Travel/South Carolina State

It's been another long travel day for UMES basketball as we left the Hytche at approximately midnight.  After driving over eight hours, we landed at Cracker Barrel for breakfast. As a Midwest girl, I think I've only been to one maybe once or twice in my life, but I do know people who would have been super excited.  Once we sat at the table, Bret immediately reached for the Peg game.  The entire staff tried "winning." I was able to get it down to two pegs, Bret always got three and I'm not sure about the coaches.  It was just funny looking at their table and seeing all three of them just immersed in trying to figure it out.  The best part?  The little girl (probably about 4) at the table next to us definitely got it.  (Maybe she had help from her dad?)

After breakfast, we had a ton of hotel issues that had to be worked out.  Long story short, our whole travel party spent at least three hours in either the bus or one of the hotel meeting rooms.  I was so ready for just a bed and pillow!  Later in the afternoon we headed to practice at the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center (Bret was extremely thankful that they call it the SHM!).

Coach Brown, who both played and coached at South Carolina State, told us the origins of the name... I was shocked.  Read more about it here.

Championship banners and an NCAA bid banner - both teams that Coach Brown was with

Athletic Trainer Randi Kaplan works to get Josh Bright back to health.

Behind the Scenes!

As it seems everywhere we go, we are somehow linked to every single team we play.  Here the commonality comes in the fact that Coach Brown use to play for OU assistant coach Ben Betts at South Carolina State.  I've mentioned before to JB that I love the behind the scenes stuff at athletic facilities and seeing how different teams do things.  Long story short, he arranged for Coach Betts to give me a tour of the men's basketball portion of the Lloyd Noble Center.  Both the men's and women's basketball team are housed at the Noble Center and everything is just a mirror of the other side so everything is equal.

Many thanks and huge appreciation goes to Coach Betts for taking time out of his busy game day to do this for me!

 Men's practice gym

Sooners locker room, custom lockers form a U and can close to hide belongings.

A TV screen in the lockerroom provides daily information for the team.  Since it was game day, things such as shootaround, pre-game meal, tip time, etc. were shown.  It also had reminders on the bottom about upcoming travel games and community service.  This is a great feature that coaches can update on their computers.

 The other side of the lockerroom is a lounge for the players that included a refridgerator, sink, microwave, TV, computers, couches, games, etc.  It's definitely nicer than my apartment... when can I move in?

 There was a wall outside of the lockerroom with jerseys of former OU players who have made it to the NBA.  

Video room

Coaches' lounge... their lockerroom/lounge was similar to the player's but on a smaller scale.  My personal favorite was all the family photos hanging on the walls (I guess that's my female side coming out?)

Coach Betts also took me into their offices, but I didn't feel right taking pictures of their staff at work.  :-)  The lobby of their office was definitely nice and warm feeling however!

Thanks again Coach Betts!

Game day shootaround

We just got back from shootaround... a few photos from the morning.

 Post-shootaround huddle

Coach Allen talks to Brooke Weisbrod and Rob King from ESPN Regional in preparation for the game

After shootaround, a bunch of the guys were having some fun doing some random dunks, they were definitely having a good time!

 Hillary Haley brings one down after an alley-oop from Diyaaldin Kelley

 Pop goes up for another dunk, this time with a pass from Dishawn Bradshaw

 Coach Brown and his son, Gilbert, play one-on-one

 Pop, going up for yet another dunk, this side from the other side of the court

 Tyler now talks to Brooke and Rob about his brother, Kyle, their AAU team and some other interesting stuff bound to make it on the broadcast

Pitt Photos

Photos from tonight's practice at Pitt's Petersen Events Center.  It's a VERY nice facility, I'm excited to see it filled with fans tomorrow night.

 Interview room

 Coach Brown's son, Gilbert, enjoyed the comfy leather seats in one of the suites.

I quickly snuck a peek into their practice gym before we left, I was expecting a lot more photos and glitz/glamour, but it gets the job done!

Welcome to Pittsburgh!

We just arrived in Pittsburgh after about a seven hour drive.  Will get settled in to the hotel for a bit before heading to practice.

Poor quality photo but Coach Brown "won" a UMES "blanket with sleeves" at the holiday party yesterday.  I say "won," because it was the present that he brought and he was determined to leave with it.  He sure was the happiest man I've ever seen to own one.

 Well hello, Westin!

 The view from my room, doesn't look great, but I liked it.  The Monongahela River is in the distance and except for the large building, it was a good view.

Athletic Trainer Randi Kaplan and myself took a walk around the city a little bit after we arrived.  This is a photo of PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.  I absolutely love baseball so this was a must stop/photo for me.   The photo is taken from the Roberto Clemente bridge, one of the famous bridges in town.  To the far left you can see a piece of Heinz Field, home of the Steelers.

As we're getting ready to order food for after practice this is the menu... ummm, what exactly are wedgies?!  I mean, I know the obvious, elementary school definition, but I have never heard of food that's called this!

GAME DAY - UMES @ Evansville - Photos

Gotta love the old-school striped warmups

If you look very closely (and even then I don't think you can) you'll see Bret setting up for his broadcast. He's in the very first lit suite on the top left.

The catwalk to Bret's radio booth

The view of the court from the very very corner of the building, from the catwalk going to the broadcast suite.

The view from Bret's broadcast booth

If you ask any of my family or close friends, they will tell you I have a weird obsession with mascots. (Heck, I've probably even mentioned it here before.) I just happened to mention this and the fact that Ace Purple is sorta creepy looking to Bret and Coach Brown and next thing I know Coach Brown disappears and Ace shows up. Yes, I was a little weirded out, but he was very gracious and nice.

Outside the Evansville locker room

A very gloomy day, a photo from my hotel room. Hopefully tonight's game is the exact opposite of this!