Troy University Athletics
CBI Turned Our Frowns Upside Down
3/17/2009 5:00:00 AM | Basketball (M)
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
First of all - top o' the day to ya'! That's the best Irish I can do. Happy St. Patrick's Day!
I told you I'd be on hiatus until something journalistically pressing came my way. Well, hot off the presses...it's 17 days into March and the Men's Basketball team is still practicing. I wouldn't believe it either if I weren't sitting in Trojan Arena watching it with my own two hazel eyes! It's a first in the Alyson era of TROY Basketball.
How? You may ask. Well, I will tell you if you'll give me a few minutes of your time.
Our time in Hot Springs for the Sunbelt Tournament was short-lived. If you remember, we had earned a #3 seed in the tournament and drew a team we'd already beaten twice in the regular season - South Alabama. Three points short of a victory, we boarded the bus with frowny faces and tails tucked to make the long trip home. There were only hopes of being able to play in a post-season tournament at that time, and it didn't seem like our chances were all that great.
However, winning 14 of the last 17 games, losing those three games by only 6 points combined, beating every team in the conference at least once must have caught the attention of a few people. The list of positives on this team is longer than just those three talking points, but I don't want to seem boastful at this juncture. We have a game to play....a big game. And the same rule still applies: win or go home. So we'd better be ready, because this time there's no more basketball until October.
TROY will play College of Charleston in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational Tournament tomorrow night at Trojan Arena. Yes, you heard me correctly...IN TROJAN ARENA! And don't go thinking that since their school doesn't have football and it has COLLEGE in its name that they aren't any good. They're as good as any Western Kentucky team we've played - fast break, 3-point shooting, run and gun - and that in itself has me more than a little nervous.
I promise you one thing, it will be a game played with more intensity and passion than any game you've seen in Trojan Arena in the recent years. These guys are pumped up and ready to play again. And they're not wanting just one more game...they want more than one. Time will tell and I hope you're there to see it.
We're healthy (except for one of my athletic training students who broke his arm before the conference tourney), refreshed from a few days off for Spring Break, and oddly enough it has the air of Christmas Break. That's probably because we're still practicing after a break from school and the guys have been given the gift of playing more basketball together.
Some of the guys even look differently, sporting new haircuts. You'll have to see if you can pick them out tomorrow night on the court. You'll do a double take just like I did.
So, other than a few days of practice, things have been slow in the world of Alyson. I signed a few autographs at the baseball game the other night. I enjoyed working a little in my yard last week and getting some sun while doing so. I'm so glad the weather is warming up! I savored a fabulous dinner at the Boathouse Landing in Niceville, FL, during a weekend with my parents. My daughter is on Spring Break this week and is enjoying time with the grandparents. Ipso facto, I get to sleep in and not worry about cooking for a few days. I'll be eating cereal for supper, which is fine by me.
Tonight I've got some Red Velvet Cupcakes to bake to uphold the home streak when Red Velvet cupcakes are present, during which the Men of Troy are 2-0. Tomorrow will be game day mode with running, shoot around, and pre-game. I'll be hard pressed to find my luckiest suit tonight as I lay out my clothes for the game tomorrow. Right now, I'm thinking the gray suit with pink top and my lucky black shoes...if you have any other suggestions, I'll be glad to entertain them.
So, in closing, my challenge to you is to be in Trojan Arena tomorrow at 7PM, or as quickly as church lets out. Actually, be there early to get a good seat ? all general admission this game, even the red cushiony ones. The team says the Lord's Prayer before and after each game, so that will have to count for my church attendance.
Wear your lucky TROY attire and cheer as loud as you can. It would thrill my soul to see the gym packed out with screaming TROY fans. I know the team would appreciate it as well.
Until tomorrow night-
GO TROJANS!
ASteed
