1,2,3, Cheese

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.............

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……….