaneer I was in street clothes, considering that half of the games at Charleston Southern I was on the bench, because I transferred and got hurt. However, I was given a framed jersey and recognized before the game as a senior. Since then my life has been about graduating and getting my knee back to healthy. Anyone who is friends with me can see on facebook that I documented the injury step by step. The pictures many not be for the faint of heart. Since the season has been over I have had plenty of time to do things as a regular college student. If I want to skip a class, then I would do it because I couldn’t be punished. If I wanted to go to a function at night I could because I didn’t have to go to pick up. I was even able to go to the final four in Indianapolis, which was a great time. All in hopes of landing a job in coaching, which hasn’t worked out yet.
The only real responsibility that I have is showing up for rehab. Every day at ten a.m. I have to meet with Brad, and twice a week with sports south. I have been able to play Frisbee golf, which was a great time, something different anyway. The best thing that I have done is announce a baseball game on the Big South Network with Rob Walden. Which was a great experience and good time in the baseball booth with Blake, Ryan, Cedrique and of course Rob. The best thing that I do now is ride my bike everywhere on campus. It’s the best bike on campus, not a Harley or Yamaha but a Huffy. Yes it’s a purple huffy with orange splashed paint, a basket on the front and a horn. So if you see me riding around be sure to honk, and ill most certainly honk back.
Finally the biggest reason I came to college was to get my degree. As of May 8th I will receive my degree in Criminal Justice. It has taken me three schools: Coker College, Penn State Brandywine, and finally Charleston Southern. I went for nine semesters and even took a semester off after my first semester. I was told by many that I would never go back if I quit now. (Well so much for them) I took a semester of summer school that helped me graduate in 5 years. It took a lot of long hours studying, and pleading for good grades. I’m hoping to do something memorable at graduation so we shall see how it goes.
In summing up my college athletic career, as I ate at Outback the night before graduation, I saw a younger kid sitting at the table next to us. It was Jon Davis’ son and I said hi to Pastor Jon. His son said, "Yeah I knew he was on the team, I saw his picture on the front of the program." There it is folks....
I’d like to thank my parents for paying for my college and allowing me to be a walk on, my aunt and uncle for giving me tons of free meals at their house and letting me just get away and relax. Ms. Kennedy who made my first year a breeze with treating me like a son whenever I came over, CP for his experience as a walk on and motivating me, Coach Padilla who helped me get through this ACl injury by taking me out to eat once a week. Mr. Sheridan for all the calls asking me how I was doing and kept telling me that I was fulfilling the dream I set for myself at his kitchen table a long time ago..... Believe it or not I'm going to miss CSU and all of the people there.
Thanks for reading who knows what my future holds……….
The only real responsibility that I have is showing up for rehab. Every day at ten a.m. I have to meet with Brad, and twice a week with sports south. I have been able to play Frisbee golf, which was a great time, something different anyway. The best thing that I have done is announce a baseball game on the Big South Network with Rob Walden. Which was a great experience and good time in the baseball booth with Blake, Ryan, Cedrique and of course Rob. The best thing that I do now is ride my bike everywhere on campus. It’s the best bike on campus, not a Harley or Yamaha but a Huffy. Yes it’s a purple huffy with orange splashed paint, a basket on the front and a horn. So if you see me riding around be sure to honk, and ill most certainly honk back.
Finally the biggest reason I came to college was to get my degree. As of May 8th I will receive my degree in Criminal Justice. It has taken me three schools: Coker College, Penn State Brandywine, and finally Charleston Southern. I went for nine semesters and even took a semester off after my first semester. I was told by many that I would never go back if I quit now. (Well so much for them) I took a semester of summer school that helped me graduate in 5 years. It took a lot of long hours studying, and pleading for good grades. I’m hoping to do something memorable at graduation so we shall see how it goes.
In summing up my college athletic career, as I ate at Outback the night before graduation, I saw a younger kid sitting at the table next to us. It was Jon Davis’ son and I said hi to Pastor Jon. His son said, "Yeah I knew he was on the team, I saw his picture on the front of the program." There it is folks....
I’d like to thank my parents for paying for my college and allowing me to be a walk on, my aunt and uncle for giving me tons of free meals at their house and letting me just get away and relax. Ms. Kennedy who made my first year a breeze with treating me like a son whenever I came over, CP for his experience as a walk on and motivating me, Coach Padilla who helped me get through this ACl injury by taking me out to eat once a week. Mr. Sheridan for all the calls asking me how I was doing and kept telling me that I was fulfilling the dream I set for myself at his kitchen table a long time ago..... Believe it or not I'm going to miss CSU and all of the people there.
Thanks for reading who knows what my future holds……….
