I am sad to say it, but there aren't going to be many more blogs.  I will follow this blog up with a final special edition blog.  So keep checking in the next week or two.  Sorry again for the infrequent posts.  Let me catch some of you up with what has happened since the last blog. 

            I'll start off with the bad news/events first.  We were undefeated at home in conference play for the past two seasons.  We took care of North Florida in the first game of the last weekend of conference play.  Everyone played well and things seemed to be falling into place.  I thought there was no way that Jacksonville could beat us on senior night, at home in front of a great crowd of 3,000 plus.  But just when you don't expect it, the unexpected happens.  We came out really sloppy in the first half and dug ourselves a hole.  The second half was good enough to send the game into overtime, but not enough to carry us to victory.  Alex Renfroe could have scored 50 points had a few more free-throws falling.  He ended up with 38.  Not too bad.  With that loss we headed into the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament as the number 3 seed.  For those of you who were at the first round game of the tourney know the significance that Mick Hedgepeth had in that game.  What a play at the end.  He got a missed last second shot by yours truly, and made a power move to score with 0.2 seconds left in the game to give us a 1 point lead and ultimately the win.  It gets me nervous thinking about it now and it happened two weeks ago.  So we advanced to the second round against a tough ETSU team.  They played very well. Congratulations to them on winning the tournament and good luck in the NCAA tourney.  They were the best team in the A-Sun for that week and deserved to win.  It seemed that everything we tried to do, they had an answer for.  Whenever we needed a stop, they would hit a shot.  Whenever we needed a bucket, they would play great defense.  That's what good teams do when games are on the line though.  So congrats again to ETSU and good luck.

            So all of our dreams, goals, and expectations died that night when we lost to ETSU.  Our chance for a fourth straight A-Sun tourney win, gone.  Our chance for a fourth straight NCAA tourney game, gone.  Our chance at upsetting one of the best teams in the country in front of the entire nation, gone.  But our chance for post season play was not gone.  We were invited to play in a new tournament this year called the College Insider Tournament, CIT.  There are a lot of good mid-major schools in the tourney and should make for competitive basketball.  We travel to Evansville tonight to play in the first round of the CIT.  I am not going to lie about this.  It has been a rollercoaster of emotions for our team, at least me in particular.  Being a senior and having all our goals and expectations out of our reach, it is hard to cope with what all I feel.  Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled to still be playing and it is an honor to play in the CIT.  But when you aren't prepared or aware of the fact that you could possibly play in another tournament other than the NCAA, it is hard to switch mentalities.  I went from thinking that I would never be able to play again.  Something I have done since I was five years old, to having the opportunity to play again.  But not in the NCAA tourney, which I have played in the past three years.  I don't want to sound greedy, but I guess I am a little bit.  It just so happened that we were on spring break last week and coach gave us some time off.  I had some time to think and reflect on my emotions.  One thing I realized is what matters the most to me in sports and life.  This all might sound a little sentimental and cheesy, but bear with me.  When we lost to ETSU and I had a night or two to think about the fact that our goals as team, as seniors, and as individuals were now gone, it was hard.  I was in shock.  I couldn't believe that I wasn't going to have another opportunity to ever play in the NCAA tournament again.  I thought about all the practices, running, weights, the nights I would talk with my roommate Keaton about how awesome it would be to win four straight A-Sun tourney titles.  It was sad that we didn't accomplish our goal.  I was mad that we didn't win, mad that someone else was going to take what we thought was ours.  I felt like I let my team, our coaches, and our fans down.  That's the funny thing about sports, the highs are so high, and lows are so low.  But as the days past, and I had time to cope with it, things got better.  I had a more positive outlook on what had happened the past four years.  As the news arrived that we had a really good chance of playing in another tournament, I wasn't sure what to think.  I had just gotten done with coming to grips that it was all over.  But I started to think about the fact that it would be one more opportunity for out team to be together.  I thought about how this tournament was never apart of our goals or expectations.  About how basketball isn't really about achieving goals or meeting certain expectations.  There is so much more to it.  The camaraderie that is developed between a team.  The support of one another and brotherhood that is established.  Going through tough times together, working hard and making sacrifices together, and sharing victories and accomplishments as well.  The laughs and jokes shared in the locker room.  Learning and growing together.  I am certain that I could call any one of these guys at any time, and they would be there for me.  And I would do the same for them.  That's what is important to me, that is the significance of sports in my life.  The relationships I have in my life are the most precious things this world can offer me.  I cherish them with all I have.  Let's go beat the Purple Aces!  As always Go Bruins!th