CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - We
are officially 24 hours away from the start of the 2008-09 season, and the team
has arrived to a gray, rainy day in Northern Iowa. It’s the kind of day that
those of us who have spent a lot of time in the Midwest expect from November to
March.
Late yesterday afternoon, the Pioneers departed from DIA,
flew through Minneapolis and arrived to the airport in Waterloo, Iowa, just
outside of Cedar Falls. When you make enough trips to college towns, you grow
accustomed to regional airports in towns you might not expect the airlines to
fly to. This one had two gates and a single baggage claim carousel. In case
there was a question whether we were in farm country, the airport had a display
case devoted entirely to John Deere.
This is not just the first trip of the year but the first
college basketball road trip for the majority of the players. Already, though,
they seem to be falling into the comfortable routine on the road, and the camaraderie
after only a month of practice seems especially good. All of the players and
coaches assembled for a late breakfast in the hotel. In classic Midwestern
fashion, the hotel offered scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, and a variety of
cereals, most of which were likely produced in nearby Cedar Rapids at the
General Mills plant. Former player and soon-to-be radio color analyst David
Kummer grew up in Cedar Rapids and said he always knew what day it was because he
could smell what kind of cereal they were making.
Speaking of Kummer, for the first time since 2003, he is not
listed on Denver’s roster. The first thing he’s doing as a former player? He’s planning
to drive from Denver to Iowa to watch the Pioneers play. During home games,
Kummer will be helping out Mitch Hyder on radio broadcasts.
Right now, the team is practicing in the McLeod Center, a
6,750-seat arena that still has a sparkling newness to it as it enters its
third season. It’s connected to the UNI-Dome, which holds UNI football games
and used to host basketball games. McLeod offers a much more intimate college
basketball experience, and we expect a good crowd tomorrow, as UNI unveils four
banners commemorating the Panthers’ NCAA Division I Tournament appearances
prior to the game.
After practice, the team will return to the hotel in
downtown Waterloo, overlooking the Cedar River. Sandwiches in the hotel and
dinner this evening are pretty much the only things on the schedule, allowing the
players to rest up for tomorrow’s early game. As Coach Scott said during media
day on Tuesday, the fact that DU has practiced every morning at 7 a.m. for the
past month should help the team’s preparation for such an early tip.
European Update: In
a previous blog, I mentioned a few former DU players who are playing abroad,
but I left out Terrence Gordon, who played for the Pioneers from 2004-06.
Judging from video proof,
Gordon seems to be dominating in Sweden.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights – 2
Total Mileage Flown
– 863
Total Hotels – 1
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