South Carolina State's SID at The Final Four
By the time you read this Tuesday morning, either Florida or UCLA will have been crowned the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I mens national basketball champion.
And, I will be on my way back to Orangeburg.
Like the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals and college footballs national championship game, the Final Four is one of the countrys greatest sports events, drawing thousands of fans from all over the country proudly wearing their loyalties on caps, T-shirts, jackets, automobiles and the like.
My beloved South Carolina State Bulldogs, despite earning five berths to the Big Dance, have never made it to the Final Four. In fact, in those five appearances in March Madness, the Bulldogs have had to face some of the countrys most storied programs Duke, Kansas, Kentucky (which went on to win the national title in 1998), Stanford and Oklahoma and did not make it past the first round.
Despite my team not being at the Final Four, I have had the opportunity to enjoy seven of the last eight gatherings, including this years 2006 tournament, as a member of the NCAAs Final Four Media Coordination Committee.
My tenure (journey) began in 1999 at St. Petersburg-Tampa Bay, the year Connecticut and point guard Khalid El-Amin and current Detroit Piston star Richard Rip Hamilton edged Duke 77-74 for the title. As members of the Media Coordination Committee, our duties range from fielding numerous phone calls from media all around the country as well as inquiries from the international press to preparing seat cards for press row and monitoring that area during games, assisting team sports information directors with media requests, ferrying players to interviews with national media, including CBS, NCAA Productions, ESPN, and the like, moderating interviews and being available to facilitate any needs media might have.
In St. Petersburg, after the championship game, one of my duties was to keep the mini cams (TV cameras) off the court during the post game ceremony of cutting down the nets. While out there, I got a chance to speak to my namesake Rip Hamilton of UConn.
He was very personable and when he learned my last name, he called meCuz and agreed to take a quick picture with me. Frantically, I spotted a young photographer from Duke who snapped the shot and got it to me later.
Also in St. Pete, I moderated the breakout interviews a Sunday interview that all five starters from the two remaining teams must attend for Dukes Shane Battier, who possessed a great sense of humor, and UConns Ricky Moore, who was equally impressive in taking on the media.
I was unable to attend the 2000 Final Four when a close personal loss occurred. My mother lost a courageous battle with cancer shortly before I was set to take off and I joined my family in Baltimore to share memories, sorrow and plan the funeral.
The 2001 Final Four was in Minneapolis, Minn., enabling me to add another major city to the list of places I had attended. Duke bounced back from its defeat two years previously to win the national championship over Arizona. I moderated breakout interviews for Duke freshman Chris Duhon, currently with the Chicago Bulls, and Michael Wright of Arizona. High-flying Richard Jefferson of the New Jersey Nets was a member of the Arizona team.
During the next few Final Fours, I would have the opportunity to moderate interviews for a number of great players Byron Mouton of Maryland and Tom Coverdale of Indiana in Atlanta in 2002 when the Terrapins beat first-year head Coach Mike Davis and the Hoosiers in the championship game; UConns Josh Boone in San Antonio in 2004 when the Huskies beat Georgia Tech; and last year Latta native Raymond Felton of North Carolina when the Tar Heels edged Illinois for the title.
You get to know a lot of the players in different ways, but the bonding with Felton last year was wonderful since he was from South Carolina and I had followed his career closely. He was very sharp in fielding the questions, and like Dukes Battier six years before, exhibited a great sense of humor, which is helpful when you are asked all kinds of questions from the horde of reporters present.
The interviews can be tough for the moderator as well, as the reporters wishing to ask the student-athlete a question signal by raising their hands.
And with a popular player like Felton, you will have to record in your mind the positions of six to eight persons who are waiting their turn. If you occasionally forget one, you make get a mean look or the extreme a reporter storming from the room in disgust. I always have pen and paper handy and try to diagram the room in my head and jot down such notes as left side, second row; standing, etc. Its not always easy, but you manage to get through it and keep the athlete on schedule.
The 2006 Final Four, like most of the others, was a rewarding experience. Its always lot of work. I usually arrive the Wednesday before the title game, which means a seven-day stay, and that was the case this year.
My plane landed at approximately 2 p.m. The NCAA had a driver meet me at the airport. I checked in 20 minutes later and reported to the Bullpen, which we call our office, and jumped right in to help out.
Crew call, our daily meeting, is usually around 8:30 a.m. On Sunday, transition day and the day we spring forward to daylight savings time, its approximately 10 a.m. We are usually at the arena approximately four hours before the tip off on game day and almost all day on Friday, when the open practices which the public attends take place.
If there is work to be done after the game, we gather at the office and make sure it gets done. We do get Friday evening and Sunday afternoon and evening off to site see, visit with friends and the like.
I hobnobbed with a lot of the coaches attending the National Association of Basketball Coaches convention, which is held at the Final Four annually. I had a chance to dine with Coach (Cy) and Mrs. Alexander Sunday night, an annual ritual for us at the Final Four, and share many laughs and moments with other coaches from our league and from around the country.
This year in Indy, George Mason wore the Cinderella moniker, however, on Friday at the open practice, Louisiana States Glen Big Baby Davis was the favorite of the crowd, which appeared to number over 10,000 strong in the 43,300-seat RCA Dome, the site of the contests.
I thought what an experience it would be to moderate his breakout interview on Sunday. But, the Tigers lost to UCLA in the semifinals, so instead, I moderated the interviews of the Bruins Cedric Bozeman and Floridas Joakim Noah, clearly the most popular player left in the tournament.
Besides working along with some of the countrys top media relations persons, I have also had the opportunity to meet and interact with some of basketballs biggest names Coach John Wooden, Coach John Thompson, former collegiate and NBA greats Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, Kareem (this year in Indy), Bill Walton, Larry Bird, Robert Parrish, Dave Bing, Marcus Johnson, Michael Jordan, Bob Cousy, and others.
Im grateful to Charles Harris for the confidence he showed in me, to Jim Marchiony, Bill Hancock and Dave Worlock, and especially for the cooperation and support of SCSU athletic directors Dr. Autry, Buddy Pough and Charlene Johnson for allowing me to serve in a capacity that has been truly enlightening and rewarding.
Oops, souvenirs! I usually take a late flight the day after the final so I can shop for souvenirs for friends, colleagues and family. But this year, I have an early flight and may have to just share my experiences!