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Change at CSU
Some great things are happening here at CSU. We have been fortunate enough to have Adrian Despres come and speak at FCA twice now. This is a revival he’s starting on Campus, leading many athletes to the Lord. This has encouraged and renewed my own faith in wanting to spread the Word. Bible studies are sprouting up all throughout campus now everywhere you look.
Now back to the action, or lack there of on the court. Against North Greenville I was placed in the game for the first time in 58 days to see live action. Fortunately, or unfortunately, we got out to a big lead and I sat on the bench waiting for my turn. There were some cheers throughout the BUC DOME for put in Sweeney echoing through as I sat and waited. Hindsight being 20/ 20, should have done a bit more to stretch.
I was put in just before the last media time-out, so I got to sit in the 5 seats in front of coach, as he tells us what defenses we are in and what to do on offense. As we broke the huddle, I left with 2 good knees in tact.
I knew that I needed to get a stat if I was going to be playing 4 minutes; I didn’t want to record a 4 trillion. That would be 4 minutes played and no stats all 0’s. After 2 offensives possessions where I was making crisp passes we were back on defense. I helped off my man and recovered back when they pitched it to him and I blocked his shot, ensuring my stat for the game.
After we came down on offense, we were moving the ball around and trying to get it inside. As the shot clock was running down, AJ passed me the ball and said something to the effect of “go get a bucket”. I drove from the right wing towards the lane and across the foul line. I jump stopped and went to jump up to shoot the ball. That was when I heard what sounded like my knee ripping away from everything. At the 52 second mark, I laid in a heap on the floor, knowing I blew my ACl out and maybe more.
I believe God has a plan and did this for a reason. It definitely altered my life in a significant way. I learned a lot in my time at CSU; I’ve done some stupid things and I’ve done some great things while here and while learning. The biggest lesson is to trust God and rely on his power and knowledge and not my own understanding. Knowing he wont give me anything that I can’t handle and to worry about today not tomorrow. Matthew 6:34 says, Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Plenty of Fun
A lot has happened since the last post. On a recent road trip we had some down time and were able to go and see the Book of Eli, which was a great movie. I was skeptical going in but really enjoyed the story and the purpose of Eli throughout the movie.
Before the movie we ate at the World famous Beacon in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Most of the guys ordered the double cheeseburger plenty. Plenty means onion rings and fries piled higher then you can imagine. A lot of the guys were saying that they could eat all of the food. Needless to say I took it as a challenged to eat all of my food, including the onion rings that I do not really like. Lucky for me when I set my mind to something I usually find a way to get it done. (Lucky for me that I have that mentality because in the next blog you will see why I will really need this)
The most important thing we have done all season and in my time at CSU was what we did on an off day while on a road trip at High Point. We visited the children’s hospital where we wanted to go see Spencer. Spencer is a kid that came to our camp this summer and was a great basketball player, but an even better kid.
Shortly after camp he was diagnosed with cancer. He has been battling that since September and going through Chemo. When he doesn’t have Chemo treatments, he has to stick himself with a needle everyday in his thigh. Spencer is such an inspiration with his faith and toughness to me. I think of him everyday now and consider myself soft for ever complaining. Spencer and his family’s Faith to know that God has a plan and a hand on this all, is truly an inspiration. I hope to stay in touch with Spencer as he continues to battle this and on his road to recovery.
On another note, at the game at High Point, the game of Pass the Rock was resurrected. It started with the ball landing on Jo’el’s lap. We haven’t played in so long he forgot, but then passed me the ball. I flipped it to Austin at the end of the bench. I knew that he had to get a touch. (He had been in earlier and failed to get an offensive touch of the ball) Austin had it and decided to take a dribble. He then flipped it to me and I sent it to Jo’el who passed it all the way up the line and made it to the coaches. At this point the ten players on the court lined up for free throws and so did the refs. The only thing missing was the ball at this point. Then after 11 passes of the rock, the ball was thrown back into play marking the greatest game of pass the Rock EVER….
SWEENEY
Before the movie we ate at the World famous Beacon in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Most of the guys ordered the double cheeseburger plenty. Plenty means onion rings and fries piled higher then you can imagine. A lot of the guys were saying that they could eat all of the food. Needless to say I took it as a challenged to eat all of my food, including the onion rings that I do not really like. Lucky for me when I set my mind to something I usually find a way to get it done. (Lucky for me that I have that mentality because in the next blog you will see why I will really need this)
The most important thing we have done all season and in my time at CSU was what we did on an off day while on a road trip at High Point. We visited the children’s hospital where we wanted to go see Spencer. Spencer is a kid that came to our camp this summer and was a great basketball player, but an even better kid.
