Seniors leave heart on the floor
"Thank you seniors!"
Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.
"Thank you seniors!"
Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.
That was the Rose Rowdies' chant to send five seniors off for the last time from Rose Arena Saturday afternoon.
It was not a highly decorated class.
It was not a highly recognizable class.
It was not even a traditional recruited class.
None of the five seniors were recruited into the program as freshmen.
Three walked on and two transferred. Only one was a consistent starter and this group never finished higher than ninth in the Mid-American Conference regular season.
But the class that left the floor for the last time Saturday afternoon got the most of their college experiences and left their marks on CMU's basketball program.
That was what the Rose Rowdies were thanking them for.
The group consisting of Teddy Baggett, Todd Simmons, Dan Schell, Jamar Hill and Jason Webber by no means turned the program around, but they feel they somehow made an impact for the years to come.
Dan Schell is a Mount Pleasant native who came into the program as a walk-on and a side thing to his baseball career.
He developed into the smallest center in the conference at 6-5 for the last two years and became a tireless worker who would lead by example.
Jason Webber came in known as "Chris Webber's younger brother," which is something that's not easy to live up to.
He tried playing at Michigan State, but ended up at CMU with his brother David to give it a go with Jay Smith and the Chippewas.
Jamar Hill transferred from Cuesta College and expected to make an impact on CMU's program, but ran into some difficulties this season and only played in a couple of contests.
Teddy Baggett is a guy who thought his career was over before ever coming to CMU. But he prayed for another chance to play and decided if he ever got to play Division I basketball, he would never be outworked.
Todd Simmons is a yooper who is just thankful for the chance to have played on a Division I program and always put his heart and soul into CMU's basketball team.
It is these individual stories and the group's collective efforts that make these seniors stand out.
All of them faced adversity, doubters and physical limitations head on.
Instead of giving up or backing down, this group grew to be a close knit unit and share the experiences that sports is all about.
"Everybody likes each other. We blend well together," Schell said.
"I'm glad I got to play with all of these guys. It's the first team I played on where I liked all of my teammates," Webber added.
"This is the greatest 'team' I've ever played on as far as being together," Simmons said.
That is why Simmons looked at me after the game, cried and said, "I can't believe it's over. I don't know what to say."
That is why Teddy Baggett stood humbled and proclaimed, "There are just no words to describe it. It has been a true blessing. I thank God for everything."
This group of seniors may never receive any glory for what they accomplished, but they would like nothing more than to see CMU in the top of the MAC competing for a championship in the near future.
If that happens, this group will have had something to do with the success by laying down a foundation of hard work, teamwork and a positive attitude.
More importantly than that, this group lived out their college basketball dreams and took away from CMU what will carry on for the rest of their lives: good friends, good memories and good hearts.
