It’s a basketball hotbed right now in Florida, and I decided to bring in two basketball experts to discuss it. Podcast veteran Paul Clark and first time guest Corey Edwards join me to discuss FGCU, the NCAA Tournament, the Miami Heat streak, and everything else in the world of the NBA in this edition of The Captain’s Corner.
WARNING: There are severe technical difficulties within this podcast. But if you weather that storm, you’ll be getting some excellent basketball insight.
“Started from the bottom now we here.”
That’s the popular motto at Florida Gulf Coast University right now, but technically, that’s incorrect. The best way to put it would be “Started as a swamp now we here,” since just 21 short years ago, when the site for the FGCU campus was chosen, this was all swamp land. Where I live today, in North Lake Village, a collection of apartment style dorms, some of which overlook a beach, was once nothing but swamp land. Where swarms of news reporters have flocked to see what this previously unknown school is all about… it was once nothing but swamp land. Now we’re the fastest growing Division I school in the entire country and much to the surprise of everyone across the nation, in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament. We started as a swamp now we here; busting brackets, stealing the headlines from all of the traditional college basketball powers, and becoming America’s team… only 21 years later after being just a swamp. 
I heard about FGCU back in 2009 when it was time that I had to start looking at colleges. At that time I was debating whether to move out of state for college, or stay close to home (Elba, New York) to try to play Division III basketball. My aunt and uncle live in nearby Punta Gorda, Florida, and my aunt, a graduate of FGCU, was putting a lot of pressure on me to make the move down south to Fort Myers, Florida. My parents, who had been looking for an excuse to move to Florida since I was four years old, were completely on board with the idea of me becoming an FGCU student, and suddenly I was only getting mail from FGCU. Apparently all of the other colleges lost interest in me or their brochures were getting lost in the mail. I got an FGCU basketball t-shirt for Christmas in 2009, before I had even officially decided to apply to the school, but at that point it was a forgone conclusion that I was going to end up being an Eagle. So in the summer of 2010, my parents and I left Elba and moved to Fort Myers so I could go to FGCU, a school that I knew very little about besides the fact that my aunt went there about ten years prior, and a good portion of campus still contained wildlife (snakes, alligators, wild boars… you know, totally normal, non-threating animals).
So let’s fast forward two and a half years down the road. I’ve enjoyed my time at FGCU. I’ll spare you most of the details, but I’ll sum up my time at FGCU like this—I’ve met a lot of cool people, played a ton of pick-up basketball on our outdoor basketball courts, done reasonably well in school, and live with the two best friends I’ve made since I moved to Florida. Life is great, absolutely no complaints, and I wouldn’t change a thing. I couldn’t imagine things being better. But somehow, things got a whole lot better in only two days. Not just for me. For the entire University.
March Madness is interesting for a variety of reasons. The four month season leads up the genocide of thousands of trees which are turned into blank brackets, a 68 team field is assembled, a few days of sports media speculation consumes everyone, an endless amount of brackets get filled out in a million different ways, and then those aforementioned brackets are busted. Powerhouses cement themselves as the favorites of the tournament, a few upsets occur, and occasionally an underdog story starts gaining steam, which in my eyes is always the most interesting part. North Carolina State, Villanova, Gonzaga, George Mason, Davidson, Butler, VCU… there is a large collection of teams in the past that have forced people to throw their brackets in the trash and let go of the dreams of winning office pools. And now in the NCAA’s 75th men’s basketball tournament, my school has entered that discussion with the Gonzaga’s, George Mason’s and Butler’s of the college basketball world. What the hell is going on here? 
FGCU established a Division II basketball team only eleven years ago… and now we here? Five years ago we entered Division I basketball… and now we here? I’m starting to believe we’re all just puppets, and Walt Disney is the puppet master of this incredible story, because this whole tournament run seems more like a future Disney movie than real life. In just our 2nd year of full Division I membership, and the 2nd year of coach Andy Enfield’s tenure, my FGCU Eagles are THE story of the NCAA Tournament. It’s surreal.
