It has been pretty exciting since my last blog entry.  So far, 2009 has been exciting for our team. We started off the New Year with a tournament in the Bahamas, which was amazing: 80 degrees, time on the beach and shorts and t-shirts everyday, it was definitely a nice break from the middle of winter.  We played two games while we were there and won them both.  We played very well and everyone contributed and did their part, which helped us win as a team.

The Bahamas trip helped jump start us into our conference season. We’ve been focusing on the same things that helped us win in the Bahamas: hard work, team play, and excitement to play the game.  That’s helped us win our last six games and 10 of our last 11 games.  We are about half way through our conference season and are looking to make a run at the conference title and finish strong. 

I also had a great opportunity, recently, to meet Deb Cupery, she is the former all-time leading scorer at Edgewood College.  On Wednesday night (January 21st) I needed 16 points to break her record.  For me, breaking the record was not my focus because basketball is a team sport and I couldn’t have gotten there with out my teammates and coaches helping me.  It was a nervous day and I was more anxious to get it over with, but most of all I was excited to meet Deb and get to know her.  At the beginning of the game, I struggled and wasn’t in the groove.  But once again, my teammates and coaches were there to help me through it.   There wouldn’t have been any records broken if it wasn’t for them and their support means so much to me. 

It’s an honor to have broken the record but I’m glad that it’s over and done with.   We can now focus on the games ahead of us, looking to play our best, work together, and play well as a team. 

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It’s only been a few weeks but I feel like I have a lot to write about—so here’s blog #4 from an airplane someplace between Pittsburgh and St. Louis.

Home Weekend: We had two home games last weekend in conference against Case Western and Emory. The UAA is a very different conference than any other in the country because of the geography involved. We play Friday nights and Sunday mornings every weekend–this leads to very different game atmospheres for the two games. Last Friday night we tipped-off at 8 p.m. in front of 1,500 or so Wash U faithful— including about 1,000 students. Sunday morning against Emory, in the same gym, there were maybe 100 people in the stands at 11 a.m. for tip-off–probably four hundred more got there by half time.

It isn’t hard to get fired up to play in front of a crowd like Friday’s—unfortunately Case Western was a little more fired up than we expected. They shot the heck out of the ball in the first half, but we weathered the storm and pulled ahead with great defense in the second half.

Sunday we got off to a great start against Emory and never looked back. Coach Edwards says “UAA championships are won on Sundays” and I really agree with him. The teams that can be ready to play at a.m. and focused on the task at hand win those games.

Taking the road: This past weekend started our rough stretch of four-straight road games. Starting Thursday we were going to be spending six of 10 nights in hotels in Rochester, Pittsburgh, Boston & New York City. Seriously–that’s like an NBA schedule. Playing in the UAA we take for granted the amazing opportunity of being able to pick up and leave school to travel to some the greatest cities in the country—but when you’re on the road like this it gets tough between missing four days of class and not sleeping in your own bed.

The Rochester/Carnegie Mellon trip has not been good to us since I’ve been here. I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of two Final Four teams and another team that JUST missed the tournament—and those teams were a combined 1-5 on this trip, never winning at Rochester. Last year’s national championship team got smacked by CMU, on a Sunday, by 30+ points, so this was a big trip for us since they (UR & CMU) were both 2-1 in conference going into the weekend– with us at 3-0.

On Thursday, we met at our gym at 4:15 a.m. for our travel day from hell—a 6 a.m. flight from St. Louis to Baltimore…another flight Baltimore to Buffalo…and a two hour bus ride from Buffalo to Rochester. Somehow we got enough rest Thursday after our practice for our Friday night game (8:30 pm to 9:30 am sleeping—not bad!). We took advantage of an undermanned Rochester team and never took our foot off the gas—not too many teams win at the Palestra, so even if they were missing the conference’s leading scorer it was still a good win. We took an early bus ride Saturday morning from Rochester to Pittsburgh for a practice at CMU to prepare for our game this morning.

The game today was a big-time battle. Both teams traded punches in the first half and got into some foul trouble. They hit some shots—then we hit some shots and had a seven-point halftime lead. They then cut it to three points early in the second half—but over a two-minute span, we went on a 17-0 (yes, that’s right 17-0!!!) run to put the game to 20. That run was the most fun I’ve had playing basketball in a long, long time. Our defense was clicking, leading to turnovers, leading to fast-breaks, leading to wide open lay-ups and threes–it was just awesome. That run was all we needed and we held on for the win.

Rootin’ for the Women: Another cool thing about the UAA is how close we get with the women’s team. We travel together every weekend, watch every one of their games and go to dinners together on the road. So, just because we beat Rochester on Friday we were all bummed and kinda quiet on the bus to Pittsburgh Saturday a.m. since they lost a tough one that they almost had the night before–we call that a “sad” bus. But, since we both won on Sunday (and UR women lost to Chicago) we’re both now either in or tied for first place in the conference–so now I’m flying on “happy” plane with lots of laughter and–dare I say–flirting.

Notes:
– Congrats to Coach Edwards who was honored at the Baseball writers of Missouri’s banquet last week – you can see him in the background of this picture with some guy named Albert Pujols.

