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!!!
