Written (but stuck in my drafts and never published) 1.5 years ago:



There was exactly one Mississippi fan happily picking up confetti after Notre Dame's stunning victory in the Women's National Title game. She was the same person who excitedly responded to my somber "We need to go" after Arike Ogunbowale with a "Yay! We get to go on the escalator again." She was my companion for the Final Four game a couple days before, where Mississippi State was the lucky winner against Louisville. She had just gotten into basketball (every day I was asked who won the previous, who was playing tonight, who I was rooting for and who was going to win) and even filled her first bracket (96% of people entering an ESPN bracket finished with a better bracket than her). She is my nearly 5 year old daughter Lucy.

I knew Mississippi State was going to win. The strange stuff that all came together to make it happened seemed too perfect.

1) They were playing 10 minutes from my house
2) They had a dramatic win over Uconn last year before losing in the title game
3) They were returned all their key players and had one of the best teams in the country
4) They won a dramatic game (needing a 3 pointer and two point blank misses by Louisville) in the Final Four
5) The best team in women's basketball (Unconn) lost to a good (but statistically not as good) Notre Dame team....which meant State went from being a huge underdog in the title game (if they played Uconn) to a 2 point favorite
6) Lucy - she was at the right age. A year ago would have been too soon and it would have been difficult to sit through an entire basketball game. This year at this age was close to perfect. She didn't fully understand what was going on (it didn't help that our seats were literally in the last row), but was attentive and cheering with me

I knew Mississippi State was going to win going into the game, at halftime when they were up 13, with under 2 minutes to go when they were up 5 and even at the end when it was tied. There was no way I could have expected to see what is easily one of the greatest shots in basketball history. I have watched the video too many times and each time I can't believe it actually goes in. We had seats in the last row on Notre Dame's side (for the second half) and could see the ball stay in the air for much longer than a normal shot and then fall in. The worst thing about having seats in the last row is that there is a moment where you don't fully know if the ball actually went in or if your eyes are deceiving you. At that moment, I looked around and started to see Notre Dame's players celebrating and it finally sunk in. Mississippi State lost.

In the end the game didn't go as well as expected, but still this will be one of my favorite memories with my daughter. She was a wonderful fan and I am thrilled I got to experience this with her.

K Academy (Day 5)

Just a few weeks delayed on this post, but after the 5th and final day ended I went to the airport and flew back to reality....and unfortunately back in reality I don't post as much on my blog. Now I have a little bit of a break and I am ready to write my last daily entry. (I still need to do one big final recap of K Academy, but as anyone who has already talked to me already knows I struggle properly conveying how truly amazing this trip was because worse like "great" or "amazing" just don't seem strong enough.)

Anyway, day 5 was tournament day. The night before we received another bag with a shirt, sweatshirt and two jersey / short combinations. (I had to check two bags home. I did a very poor job of packing for this trip.) Thankfully our team went 5-0 and was the #1 seed, which meant that we would be the "home" team all tournament and only had to worry about wearing our white jerseys. The day started off with an early morning game against a team we had played before. I was a little worried because I thought our team might be over-confident since we had already beat this team before, we were 5-0 and it might be tough with an 8:30am start time. We started off slow (halftime we were down 9-8), but really turned it on in the 2nd half (winning that 24-13) and won going away. I made one 3 pointer that felt like a gift from above. (Later that shot would make the "One Shining Moment" video they played after the title game).

Anyway, we won our first game and I really felt like our team was going to win it all. It didn't happen that way. We played Team Seattle at 11:30am in the Final Four. Seattle was good (5-2 going into the game) with a strong point guard. We were tied at halftime 17-17, but really I felt like it should have been a large lead for us. Seattle's defense against us was to pack the paint and let us shoot open 3 pointers. I felt like this was going to be my "Natchez Cathedral" game and I was going to hit about 6 3 pointers. Instead I hit half that amount finishing 3-10 on 3 pointers. The rest of the team didn't shoot better and we finished 8-30 from 3. Coach Duhon talked about how we got a little 3 happy, which was clearly the case when 30 out of our 42 shots were 3 pointers. I felt like we were open and I would have loved another chance against the team. Anyway, we lost 45-33.

