Happy New Year
I hope that you have had a great time during the holiday season and let me be the first to wish you a Happy New Year.
It’s been a whirlwind tour for me personally since the week before Christmas.
I drove to Shreveport on the night of Dec. 14th for the games on the 15th at Louisiana College. I set up shop in Shreveport for three days. On Saturday, I drove down to Pineville to call the two games. The Cowgirls pulled away late from the emerging Wildcats and then the Cowboys won on a last second shot by Steven Luckey. With it being an afternoon game, I drove back to Shreveport to file my stories to the media and also the web site.
I then had a day-and-a-half to kill in Shreveport before heading to Clinton, Miss., for the Monday night games. After the games, I drove all the way back from Clinton. I pulled into Abilene at about 5:30 a.m. Man, does that drive get longer every year.
After playing with my four-year old for a little bit and seeing my wife for the first time in four days, I was off to bed at about 7:30 a.m. and I did not wake up until 5ish in the afternoon.
I made it to work on Wednesday for a few hours and then started one of the few down times during the whole school year. My in-laws were here on Friday through Sunday and then on Monday I drove to Oklahoma for some more family time.
I came back to Abilene on Thursday and then went on to Georgetown on Friday afternoon to call the women’s game against Buena Vista. What an exciting game with Mollie Brawner hitting the game-winning 3-pointer with less than a second remaining. I then headed up the Interstate to Temple where I stayed the night. LaQuinta Inn and I have become good friends over the years. There seems to be one in about every town we stay in and if I can get in that is where I stay.
I got up on Saturday and drove to Arlington for the men’s game on Saturday. After the game. I went back to Oklahoma to pick up my wife and kid, who had stayed at grandma’s for a week. It was back to Abilene on Sunday and finally home and the normal travel schedule can get started.
I had started to feel like I was a long-haul truck driver. The Cowboys and Cowgirls return home for a Thursday night game against Ozarks.
It was good to see some former players on the road this weekend. I saw one of my favorite all-time Cowgirls Lauren Harris, who was in Georgetown to see sister Kristen play for HSU. I didn’t get to talk to here, but last I heard she was a strength coach at Ohio State.
I got see one of my all-time favorite Cowboy baseball players, Michael Popino on Saturday at UTA. He was there supporting the alma mater. He works in Plano now and always makes it out when we are in the Metroplex. It is nice to have those loyal alumni out there.
I hope to see you guys out at the game on Thursday against Ozarks. It is turning to crunch time for both teams as we are just three games away from ASC West play.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Hoops Junkie
I am by admission a men’s college basketball junkie. It has always been my favorite sport to watch, follow and cover.
It used to be, I would get in trouble the week of Thanksgiving because back in the day when the Maui Tournament and the Great Alaska Shootout were the only two big preseason tournaments, I would watch all of the games until like two or three in the morning. Growing up I was (gasp!) the biggest OU Basketball fan. I know an OSU fan can’t be an OU fan, but I loved Billy Tubbs’ run and gun style. Believe me I came around to the right way of thinking.
I even got “punished” by the school one year when I was in junior high, because they refinished the floor every Christmas and it is about a week process. I tried to get on the court a day early and it was not totally dry. They had to put on another coat of finish. My punishment was to pick up the commodities for the school cafeteria from the county.
I have always been enthralled by the 3-point line. You wouldn’t know it by watching me shoot now, because I am somewhat out of practice, but I used to shoot more baskets than maybe anyone. I lived in the basketball gym. My parents never had to worry about me or where I was for the most part, because if you wanted to find me I was at the gym. Often times it would be after midnight when I would come home. I even had my own key, because the coaches got tired of me bugging them for it. I could shoot baskets for hours by myself.
I have watched many great players and games in person. I had the privilege of sitting court side at Gallagher-Iba, the No. 1 basketball venue in the country, for every home game for four years. The games were fun, but the biggest thrill of my basketball fandom is watching Eddie Sutton’s practices. I would sneak away from my cubicle in the Sports Information office to watch practice as often as possible.
I have never seen anyone mold a team like he did. They way he would tear them down and build them back up in the course of a practice. I have always loved practice more than the games. About every day at 3 o’clock you can find me in the gym during practice for at least part of it. I love being around the gym, being around the guys and just being around the game. I will even still play a few games of horse every now and then (Casey I will get you before the end of the year).
It takes a lot to impress me on the basketball court. Two games stick out in my memory. Brent Price hit for 56 points in a game for OU back in the early 1990’s. He hit 11 3-pointers and Randy Rutherford of OSU put up 45 points on Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse in 1995. I think he had 10 3-pointers.