If you look at the team itself, it’s not a shock that we are indeed shocking the basketball world. The pieces to the puzzle are in place for an extended tournament run, only nobody thought to look at an upstart school like FGCU as potentially the greatest Cinderella story of all time. A young, smart, players’ coach who has NBA experience? Andy Enfield is our guy. Plus he’s married to a freaking supermodel. A crafty point guard who passes the ball with Maravich-esque flair who throws lobs like he is doing his best Chris Paul impression? Meet Brett Comer. One of the peskiest defenders in the country who has stepped up offensively in the tournament, and also happens to be a classmate of mine in non-verbal communication? Let me introduce you to Bernard Thompson. A ton of long, athletic and energetic big guys who love being thrown lobs, which works out extremely well since after all we do live in Dunk City, USA? Say hello to Chase Fieler, Eric McKnight and Eddie Murray. A Swiss guy who runs off screens, buries threes and looks like Sasha Vujacic? Yeah, we have one of them. His name is Christophe Varidel. And we also have Sherwood Brown. But no introduction is needed for Sherwood. Everybody knows Sherwood, and everybody loves Sherwood. Collectively, the FGCU Eagles are a team that boasts the ball movement and continuity of a savvy group of 40 year olds who play in an old man’s league together, the swagger of the Miami Heat, a highlight package that is similar to a slam dunk contest, and the belief that we’re better than everyone else.
The final piece to that puzzle is a fan base that adores the team, and on Sunday night, I witnessed this firsthand for the first time. After we beat San Diego State to become the first 15 seed to ever make the Sweet Sixteen, students (including myself) rushed into the center of North Lake Village and held a controlled riot. News stations taped us as we screamed “FGCU,” “Cinderella,” “Eff your bracket,” “Sweet Sixteen” and every other chant we could think of. Then we stormed the beach. We can do that because we have a beach on our campus. Yes, we are Cinderella, and we have a beach on campus.
It doesn’t even matter what happens in Dallas when we play the University of Florida. We’ve already captured the nation’s imagination and become America’s team. We’ve taken over ESPN, Facebook, Twitter, and every other media outlet you can name. In the process, FGCU has redefined what Cinderella tournament runs are all about. It’s about schools in their first NCAA Tournament who go into every single tournament game with the belief that we are the best team in the country, even though conventional wisdom would say otherwise. Luckily, the NCAA Tournament isn’t about conventional wisdom. It never has been, and it certainly isn’t now. Would conventional wisdom say that a school that’s only 15 years old could make a run to the Sweet Sixteen? I seriously doubt it. I’ve thrown conventional wisdom out the window. I believe in FGCU and that’s a belief that is echoed across the FGCU campus. Let me tell you this: after the pep rally that was held on Monday night, every single person on the FGCU campus believes we can and will win the National Title. Yeah, you heard me; National Title. We started as a swamp now we here. Why would we believe an NCAA Championship is out of the question?
Winner
My Immune System- For the first time since 2002, I haven’t been ailing as I watched the first day of the NCAA Tournament. In the past I had battles with Chicken Pox, Lice, Night Blindness, Pink Eye, Food Poisoning, Whooping Cough, Mad Cow Disease, Bladder Infection, Strep Throat, and Typhoid Fever. This year I’m as healthy as can be. It’s a great feeling. In completely unrelated news, my spring semester school schedule does not feature any classes on Thursdays.
Loser
Bryce Drew- The former tournament darling couldn’t resurrect any of that old Valpo magic as his Crusaders fell to the Michigan State Spartans in the first game of the day, but not before making a furious comeback that nearly cost me a 20 cent bet on Free Sports Bet (we’ll get to this in a bit). The good news for Bryce his famous buzzer beater is now being used new commercials for Axe Apollo; only his spotlight is stolen by an astronaut.
Winner
Atlantic 10 Conference How about the Atlantic 10 Conference coming through with some impressive wins today. Butler took down trendy upset pick Bucknell after both teams got off to a sluggish start. Saint Louis handled New Mexico State, and VCU beat the breaks off of the short-handed Akron Zips.
Loser
Mountain West Conference Things didn’t go quite as smoothly for the Mountain West Conference, one of the best in the country if you go by RPI. Colorado State defeated Missouri in the always tricky to predict 8/9 matchup, but UNLV and New Mexico were both the victims of 1st round upsets on Thursday to California and Harvard.
Winner
Pac-12 Conference Even though the Mountain West stunk like a rotten egg fart, the Pac-12, fueled by the lack of respect from the selection committee, went undefeated on the day and saved the west coast basketball scene. Oregon and California (underdogs) and Arizona (trendy pick to be upset by Belmont) all were victorious on opening day.
