|
|
PREVIOUS NUGGETS |
09.03.05: ECU's
"Total Access" expected to launch today ... Uprooted Green
Wave to "carry the torch" ... Storm-trapped sister of UCF
player found safe ... Sun Belt evacuates New Orleans
headquarters |
09.02.05: Green
Wave football team in limbo about future ... Southern Miss
sets up ad hoc camp in Memphis ... Thursday night's college
football scoreboard |
09.01.05: Pirate
QB's second shoulder surgery a success ... East Carolina
fans on the verge of Total Access |
08.31.05: Katrina
blows Tulane-USM game into November ... Frosh guards round
out ECU hoops roster |
08.30.05: Pirates
set for reunions with Deacons, Seahawks |
08.29.05: New
home offers lavish new perks for Louisville |
08.28.05: Wooden
pulls out of Wooden Award ceremony |
08.27.05: NCAA
issues 'heads up' on new spearing rule ... Huggins ouster
speeds up Cincy AD's departure |
08.26.05: ECU's
Moore sole Carolinas player on Butkus list ... New BCS
voters panel already in for shakeup |
08.25.05: Mayo's
destination has well-worn path to ECU ... NCAA adds extra
year to Gamecocks' probation |
08.24.05: Transgression
nets suspension for ECU's Flournoy ... Cincinnati will enter
Big East without Huggins ... VPI poised to pony up to keep
Beamer, staff |
08.23.05: West
Virginia announces halt to ECU ticket sales ... Polling
company unveils official BCS voters list |
08.22.05: Mountain
West angling for clearer path to BCS |
08.21.05: Associated
Press preseason college football poll |
08.20.05: Groh
signs $1.7 million per year deal with UVa |
08.19.05: Mountain
West tidying up postseason deals |
08.18.05: Talk
1070 touts Pirates, Panthers, new shows ... Fort Worth Bowl
embraces Mountain West, TCU... NYC schools reap windfall
from NCAA-NIT deal |
|
|
|
|
News Nuggets, 09.04.05
NOTES FROM ECU AND BEYOND...
Previous Day Nuggets...
Next Day Nuggets...
Compiled from staff reports
and electronic dispatches
Dave Odom brings back lessons from Kuwait
COLUMBIA Dave Odom's proudest moments as a
coach might have come a half-world away from South Carolina's campus.
Odom joined several other coaches in
``Operation Hardwood,'' a basketball tournament in Kuwait for U.S. military
members fighting in Iraq. The Gamecocks' coach and the others were told by
commanders at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait there would be a moment during their
stay that would thrill them and remain with them forever.
For Odom it happened early as he prepped his
Camp Navistar team for the tournament's opening game. The call came for the
national anthem, and Odom looked behind to get his players lined up as he
typically does with the Gamecocks.
Instead, Odom found his team at attention,
eyes on the American flag as Whitney Houston's version of the ``Star
Spangled Banner'' was played.
``You could have heard a mouse crawl across
the floor'' it was so reverent at the court, Odom recalled Friday. ``This
was the moment.''
The only thing that topped it, Odom said, came
in the tournament final, when he served as an assistant to Michigan State
coach Tom Izzo's tournament winning Camp Arifjan team. All the coaches,
dressed in military uniforms, marched to the center of the floor before the
game. This time when the national anthem started, Odom could see the 1,500
troops there to watch look as respectful as his team did only days earlier.
``It's like I told them, for me there wasn't
one moment, there was two,'' he said.
Odom, who turns 63 next month, called the
weeklong visit a life changing experience.
He mixed with U.S. personnel from all over,
but sought out those from South Carolina. Most knew how Odom's team won the
NIT title last March and that Steve Spurrier was preparing for his Gamecocks
debut a 24-15 win over Central Florida on Thursday.
What Odom found was a group that believed
deeply in their mission and is prepared to do what it takes in Iraq. Odom
says he didn't make the trip for political reasons, but he was pleased to
see the high morale and purpose in America's troops.
``I did not meet one soldier who questioned
whether the war was right or wrong,'' Odom said. ``You can tell whether
people are genuine and they are committed to following through. I am so
proud of those people. America's in great shape.''
Other college basketball personalities on the
trip were former South Carolina player and Georgia Tech coach Bobby Cremins,
Alabama coach Mark Gottfried, Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson, ex-St. John's
coach Mike Jarvis, Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz and ESPN analyst Jay Bilas.
Odom says he got to ride one of the base's
camels and drive a tank. He also gave out duffel bags full of South Carolina
hats, shirts and posters to eager Palmetto Staters dreaming of home.
Some of Odom's most revealing and memorable
moments were talking with soldiers about their roles in Iraq. Odom talked
about meeting two women who transport tanks and heavy vehicles into Iraq,
one driving, the other as a gunner.
``How often do you get shot at?'' the coach
asked.
``Oh, every time we go,'' came the response.
``How often you shoot back?'' Odom continued.
``Every time they shoot at us,'' they told
him.
``I thought, 'Oh my goodness, this is real,'
`` Odom said.
Odom spent much of the 22-hour flight back
from Kuwait sketching how best to bring the lessons he learned to his team.
``How do I make them understand how fortunate
they are,'' he said.
Odom says his Gamecocks are great people, but
concerned with things most college players are like per diem money and
playing time not about sacrifices people in the military make to keep them
safe and free.
``I don't know that I can do it,'' he says,
``but I'm going to try.''
Scoreboard [C-USA teams & ECU opponents]
[Games involving Conference USA
teams in bold;
games involving East Carolina opponents in red.]
THURSDAY
Oregon 38, Houston 24
Marshall 36, William & Mary 24
South Carolina 24, UCF 15
Minnesota 41, Tulsa 10
Vanderbilt 24, Wake Forest 20
SATURDAY
Tennessee 17,
UAB 10
East Carolina 24, Duke 21
Baylor 28, SMU 23
UTEP 31, New Mexico State 0
SUNDAY
Tulane at Southern
Miss (postponed)
MONDAY
Mississippi at
Memphis 4:30 PM
|
News Nuggets are
compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data
published by ECU, Conference USA and its member
schools; and reports from Associated Press and
other sources. Copyright 2005
Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
|