All of that leads me to what I saw on Monday night and it goes toward the top of the list of the most impressive things I have seen on the basketball court. In the first 11 minutes of the game against Mississippi College the Choctaws, who had made 21 3-pointers in six games this season, made 9-of-10 from downtown. Three of them were banked in and the rest were nothing but net. They came from five different players.
Needless to say, HSU never recovered as MC hit 11-of-13 treys in the first half.
That said, I think it could be a good year for the Cowboys and Cowgirls. Both had many questions coming into the season, but I think the questions have been answered and I expect both to make deep runs in the postseason.
Both teams have had some big losses, but they have also shown some of the signs of good teams. Winning on the road, overcoming deficits and getting better as the season goes on.
It used to be, I would get in trouble the week of Thanksgiving because back in the day when the Maui Tournament and the Great Alaska Shootout were the only two big preseason tournaments, I would watch all of the games until like two or three in the morning. Growing up I was (gasp!) the biggest OU Basketball fan. I know an OSU fan can’t be an OU fan, but I loved Billy Tubbs’ run and gun style. Believe me I came around to the right way of thinking.
I even got “punished” by the school one year when I was in junior high, because they refinished the floor every Christmas and it is about a week process. I tried to get on the court a day early and it was not totally dry. They had to put on another coat of finish. My punishment was to pick up the commodities for the school cafeteria from the county.
I have always been enthralled by the 3-point line. You wouldn’t know it by watching me shoot now, because I am somewhat out of practice, but I used to shoot more baskets than maybe anyone. I lived in the basketball gym. My parents never had to worry about me or where I was for the most part, because if you wanted to find me I was at the gym. Often times it would be after midnight when I would come home. I even had my own key, because the coaches got tired of me bugging them for it. I could shoot baskets for hours by myself.
I have watched many great players and games in person. I had the privilege of sitting court side at Gallagher-Iba, the No. 1 basketball venue in the country, for every home game for four years. The games were fun, but the biggest thrill of my basketball fandom is watching Eddie Sutton’s practices. I would sneak away from my cubicle in the Sports Information office to watch practice as often as possible.
I have never seen anyone mold a team like he did. They way he would tear them down and build them back up in the course of a practice. I have always loved practice more than the games. About every day at 3 o’clock you can find me in the gym during practice for at least part of it. I love being around the gym, being around the guys and just being around the game. I will even still play a few games of horse every now and then (Casey I will get you before the end of the year).
It takes a lot to impress me on the basketball court. Two games stick out in my memory. Brent Price hit for 56 points in a game for OU back in the early 1990’s. He hit 11 3-pointers and Randy Rutherford of OSU put up 45 points on Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse in 1995. I think he had 10 3-pointers.
All of that leads me to what I saw on Monday night and it goes toward the top of the list of the most impressive things I have seen on the basketball court. In the first 11 minutes of the game against Mississippi College the Choctaws, who had made 21 3-pointers in six games this season, made 9-of-10 from downtown. Three of them were banked in and the rest were nothing but net. They came from five different players.
Needless to say, HSU never recovered as MC hit 11-of-13 treys in the first half.
That said, I think it could be a good year for the Cowboys and Cowgirls. Both had many questions coming into the season, but I think the questions have been answered and I expect both to make deep runs in the postseason.
Both teams have had some big losses, but they have also shown some of the signs of good teams. Winning on the road, overcoming deficits and getting better as the season goes on.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Crosstown Showdown Is Already Here
It has been a quick start to the basketball season as both teams have already played two conference games and THE BIG GAME is already on the horizon.
There is something special about the Hardin-Simmons and McMurry games. Not only is it a strong rivalry with all four teams having quality programs there is just something different about the two fan bases. McMurry fans get louder and at the same time, even when things are going good, Hardin-Simmons has had a more reserved crowd. That tends to lead to a view from the HSU fans that McMurry fans are loud and crude and the McMurry fans think that HSU fans are stuck up or uppity.
I don’t think either is the case. It is part of what makes this game such a different game than almost any on the Division III level. There is pride and passion on both sides and both teams will do whatever it takes to win.
When I first arrived at Hardin-Simmons in late February of 2000 I was totally oblivious to what Division III was all about. Honestly, I had never heard of McMurry and I even misspelled it the first release I wrote (who knew that there was not an a in the name). However, I got indoctrinated into the rivalry early on. I think it was the second week I was here we played McMurry in the Sweet 16 and the Mabee Complex was packed. I came from a place that did not support women’s basketball at all and to actually see a packed house was a shock to me. It was the fourth time the two teams had met that season and I found out quickly that both schools didn’t like each other (at least on the court).