Loser
The Imaginary People Who Placed An Imaginary Bet That I Would Actually Get Schoolwork Done on Thursday- Sorry folks, your money now belongs to your local sports book. How could you be so foolish?
Winner
The Imaginary People Who Plan On Placing An Imaginary Bet That I Will Actually Get Schoolwork Done on Friday- Here’s a gimme for you. Don’t make the same mistake you made yesterday. I’m going to the see the Miami Heat extend their win streak to 25 games today. This imaginary bet is so one-sided, it might be taken off the board. But it also begs the question, when will I get my two papers and three presentations done before Monday? My answer to that question: We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
Loser
Mike Muscala- I picked Butler to win the game, but I expected a lot more than a 4-17 shooting, 9 point, 10 rebound performance from the Bucknell star forward. In retrospect, I shouldn’t have set my expectations too high for a “Bucknell star forward.”
Winner
Joe Willman- Two things stand out about Joe Willman, the Bucknell senior forward that I did not know existed before today. First, was significantly more impressive than teammate Mike Muscala. He scored 20 points (the only player for Bucknell in double digits) and was the catalyst to their 2nd half comeback. Secondly, he’s a ginger, and gave by far the best ginger performance of day one of the tournament.
Loser
Sim Buhlar- The New Mexico State 7’5 behemoth looked totally out of place in the Aggies game against Saint Louis not only because his footwork and hand eye coordination was lackluster, but also because he was about a foot taller than anyone else out there. The highlight of getting to watch Sim today was a mention of the immortal Kenny George, the 7’7 UNC-Asheville center. I’ll always remember four things about Kenny George. First, he could dunk without jumping. Second, HE COULD DUNK WITHOUT JUMPING! Third, UNC-Asheville had an inbound play called “automatic” where the inbounder would just throw it right in front of the rim because of said skill set. Fourth, you did not attack the basket when George was in the game, unless you’re Tyler Hansbrough, who put George on a poster. And fifth, George unfortunately had half of his right foot amputated because of Staph Infection.
Winner
Onions- To my knowledge we unfortunately didn’t get any of Bill Raftery’s “Onions!” calls today, but man did I have some excellent sausage, peppers and onions at the Sovi Dining Hall today. My goodness!
Loser
Jamie Dixon- That’s it! No more picking Pittsburgh until they show me that they aren’t going to consistently underachieve under Jamie Dixon. Fact: Pittsburgh hasn’t advance past the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament under Jamie Dixon in six of his nine years there. This isn’t a trend anymore. It’s a scientific law. Add him to the list of coaches to pick against; a list that already contains Rick Barnes. Don’t pick either Pitt or Texas to ever make an extended run in the NCAA Tournament.
Winner
My Stomach- My stomach might possibly be the biggest winner of the day. For lunch I had Chinese food, for dinner I had the aforementioned sausage, peppers and ONIONS, and then half of a Red Baron pizza for a snack. This guy is pleasantly full.
Loser
The Rims- I love March Madness just like everyone else, but my lord there was a lot of bad basketball on the tube today. A whopping 15 teams shot under 40% on day one. Yikes!
Winner
Spero Dedes’ Goatee- Spero, I feel you on the goatee look buddy. You’re lookin’ fly. Stay cool, Spero. Stay cool.
Loser
Memphis Tigers- I’m well aware that Memphis edged out a victory over St. Mary’s, but my oh my, Memphis loves to flirt with disaster. Whether it’s being unable to inbound the ball late in games, or missing clutch free throws (Cut to Kansas fans high fiving each other), Memphis locks up in tight games like it’s an addiction. It’s like watching a Shakespearean tragedy. You know it’s going to end badly eventually, you’re just unsure how and when it’s going to happen.
