CHAMPIONS WITH CHARACTER:

RAMS RECEIVE HERO'S WELCOME
March 23, 2006

FORT WORTH, TX:  Six point eight seconds to play; your team is down by one.  Coach wants the ball in your hands, and a rebound comes right to you.  You have just enough time to race to the other end of the court and fire a last second shot.

No, this is not a situation from the active imagination of a young boy playing hoops in his driveway.  This is precisely what occurred Tuesday night’s NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship when Ben Hunt, a senior guard, hit a three with 0.2 seconds remaining in the game to deliver Texas Wesleyan University’s first ever national championship.  Indeed it was the shot heard round the world, as Texas Wesleyan fans could be heard screaming from Kansas City, to Fort Worth, and all the way to Hunt’s hometown of Bendigo, Austrailia.

That shot was the perfect cap for an unbelievable and unstoppable run by a Team, and not just a group of individuals, who won the right way.  The NAIA preaches its Champions of Character program, which stresses core values of respect, integrity, servant leadership, and sportsmanship.  They could not have asked for a champion with more character than the 2005-06 Texas Wesleyan University Rams.

After final buzzer sounded on Tuesday, the Rams celebrated with all the unabashed enthusiasm of 15 college kids who had just achieved their dream.  Meanwhile stunned Oklahoma City players looked on from the bench.  In the light of that wonderful celebration few would have blamed them had they forgotten, but the Rams felt the need to show their respect for an outstanding opponent.  As a team they went to the Oklahoma City bench to shake their hands.  The gesture was in no way meant to gloat.  It was a pure and heartfelt recognition of a great game played by both sides, and it was what is supposed to happen at the end of a collegiate game.

Throughout the season, and this tournament, this family of 15 student-athletes, brought together by a tremendous coaching staff, has represented themselves and Texas Wesleyan University with a great deal of class, and they are very deserving champions.

Head coach Terry Waldrop told the team, “This does not change who any of you were yesterday, but it shows everyone else that if you do things the right way, plan, prepare, and work hard, there is a great reward out there.”

All of the pieces began to fall together even before the Rams arrived in Kansas City.  The NAIA has an honorary coach program in which 32 sponsors draw teams for which they get to serve as honorary coach.  The Rams drew the Hereford House, an outstanding steakhouse in Kansas City.  Texas Wesleyan was treated with incredible hospitality and representatives of the Hereford House became a part of the team.  By the way, the same restaurant sponsored last year’s John Brown University team that won the title as an unseeded team.

Then came a favorable first round draw.  The Rams played Union University, a terrific team that was ranked fifth in the country, but did not match up very well against the Rams’ style of play.  With a first round win under their belt, confidence blossomed and the Rams got hot, playing solid defense, executing on offense, and protecting the ball.  Over the course of the tournament, Texas Wesleyan’s opponents scored 84 points per game against all other teams while scratching out a paltry 66.6 against the Rams.

In the title game, the Rams followed the same plan that had gotten them there.  They played smothering defense, and on the other end they executed their offense and got the ball to the hot hand.

While Evan Patterson was busy shutting down the Lorenzo Gordon, a tremendous talent who entered the game averaging a tournament high 25.8 points per game, Ben Hunt handled the offense.  Patterson held Gordon to just two points in the first half and only ten in the game.  Hunt finished with a tournament and career-high 34 points.  In the second half, he scored 21 of Texas Wesleyan’s 31 points including an incredible shot in the face of three defenders, the 6’7” Gordon among them, that sparked a mad celebration.

After one last meal with the proprietors of the Hereford House, the Rams could finally relax.  No need to worry about jinxing themselves by sitting in a different order around the table, or perhaps wearing a different pair of socks.  They had done something that can never be taken away.

All that was left to do was bring the James Naismith National Championship trophy home to Fort Worth.  When they arrived on campus Wednesday night, they met a hero’s welcome of several hundred students, faculty, family, and fans.  Thursday afternoon they were honored with a more formal welcome party attended by several hundred more fans in the Sid Richardson Center.  Among the dignitaries in attendance were local sports legends, including Dr. Bobby Bragan, and numerous political figures including state congressmen and representatives from United States Congresswoman Kay Granger’s office as well as representatives from U.S. Congressman Michael Burgess' office..

The team received a state flag that had been flown over the capital in Austin, as well as a United States flag that had been flown in their honor over the U.S. capitol building.  Then the crowd got what they wanted as several members of the team gave emotional speeches to their fans.  Brad Schilder thanked the fans and his teammates for four tremendous years.  Scott Reasoner, who transferred from John Brown last season only to watch the Eagles win the 2005 National Championship, thanked his coaches and teammates for keeping him going.  Evan Patterson spoke about wanting a place to fit in and finding a family when he transferred to Texas Wesleyan as a junior.

All the accolades that this team has earned and will continue to earn are very well deserved.  Texas Wesleyan University could not ask for a better group of young men.  They have brought home a National Title with all the class of a true Champion of Character.