– Congrats to my roomie and best bud Tyler Nading on setting the all-time fouls record at Wash U… we’re all so proud of you!

– Before our Emory game I asked the refs about the trivia question I had last blog–and they were 1,000% sure that once the ball hits the ground it is NO LONGER a FG attempt and wouldn’t count if it were after the buzzer—and that it would be a two if time wasn’t an issue.

–On a personal note–it meant a lot to me that EVERY single guy on the Varsity team came to our team’s JV game on Monday night. When we were freshmen, Tyler and I would be the ONLY one’s that played in the Varsity game (aside from the coaches) to go watch our teammates since it is traditionally on a Varsity day off. It really shows how tight this team is, how the program has evolved and changed in my four years, and how every player on this roster is pulling for everyone else.

–HUGE game for us on Friday night @ Brandeis (4-1 in conference). If we can get a W, everyone else in the UAA will have at least two losses, putting us in good shape since five of our last seven are at home. We want to do damage again in March, but we are hungry for a UAA championship since we didn’t get one last year!

Take care,
Sean

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Happy New Year to everyone from St. Louis! Yesterday was the first day of classes in the spring semester. While you’d think most students dread going back to class, the first day of class is the best. Most professors only hand out a syllabus and give a brief introduction to the course–all typically followed by letting everyone out early!! Yesterday both my Advanced Accounting Problems and Israeli Politics courses got out early so I’m in a good mood heading to practice.

A lot has happened since I last checked in. We topped Fontbonne, who was then undefeated and playing well, and then beat another SLIAC team in Eureka. We took on Elmhurst in the championship of their tournament and lost our first game of the season. They played a great game and did everything they needed to do to win. We did a great job limiting Brent Ruch inside, but just his presence opened up the perimeter for their shooters. It was a pick your poison type day as they shot 50% from three and escaped with a close victory. I know they’ve lost two close games in the CCIW already, but I’m sure they’re not an easy match-up for anyone they’ll play.

While we took the loss on the chin, I’d be looking forward to get another crack at them in March. Pretty crazy we were 3-1 against Illinois Wesleyan, Augustana, Elmhurst & North Park—four of the teams I figured would be near the top of the conference—but they are a combined 2-8 in conference play so far—I guess it’s a long season.

We got a nice week-long winter break and went back to campus December 29, two full weeks before regular students got back. Being alone on campus is actually really fun and relaxing. We do a lot of lounging and TV watching. This year a few of us started watching Sopranos from season one on DVD, while others caught up on the last Entourage season they missed. We tried to find different ways of keeping ourselves entertained—including mastering Super Smash Brothers on N64 (Pikachu is my character), dressing up classy for a New Years Eve Party with the women’s basketball team, and growing out intriguing facial fair (see picture of Zach Kelly at bottom of blog).

We got back in action with a win at Webster to start off 2009 on a good note. This past weekend we traveled through the snow to Chicago for our conference opener. Talking to Matt Corning, their go-to-guy, before the game I realized how frustrating it must be to go through what they’ve been through the past few months. Coming off a UAA title and only losing a few pieces, I figured they’d be a little down from last year—but the coaches still picked them to finish SECOND in the conference. Moral of the story: they are the most talented 0-12 team in NCAA History, any division, any gender—seriously. Am I saying they should be 10-2? No. But how they’ve escaped the W column I’m at a loss for words. Anyway, they kept it close for the first half but we slowly pulled away with some good execution in the second half.

Overall, things are going great for us. We’re first in the country as a team in assist-to- turnover ratio and second in assists per game (which is practically first since it is behind GRINELL!!!). I don’t think it is a coincidence either—our offense puts us in great positions to have everyone be successful. I think the special thing about our team is that we really “get it”. We know what we need on certain possessions and know who is capable of doing what. We have a lot of depth off the bench and are two-deep at almost every spot without losing much. Most importantly: we’re 11-1 and haven’t played our best basketball yet.

Looking forward to more conference play in the next few weeks!

Take care,
Sean

P.S. BASKETBALL TRIVIA QUESTION: I don’t know the right answer but was hoping this would be the place to get it–so please respond with your thoughts–It may take a referee to answer it. One of our players bounced in a ball from half court in a shoot around and we had a good 15-minute debate:

Wash U is down two with a second left and a Wash U player catches the ball off a Chicago FT miss at one end of the court and fires a one handed baseball pass high in the air the full length of the court. While the ball is in the air, the buzzer for the end of the game goes off. The ball then bounces inside the three-point line (untouched by anyone else since the full court throw) and then into the basket.

1) Would the basket count since the ball hit the ground after the buzzer went off but was shot before the buzzer went off?
2) If it counts (or even if it didn’t), would it be considered a three-pointer since the player’s feet were clearly behind the line when it was thrown, or would it be a two- pointer since it bounced inside the three point line before it went in?

Zach's really cool facial hair.

