This past weekend, The Collegian sent three staffers to Los Angeles to cover the Bulldogs̢۪ women̢۪s hoops team in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Photo editor Bryan Cole, staff writer Haisten Willis and I made the trek to the USC campus and made it all the way back to Fresno in the same day.
The Bulldogs didn̢۪t end up making it to the second round, losing to Cal 70-47, but still, I had a great experience. It has only been a few days, but still there are some stories to tell.
And I am sure the stories will grow as time goes on. When I tell my grandkids, it might end up being a men̢۪s tournament game and coach Steve Cleveland called us on Friday night and asked us to play in the tourney game.
But for now, going to cover the women̢۪s team has made for some cool anecdotes.
The 488-mile drive, the 8 hours in the car with Haisten and Bryan and having to wear dress clothes was worth it because…
• In the car I got to ask, ‘What the heck is that smell?’ We were in the middle of agriculture land on highway 99, but I still think that smell came from inside.
̢ۢ I ended up changing into those nice clothes in the arena̢۪s parking garage. It̢۪s always fun to change pants in the half second before another car drives by.
• The Galen Center was a beautiful arena. I think the best way to describe it is to say, “You can tell this is USC.”
̢ۢ Our seats at the media table were closer to the action than university president John Welty̢۪s and athletics director Thomas Boeh̢۪s seats. It̢۪s all about little victories.
̢ۢ The media table had a monitor with instantaneously updated statistics. Usually, we have to wait for media relations personnel to run paper stats to the working media area. It my not seem like a huge deal, but it ending up being really helpful while I was writing. Plus, it was just cool.
• I got a more transparent look at the NCAA Tournament’s operations. If you have been watching the games on television, both men’s and women’s, you have probably seen that every team is drinking Vitamin Water this year. I learned that the company sponsored the tournament and no one was allowed to drink anything but Vitamin Water, even the media. But in reality, we just had to drink from the sponsored cups. So the teams were drinking plain water and Haisten was drinking coffee from the sponsored cups. I looked around, and I couldn’t even find the sponsor’s product.
̢ۢ In the postgame press conference, media members were required to ask questions of the coaches and student-athletes on a microphone. It seemed like the type of the thing you would see on ESPNews. It seemed so impersonal, but who doesn̢۪t like talking on a microphone?
̢ۢ During that press conference, we got to see head coach Adrian Wiggins go from absolutely ticked off and disappointed, to proud of his ladies. Coach didn̢۪t seem to have any interest in answering questions at first, but by the end of the 10-minute conference, he was happy to reflect on his team̢۪s success in the 2008-09 season and excited for the season to start it all again in six months. That̢۪s just something you cannot get from a quote.
̢ۢ After the conference, media members were told they could go to the women̢۪s locker room for additional interviews. I was only in there for about 10 seconds and barely got through the entry way before team officials said the student-athlete I wanted to talk to, forward Joh-Teena Filipe, would meet me in the hallway. This is one of those stories that might grow over time.
In the end, the most important experience I will keep with me is an appreciation for the Fresno State women̢۪s basketball team. Wiggins is such a great coach, my favorite on campus, and his teams plays hard for him.
The Bulldogs were overwhelmed by Cal̢۪s size advantage, which was much more apparent in person, but never gave up any ground.
Fresno State̢۪s frontline, and the team as a whole, played with fire and heart. That is something fans would expect from their team, but it doesn̢۪t always happen.
I left the Galen Center with at least a dozen good stories, but most importantly, a new appreciation for the Fresno State women̢۪s basketball team.
Now I can̢۪t wait for those six months to go by.