Not every game has been as intense as that one, but for the most part they have been. McMurry made great strides in their women’s program and we made great strides in our men and now a series that was once dominated by the HSU women and McMurry men has again become the fierce rivalry because the teams are competitive. You can’t tell who is going to win the games with 95 percent certainty before the game.
This year there is another interesting story line. McMurry’s women are coached by Veronica Snow, who played at HSU and for the last five years has been a professor in the P.E. department. Veronica and I have had a good relationship, and I am even teaching her former class next semester. She was always nice to me and the fact that her office was right close to mine made our talks about athletics even more frequent. It is going to be different looking down to that McMurry bench and actually see someone that I like and respect. In fact, I want here to do well at McMurry except for when we play of course.
The men’s game will probably be another knock-down drag-out. If there is one thing that I can take away from Ron Holmes’ teams is every time they step on the court they play hard. The talent levels have varied, but every team that he has produced will play extremely hard. I expect that Saturday you will see his team play even harder than I have ever witnessed. With two straight losses on its home court, those boys from McMurry will be foaming at the mouth to get on the court against the Cowboys. Coach Howard’s team will have to be ready to respond.
It is only Tuesday and I am already amped up for one of my two favorite nights of the school year.
I am going to start ending my blog with an update on a former Cowboy or Cowgirl. This week’s update is Beth Ulrickson Jillson. Beth is in her first season as the head coach at Texas Woman’s University and is off to a 1-3 start. Beth had been an assistant for Julie Goodenough at Charleston Southern and prior to that was the Director of Basketball Operations at Oklahoma State. Beth is married to former Cowboy footballer Zane Jillson.
If you are a former athlete and would like to let me know what you are doing these days or you have something you would like to see covered in this blog or you just want to say hi please e-mail me at cgrubbs@hsutx.edu.
There is something special about the Hardin-Simmons and McMurry games. Not only is it a strong rivalry with all four teams having quality programs there is just something different about the two fan bases. McMurry fans get louder and at the same time, even when things are going good, Hardin-Simmons has had a more reserved crowd. That tends to lead to a view from the HSU fans that McMurry fans are loud and crude and the McMurry fans think that HSU fans are stuck up or uppity.
I don’t think either is the case. It is part of what makes this game such a different game than almost any on the Division III level. There is pride and passion on both sides and both teams will do whatever it takes to win.
When I first arrived at Hardin-Simmons in late February of 2000 I was totally oblivious to what Division III was all about. Honestly, I had never heard of McMurry and I even misspelled it the first release I wrote (who knew that there was not an a in the name). However, I got indoctrinated into the rivalry early on. I think it was the second week I was here we played McMurry in the Sweet 16 and the Mabee Complex was packed. I came from a place that did not support women’s basketball at all and to actually see a packed house was a shock to me. It was the fourth time the two teams had met that season and I found out quickly that both schools didn’t like each other (at least on the court).
Not every game has been as intense as that one, but for the most part they have been. McMurry made great strides in their women’s program and we made great strides in our men and now a series that was once dominated by the HSU women and McMurry men has again become the fierce rivalry because the teams are competitive. You can’t tell who is going to win the games with 95 percent certainty before the game.
This year there is another interesting story line. McMurry’s women are coached by Veronica Snow, who played at HSU and for the last five years has been a professor in the P.E. department. Veronica and I have had a good relationship, and I am even teaching her former class next semester. She was always nice to me and the fact that her office was right close to mine made our talks about athletics even more frequent. It is going to be different looking down to that McMurry bench and actually see someone that I like and respect. In fact, I want here to do well at McMurry except for when we play of course.
The men’s game will probably be another knock-down drag-out. If there is one thing that I can take away from Ron Holmes’ teams is every time they step on the court they play hard. The talent levels have varied, but every team that he has produced will play extremely hard. I expect that Saturday you will see his team play even harder than I have ever witnessed. With two straight losses on its home court, those boys from McMurry will be foaming at the mouth to get on the court against the Cowboys. Coach Howard’s team will have to be ready to respond.
It is only Tuesday and I am already amped up for one of my two favorite nights of the school year.
I am going to start ending my blog with an update on a former Cowboy or Cowgirl. This week’s update is Beth Ulrickson Jillson. Beth is in her first season as the head coach at Texas Woman’s University and is off to a 1-3 start. Beth had been an assistant for Julie Goodenough at Charleston Southern and prior to that was the Director of Basketball Operations at Oklahoma State. Beth is married to former Cowboy footballer Zane Jillson.
If you are a former athlete and would like to let me know what you are doing these days or you have something you would like to see covered in this blog or you just want to say hi please e-mail me at cgrubbs@hsutx.edu.
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