Shortly after camp he was diagnosed with cancer. He has been battling that since September and going through Chemo. When he doesn’t have Chemo treatments, he has to stick himself with a needle everyday in his thigh. Spencer is such an inspiration with his faith and toughness to me. I think of him everyday now and consider myself soft for ever complaining. Spencer and his family’s Faith to know that God has a plan and a hand on this all, is truly an inspiration. I hope to stay in touch with Spencer as he continues to battle this and on his road to recovery.
On another note, at the game at High Point, the game of Pass the Rock was resurrected. It started with the ball landing on Jo’el’s lap. We haven’t played in so long he forgot, but then passed me the ball. I flipped it to Austin at the end of the bench. I knew that he had to get a touch. (He had been in earlier and failed to get an offensive touch of the ball) Austin had it and decided to take a dribble. He then flipped it to me and I sent it to Jo’el who passed it all the way up the line and made it to the coaches. At this point the ten players on the court lined up for free throws and so did the refs. The only thing missing was the ball at this point. Then after 11 passes of the rock, the ball was thrown back into play marking the greatest game of pass the Rock EVER….
SWEENEY
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Standing Room Only
To get right into the action, we were on the road at UNC Asheville in the 2nd half and were down 8 with minutes to go. To describe the situation, it was cold, we were on the road and Coach Richey wasn’t at the game. The old CSU would have crumbled in this situation, but this is the new CSU. In this game we battled back and took the lead and then eventually won in overtime.
This was the closest I have come to my time at CSU to getting a technical foul. If you’re thinking, “did he get in the game?” No, not at all. But we had a player dive on a loose ball in front of our bench and call a timeout. I rushed out to the court and bumped into an Asheville player. At that time the ref blew his whistle and made the international sign for a T. At this point my heart sank. But then I realized he was giving the Asheville player a technical, because he had been complaining about a no call.
The good news in that we had a ten game home winning streak stretching back to last year. The Bad news is that we lost to Coastal Carolina at home. But it’s still not all that bad considering we are still in the hunt for a home playoff game. Two other positives were 1. If you were at the game you would have seen the Buc Dome was out of control and was standing room only. 2. You would know that we didn’t play our best game and we still had a chance to win at the end of the game.
Finally, I take pride in our bench and being loud during the games and standing up to cheer. The past few games I have been meaning to keep a count of how many times I get up and down during a game. Unfortunately I get caught up in the game and forget to count once the game gets going. For the Coastal game I employed the help of Stan to help me count. We still forgot but he kept me on track from halftime and on. I got up and down 49 times in the 2nd half. Considering I don’t have stats on anyone else getting up and down during a game. I am proclaiming myself number one in the country in cheering chair squats.I will recap our latest road trip against Winthrop and Presbyterian in the next blog.
Sweeney
This was the closest I have come to my time at CSU to getting a technical foul. If you’re thinking, “did he get in the game?” No, not at all. But we had a player dive on a loose ball in front of our bench and call a timeout. I rushed out to the court and bumped into an Asheville player. At that time the ref blew his whistle and made the international sign for a T. At this point my heart sank. But then I realized he was giving the Asheville player a technical, because he had been complaining about a no call.
The good news in that we had a ten game home winning streak stretching back to last year. The Bad news is that we lost to Coastal Carolina at home. But it’s still not all that bad considering we are still in the hunt for a home playoff game. Two other positives were 1. If you were at the game you would have seen the Buc Dome was out of control and was standing room only. 2. You would know that we didn’t play our best game and we still had a chance to win at the end of the game.
Finally, I take pride in our bench and being loud during the games and standing up to cheer. The past few games I have been meaning to keep a count of how many times I get up and down during a game. Unfortunately I get caught up in the game and forget to count once the game gets going. For the Coastal game I employed the help of Stan to help me count. We still forgot but he kept me on track from halftime and on. I got up and down 49 times in the 2nd half. Considering I don’t have stats on anyone else getting up and down during a game. I am proclaiming myself number one in the country in cheering chair squats.I will recap our latest road trip against Winthrop and Presbyterian in the next blog.
Sweeney
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Road Woes
Since the last blog I have played in two more games. The First was against Toccoa Falls. If you asked yourself “who is that?”, so did the rest of our team. Either way, I knew that I was going to get to play in the game. This was a record night for my personal stats and the CSU record book. I got my first, first half minutes of my career, and recorded a career high 5 rebounds (which helped set a team record for CSU: 70 rebounds), and scored my first collegiate points. It took me a few shots but my number was called, and I posted up inside. Faked right, went left and scored on a bank shot to break the scoreboard and hit 100 for the team.(Redeeming myself from the previous let down in my previous shot for the 100 score mark) In the other contest against Southeastern I played 3 minutes and hit a floater to go 1-1 for the game and score my second bucket of my career. This was a game that we were supposed to win and I should have received more minutes. Sometimes I think the starters deliberately play bad so they can play all of the minutes.
