By JENNIFER GRAF, assistant coach, Lady Demon basketball
The 2003-2004 Lady Demon basketball season has been one for the record books. The girls this year reached a goal that many Lady Demon teams have been unable to accomplish: winning the Southland Conference Tournament Championship along with winning the SLC Regular Season Championship.
My junior season, 1999, we won the regular season championship, but fell short in the tournament finals. I will never forget the crushing disappointment. Now I know, thanks to the girls who make up the 2003-04 Lady Demons basketball team, just how wonderful March Madness can be.
By achieving this unprecedented sweep, this year?€™s Lady Demons gave all of us -- coaches, parents, former players, fans and supporters -- a huge sense of pride. Our team went on a challenging and ultimately rewarding journey this past basketball season. It all started with this group consistently demonstrating they wanted to be the best they could be. Their goals were ?€œlet the sky be the limit?€ť and by daring to dream, and dedicating themselves to achieve, last week they experienced a journey few teams in the country get to enjoy.
March Madness was amazing. The support we got while winning the conference tournament was simply spine-tingling. It all climaxed in the final minute of the championship game as everyone in purple in Prather Coliseum went completely crazy. As the horn sounded and the celebration began, we experienced a feeling that for many, including myself, is nearly impossible to put into words -- it?€™s the whipped cream on strawberries, it?€™s the pecan pie after Thanksgiving dinner, it?€™s the Cherry Coke on a hot summer day, it?€™s the extra that I don?€™t know if we deserve in this world but we are blessed with anyway -- and what a blessing it is!
The next day, Sunday afternoon, March 14, we all gathered on the deck outside Coach Smith?€™s house to savor Mr. Francis Deloney?€™s steaks -- like no other steaks, absolutely the best. We had so many supporters and fans there cooking and just gleaming with excitement for the team. The sense of pride and joy was so strong we barely noticed that it began to rain, but who cared? We ate in the rain and smiled each and every moment -- because, after all our team was going to the NCAA Tournament.
After the feast, we met at Prather Coliseum to watch the NCAA Selection Show. We filled the seats inside with all eyes glued on the television as the show time finally approached -- with the excitement building, we were ready to enjoy the show. Suddenly, as the first bracket was revealed, the very first school to appear was Northwestern State, paired up against none other than the No. 1 ranked team in America -- Duke University! Of all teams, one we played three months earlier -- there was, you could say, a bit of shock and surprise. It all happened so fast, it was hard to believe. Soon after the initial shock, Coach Smith gathered us in the dressing room and we were geared up to prepare all week for the game a week later in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Monday, the girls had an off day -- a much-needed day of rest and refocusing. Meanwhile, we coaches continued to make calls, chasing down game tape and taking suggestions on how to approach the challenge ahead. Coach Leon Barmore called Coach Smith to offer his congratulations and advice. We called Harvard and got a copy of the tape of their amazing victory as a No. 16 seed over No. 1-seeded Stanford in the 1999 tournament. Tennessee sent us a recent tape of Duke. We rehashed our game with Duke in December, thinking about things we could change or do better.
Every afternoon throughout the season we practice at 1:00 and Tuesday was no different, except that there were reporters waiting for us. The girls headed into practice, excited that we were one of 64 teams in the country left playing. That day we concentrated on ourselves -- back to basics -- executing offenses -- defensive drills -- position play. Wednesday and Thursday, we spent much of the practice concentrating on our game plan for Duke. Friday was the day of departure. Along with fans, cheerleaders and our athletic director, Greg Burke, and other administrators, the team loaded the bus at 7 a.m. and headed to Shreveport to board the plane. And what a plane it was -- a chartered flight -- First Class All The Way!
It was a sad/happy day for me as I had to wave bye as the bus drove away, because my only brother and his fianc?©e?€™ had long ago chosen the next afternoon, March 20, to get married. I drove to Baton Rouge for the rehearsal dinner Friday night, getting a couple of excited phone calls from Cooda Dobin once the team arrived in North Carolina.