One of the interesting things from the game was that JJ Redick came in town and was sitting next to Coach K and our bench. There was a moment in the game where I was checking in and it was just Coach K, the greatest shooter in Duke history and then me all occupying the same 10 foot space. I just couldn't help but smile because these were my heroes about to watch me play at Cameron Indoor Stadium. That made it even more unfortunate that I didn't shoot better and our team didn't win.

With the game being over I hung around Cameron for the rest of the day and saw the title game between Team Seattle (the team that just beat us) and Team Minneapolis (a team we beat a few days earlier). It was a very close game that Team Minneapolis won. After that game they got to cut down the nets, got a trophy and celebrated a title I felt like we should have won.

Regardless of winning or losing those the day went well. I got my picture with Coach K and JJ Redick, enjoying playing a couple more games in Cameron and just enjoyed soaking it all in with the Duke players and friends from camp. I didn't want to leave. Obviously that was not an option, which just makes me want to go back to a place that really feels like a fantasy. This will likely be a final part of the recap, but my advice to anyone is if you have something you really, really, really want to do then find a way to do it. You can always come up with excuses why you shouldn't do it, but I truly can't imagine my life without this experience. It was the best 5 days of my life because unlike most vacations there was no negative. There was no downside. It was just one of my favorite activities (basketball) with a bunch of awesome  and like minded individuals and a bunch of my heroes. Anyway, Go Duke!

K Academy Day 4

This year at K Academy there are 12 teams, which means that the top 4 teams get a bye into the quarterfinals. With the 35+ crowd rest is a good thing. Team San Antonio (my team) went into today feeling pretty good at 4-0. But there five teams at 3-1 and we had no idea how tiebreakers were going to work. The best thing we could do was win and make sure that we got a bye. The only issue with that was we were playing a very good Team Indianapolis coached by Jon Scheyer and Luke Kennard. (One note on Scheyer - that guy is lucky / good at K Academy considering his all-tine record is 46-13. Scheyer picks good teams.) 

How did the game go? Well it was a little bit tough at the start. Teams seem to be missing significantly more shots than in early games. The good news is that we were playing pretty good defense. I was able to hit a key 3 when we were down at the end of the second half and made a great pass (in my humble opinion) to one of our best players when we were down 1. He made 1 of 2 (which is better than me since I missed the front end of a 1-1) and we went to overtime. Overtime we again found ourselves down....this time by 3 with about 40 seconds left. I found our big man (who has a good shot) in the corner for a 3 and the tie. We did have to hold off as Mark Kennard (Luke's Dad) had a baseline jumper that would have won the game.....and would have won it against me since I was his defender. 

Anyway, I am getting long-winded but the game was very dramatic. Nothing was more dramatic then the end. The second overtime was set up as first shot to make it wins. My assistant coach told me to try to steal the back tip and take it in for a game winning layup. Well the ball was back tipped, but Mark Kennard had the angle on me. I dove for the ball and undercut Kennard for an obvious foul on me. At that moment in time I thought I cost the team the game because Kennard would get free throws because of my foul. Also, I looked down and he is in obvious pain from my undercut. I felt so horrible on both ends and truly had my "what did I just do" Cameron moment. (I didn't expect to have that moment and wouldn't recommend it.) Anyway, Coach K was watching and said the sudden death couldn't end on free throws. We ended up playing tough defense and came down and one of our shooters hit a big time 3 pointer to send us home happy. I felt like Quinn Cook / Seth Curry watching Austin Rivers shoot against UNC at the Dean Dome. I could see the ball in the air and I felt like it was going in. After he made it we all jumped around in the middle of Cameron. It is hard to explain how amazing that was to actually experience.

The rest of the day included the following:

•  Relaxing while watching other teams play. There were two great / dramatic games and a common theme from the people attending the camp is that this is a very evenly matched camp.
• The old Duke players played the current Duke team in a scrimmage. It was very intense and the only prediction I can make is that Alex O'Connell is going to have a huge year for Duke. He was the best player on the court for a good portion of the game.
• We had a fun talk and question and answer session with Coach K and the Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett. Garrett was very open and engaging when asked some relatively tough questions
• Tonight we had another great dinner, but this time with our team. After that we went up to one of the luxury boxes at the football stadium. Our coaches (Duhon / Parks) gave us an amazing inspirational speech and right now as I write this I feel like we are in a great spot to win the title tomorrow. Like Duhon told us "We don't have to change anything we are doing. We are 5-0 for a reason." 

