Still proud to be a Chippewa
Midnight finally struck for this year’s Cinderella favorites.
Unfortunately for the CMU men’s basketball team the Dance didn’t begin
until 12:01 a.m.
There was and will be no dancing for CMU this year as the Chips failed to win
the conference tournament championship and in a year where the Mid-American
Conference was not highly respected could not lay claim to a trip based soley
on the regular season Championship.
Then the National Invitational Tournament had no interest in inviting the Chippewas
either.
Apparently Toledo had more respect by the inviters as the Rockets had a better
RPI, which I have yet to really figure out, because of a couple of non-conference
wins.
Makes you wonder whatever happened to the days when your conference season was
important.
Regardless of strength of non-conference opponents or post-season tournament
action slips, this was the greatest season in over a decade of CMU men’s
basketball and I was ‘Ooh Aah Proud To Be A Chippewa.’
For a moment I will step out of the basic reporters shoes and let my emotions
as a student show.
I am a fifth-year senior and have sat faithfully year after year watching hard-fought
but little results basketball.
Of course there were moments, like when CMU defeated Ball State in 1998 with
Tim Kisner’s buzzer beater, which gained ESPN’s attention and CNN’s
Play of The Day.
By the way, I was not able to see this game in person because I was covering
a women’s game in Ball State that day. But it was a great moment, nonetheless
in recent years of CMU basketball history.
Then there was the overtime loss against Wally Szczerbiak and Miami (Ohio),
where CMU fought its heart out and had the building literally rocking when Jon
Borovich connected on his final free throw with no time left to take the game
into overtime.
Then there was a cold night in February last season when before very few fans,
many will claimed to have attended, David Webber poured in 51 points and took
out the Legendary Larry Bird’s prior Rose Arena point record for a single
game.
By the way, I missed that one too.
This makes it look like I didn’t make too many games and wasn’t very
faithful right.
Well, here’s one more I missed.
I missed the CMU-Western game this year too.
I failed to realize so many people were going to show up and only got to the
game a half-hour early and missed the sell-out showdown at Rose, which again
was a great display of Chippewa Pride.
But last season I was there when CMU lost game after game as I covered the team
last season for this paper.
I went to the interview room and game after game heard the same quotes.
The opposing coach would usually say something like this: “It was a hard
fought win for us. This is a tough place to play and Jay’s really got those
guys working hard. They’ll win some ball games.”
But they didn’t win much last year.
Then Smith would usually say something like this: “It was a tough loss
to take. Our guys worked hard and they keep fighting. Our guys are tough and
they never give up.”
And they didn’t.
They made a run last season in the tournament and finished a shot away from
heading to the MAC semifinals.
After the game, I could see the look in David Webber’s eyes that he wanted
to get back. He was hungry. He would be ready this year.
His hunger paid off as he went on to lead the Chippewas to a Regular Season
Championship and a MAC Player of the Year selection.
This year capped off four years of hard work by Jay Smith, his staff, and the
senior class.
Kisner, Borovich and Johnson will never be remembered as CMU’s greatest
athletes, but it would be hard to come up with a group of harder workers as
a class.
For four years they worked, improved and grew.
As they grew they became leaders and taught this year’s team how to do
the little things, little things that win basketball games and gain respect
from opponents, fans and this reporter.
I am proud to leave CMU with this group and finish my career after a season
like this.
There is nothing like the feeling that came when CMU cut the nets down at home
with the Rose Rowdies piling onto the floor and “We Are The Champions”
playing over the loudspeaker.
From Worst to First for the first time ever in MAC history.
That can’t be taken away and regardless of what happens the rest of March,
the Chippewas are still the MAC Season Champions.
