Tom Archdeacon: Enchanted Raiders take flight
Mar 14, 2007 1:28:59 GMT -5
Post by Admin on Mar 14, 2007 1:28:59 GMT -5
www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/college/wsu/2007/03/13/ddn031407arch.html
Tom Archdeacon: Enchanted Raiders take flight
By Tom Archdeacon
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
BUFFALO — As the old Broadway tune goes, they were about to "shuffle off to Buffalo."
In groups of twos and threes just before noon Tuesday, the Wright State Raiders — in dress shirts and ties — came out of the small terminal at Wright Bros. Aero and headed across the tarmac to the DC-9 charter that would take them on the trip every college basketball player dreams about:
A berth in the NCAA tournament.
Seniors Drew Burleson and Reinaldo Smith — realizing this was their last college ride — snapped away with digital cameras. Junior center Jordan Pleiman carried his size 17 practice shoes — probably too big for a carry-on bag — in his hands.
Five players — from senior DaShaun Wood to freshman Todd Brown — just wanted to get on board and snooze. They'd all been up early to take 8 a.m. finals.
Freshman Vaughn Duggins was all smiles. Originally signed to UNC-Wilmington, he'd switched to WSU when coach Brad Brownell made the jump to the Raiders. But what if he'd stayed in Wilmington?
"I'd have a tan ... and seven wins."
Instead, he's part of the 23-9 Raiders that are a No. 14 seed and face No. 3 Pittsburgh on Thursday night in Buffalo.
That last fact is why Brownell looked a little drawn, too, as he walked alone, the last man to board: "Fell asleep on the basement couch about 1 (a.m.) watching (Pitt) film. When I woke up it was past 2, so I went upstairs and crawled into bed a couple hours."
But now he wasn't thinking sleep — just sweet dreams:
"This is the neat part for the kids — when you flip on the TV and hear how much they're all talking about the tournament and you're a part of it."
And no one appreciates it more than Smith. He's probably the most popular player and certainly the best dressed. His blue dress shirt was accentuated by fancy blue cuff links and one of the more than 100 ties he owns.
He also has the best understanding of WSU hoop history. The one local player on the team — he was a three-sport star at Fairborn High — he started going to Raiders games with his dad in junior high.
"I used to look up to Keion Brooks and Marcus May. I'd get their autographs and when I was in high school, Jesse Deister would bring me into the dressing room. I always dreamed of being a Raider."
After a collarbone injury, he no longer was recruited by WSU — where his mother Joyce works — and ended up at Division II Findlay, where he was a budding star on a 23-7 team.
But Wood — who knew him from summer pick-up games — convinced him to transfer and he joined the Raiders as a walk-on, soon carving a niche as a role player and full-time enthusiast.
"That's why I'm taking pictures of everything — guys sleepin' on the plane, me and the stewardess, even one of the new shoes we'll be wearing Thursday — and I'm gonna put together a big NCAA album afterward."
The 55-minute flight was mostly uneventful. From the windows, Lake Erie — still frozen and dusted white — looked like the North Pole.
Once in snow-free Buffalo, the team took a short bus ride to the Airport Holiday Inn, where they were greeted by a few clumps of green and gold balloons. Accommodations are doled out according to seedings — lowest seeds get the plushest digs — so Pitt is in a fancy downtown hotel a half hour away.
Not that that mattered to Smith, who asked Pleiman:
"St. Patrick's Day, is it Saturday?"
When the big man nodded, Smith grinned:
"By then we'll have 'em all wearing Raider green."
Tom Archdeacon: Enchanted Raiders take flight
By Tom Archdeacon
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
BUFFALO — As the old Broadway tune goes, they were about to "shuffle off to Buffalo."
In groups of twos and threes just before noon Tuesday, the Wright State Raiders — in dress shirts and ties — came out of the small terminal at Wright Bros. Aero and headed across the tarmac to the DC-9 charter that would take them on the trip every college basketball player dreams about:
A berth in the NCAA tournament.
Seniors Drew Burleson and Reinaldo Smith — realizing this was their last college ride — snapped away with digital cameras. Junior center Jordan Pleiman carried his size 17 practice shoes — probably too big for a carry-on bag — in his hands.
Five players — from senior DaShaun Wood to freshman Todd Brown — just wanted to get on board and snooze. They'd all been up early to take 8 a.m. finals.
Freshman Vaughn Duggins was all smiles. Originally signed to UNC-Wilmington, he'd switched to WSU when coach Brad Brownell made the jump to the Raiders. But what if he'd stayed in Wilmington?
"I'd have a tan ... and seven wins."
Instead, he's part of the 23-9 Raiders that are a No. 14 seed and face No. 3 Pittsburgh on Thursday night in Buffalo.
That last fact is why Brownell looked a little drawn, too, as he walked alone, the last man to board: "Fell asleep on the basement couch about 1 (a.m.) watching (Pitt) film. When I woke up it was past 2, so I went upstairs and crawled into bed a couple hours."
But now he wasn't thinking sleep — just sweet dreams:
"This is the neat part for the kids — when you flip on the TV and hear how much they're all talking about the tournament and you're a part of it."
And no one appreciates it more than Smith. He's probably the most popular player and certainly the best dressed. His blue dress shirt was accentuated by fancy blue cuff links and one of the more than 100 ties he owns.
He also has the best understanding of WSU hoop history. The one local player on the team — he was a three-sport star at Fairborn High — he started going to Raiders games with his dad in junior high.
"I used to look up to Keion Brooks and Marcus May. I'd get their autographs and when I was in high school, Jesse Deister would bring me into the dressing room. I always dreamed of being a Raider."
After a collarbone injury, he no longer was recruited by WSU — where his mother Joyce works — and ended up at Division II Findlay, where he was a budding star on a 23-7 team.
But Wood — who knew him from summer pick-up games — convinced him to transfer and he joined the Raiders as a walk-on, soon carving a niche as a role player and full-time enthusiast.
"That's why I'm taking pictures of everything — guys sleepin' on the plane, me and the stewardess, even one of the new shoes we'll be wearing Thursday — and I'm gonna put together a big NCAA album afterward."
The 55-minute flight was mostly uneventful. From the windows, Lake Erie — still frozen and dusted white — looked like the North Pole.
Once in snow-free Buffalo, the team took a short bus ride to the Airport Holiday Inn, where they were greeted by a few clumps of green and gold balloons. Accommodations are doled out according to seedings — lowest seeds get the plushest digs — so Pitt is in a fancy downtown hotel a half hour away.
Not that that mattered to Smith, who asked Pleiman:
"St. Patrick's Day, is it Saturday?"
When the big man nodded, Smith grinned:
"By then we'll have 'em all wearing Raider green."