My first 14 years as a teacher, I was in the gym during basketball season...as an employee! The first 6 years consisted of 6 days every week in the Darby gym (at that time it was called the J R Trippe gym) as a scorekeeper, clock-operator, coach, and seldom-used official. The next three years, I found myself as the Head B-Team and assistant coach for the Vidalia High School Girls Basketball program. Finally, I was the first Girls Basketball Coach at the "new" J R Trippe for the first 5 years of our program. I was never a great basketball player. I was not a good shooter. I was not a good dribbler. But, I was adept at fouling. As a fan, I grew up watching VHS basketball since my sister played from 72-74. We had a great program with the girls coached by Chunk Reid and the boys coached by Ralph Parsons. So, I continued to be a fan through the 70s and much of the 80s. I began working at the VRD in the Fall of 1987, so working and being a fan overlapped.
Another part of B-Ball that I loved was the ACC in the 70s and 80s. It was THE league for much of that time period! My favorite moment for the ACC was the play of Lynn Bias in the 1986 ACC Tournament. It was absolutely crazy how well he played! For the folks that don't know, a few weeks later, he tragically died of a cocaine over-dose on the night he was drafted by the Celtics. Speaking of the NBA...I am a homer, and I have always loved the Hawks. As a fan, one of the most important games of my life was game 6 of the Hawks vs the Celtics in the 1988 playoffs. The Hawks were at home leading 3 games to 2. There was no such thing as a big screen TV, but I made one by pulling the chair up to about a foot from the screen.! Well, the Hawks broke my heart by losing that game and game 7, which was one of the most famous games in NBA history due to a shootout between Dominique and Bird. Speaking of Larry Bird, the Celtics and Lakers were soooo good back then. They were the class of the League. Then, came the thugs (I mean Bad Boys) called the Pistons in the late 80s. They dethroned the Celtics, and beat back Atlanta's hopes of being the power in the East. Finally, Jordan and the Bulls defeated those chumps...I mean Pistons. I continued to enjoy the NBA into the 90s, but somewhere along the way, I lost my taste for it. College basketball wasn't as much fun, either. As a matter of fact, I got sick of ALL basketball! Maybe the pounding of that ball day in and day out for 14 years took its toll on me.
With ALL that said, I have really enjoyed watching the NCAA Basketball Tournament this year! I watched South Carolina destroy Duke in the second half last week. Friday night, South Carolina man-handled Baylor by a score of 70-50. Meanwhile UCLA and Kentucky were playing ball like the old ACC used to play. Great teamwork and playing like it could be their last game...and it was for many players! Kentucky's freshman were too much for UCLA. Finally, Wisconsin ties Florida on a 3-point shot with 2.5 seconds remaining in regulation. The game did go in to overtime where Florida, while trailing by 2 points, won the game with a 3-pointer with no time on the clock! Amazing how you can be utterly surprised how enjoyable a sport can be that you have long written off. It took great play for it to happen, and I am looking forward to more tonight!
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