Winner
Players of the Day- Derrick Nix (23 points, 15 rebounds), Andrew Smith (14 points, 16 rebounds), Dwayne Evans (24 points, 6 rebounds, Approximately 426 free throw line jumpers made), D.J. Stephens (9 points, 8 blocks), Vander Blue (16 points, game winning layup), Kelly Olynyk (21 points, 10 rebounds), Arsalan Kazemi (11 points, 17 rebounds), Russ Smith (23 points, 8 steals), The sons of Glenn Robinson and Tim Hardaway (21 points each), Dorian Green (26 points)
Loser
College Basketball Fans Brackets- In large part due to Harvard’s upset over New Mexico, the majority of the world’s brackets have been busted. In the LaterNamed bracket pool, the entries “Ponchos Bracket” and “Alta Giuliano’s Great Bracket” are in a dead heat for last place, while “Jbirdizzle” and “BigBrainswithBigBalls” managed to pick 13 games correct apiece, and share the lead for the LaterNamed bracket pool.
Winner
College Basketball Fans- Today wasn’t an all-time great opening day, but there were a few games that made college basketball fans feel the madness. The mid-afternoon three game stretch that saw knuckle-buster wins for Memphis, Marquette and Gonzaga, coupled with a semi-exciting late night slate (California over UNLV, Harvard over New Mexico) was good enough to salvage the day. The good news is the Tournament Gods never let us down. We still have a lot more madness ahead of us.
“Don’t give up… Don’t ever give up.”
If you’re a sports fan, those words have a special meaning to you. You’ve seen the speech; maybe the most memorable speech ever given by a sports figure. A speech that transcends the sporting world and focuses on something much more universal and important than that. When you listen to Jim Valvano give this speech, which was just over 20 years ago, it’s impossible to fight back goose bumps and tears. And after you listen to that speech, it’s impossible not to want to make a difference. I want to make a difference.
I have had family members lose their lives to cancer. I have family members fighting cancer right now, and they will beat it. They won’t give up. I know that. I want to do my part to help not just my family, but everyone who has been directly or indirectly impacted by cancer.
In the last twenty years the V Foundation for Cancer Research has already raised more than $100 million. I want to donate more.
Since I was eight years old I’ve wanted to be on the reality television show Big Brother. For those who aren’t familiar with the show, it’s a show where 12-14 strangers enter a house and compete in a variety of challenges over the course of three months to win the $500,000 grand prize. For thirteen years I’ve watched as players lied, manipulated, and did whatever they had to do to win the game, and so many times people take it much too seriously. They forget that Big Brother is a privilege. Over the shows 14 seasons 163 people have been lucky enough to get a chance to compete for $500,000. In 2010, 574,743 people died of cancer in the United States.
Big Brother isn’t a game that should be taken personally like it so often is by people who go on the show; it’s an opportunity that thousands wish for each year. For me, it’s an opportunity I’ve been hoping to get for thirteen years. I’ve convinced myself that with thirteen years of gameplay in the back of my mind and the Machiavellian attitude that I’ll do whatever it takes to win, I can be the best Big Brother player ever. I’m convinced I can win. And if I do, I get my chance to make a difference.
If I get cast for Big Brother season 15, or any season down the road, I will win. And when I win Big Brother, I’ll donate $250,000 to the V Foundation for Cancer Research. I’m 21 years old and have been blessed with so much in my life: The best family in the world, great friends, good health, etc. I’m a Communication major at Florida Gulf Coast University, and someday I hope to be a successful sports journalist. Someday I hope I’m lucky enough to start a family and we can live long and happy lives together. Getting the chance to be on Big Brother would be the cherry on top of the sundae. But I don’t need $500,000 for my life to be looked at as successful. That money won’t buy me happiness. The majority of that money should go somewhere more important than my bank account. It should go to people who need a second chance. People who are fighting for their lives. It should go towards a cure for cancer.
Big Brother isn’t real life. Big Brother is a GAME. What’s going on in real life is people are fighting to beat a terrible sickness. Someday we will find a cure for cancer. We’ll never give up. I want to go on Big Brother to remind people that it is indeed a game, and there are things that are more important than getting your feelings hurt playing a game. Getting my chance to make a difference is more important.
Everyone has seen it. In two days on YouTube it’s already garnered nearly 7,000,000 views. Now, it’s time for the running diary recap of the downright hilarious Miami Heat Harlem Shake video.
0:02- We’re introduced to the Miami Heat locker room which has the Larry O’Brien trophy plastered all over the place (as if we were going to forget), highlighted by a large trophy in the middle of the carpet, with the word “Champions” running through the middle of it. We’ve got thirteen Heat players standing and sitting around in the locker room and as always, they’re acting totally oblivious about what is to come. But the lingering question two seconds in remains, where is Birdman?
