What a great experience for this old Din who was a middle school church baller when Mayes, Leonard, Grimm, Lynch, Moore, and others graced the Brown Box. Making the spontaneous trip from Knoxville to the tourney last night was priceless and I could not be more proud of the achievements of this staff and group of players. Aside from the obvious, I observed two things of interest. The first, came in pregame. Coach was seated on the sideline during the shoot around and Hughey was leaving the court to go to the locker room. As he passed, coach stopped him and had a one-on-one for a minute or two. While I have no way of knowing what was said, in my head I projected that the conversation stemmed around the Hughey's important role in limiting Stephens' impact when Slawson was not on the floor. Regardless, it was a poignant moment where the connection that so defines this team and its coaching staff was palpable. Hughey also battled hard and played an important role in the victory. The second, was an afterthought. I have not been to any games this year, so this may be the case during every pregame; but, Foster spent almost his entire shooting session practicing the corner three. While it was on the other end of the court, I would say he certainly prepared well and was ready when his time came. GO DINS!!! SOOOOOOO PROUD!!!!!
It was truly a TEAM. victory. Everyone contributed.
Hughey- made his only 2 free throws.
Whitt- made his only 3 point attempt.
VanderWal - made 2 big free throws in the 2nd half.
Williams- enough said!
Hien - scored our first 6 points of the 2nd half.
Bothwell- what a weapon late in a game ….
12/13 free throws
Slawson- had a Slawson type game
Pegues - did not make a single 3, but still scored 17 points and controlled the game. A great point guard.
Foster - while he had a tough weekend shooting, he made the two big 3’s late in the game that sealed the deal!!!
A TEAM VICTORY
GO DINS