Well, It Was a Nice Day for a Drive

BEVERLY HILLS (MI) -- I made the pilgrimage down I-75 to see the St. Louis game. Here are some of the sights, observations and people I talked to while I was there.

If you haven’t been back to Dayton in a while the massive road project at the juncture of Interstates 70 and 75 that took about 4 years is finally done. It’s now state of the art, which is what “The Crossroads of America” deserves I guess. They are now working on updating the curvy intersection of Route 4 and 75 downtown. I’m old enuf to remember when there were traffic lights just north of there. That’s right, traffic lights on an Interstate!

My first stop was the RecPlex for some pickup hoops. The students are still on break so there were only a few guys there. The facility is gorgeous. The RecPlex is a big step up from the PAC, which was a dramatic improvement over what we had when I was at UD, which was nothing. The Fieldhouse was usually occupied; you could play at the Ladies’ Gym (that's what they called it) if it wasn’t in use or you could hoop outside up on Stuart Hill. That was about it. My only complaint about the RecPlex is the background when you shoot from the baseline -- it goes on forever, thanks to the windows.

I played several games of one-on-one with a guy who is a sophomore named Ken. He was about 6’1” and had obviously played hoops somewhere. I never did beat him, although I did have him down 10-0 in a game up to 11 and still managed to lose. After we were done, I asked him where he played. He said Charles DeGaulle HS in Paris. That would be France, not Kentucky.

Also played a bunch of games of 21 with 3 other guys and finally managed to win the last one. After I showered I headed to the Dirty Deli on Lowes for a Diet Pepsi.

Closed.

Is this permanent or just because UD is on break?

Next stop was Flyer Spirit for a nice red UD Basketball t-shirt. My hoops wardrobe needed some updating. Then I headed across the street to the Sub House. The Elder Swampette had told me that they had added wooden booths, but it still has that 1970s feel to it.

Headed to the Arena early and down to press row and sat next to Matt Schwade from FlyerHoops.net and Flyer Feedback host George L’Hereux. Matt mentioned that the seat next to him, reserved for Ozzie Davis would probably be open, as he didn’t make it to every game. George, Matt and I watched the end of the URI/UMass game and we were all pleased by the Minutemen victory. I headed up to the Media Room and chatted with the guys from Flyer Radio. I had sat down the row from them in Pittsburgh and I asked them if they had to pay their own way there and it turns out that UD reimburses them for their expenses, which is nice. They said when they got to the Palumbo Center they discovered that they didn’t have a phone line, so they couldn’t broadcast. Ouch.

Wandered back down to the floor and ran into Dr. Dan. I told him that I had played at the RecPlex and what a gorgeous facility it is. I reminded him that his wife spoke at the awards ceremony when the Elder Swampette won the Huth Award her senior year at UD. He seemed pleased when I told him she is now an attorney practicing Family Law in Chicago.

Still no Ozzie, so I guess I’m good to go for the courtside seat. I walked up to where the players’ families sit and introduced myself to Chris Wright’s mom. She and I have had several email conversations the past few years, but we had never met. She was there with one of CW’s teachers and I asked the teacher if she was in the CW video, but she wasn’t. I told Ms. Grigsby that my favorite line was when Chris woke her up at 3:00AM to tell her that he was committing and she snarled “Committing to what? A butt whupping?” Nice lady.

The Flyers were still warming up and I shook hands and said hello to fellow Detroiter Paul Williams. He had a big smile on his face and said he was looking forward to the game.

The senior night ceremony was first class. No matter what your opinion of the basketball capabilities of these 7 players, no one can deny that they have represented the university extremely well. Thanks guys.

Lots of recruits in the house. Juwan Staten is home from Oak Hill. LaDontae Henton is sporting a Detroit Tigers hat while Trey McDonald has on a Red Sox cap…I like that McDonald kid already! 2013 PG deluxe Jaron Simmons from Alter is also here.

The game was a massive disappointment.

Afterwards, we “media types” were standing outside the locker room and chatting. Introduced myself to Tom Archdeacon and mentioned that we took some classes together at UD. He doesn’t look like a “truck driver” at all. As a matter of fact Arch was the best dressed guy there by far, sporting a checked sport coat and dress slacks. Doug Harris said that his dad Chris, the former Flyer player and broadcaster has been living in Florida for 25 years. I used to call on Chris when he owned an appliance store and I was selling for WVUD. He never bought anything but he was a good guy.

When they let us into the locker room it was a pretty somber bunch of Flyers, as you might expect. Rob looked like someone told him his dog just died. I said hello to Devin Searcy and introduced myself to both 2011 PGs: Josh Parker was sitting next to DS and Juwan Staten walked by shortly thereafter. Talked to Cornell Mann a little bit. I stayed out of the way as Arch, Doug and Matt asked the guys the tough questions, while the TV cameras rolled.

Then it was off to the Media Room. BG was very distraught. He used words like “upset” and I’m not saying he was to the point of tears, but he did stop and rub his eyes for a second. He felt that UD was “a step slow” and “hesitant” in the first half and that the ball pressure wasn’t as good as it should have been. The Billikens shooting 7-7 from three point land certainly didn’t help. Coach Gregory said that the team needs to rest up and be fresher for their next challenge.

I introduced myself to Yvette Gregory after BG was done speaking. I told her that he’s the right guy for the job and that this streak of bad luck will only make him and the team stronger. I also reminded her to enjoy those 2 girls while they are young, because before you know it they’ll be 27 and 23 like mine are.

Doug Hauschild told me it will be UD vs. GW on Tuesday at 7:00PM and while it won’t be televised, it will definitely be streamed on the DaytonFlyers.com website.

All in all, it was a nice day for a drive.

That’s it “From the Swamp.”
You can email me at: swampy@udpride.com