Saturday morning, I was a part of the most beautiful wedding ever. With the happy couple choosing to write their own vows -- I never knew my brother had it in him -- every girl (and maybe a few guys) had tears in their eyes. The reception was a blast. Once again my brother put a tear in everyone?€™s eye (including mine) as he thanked me for staying. It was a touching moment and a heartfelt speech that really showed me Michael knew what I had to miss to be there. Little does he know I wouldn?€™t have missed his wedding for the world. The way I figure it, I got to experience the best of two worlds, being involved in a perfect wedding and NCAA Tournament action in one magical weekend -- every girl?€™s dream (OK, maybe not every girl?€™s, but definitely so for this one!).
While I was dancing on air back in Baton Rouge, on Friday afternoon after the girls arrived in Durham, North Carolina they grabbed a hamburger from the famous Fudruckers, then went back to the Durham Hilton and tried to rest and relax. They ventured back out that evening for a nice dinner at Outback Steakhouse. You know how some places handle large crowds well ?€¦ this particular Outback was not one of those places. But our girls laughed through it, enjoying the Big Dance experience. Saturday morning began with a catered breakfast buffet. Later that afternoon the team got its first look at fabled Cameron Indoor Stadium during a one-hour practice. Joining the girls for that workout was none other than the former UConn star Rebecca Lobo -- now an announcer for ESPN. Since we were the last team to work out, Rebecca was kind enough to visit with the girls and pose for pictures, a thrill that the other three teams at the sub-regional didn?€™t get to enjoy.
Back near my home in Loranger, I left the beautiful reception and caught my flight out of Baton Rouge. I was pleasantly surprised to have been booked with a first-class seat (thank you, Mr. Burke and Roxanne Freeman, and I guess, the NCAA) for my trip through Atlanta and into Raleigh-Durham airport, where Patrick Netherton and Doug Ireland were on hand to chauffeur me back to the team hotel. I couldn?€™t wait for Sunday morning, when I would be reunited with the girls.
After catching up with Coach Smith and Kia Converse and the players that morning, we drove onto Duke?€™s campus for a shoot-around to loosen up before the game. What a beautiful campus ?€¦ and the gym ?€“ from the front entrance, a close replica of the Alamo, with quite different history but in its own way, historic none the less. Walking in there for the first time was amazing. Through the years, there were so many top caliber games in that building that I watched on TV and thought, ?€œwhat a great venue for basketball.?€ť Thanks to March Madness, and our incredible team, there we were, in what Amanda Bennett called ?€œone of the shrines of college basketball.?€ť From the aging wooden bleachers about 8 inches from the courtside to the seemingly mile-long hike we took in an underground hallway to our locker room, passing at one point an ancient wooden door inscribed with ?€œvarsity basket ball?€ť -- Cameron Indoor Stadium is incredible. Before we started practice, I had to take a shot on my own. I?€™m 1-for-1 there, which is a lot better than some of our travel party can say.
Then after shoot-around, it was back to the hotel for a big pre-game breakfast, taping, and getting dressed for the game. The game was an experience that really only needed to be lived once in a season, but I guess some people thought maybe we wanted it twice.
After the game we focused back on what an incredible season we experienced. Coach Smith did a great job of changing attitudes in the locker room. There were tears and frowns when he started, and once he finished, we were laughing and hugging each other, proud of what we accomplished this season.
When you think back to September 8th (the first day of conditioning) and then again to October 18th (the first day of practice) or how about opening up by coming from 19 points down to defeat Ball State in DePaul?€™s Tournament -- it was a great start. After that game I remember thinking ?€¦ ?€œI wonder how this year will turn out. Maybe, just maybe, this could be the year we?€™ve always dreamed about.?€ť
Looking at our team -- what talent -- what personality -- what great kids we deal with, day-in and day-out. I wish some of you could really know, as we coaches do, how special these girls are. They love Northwestern State, they care about academics and getting a degree, they love the Lord, they love basketball, and more importantly they truly care about each other. They are competitors on the court and close friends off the court. I wouldn?€™t trade this team for any team in America!
