BOCA RATON, Fla. – Normally,
the team flies commercial flights to road games, settling for whatever flights
gets there in enough time. This trip is different, though. Playing in South
Florida on Thursday before returning home for a game on Saturday presents a
challenge. Basically, it takes away many of the benefits that make a home court
advantage, like not traveling 1,700 miles to the game.
In an attempt to offset that, the team chartered a 30-seat
plane to get down to Boca Raton last night. It still made for a long day of
travel that did not end until dinner last night at 9 p.m. However, we will be
back to campus late tonight or, more likely, early tomorrow morning.
One unique aspect of chartering a plane like that is the
need to stop and refuel. Halfway between Colorado and Florida, the plane landed
at a small airport in Greenville, Mississippi. It appeared to be an airfield in
the middle of countless acres of farmland, but it seems the town has some
history. Sure there is Civil War history, but we were more interested to learn
that this city in the heart of the Mississippi Delta produced Muppets creator
Jim Henson, Kansas City Royals great Frank White and, according to some
sources, NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice (thanks to loyal reader Steve Honda for
pointing these out).
The best part of the flight for the players is considerably
more room to stretch out. This blog has mentioned it before, but the tallest
guys on the team seem to always end up in the smallest seats in commercial
flights. Yesterday, on the other hand, 6-foot-9 center Justin Coughlin was
relaxing in a double seat in the exit row when he declared, “I’ve never been
happier on a plane.”
After arriving last night, the team gathered in the hotel
restaurant for a basic grilled chicken meal before heading to their rooms. As
usual on the road, the schedule tends to revolve around meals and the game, so
everyone gathered again in the restaurant for breakfast this morning before
heading to FAU Arena for shoot around. There will be a few hours of rest until
the teams meets for the traditional pregame meal of chicken, pasta, steamed
vegetables and salad, which takes place four hours prior to tip. At about 5:30 p.m., the bus will head back to
the arena in time to prepare for the game, and we are hoping to be wheels up
and on our way back to Denver shortly after the game ends.
Gotta Be the Shoes:
Like most college basketball teams, the Pioneers have several pairs of shoes in
their lockers, perhaps more than they need. The coaches asked the players to
clean up their lockers and get rid of some of the shoes they did not need.
Instead of throwing the old sneakers in their dorm rooms or tossing them away,
the players got together and decided to donate the shoes to people who need
them. The players donated the sneakers to Inter-Faith Community Services, a
nonprofit organization in South Denver. The mother of backup guard Ryan Perry works for the organization,
which will distribute the shoes to people who need them. For more information
about the organization, visit ifcs.org.
Debatable: Tonight’s
game marks the first time the Pioneers have played at FAU Arena. The team
played the Owls in Boca Raton last season, but the game took place at nearby
Lynn University due to the Republican Presidential debates occurring at FAU
that night. The arena at Lynn is called the Count & Countess de Hoernle
Sports and Cultural Center, which may unofficially hold the record for longest
venue name in college sports. The game that night went to overtime on a DU
three-pointer at the buzzer, but FAU pulled away thanks to good shooting at the
free throw line.
Elevator Update: In
reference to the elevator in the Jack Stephens Center mentioned in the last
blog, our friends down at the University of New Orleans had another idea of what
the “S-M-L-E” meant: Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large. It’s an interesting way
to name the floors of a building, but it’s better than “smelly.”
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights – 18
Total Mileage Flown
– 17,293
Total Bus Miles –
1,537
Total Number of Hotels – 15
Total Number of
Different Airports – 14
Total Number of
Airline Delays – 1
Total Number of
Cancelled Flights – 1
Total Number of Bags
Lost – 3
Total Number of
Players who hit their heads while boarding the charter yesterday – 5 (of
13)
Total Number of
Players taller than 6-foot-5 who hit their heads while boarding the plane –
0
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