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It has been a while since my last blog. A lot has happened with the Buena Vista basketball program since that time. The conference season is in full swing and we are coming off a very intense, one point, overtime, victory over the Central Dutch last night. No matter how skilled the teams are, when Buena Vista and Central play, it is always a battle. The Dutch did a great job and it was one of those games that could have gone either way.

Our program, now 12-1 (4-0 IIAC) took a trip to California over Christmas break. We all had about nine days off from basketball before Christmas. On Christmas night we all came back to Storm Lake, had practice and we were off to Omaha bright and early the next morning. We visited Hollywood Blvd., Universal Studios, and even had a chance to catch a Clippers game in the first two days we were there. I couldn’t tell who was even playing, because we were about 10 rows away from the very last row, but it was a great time. Later on in the week I experienced my first ocean. I had never been to the ocean before so the team took a trip one morning to a beach by Malibu. It doesn’t take much to excite me, but I really enjoyed it.

We went 2-0 in our two games in California. We found ourselves down 7 with about 45 seconds to go in the first game and somehow managed to get the game tied and won it in overtime. Senior Matt Cleveland had the best game of his career as he had 29 points and 12 rebounds. The second game was a battle all the way through. We managed to take a lead late and make free throws to hold on to a 3 point “W.” Andre Wagner was awarded all tournament team. His ability to create his own shot off of the dribble is amazing. I sometimes catch myself just standing there watching him. Matt Cleveland was named MVP of the tournament which was well deserved. He was hands down the best player on the court in both games. His ability to shoot outside as well as down low makes him very hard to guard.

As proven last night every game in the Iowa Conference is going to be a battle. We all know that every team is going to come out and play their best against us. We head to Dubuque on Wednesday to play a very solid Dubuque team. They are having one of their best seasons since I have been around and it is going to be a lot of fun!

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The fall semester is over, class and finals are done (Thank God), but our season is in full swing.

A lot has changed since the last time I wrote to you. During the last blog, we were 3-2, coming off a heart-breaking loss to Farmingdale State in which we blew a 24-point lead. Well, we have played six games since and guess what; we have won all six highlighted by beating the then 14th-ranked St Mary’s of Maryland Seahawks.

It’s been a great run so far but it all comes back to the Farmingdale loss, which in my opinion has been the most important game we played all season. Now you might think I’m crazy saying a demoralizing loss is the most important game we played but hear me out. That game changed our mentality as a team, after that loss, we had a great week of practice and the focus changed. We knew we were a good team but hey, we were only 2-2, we needed to start showing it.

Practice was brutal the next couple days, we had to get back to the basics (Every player knows when your coach says we need to get back to the basics; practice is not going to be fun). In the game versus Farmingdale, they just wanted it more than us, out working us, getting to all the loose balls, all the hustle plays that are crucial to winning close games.

So at practice that week, Coach Ray Rankis pulled out all the stops, every loose ball drill, every box-out drill, taking charges, you name it, we did it.

Needless to say, everyone had bruises and floor burns covering their legs and arms. As much as practice was a grind, it worked. Since that game, we have won seven in a row, highlighted by wins against Stevens Tech, Rutgers-Newark, York, and St Mary’s (Md.). Because of that game, we take nothing for granted anymore, no matter how much we are up or down, we keep the pedal to the metal and keep our focus.

This couldn’t be more evident then in our win versus Rutgers-Newark. This was the exact opposite of the Farmingdale game, where we were down 17-2 to start the game and things were not looking good to say the least. We came out flat and Rutgers-Newark played extremely hard on defense getting plenty of steals and had a couple of big dunks that had us rattled.

Rutgers got comfortable and took their foot off our throats and we crawled back into the game, and we only trailed by three at the half. The second half was a battle with several lead changes and great plays back-and-forth. Our point guard Lionel Hilaire hit two huge shots to secure the road victory.

So we are now 9-2 and 2-0 in the conference and feeling real good about ourselves. We head to Florida to play Wisconsin Lutheran in the Emory Riddle Tournament. It’s always fun to travel with teammates and play new teams. I’m especially excited because as I write this blog, it is snowing and 25 degrees outside, the forecast for Daytona Beach, Florida is mid-70’s!

In my opinion, this is the best time of year for a college basketball player as class and finals are done, and all we have to worry about is basketball. Practice, lift and play a game…it doesn’t get any better than that. We are like professional basketball players for a month.

Just to tell you something about Baruch that I think a lot of you will enjoy and be envious are that due to our location in Manhattan, when many NBA team come to New York City to play either the Knicks or Nets, they need to practice, so various teams come to Baruch to use our gyms.

About two weeks ago, the Dallas Mavericks practiced at our gym for their game against the Nets. It was really cool watching Dirk and Jason Kidd practice. Dirk not only makes every shot he takes, they rarely hit the rim!

Sorry for the delay on this second post with finals and the holidays I didn’t have much time to write but the posts will be more frequent now that I have a lot more free time.

If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me at Michael.Dietz@baruchmail.cuny.edu or visit BaruchAthletics.com. Also, check You Tube for highlight videos where our manager has posted various games (the ones we win!).

Have a Safe and Happy Holiday Season!

- Mike Dietz

Baruch · CUNYAC · New York City