Anyway, more to come tomorrow - the unfortunate last day of camp

K Academy Day 3

I can't tell if I am being annoying (which is probably a strange way of starting a blog post) with my friends / family, but this is truly amazing. I just walk around here with a smile on my face. It's hard to keep up with everything that happens in one day. It's almost like a full year+ of experience all in one day. And then doing that again. And again for 5 full days. Here are some highlights from today:

• We had film session in the Duke locker room to check out our games from the previous day. One of the plays was a 3 pointer I hit. I am not saying it looked exactly like my time at St. Andrew's, but it looked close enough. 
• In the locker room they put up signs. And really these two signs should not be in the same locker room

• Team went 2-0 again to bring our record to 4-0. We have two really good post players and a few capable shooters. We were lucky in our second game to play a team that was down 3 players due to injury. That made things much easier because they were very, very tired since they couldn't substitute anyone.
• Injuries are a big topic of conversation at camp. I guess when you get a bunch of 35+ players who are high on adrenaline and want to push themselves there is a good chance a lot of them will get injured
• I had one somewhat major scare in the early game at Cameron. The opposing team stole the ball and was going down for a 2 on 1 fast break. I sprinted back to try and either steal the ball (which was likely impossible because I started from so far behind) or foul the guy going up for a layup. I accomplished the second goal and in the meantime got tangled up and banged my head very hard against the floor at Cameron. The sound was very, very loud and immediately the Duke trainer and Chris Duhon (our coach) rushed over to check me out. They had me not move and asked me a few questions about being dizzy. Thankfully I was fine. My favorite question when they were evaluating me was when they asked who this was and pointed at Duhon. I immediately replied "that is Chris Duhon. He hit the game winning reverse layup against UNC in 2004. I think I even quoted the score (84-82), which now that I looked it up I was actually off. Duke won 83-81. Below is a picture before the game of Coach Duhon giving us advice

• I hit some shots....mainly in the second game. I scored 10 points with a couple 3s. Also, I had 4 assists and look forward to seeing where I stand on the assist leader board. M and some friends have said I pass too much (probably true), but I enjoy getting everyone involved.
• At the end of the game (when were up about 20) I tried an Nba range 3 and missed it completely. Chris Duhon asked me to do 5 push-ups so in the middle of the game I did them. When 2001 National Champion and one of Duke's greatest players ever asks you do pushup during a game you do them.
• The afternoon was all about Minnesota. The team we played (and beat) was Team Minneapolis and before / after the game I did some shooting competitions with Matthew Hurt (from Minnesota). He is the 11th ranked recruit in the nation and I am happy to report that I was hot and actually beat him in the first two around the world 3 point contests. He did end up winning the series by winning the next 3.  We also played Horse and it was somewhat similar. I won the first (partly thanks to some fluky shots I use against one friend back home). He won the next two. he seems like a great guy and I am excited to see how he plays for Duke
• During lunch I was behind Coach K in line for shrimp and cheeseburgers. He asked how I was doing and I said "great - my team is 3-0. Winning is pretty fun." He replied "That's excellent. Winning is really fun." I then thanked him for this camp, which he then gave credit to his wonderful staff
• I met and talked to Justise Winslow (one of my favorite players from the 2015 national title team) while wearing a shirt that Justise's name on it. Of course I got a picture 

Off for drinks / dinner. One game tomorrow at 9:30am at Cameron. To watch the game go to:

http://www.goduke.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&catid=0&id=1922332&db_oem_id=4200

K Academy Day 2

Last night we had our draft and I was picked by Team San Antonio coached by Chris Duhon, Cherokee Parks and Alex O'Connell. It was pretty cool to hear your name announced and go up and meet your new coaches / teammates. That set everything up for today where the games started.

We had two games....one at 12:30pm and then against at 4:30pm. Here were the main highlights from the games

1. Our team went 2-0
2. My first shot was a wing 3. I made it. What a great experience to hit a 3 in Cameron Indoor Stadium
3. I made a few decent passes and ended the day with a team high 7 assists
4. I took a charge. The fact that it was uncalled doesn't make it less of a charge. I set my feet, waited for my guy and did my best Wojo / Battier.
5. After a particularly good run by my team I slapped the floor. It was a pretty aggressive slap, but I felt like I had to do that at some point in the camp
6. M and others were able to watch the games online, which was pretty cool. I got a pretty extensive analysis from two friends watching online