0:04- Ah, there’s Birdman. He comes moseying in from off screen with a little hop in his step. I wonder what he’s going to do.
0:06- Oh God, Birdman is flapping his wings.
0:12- There has been a 7’0 tall man with a Mohawk and tattoos covering 80% of his body flapping his arms as if there were wings for 6 seconds and all the Heat players are focused on right now is getting a good stretch in. He’s standing in the middle of the room and no one has a care in the world. LeBron is just focused on staying loose for his pre-game dunk contest. I love the Harlem Shake.
0:14- Uh oh! Birdman is getting dangerously close to the camera right now. I think I know what’s coming.
0:16- “And do the Harlem Shake!”
0:17- And do the Harlem Shake they will! Wow, we have a lot going on in this locker room right now. I don’t even know where to begin. At very first glance you see LeBron decked out in a king costume (appropriate) right in the middle, absorbing the majority of the attention (typical). Right behind LeBron is a dancing disco bear, being played by Dwyane Wade, who is paying homage to his city, and rapper Kanye West. Chris Bosh is holding a gold boom-box while wearing a baby blue bathrobe and black cowboy hat. And it appears as if Super Mario has joined the party as well.
0:21- LeBron hasn’t moved from the front, but a few new characters are establishing themselves. Norris Cole’s pants are almost up to his high top fade, but not quite. Birdman is standing in the back left corner of the room looking intimidating as hell with a bandana over his face. And it also appears as if we have a man in a sombrero pushing a man in a Santa-style Christmas cap in a cart. This should be fun.
0:25- Mike Miller (sombrero and luchador mask) and Joel Anthony (Santa cap) have passed in front of LeBron, but that doesn’t stop LeBron from dancing like a maniac, making faces like a 6 year old kid whose dancing like a maniac, and still maintaining the edge over Birdman for MVP of this video so far. It also seems as if we have a horse floating around in the back of the locker room. You can’t make this stuff up.
0:32- The regular portion of the Harlem Shake video ends, but now some of the guys will get their own time to shine. To no one’s surprise, LeBron is first. And I’m not totally sure what he’s doing. It just looks like he’s shaking furiously in front of the camera, but I’m in no place to judge the best basketball player in the world.
0:35- Granted I don’t spend too much time at the dance clubs, but Chris Bosh is doing some kind of dance that I’ve never seen before. In bigger news, we get our first good glimpse of James Jones who will later be making a strong push for MVP of the video. His multi-colored Jeri Curl wig, overalls, high socks and outlandishly large and colorful tie is just high quality comedy.
0:38- It’s Dwyane Wade’s time to shine, but he’s out done by the introduction of Shane Battier: Horse-tronaut. I love it. Even in the Harlem Shake Dwyane Wade will remain in someone’s shadow. But in all seriousness, I love that Wade was the one who apparently went and got the costumes for the entire team. This makes me become 20% more of a Dwyane Wade fan.
0:39- Ray Allen (or his mother, not sure which one it is) is in a Phantom of the Opera mask and cape. James Jones is inching closer to the spotlight, and I just realized that when Wade (in the giant Bear head) is standing still, he could easily be confused for a psychopath in a horror movie.
0:41- Rashard Lewis doing his best mime impression is working on getting himself out of a box. He might want to work on his corner jumper so he could get on the court a little bit more.
0:42- It saddens me deeply that I only get to watch one second of a James Jones close up in this video. Someone on YouTube needs to make one of those ridiculous ten hour loop videos of Jones dancing.
0:43- Norris Cole can do just about anything with that haircut and make it look cool.
0:45- “It’s-a-me, Mario!”
0:46- Besides James Jones, this is my favorite part of the individual portions of the video: Birdman looking intimidating as hell with 8,000 tattoos, black bandana, black sun glasses and a Mohawk, making the usually intimidating Udonis Haslem look tame. It could be because Haslem is wearing a blazer, a fireman’s helmet and the WWE Championship belt around his waist.
0:50- The group together. Maybe it’s the current 13 game win streak. Maybe it’s LeBron James playing basketball at a level that has never been seen before. Or maybe it’s this goofy ass Harlem Shake video. But I’m falling in love with the Miami Heat all over again.
