MOBILE, Ala. - The
team is shooting around at the Mitchell Center on the campus of the University
of South Alabama.
It seems a little strange,
but this is the last true road trip of the season. After tonight, just one
regular season game remains: a matchup with Louisiana-Lafayette at Magness
Arena on Saturday at 5 p.m. MT.
That, of course, will be
the final game for Nate Rohnert, who
many have said is Denver's only senior. Nate is the only four-year player
suiting up for his final game, but he's not the only senior.
Tom Chott
joined the Pioneers before the 2008-09 season after spending a couple of years
at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colo., and a redshirt freshman
season at Creighton.
It's possible that you
have not heard much, if anything, about Chott. He played all of three minutes
in his lone game last season, when he fired up his only shot, and he's been in
three games this season. Chott scored one point on a free throw, and has a
block and a steal to his credit this year.
A local guy from
Littleton, Chott is one of those guys who contributes more to the team than most
fans could ever imagine.
The Regis Jesuit High
School product is part of DU's scout team that simulates Denver's upcoming
opponent in order to get the regulars prepared. In other words, in addition to
knowing Denver's complex system, Chott and company have to learn what every
other team does and simulate it in practice.
Like Alex Pickert, Kyle Chynoweth, Blake Foeman and Trevor Noonan, who also regularly work with the scout team, Chott
shows up to practice every day, sprints through every play and rarely gets a
minute off.
In fact, as I typed that
last line, the players on the court needed an extra player for a drill, and
Chott immediately sprinted down the court to join in.
He and the other guys work
as hard as any other player in practice, even though they know they're unlikely
to play in the games.
The reason it's easy to
cheer for a guy like Chott is that he does it all without complaining. He does
it because he loves basketball.
So, when both seniors are
honored before this Saturday's game, here's hoping the fans recognize a guy who's
rarely recognized.
Quick Trip: This
is the only time this year that the Pioneers are playing on the road Thursday
before turning around and hosting a home game on Saturday.
Because of the quick
turnaround time, the team chartered the flight to Mobile, which means yesterday's
trip from the Ritchie Center doors to the front door of the hotel took about
five hours. Comparitively, the team generally would have headed to DIA about
2.5-3 hours before the scheduled departure, flown 2.5 hours to New Orleans and
then bussed another couple of hours to Mobile.
More importantly, we will
take off immediately after the game tonight and enjoy two nights in our own
beds before the team has to face the Ragin' Cajuns on Saturday.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights
- 19
Total Mileage Flown - 14,836
Total Bus Miles
- 1,621
Total Number of Hotels - 14
Total Number of Different Airports - 15
Total Number of Airline Delays - 2
Total Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total Number of Bags Lost This Year - 1
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