Now I want to talk about some of our road experiences. We have had 9 away games. Our only win came against the Citadel which really isn’t a road game. It’s just down the road and we had a decent CSU crowd. Either way, we have flown to two games and traveled in style to other games. The bus we travel on is more like a home on wheels. It’s a sleeper bus that has couches and tables that fold into 18 beds and at least a 40 inch TV (satellite tv) that we hook up the PS3 to and play FIFA, college football, and everyone’s favorite, call of duty. We have traveled up to 9 hrs for a game but when we arrive at the hotel, you can usually find 4 of us in the back trying to finish one last game even though we have played 9 hrs straight. We stay at nice hotels and eat great. (something I will address later) The problem is we keep losing on the road. We lost to G Webb in a heartbreaker the other night. We were up 13 with ten minutes and lost, that one really stung. We have this great bus with all the amenities, but we don’t get to enjoy because we are usually bummed about the loss. Before the game there was a girl that was about 6 years old and apparently she could tell that I was not an important player on the team. Every time I was headed back to the layup lines I would look up and she would be standing there giving me a thumbs down. The next time I would come back she would stick her tongue out at me. Then finally to top it off she had her hand in the shape of an L on her forehead.( I bet most of your just busted out singing that song, I know I did while writing this) I must say all of this shook me, I think mostly because of how young she was and that she could point out that I was not good. I was relieved to see that she was sitting behind the G Webb bench and not ours because that would have mentally taken a toll on me.
Now back to eating well while on the road. I admittedly eat fast, no doubt. And maybe even a bit more than most of the guys on the team (ok maybe a lot more). I’m a 22 year old guy. I’ve never seen people comment about the way a guy eats before. I take it as a compliment. Anyway, we went to Fridays and most guys ordered the 3 for 12.99 meals and when I did coach scoffed and made a comment similar to “you’re going to be 300 pounds once the season over and practice ends.” Apparently that meal would only make me gain weight, I’m not really sure. I strongly disagree because; yes I enjoy food, and think it’s one of finer things in life. But that night after dinner I went and worked out because I knew the next day was game day and they are usually equivalent to off days. I know that the way I eat I will have to continue to work out to keep my weight down. I also disagree with coach because I don’t see myself gaining 82 pounds anytime soon to be close to 300 pounds.
Now I want to talk about some of our road experiences. We have had 9 away games. Our only win came against the Citadel which really isn’t a road game. It’s just down the road and we had a decent CSU crowd. Either way, we have flown to two games and traveled in style to other games. The bus we travel on is more like a home on wheels. It’s a sleeper bus that has couches and tables that fold into 18 beds and at least a 40 inch TV (satellite tv) that we hook up the PS3 to and play FIFA, college football, and everyone’s favorite, call of duty. We have traveled up to 9 hrs for a game but when we arrive at the hotel, you can usually find 4 of us in the back trying to finish one last game even though we have played 9 hrs straight. We stay at nice hotels and eat great. (something I will address later) The problem is we keep losing on the road. We lost to G Webb in a heartbreaker the other night. We were up 13 with ten minutes and lost, that one really stung. We have this great bus with all the amenities, but we don’t get to enjoy because we are usually bummed about the loss. Before the game there was a girl that was about 6 years old and apparently she could tell that I was not an important player on the team. Every time I was headed back to the layup lines I would look up and she would be standing there giving me a thumbs down. The next time I would come back she would stick her tongue out at me. Then finally to top it off she had her hand in the shape of an L on her forehead.( I bet most of your just busted out singing that song, I know I did while writing this) I must say all of this shook me, I think mostly because of how young she was and that she could point out that I was not good. I was relieved to see that she was sitting behind the G Webb bench and not ours because that would have mentally taken a toll on me.
Now back to eating well while on the road. I admittedly eat fast, no doubt. And maybe even a bit more than most of the guys on the team (ok maybe a lot more). I’m a 22 year old guy. I’ve never seen people comment about the way a guy eats before. I take it as a compliment. Anyway, we went to Fridays and most guys ordered the 3 for 12.99 meals and when I did coach scoffed and made a comment similar to “you’re going to be 300 pounds once the season over and practice ends.” Apparently that meal would only make me gain weight, I’m not really sure. I strongly disagree because; yes I enjoy food, and think it’s one of finer things in life. But that night after dinner I went and worked out because I knew the next day was game day and they are usually equivalent to off days. I know that the way I eat I will have to continue to work out to keep my weight down. I also disagree with coach because I don’t see myself gaining 82 pounds anytime soon to be close to 300 pounds.
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