These past two weeks I?€™ve had a permanent smile on my face (except for about two hours last Sunday afternoon). Winning the Southland Conference Championship, then the Conference Tournament, experiencing Selection Sunday, my brother getting married, and the NCAA Tournament -- WOW! I played four years for NSU and this my fourth year coaching and these girls finally accomplished what we?€™ve desired for so long -- what a great experience for our entire Lady Demon Family.
I believe with all my heart there are more magical times around the corner for the Lady Demons. We?€™ve finally broken through and put on our glass slippers in the Big Dance. I loved what Coach Smith said in the locker room after the game last Sunday. ?€œLadies, players are made from March to October, and teams are made from October to March.?€ť And I loved what I heard our girls saying Sunday night and all of this week as we visited, about how they know now what it takes to get to the NCAA Tournament, and how they are excited about doing what it takes to go back and WIN there.
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My Thoughts on March Madness
By PATRICK NETHERTON, Demon Sports Network announcer
Yes, the Lady Demons got robbed.
There was no good reason why the NSU Lady Demons, champions of the Southland Conference regular season and tournament, who had played the 22nd-hardest non-conference schedule, who had a better RPI than at least one 14-seed, many of the 15-seeds and all of the 16-seeds, deserved to play Duke one more time.
This game had been played before, but who knows if the committee knew that. Nevertheless, as Lady Demon coach James Smith says, you have to play the hand you?€™re dealt. This column is not to complain about why the Lady Demons played Duke, but to praise the Lady Demons for competing, and to rave about the trip that was to Durham, North Carolina.
Everything about this trip was first class. It all began when the charter plane, a first-class luxury style plane with couches and only first-class seating, left early (wouldn?€™t Scott Stoker kill for a good NCAA-provided charter?). The ground transportation was on time and the hotel was very nice, having just been remodeled. So all of the amenities were top notch.
Then there was the Duke campus and historic Cameron Indoor Stadium. For those that have never been to Cameron, I would highly recommend you go. It is rightfully on every short list of the greatest venues to watch a game, basketball or otherwise, but it has a dirty little secret?€¦..and that?€™s it, it is dirty and little.
The building is small, not what you would expect from a venue so highly regarded. It is also old, and has the dirty sort of look you expect from being old.
But it is also fabulous. From the brass railings to broadcasting from the crow?€™s nest in the rafters of the building like so many before me (including the ESPN folks), Cameron allows you to revel in the history of the game. On the outside, it looks like a small sanctuary, and it is?€¦.a sanctuary for basketball. I will be able to tell my children and grandchildren that my career three-point percentage in Cameron is 33% (1-3) while my good friend Doug Ireland?€™s career three-point percentage in Cameron is 8.3% (1-12). He did leave on a make.
And what really makes the building superb is the fans who inhabit it. The ?€œCameron Crazies?€ť are phenomenal. They are knowledgeable, passionate and are the fabric of Cameron Indoor Stadium. They are what make this venue what it is and what it has become.
As for the game, the Lady Demons opened up nervous?€¦ that much was clear. But once they hit a shot, they gained confidence and competed. The end result was a blowout, but the Lady Demons were better than that this day. They played hard, and in spurts they played well. But the things they will remember will not, and should never, involve the final score. They will remember chatting with one of their idols growing up in basketball, Rebecca Lobo, who was leading Connecticut to a perfect record while most of these Lady Demons were just beginning to realize they wanted to play basketball.
They will remember how they were treated, not as second-class citizens but as equals. They had the same press conferences, just like Duke, Old Dominion and Marquette, the same practice time, the same opportunity. They were one of 64 teams out of 300+ who were still playing at this time. They were special.
The Lady Demons might have been given a 16 seed, but after making the trip, experiencing the game, enjoying Durham and soaking up the Big Dance for the first time since 1989, the 2004 Lady Demons are as much champions as whoever gets the trophy in the end.
