RAMS' BLOG
Notes from the Tournament
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| Want to know what it takes to make a run at a National Championship? Or why a team needs to leave on a Sunday for a Thursday game? Keep checking the Rams' Blog to follow all the behind the scenes action as the Rams head to Kansas City for the 2009 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship. |
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| Saturday, March 21 |
12:30 a.m.
What a game. The final score certainly did not tell the story. This team gave us an amazing year. Tonight they battled as hard as they had all season long.
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| Friday, March 20 - SWEET 16! |
10:30 p.m.
GAME TIME!
Live Stats
Live Video |
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5:00 p.m.
Pregame meal at Applebees and then back to the hotel. The team is staying pretty loose, but all of the talk at dinner was about basketball and most of it centered on tonight's game.
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4:00 p.m.
Shoot around at the University of Missouri Kansas City. A very focuesed walk through session discussing in short what to expect from McKendree and at lenghth what the Rams themselves need to accomplish. |
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11:30 a.m.
Lunch at the City Center Food Court located just down the street from the hotel. Most of the team will head over to Municipal to watch a game or two before their shoot around time this afternoon. |
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12:45 a.m.
Back at the hotel. Thanks to CCMG the team had a post-game meal of pasta waiting for them.
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| Thursday, March 19 - GAME DAY! |
10:30 p.m.
GAME TIME!
Live Stats
Live Video |
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7:45 p.m.
A short walk across the square from the Mariott to Municipal Auditorium. The team whill shoot at halftime of McKendree vs. Northwestern Oklahoma State. |
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6:30 p.m.
Back at the hotel after a pre-game meal at Golden Corral. Three hours and fifteen minutes to game time. |
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4:00 p.m.
One last shoot around and walk through. This was a very serious and focuesed session. Emotions have been building for four days now and the team appears ready to peak when they take the floor.
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11:30 a.m.
Lunch time. The team was allowed to sleep in today. Mandatory wake up by 11:00; however, most of the team was at the Arena this morning to watch Jarvis Christian play the 9:00 a.m. game. Ten hours and fifteen minutes to game time.
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| Wednesday, March 18 |
9:15 p.m.
The Parade of Champions. On the first day of the tournament, fans get to see all 32 teams on the floor at one time. The parade came just after William Jewell provided the ultimate upset. The 32nd seeded Cardinals knocked off #1 Rogers State who enetered the tournament with a sparkling record of 30-1.
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4:15 p.m.
The good people at Capitol City Marketing Group treated the team to an outstanding dinner at Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue. CCMG is the team's sponsor this year. The NAIA holds a lottery each year to pair up each of the 32 teams with a local sponsor. |
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12:00 p.m.
Practice at Avila University
Photo Gallery
The team will have a shoot around tomorrow, but this was the final practice before game time. A little less physical and a little more serious today. The team went through a series of drills and went over what to expect from Lindsey Wilson. An intersting side note...this practice was supposed to be at Rockhurst, a favorite site for the team while in KC, but they got bumped in favor of Oklahoma and Memphis who are also in town for the NCAA Tournament. All together there are 40 college basketball teams in Kansas City right now. |
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9:00 a.m.
The tournament is underway! LSU-Shreveport and 5th seeded Mountain State start things off this morning. Many of the Rams have walked accross the square to Municipal to support LSUS. While the Pilots aren't in the Red River Athletic Conference, they are in the vicinity and the two programs play against each other nearly every season. |
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8:00 a.m.
Breakfast buffet at the Pam Pam.
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| Tuesday, March 17 |
6:30 p.m.
Tip-Off Banquet
This was a very good event that highlighted the rich history of the NAIA and in particular the Men's Basketball National Championship which is the longest running collegiate national tournament for any sport, now in its 72nd year.
Carey Casey, CEO of the National Center for Fathering and author of Championship Fathering, gave a speach that was both entertaining and inspiring.
Legendary basketball coach John Wooden gave a message via video to the student-athletes. Wooden began his coaching career in the NAIA at Indiana State Teacher's College. In the NAIA he is known for breaking the color barrier at the National Tournament. In his first season, Wooden refused an invitation to what was then the NAIB National Tournament because the invitation excluded an African American Player. The following year he refused a bid to the tournament again before the NAIB agreed to let all of his players play; however Clarence Walker would not be allowed to stay with, or eat with the team because of the color of his skin. Only after Walker and his family agreed to the NAIB's conditions, believing that playing the game was an important step, did Wooden accept the team's bid. Wooden was inducted into the NAIA Men's Basketball Hall of Fame tonight.
Andy Laitinen was the team's Champions of Character award winner.
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3:30 p.m.
Practice at Avila University
Photo Gallery |
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2:00 p.m.
Coaches' meeting. |
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12:30 p.m.
Lunch at the City Center Food Court. |
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12:00 p.m.
Athletic Trainer's meeting. |
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8:00 a.m.
Breakfast at the Pam Pam. Today will be full of meetings for the tournament's support staff to ensure that all 31 games go off without a hitch. |
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| Monday, March 16 |
6:45 p.m.
Depart for dinner. Enjoy downtown Kansas City...lights out at 11:00 p.m. |
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3:30 p.m.
Community appearance at Indian Creek Elementary School.
Photo Gallery
This is one of the best off the court functions during the trip. As part of the NAIA's Champions of Character initiative, each of the 32 teams makes a community appearance. The Rams visited Indian Creek Elementary School. It was great to see the guys entertaining the kids. The team answered questions, played games, and made a few new friends. It was not only a good experience for the kids to be able to interact with collegiate student-athletes, but also a great experience for the players who got some perspective from the kids. When Coach Shingleton asked the kids to tell the team what they thought was important about sports answers ranged from "It's good excercise," to "Teamwork," to "Rebounding," to "Having fun." Everyone certainly had fun today. The players enjoyed themselves at least as much as the kids!
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12:30 p.m.
Lunch at the Food Court. |
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9:45 a.m.
Practice at The Rock. The team looks good as they get in a solid two-hour workout.
Photo Gallery |
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9:15 a.m.
The team departs for practice at Rockhurst University, an NCAA Division II school here in Kansas City. |
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8:00 a.m.
Breakfast buffet at the Marriott. |
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| Sunday, March 15 |
6:15 p.m.
The team arrives in Kansas City. It's pizza for dinner and lights out at 11:00 p.m. Tomorrow is a busy day. |
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10:00 a.m.
Boarding the bus. It's an eight and a half hour ride from Fort Worth to Kansas City. |
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