The past 2 nights I have been treated from one end of the spectrum to the other. Tuesday night I went to watch a local small college game, and tonight went to see the Indiana Pacers rematch the Detroit Pistons. They both have their draws and setbacks. If both were on the same night and I had to choose between the two, I bet you'd be surprised by my choice.
Wabash College is a small men's school here in Crawfordsville. They compete in the NCAC (North Coast Athletic Conference) in Division III. The Wabash Little Giants are ranked #16 in men's division III. Wooster College is at the top of the NCAC and ranked #5 in the country. And the #2 seed Wittenberg, and Wabash's next opponent was ranked #17 but dropped from the rankings. At 19-5 the Little Giants are the 3 seed in the conference tournament. So this conference plays some pretty good basketball. I've been here for a few months now and had no idea what was going on literally up the street from me. While at a dinner the other night, a group of us were talking about college basketball, from the Kansas State upset of Kansas, to the Purdue/Indiana rivalry. Someone asked if I had been to watch Wabash play yet. He proceded to give me a little background, and it sounded interesting, so I decided to check it out. Wabash regular season games are free admission. They charged the other night because it was a conference tournament, but I was not disappointed. A little more background about the team, Mac Petty, their head coach of 35 years is calling it a career after this season is over. During that time he guided the 1981-82 team to a Division III National Title. At the final regular season game they payed tribute to him by renaming the court, "Petty Court". After attending the game, I could see why he was so well respected. The Wabash Little Giants squared off against the Kenyon Basketball Lords. Chadwick Court is very similar to a high school basketball court. It is small and you are right there close to the action. There isn't a bad seat in the house. They started off with a choir singing the National Anthem the way it's supposed to be sung. No extra, personalization of it. Those that know me, know that's a big pet peve of mine. Then it's right into the action. From the beginning of the game you could tell Mac Petty's footprint on this team. They were a very well disciplined team. They took good control of the ball. Several times in the opening half Kenyon just seemed out of control. They weren't as disciplined. But what impressed me the most about this team was their rebounding. They crashed the boards every single time. Kenyon RARELY got a second shot because Wabash dominated the boards. At one point in the second half Wabash kept possession of the ball for over a minute and a half, getting to the end of the shot clock twice, then crashing the boards. It's rare to see a team keep possession for the entire 35 seconds of the shot clock, let alone one minute and 30 seconds. It was a very impressive win, and made a statement how good this team can be. In this day in age, tv has taken over college and professional sports. TV has done wonderful things for sports, but after attending that game, can see why Phil Jackson thinks tv ruined basketball. It was refreshing to watch a game without having to cut away for a tv timeout. It was a good game in a great environment. The Chadwick Crazies were entertaining, from yelling their support, to their taunting the other team, to their "Ode to Mac Petty" song. Wabash basketball is a gem surrounded by bigger names and schools. In an area that is dominated by Purdue and Indiana, you don't here anything about this very good, nationally ranked team. I am disappointed that I just heard about it the other day, only able to attend one game. I wish now that I had done a little more homework and been able to soak in a little more of Wabash basketball.
To be continued...
Tune in tomorrow night for the conclusion of "The Fan Experience"
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