Anyway here are some cool pictures from the day

All-time Duke great and one of the few with his jerseys in the rafters: Shane Battier

The freshmen year class for Duke with my K Academy friend Sarah. Wendell Moore was my evaluation game coach and is going to be the best of the group

Duke great and also future Jazz star Grayson Allen

More pictures to come tomorrow....and for the few of you following the live stream below is our schedule:

• 10:30am at Cameron
• 2:15pm at the K Center

This whole thing is just amazing. Truly amazing

K Academy (Day 1) Part Two

I finished day 1 from a basketball perspective. What an amazing experience. I shot the ball pretty well in our "evaluation game." Coaches (which are current and former players) watch the games and then draft even teams based on how people perform. It was a 12 minute game with substitutions, which ended up resulting in me playing the final 9 minutes. My first basket was on a fast break where Luke Kennard's Dad threw me a nice pass for a layup. Besides that I went 2-4 from 3.....and yes it is really nice to make a 3 in a game at the same place where Duke practices.

After the games I stayed around to get a few more shots up and ended up talking to former Duke starter Matt Jones from the 2015 National Title team for a little bit. I didn't realize it at the time, but the photographer ended up getting two pictures of that conversation:

K Academy Day 1: Matt Jones (1st one)

K Academy Day 1: Matt Jones (2nd one)

Obviously you are welcome to check out all of them if you want to get a glimpse of what K Academy is like

K Academy (Day 1)

So I made it! I am sitting here at the Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club and I just went and officially checked in for K Academy fantasy camp. It still doesn't feel completely real - even with the bag of Duke merchandise filled to the brim with shirts, shoes, sweatshirts, etc. Maybe the best part of it all are the two jerseys. I was given 94, which will do me just fine considering I loved the 1994 Duke basketball team and it is only one number off from the number (14) I wore in high school. Maybe a picture will do it more justice:

I am about to go down for lunch and try to see what other crazy people do something like K Academy. I am pretty hungry considering I had a small Starbucks breakfast at 5am thanks to my 6 am flight from Columbus. The great news is that the early time was the only negative from the flight. It was cheap, on-time, allowed me to celebrate M's bday last night and I had an entire row to myself since only 18 people were on the flight. That allowed me to sleep on the plane, which will hopefully positively impact my performance this afternoon during open gym (1:30pm - 2:30pm) and then evaluation games (3:30pm). Then tonight I have "Cocktails in Cameron" followed by dinner and the K Academy draft. I should know my team (and therefore my more detailed schedule including game times) after tonight.

K Academy

It's been a long time since I wrote for this blog, but I wanted to provide a spot to collect my thoughts on what is one of the most exciting things I have ever done. Before I get started on actual thoughts below is brief (2 minute) announcement

So yes - I am going to the K Academy basketball camp exactly one week from now. In preparation I have tried to increase the amount of time playing basketball (about 2X a week) and tried (probably unsuccessfully) to thank my amazing wife for watching the kids next week and encouraging me to actually go. I am not sure many wives would agree to this and she is the favorite to win wife of the year for many, many consecutive years.

Anyway, I will try to provide updates on this blog, but here is some key info:

• When: May 29th - June 2nd
• Where: Durham, North Carolina....time split between Cameron Indoor Stadium and Washington Duke Inn
• Who: 80 people with an age minimum of 35. I don't know who the coaches / former players will be. Last I heard from Duke was "We are not able to release our list of coaches yet as our list depends on the NBA Playoffs" 

Where to watch / follow?

• My thoughts - this blog
• How to watch: The Blue Devil Network will stream all games from the K Academy live online.  Access is available from any web browser:  www.goduke.com/KAcademyLive
• Where to view pictures: www.kacademyphotos.com Password "Duke" 

Camp Highlights (taken from the website)

• Live a week as a Duke Basketball player
• Play in historic Cameron Indoor Stadium
• Receive exclusive swag bag of NIKE branded apparel and gear
• Compete in basketball games, tournaments, and contests
• Receive elite basketball instruction from current and former Duke players and NBA stars
• Participate in networking and social events with Coach K throughout the week
• Access to "Team Only" areas of Duke basketball facilities (locker rooms, team lounges, film rooms)
• Access to world-class sports medicine/rehab facilities
• All meals & hotel accommodations included

I am beyond excited for this experience. It doesn't even seem real.  More to come....