It’s been a while since my last entry so here’s a run through of our recent games.

Last time I checked-in we were 2-0 and heading to Augustana for a #1 vs. #2 showdown. The game was a blast—playing in front of 2,000+ fans, most of which were yelling obscene things at me (side note: what does it mean to be called a dirty Serbian? I’m not even Serbian and I don’t think womens tennis pro Ana Ivanovic, who is Serbian, is dirty), brought me back to my days in high school.

Augie is a great team and they play incredible defense. Over the past three years we’ve developed a really great rivalry with them and had four games decided by just a few points. As much as I love seeing my AAU teammate Alex Washington and a few of the other guys from Augie, I’d have to say I wouldn’t mind if I don’t see them again this year on the court. We won a great game in overtime which made getting back from Rock Island, Illinois at 4 AM all worth it!

The next weekend we traveled to Anderson, Indiana, for our thanksgiving tournament. Cameron Smith is from Noblesville, which isn’t too far from there, so we ate thanksgiving dinner with his family. We took on Aurora in our opener and pulled away in overtime. They had some fantastic individual performances and didn’t play like a winless team. While they struggled at the beginning of this season, they’re going to compete for their conference championship and I’d expect them to get better as the season goes on.

In the championship game we played Anderson, a veteran team that had only lost to UW-Platteville by a few points a couple days earlier. We got into some serious foul trouble but were able to fight through the adversity to get a W.

This past weekend we were at home (FINALLY!!!) as we hosted the 25th annual Lopata Classic. Friday night we took on an undefeated Hamilton team in front of a pretty hostile crowd at the WU Field House. We played extremely well and I believe they’re a much better team than the final score indicated.

The next afternoon we took on a young, but talented Illinois Wesleyan team. The hardest part wasn’t physically being able to turn around and play a game the next day (because we were relatively rested from the night before) but having to prepare for them in such short period of time. They ran a ton of ball screen motion, which we were extremely unsure how to play against the entire first half. We’re a team that uses preparation and our coach’s scouting report really well. Normally we’ll use defensive drills in practice to prepare for what a team likes to do—but we weren’t able to simulate or really get a feel for their motion. At halftime we made some great adjustments and were able to contain what they did a little better. We were just able to get a few more stops in the second half, which was the only difference in the game.

I’d have to say because of sitting on the sidelines and my injury last year, I really have been looking at things in a different way this year. If a few years ago I had a game where I had eight turnovers (like @ Augustana) or didn’t make a field goal (like against Aurora), I would beat myself up over it. I would think about it a lot, it would get me down and I’d even have it in my head the following game. But this year is different for me—I can honestly say it isn’t about stats, getting double-digit assists or being the leading scorer on my team—I just want my team to keep winning. I want to contribute and be a key part of one of the best teams in the country—and through seven games I think I’ve been able to do that, even coming off a pretty brutal injury. If that means I need to be getting AT shots or put Ty in positions to score– then that’s great by me as long as that’s what will be great for our team.

We play against undefeated Fontbonne on Saturday which is always a good test. Then we head up to the Chicago area for a tournament at Elmhurst. If we can win our first game against Eureka, we will most likely take on Elmhurst in a battle of top-five teams. Sure hasn’t been an easy schedule—but I know we wouldn’t want it any other way!

I’ll check back before the holidays. Shoot me an e-mail at walliss@wustl.edu if there’s anything you want me to touch on in my next entry. Good luck on finals to all.

Take care,
Sean