Cats Win! Cats Win! Cats Win!
My wife and I have just returned from a trip to Charleston where we watched the Davidson College Wildcats win the Southern Conference Tournament and secure a berth in the NCAA basketball tournament. The Cats won the final over Chattanooga by 25 and I was nervous until Boris Meno's thunderous dunk in the closing minutes made even the most remote chance of a collapse evaporate.
Brendan Winters was the star yesterday with an incredible game. What a story. The son of Brian Winters, an All-American and All-Pro, no one wanted him after his high school in Denver. Brian called an old friend, Bob McKillop (Davidson's coach) and assured him that Brendan could develop into a player capable of helping someone at the major college level. Just as important, Brendan had an academic record of sufficient quality to be admitted to Davidson. McKillop had no more scholarships that year, so Brendan went to prep school for a year before coming to DC four years ago.
Last year, Winters was voted conference player of the year. This year, he's been nominated for All-American. Not bad for a kid no one wanted.
The elder Winters is a head coach in the WNBA. Thus, he rarely has seen his son play in person. Yesterday afternoon, I watched from the stands as Winters came back to the bench after completing the interview for TV. It wasn't hard to read his lips. "Where's my dad? Where's my dad?", he asked several people. Someone pointed to a section of the crowd. Finally, he located his dad and climbed in for a father-son hug that had me choked up in the upper deck.
ESPN's Sports Center had highlights of the Davidson win this morning. They had a shot of Coach McKillop hugging his son, senior guard Matt, after the game yesterday. Matt was named to the all-tournament team, too. I think I detected a tear in his dad's eyes, too.
Brendan Winters was the star yesterday with an incredible game. What a story. The son of Brian Winters, an All-American and All-Pro, no one wanted him after his high school in Denver. Brian called an old friend, Bob McKillop (Davidson's coach) and assured him that Brendan could develop into a player capable of helping someone at the major college level. Just as important, Brendan had an academic record of sufficient quality to be admitted to Davidson. McKillop had no more scholarships that year, so Brendan went to prep school for a year before coming to DC four years ago.
Last year, Winters was voted conference player of the year. This year, he's been nominated for All-American. Not bad for a kid no one wanted.
The elder Winters is a head coach in the WNBA. Thus, he rarely has seen his son play in person. Yesterday afternoon, I watched from the stands as Winters came back to the bench after completing the interview for TV. It wasn't hard to read his lips. "Where's my dad? Where's my dad?", he asked several people. Someone pointed to a section of the crowd. Finally, he located his dad and climbed in for a father-son hug that had me choked up in the upper deck.
ESPN's Sports Center had highlights of the Davidson win this morning. They had a shot of Coach McKillop hugging his son, senior guard Matt, after the game yesterday. Matt was named to the all-tournament team, too. I think I detected a tear in his dad's eyes, too.
posted by Stan at 9:54 AM
1 Comments:
How about those Wildcats!!!!
Looking good in 06-07, too!!!
Post a Comment
<< Home