A Real Opponent

Ever since our final game of the season last year, we've seen nothing but a whole lot of blue and white in the gym.

Postseason, summer and fall workouts match us up against a whole lot of ourselves. For anyone who has played pickup basketball, you know it can be fun going up against close friends - it can lead to some very competitive ball as well.

For six and a half months, the University at Buffalo Men's Basketball team has been at each other's throats. And it's not just basketball; we compete day in and day out at everything from video games to favorite sports teams' successes and failures (Steelers, Penguins and Chicago Bulls, if you were wondering. So yeah, I've had a pretty good run this year) to who can cook the best chicken.

Then we woke up this morning.

It was time, for the first time in over a half-year, to compete against somebody who doesn't wear "Buffalo" across his chest.

So at eight o'clock this morning we headed to Denny's. Our everyday breakfast spot over Christmas break (dining halls are closed, fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it) would prematurely host us before our trip to St. Bonaventure...bus leaves at nine.

...you'll have to pardon me if I begin to wander or sound disjointed - I'm writing this while watching Halloween on TV. Michael Myers just seems to get to me sometimes. I don't know if it's the mask, the knife, the screaming or the fact that the guy just doesn't ever die...

We boarded the bus promptly at nine and pulled out of the parking lot even more promptly at approximately 9:30 (note sarcasm). The ride is a roller coaster of weather-beaten country roads that literally had us out of our seats on more than one occasion. In between swallowing our stomachs and clutching our seats for dear life, we spotted far more cows than people outside - as well as very limited cell phone service (by very limited, I mean zero bars).

St. Bonnie's graciously offered up their finest locker room accommodations, and 15 oversized basketball players cozily suited up in a room with ample space for no more than ten middle school cross-country runners (this much is expected on the road).

When we squeezed out of the locker room it was all business. We took the court with a gameday mindset and didn't stop working until the scheduled three 20-minute sessions had ended. Ultimately we had "won" the scrimmage, but it's about getting better at this point and I think we did some things today better than we had several days ago. That's progress, and progress over the course of our long season will put us in good situations down the road.

We were out of St. Bonnie's as quickly as we had gotten there (save a few extra minutes to shower - no soap and hand towels were readily available). Before we knew it our Subway bags were empty and we were fighting to get comfortable on the bumpy trip home.

About two hours (and a handful of early bird trick-or-treaters) later, I find myself here in bed, watching Michael Myers brutally attack anyone dumb enough to venture into a dark room without first turning on the lights. It was a long day for only 60 minutes of basketball, but it's 60 minutes I wouldn't have rather spent doing anything else.

I remember youth basketball years ago, spending Saturdays in the gym then going home to watch college basketball on TV, telling Mom and Dad I wanted that to be me when I grew up. Now here I am, on a team of great players, still having fun on Saturdays.

Oh- Michael Myers just claimed another victim.

Happy Halloween

Welcome To Beyond the Arc

October in Buffalo is infamous for bringing cold weather.

But no matter what it’s like outside, October also brings the beginning of basketball season.

For the last four years I’ve welcomed the frigid temperatures knowing that just around the corner, I would be stepping back onto the court for another season as a Buffalo Bull.

This year, my fifth and final season donning the royal blue and white, is no different; only this time around, walking into our first official day of practice, expectations run high.

The first day of practice carries a uniqueness that is unsurpassed by any other practice all season. Everything finally comes together as last season’s successes and failures are formally put to bed while a summertime of hard work gets an opportunity to be put on display.

That in mind, we headed into practice on October 16th ready to wheel and deal. The energy was high, the mood was good and as first practices go, the night whistled along beautifully.

A great start to what should be an even greater season.

It had been just four short years ago on the same October night … I had laced up my size-12 Nikes (I wear an 11 1/2, but as a freshman have little pull in the equipment room shuffle; an extra pair of socks would have to do), and marched onto the Alumni Arena floor for my introduction to college basketball.

Coming from Erie, Pa., I had only witnessed big-time college basketball on television. Erie is home to two Division-II basketball teams who draw “large” crowds of two to three thousand fans for a big game. At Buffalo I walked into a seven thousand-seat arena everyday and have played on the road in front of as many as 25,000 screaming fans.

For one, final season, I am a part of the magic that is college basketball. Now I am living the dream I’d had since my second birthday when my inaugural shot on a brand new hoop swished cleanly through the net.

Through hard work, grueling road trips, fantastic victories and bumps in the road, the 2009-2010 Buffalo Bulls will make sure of one thing: we will never lose sight of our goal. This season follow me from Beyond the Arc through a season that promises to be one to remember.

See you at Alumni Arena!!!