BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - The
Pioneers are back on the road after a nice, long stretch in the
comforts of Colorado. After practice at Hamilton Gym yesterday morning,
the team flew to Nashville and bused the 90 minutes or so north to
Bowling Green, Ky.
Kyle Lewis and Rob Lewis are
the only players who have been here before, so the rest of the team
gets to experience the most historic venue in the Sun Belt Conference
for the first time.
WKU is the only current
Sun Belt Conference team with a Final Four banner hanging in its rafters
(although the NCAA later vacated the Hilltoppers' 1971 run through the
Tournament), and it is without question the SBC team with the most
success.
The Hilltoppers have
been to the NCAA Tournament 21 times, including a run to the Sweet 16 in
2008 and a trip to the Second Round in 2009. The team has had 38
players named All-American, and none of WKU's coaches has ever had a
losing record.
E.A. Diddle, the
namesake of WKU's arena, coached his teams to 759 win from 1922-64.
Among the coaches to follow Diddle were Gene Keady, who went on to
legendary status as head coach at Purdue, and Clem Haskins, who coached
Minnesota to a Final Four (and was also an All-American while playing
for WKU).
Below the multiple
banners spouting WKU's success, the Pioneers are running through their
shoot around, preparing for tonight's game.
Shootarounds tend to
start the same way with shooting and full court team layup drills. About
halfway through the hour long practice, associate head coach Mike McKee pulls
a small piece of paper out of his pocket. It's got small, meticulous
writing covering the front and back, showing the scouting report for the
night's game.
The Pioneers work on
plays that the opponent will run with the second team playing the role
of Western Kentucky, in this case. For the final few minutes, McKee and
the rest of the coaches go over each of the players on the other team,
emphasizing their strengths and weaknesses.
For those of us who have
the privilege of hearing the scouting report, we get to see just how
good McKee and the rest of the coaches are at scouting these teams.
About Western Kentucky: Because
we play these conference teams every year, I sometimes repeat myself in
this blog, so please forgive me if some of this is repetitive.
However, I'm pretty sure
this is the first time I've reported that among WKU's many notable
alumni, football player Rod Smart was a Hilltopper. Who's that, you ask?
You might remember him better from his name in the XFL, HeHateMe.
Other alums include John
Carpenter, who directed films like Halloween and Escape from New York;
Steve Gorman, the drummer for The Black Crowes; Kansas City Chiefs
defensive coordinator Romeo Crennell; and Courney Lee, who currently
plays for the Houston Rockets.
According to the
ultra-reliable Wikipedia, Western Kentucky was also the alma mater of
Mitch McDeere, the protagonist from John Grisham's The Firm.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights, regular season only - 7
Total Mileage by Air, regular season only - 6,188
Total Mileage by Air, including Spain - 16,431
Total Mileage by Bus, regular season only - 838
Total Mileage by Bus, including Spain - 2,483
Total Number of Hotels - 5
Total Number of Different Airports - 5
Total Number of Airline Delays - 0
Total Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total Number of Bags Lost This Year - 1
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