MARCH MADNESS REMEMBERED

There are all kinds of reasons to enjoy the NCAA Tournament - the close games, filling out your brackets, the nervous energy, etc. However during the 1997-98 basketball season I got my March Madness experience prior to the start of the NCAA Tournament.

In attending Radford, a small Division I school tucked away in the corner of SW Virginia under the shadows of Virginia Tech, I dreamed that my school could at least once make the NCAA Tournament.

I never imagined my dream would come through during my freshman year in such a dramatic fashion. The conference we played in was one those conference's were just one NCAA Tournament invitation was given - by winning your league's end of the season tournament.

Radford hadn't made the finals of the conference tournament in 10 years but on late February Saturday afternoon in Lynchurg, Va. we were playing for the league championships and the NCAA Tournament bid that came with that.

Down 21-4 midway through the first half I was fairly despondent. Thinking my dream of watching my school make it the NCAA Tournament was just about finished for the year we rallied and eventually took an eight point lead with just over two minutes left!

However, a few moments later the score was knotted at 61-61 with 15 seconds left before "The Shot" happened. After a miss attempted with about five seconds left, Kevin Robinson (pictured above) gathered the rebound and amid heavy pressure put up a odd looking 14 foot jump shot that swished through the net as the buzzer sounded and mayhem broke out!

I remember rushing the court right off of press row with my suit and jacket on jumping around midcourt like a just invented electricity or something. A moment of Madness that I will never forget.

Granted a few weeks later we lost to Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament but watching my school win in that manner and then watch the them play Duke in the NCAA Tournament is still my favorite March Madness moment.