When we boarded the bus last Friday, most of our exams finished, we thought it was time to relax for an eight-hour bus ride and focus on Saturday’s game against the best team any of us had ever played against. A half-hour delay due to engine troubles foreshadowed the day to come. What ensued was a fifteen-hour nightmare of a drive, caused by a cold white powder that most Virginians had apparently never seen or driven on.
Wayne, our reliable driver, calmly pushed on as traffic slowed, cars spun off the road, and sirens blared. After watching game film of the William and Mary Tribe, we went through five full movies and an aggravated, tiresome last couple hours of silence before finally pulling into our hotel in Williamsburg at 2:00 a.m. Our plans for an 8:00 p.m. dinner had been foiled hours ago; we ate subs in our rooms at 2:30.
Less than nine hours after we finally got to bed, we stepped into the biggest arena most of us would ever play in. Our opponent was not just any Division 1 team. William and Mary leads the nation in offensive efficiency. They threatened to upset UCONN on opening day, had recently won at Wake Forest, and had just knocked off Colonial Athletic Association powerhouse VCU by one point. As I thumbed through my Sports Illustrated on the bus ride down, I found a word of advice from bracketologist Seth Davis: “watch out for William & Mary.”
The game started with promise; we held the Tribe to 12 points in the first nine minutes and found ourselves down by six almost halfway through the first period. Things sped up just a bit from there – we were down by 27 at half, and lost 94-48 when all was said and done. William and Mary was skilled, athletic, and disciplined – just a much better team.
But there were good things to take from the game. We found we could defend one of the better Division 1 teams in the country when we were focused and tenacious. We saw freshman John Herzog drive straight at his counterparts time after time, compiling 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting and a second straight Rookie of the Week award. We saw our center captain Chris Whitney bang against four different players 6-8 or taller, and hold his own, blocking three shots.
On paper, the game against William and Mary was just another loss. But in reality, it was the last game of the first half of the season, and the best possible preparation for league play coming up in January. If we can run with such a powerful opponent in its own gym, even for small stretches, we can run with anyone.
And so after the game, we were really, truly, on break. Time to relax, right? I left with my family, as did five or six other players whose parents came to the game. The rest of the team headed home on the bus.
As I learned via text message, snow stranded them in Maryland and they had to stay overnight in a hotel, a fitting last obstacle in a tiring three days.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment