A Personal Situation
I normally don’t share very personal things, but I’m going to change that here.
Today, I went for a physical with my doctor. I had been having chest pains when I ran so I thought I would ask him about it. He did some tests and took some x-rays. He thought it might be asthma, so while we were waiting for the x-rays, he had the nurse do some breathing tests and do an ekg (which basically just monitors your heart rate from what I gathered). They both turned up perfect, so throw asthma out. Well we got the x-rays, and he looked at them. He said everything seemed normal, except my heart. He said it was a little big. And the only reason he was concerned was because I had been having chest pains, so I am going to see a cardiologist here in a few days.
Now, if you know me, I make jokes, even about myself. Well, my joke for this was, I guess I can no longer be called an asshole because of the fact that I have such a big heart. I know its stupid, but for me it gives me a smile because I am nervous about this whole situation. I don’t know what to expect or what they are going to tell me. I am going to try to be positive because then everybody around me will be positive. And that in turn will keep me positive.
I didn’t write this for the sympathy. I wrote this because I want you (my valued readers) to know more about what is going on in my life. I greatly appreciate each and everyone of you reading my blog and especially those who take the time to comment.
I will give you an update when I find out more about what is going on. Again, thank you.
Gene
Clemson Camp
Last week was great for me. I got to work with the Clemson coaching staff on their overnight and team camps.
Their manager was leaving on the day of the first camp to work for an NBA camp, so the coaching staff trusted me to be their main runner and help make sure things were running smoothly. I took this with great pride, not because I looked at it not only as an opportunity to prove myself to their coaching staff, but I also looked at it as what I needed to do in order to back up the words of those coaches who helped get me into that position, including Clemson Assistant Coach Josh Postorino, Lynn University Head Coach Scott McMillin, and others. If I had done a poor job, it would have made them look bad, and that was the last thing I wanted to do since they helped me more than words can describe.
My main responsibilities were making sure all the gyms were open and had lights turned on, basketballs were where they needed to be, dorm doors were locked and unlocked, making sure Mrs. Purnell had everything she needed for the camp store everyday, and anything else that needed to be taken care of.
I was up at 6:45 every morning and going to bed around 11 every night. I was constantly busy, so I loved it. I kept hearing that my hard work was appreciated, so that just made me continue to work hard. Everyone thought that I worked for Clemson, because they trusted me with so much, and I took it as a huge compliment.
But now, I know I have to bring that hard work to Boca for this upcoming season if I want to help our team win a championship.
Gene
UF Overnight Camp
Sorry this is late, I haven’t had internet since I’ve left Boca.
Last week was the University of Florida’s Overnight Camp. This was a great experience for me. I met some great coaches and managers from around the country, including two managers from FAU. I built a relationship with David Lewis, a manager at the University of Texas, as well as Aaron Winshall, a manager at Syracuse, and Bill Vernon, a manager at the Univeristy of Maryland, and many many more.
I was coaching in the SEC division of the camp, which was high school age kids, and was given the University of South Carolina as a team. In our evaluation games, the group of kids I had was great. They played together and listened really well. They were just a joy to coach.
Then for the “regular season” we were given a random team, so needless to say I was a little upset to lose those kids, but was also just as excited to see my new group of kids. On my new team I had one kid who has the potential to be a stud. As we started playing games, I saw one of the worst things a coach can see, he became uncoachable and was consistantly on the referee’s cases about their calls. Now mind you these officials are coaches in the camp, so not professionals by any means. At one point, the referee told me to take him out after the player argued a charging call. At this point he had a reputation among the coaches, and out of nowhere he cusses at the official, so I take him to our league commisioner for him to deal with. They had a talk, so he came back, but by this time we were eliminated from the “post-season tournament,” so we had an exhibition game, but I wanted to let my team decided if they wanted him to play in it. They voted yes, so I let him sit the first half and I watched how he reacted, and he cheered his teammates on, so I let him play the second half, and he was always passing letting his teammates score and they ended up winning it. It made me proud.
But by the end of camp, I was exhausted and had actually lost my voice. It was pretty bad haha.
Until next week when I’ll have all about Clemson’s Overnight and Team Camps.
Gene
Congrats to Lynn Baseball
Now I normally right about basketball or about me in general, but I want to change direction for a minute.
Yesterday, I watched the Lynn Baseball team beat Emporia State to win the NCAA Division II National Championship on tv. I was so excited that they won, not only for the players but for the coaches as well. Coach Rudy Garbalosa is not only a great coach but he is a great person. I always see him with a smile on his face when he’s walking around campus. He will shake hands with anybody who wants to, and he deserves this. So Coach Rudy, congratulations to you I am so happy for you.
Dan Wright pitched an amazing game and Tommy Kahnle did a great job closing it out. The team played great defense and had timely hits. It was great to see a good amount of Lynn fans at the game, and not just parents, but students as well.
Again, Congratulations to the Lynn Fighting Knights Baseball team on a great season and finishing it off on top of the college baseball world.
Gene
Stephen Curry
So this is a little late, but I wanna give my opinion on Stephen Curry’s decision to enter in the NBA Draft.
If you have followed my blog you know that I think Curry is an amazing player, and more importantly a great person. He is somebody that younger players should look up to. He was ignored by big-name schools out of high school and he proved them wrong when he got to Davidson College. He never averaged less than 21.5 points per game in any of his 3 seasons. And this past season, after he really broke onto the national stage and frequently saw double teams, he still averaged 28.6 points per game and nearly doubled his assists per game from 2.9 to 5.6.
Stephen Curry will truely be missed at the college level. He continuously got better and worked at his game. People will hound to see or talk Blake Griffin and Tyler Hansbrough, but no offense to them since they are great players, I would pick Stephen Curry in a heartbeat. In his press conference, you could see that he really loved playing at Davidson and will truely miss it. That is what college athletics is truely about.
So Stephen, congratulations on an amazing career at Davidson and good luck with whichever NBA team has the luck and privilage of drafting you.
Gene
My Summer Plans
So every college student gets asked at this time of the year, “What do you have planned this summer?” Well, my plans are simple but good.
In a couple days, I start summer school. I am taking two classes, Hospitality Industry Seminar and Sports Skills I: Golf. I don’t really know what to expect from the first one, but the Golf class, I’ve heard that its just a how-to class. This may sound like a joke class, but it is actually a great concept since that is where most business deals are made and where a lot of coaches go in their off-time, so this would be a great skill for me to have.
After summer school ends, I am heading up to Gainesville, Florida to go work the University of Florida Men’s Basketball Camp. From there, I will head up to Clemson, South Carolina to work Clemson University’s Camp. After that I will go to Memphis, Tennessee to work two of the Unviersity of Memphis’ Camp.
After I’m done with the camps, I’m going to go home for a couple days, then back down here to Boca. When I get back I’ll start working on Orientation stuff, as well as working with Coach McMillin to learn more about coaching and getting more experience.
It’s gonna be a busy summer!
Gene
Junior in High School to Pros?
So I’m sure a lot of you have heard about the Jeremy Tyler story. If not, Tyler is a junior in high school and is dropping out in order to go play basketball overseas as a professional. There are people who argue both sides and they have great points, but here is my take.
While this is a decision that is up to he and his parents, I don’t agree with his decision. He is missing out on great experiences not only in college but in high school as well. He is not going to be able to walk across the stage at his high school graduation, he’s not going to be able to go to his Senior Prom, nor his he going to be able to just be a kid.
He reportedly committed to play for Coach Rick Pitino and the University of Louisville. This would have been an amazing opportunity. He would get the chance to play with a legend of a coach, at a big time University, in a big time conference. In Europe, his friends and family won’t be able to watch him play (live or on TV).
This is a quote from Tyler: “Nowadays people look to college for more off-the-court stuff versus being in the gym and getting better,” Tyler told the Times. “If you’re really focused on getting better, you go play pro somewhere. Pro guys will get you way better than playing against college guys.”
I don’t fully agree with this, but I do understand his point of view. If you go to the right college and coach, you’ll be pushed harder than you want to be. A coach like Coach Pitino will push his players to achieve their potential, because he knows thats what it takes to get to the top, and he’s been there so players will listen and give their best.
My other problem with this goes beyond basketball. When his career is over, he will have no high school diploma to fall back on. He will be a high school drop out. If he went to college for one year, he would have at least a more developed education, because you can’t succeed in the game of life without an education.
But again, like I said this is Tyler and his parents’ decision and I wish him nothing but luck in the future.
Gene
Orientation
So recently, the Assistant Dean of Students asked me to be an Orientation Captain for next year. This means I am in charge of the Orientation Leaders and running Orientation. This past week has been full of interviews and getting prepared for this coming weeks selection of OL’s and the 1st team meeting. This has actually been more time consuming than I thought, but I feel it will be a great experience for me. Its a chance for me to really step up and be a leader.
We are changing Orientation around a little bit to give current students more of a chance to lead and be creative. We haven’t fully developed what we are going to do so I can’t go too deep into it, but its going to be exciting.
Look for all the changes!
Gene
Final Day at the Final Four
Today we left the hotel at 8:15 and went downtown. After walking into the convention center, looking for the WBCA Assistant’s Roundtable, I asked “Isn’t it at the Hyatt?” And Professor Curtis started laughing and went, “good job you passed the test” and started laughing. He put it on our pre-tour test and then forgot. Haha.
So, after walking to the Hyatt, we found the room and our job was to hand binders to the coaches as they walked in, then if they needed an extra chair getting one for them. After working for about an hour, we went back to Busch Stadium for a tour. We went just about everywhere, in the pressbox, dugout, the special clubs, it was really cool.
We then went to lunch with former Lynn women’s basketball player Megan Osmer. She works for former Lynn Women’s Basketball Coach Pam DeCosta at San Jose State University. We then walked back to the Hyatt, where our job was to make sure if the coaches needed more copies of their handouts we took a handout to the appropriate person to get more copies. My coach was Danielle O’Banion of the University of Memphis. I walked up to her and said Doo-Dah and she started laughing asking how I knew him. I told her he was my uncle, so we talked for a minute then she started her presentation to the coaches.
After this, we went to the Women’s Basketball National Championship game between UCONN and Louisville. The game started out going back and forth, then UCONN pulled away. So we left not too long into the second half, since we have to be in the lobby at 4:00 am for our flight.
Overall, this was a very unique trip. It was much diferent from the men’s last year. Last year it seemed like we did more, but that might be since we were there two extra days last year. Well later.
Gene
Women’s Final Four Day 4
So today was a little more relaxed. We woke up and I looked out the window and what do I see? I see freaking snow! April 6th in St. Louis and its SNOWING! Not what I expected.
We started by going to Hoop City again and working this again. We did the same things, but we rotated stations. After this we left to go to the Cardinals home opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates. We ended up leaving at the top of the 6th because Professors Curtis and Schapiro were getting cold. The Pirates ended up coming back to win.
After this, we went back to the hotel and relaxed then watched the UNC/Michigan State game on TV. Congrats to Roy Williams and the rest of his Tar Heels on a great season.
Gene