11.23.2009

Roles and wants

Ten a.m. on a Sunday can be a good time to think about who you are and what you might be able to be.

At tip in Charleston against Penn State there maybe were a couple hundred people watching this years Wildcats trying to figure that out.

At around 20-4 or so I left my seat and walked up to the concourse at Carolina First and saw a woman up there wearing a Davidson Elite 8 sweatshirt. The calendar says it wasnt that long ago. It was and it wasnt.

The legacy of that incredible achievement is many things, and different things to different people, and not yet fixed. The legacy is still very much being determined.

For this years team, and particularly for this years seniors, the legacy of the Elite 8 is extraordinary expectations. Expectations are good, or can be, but that doesn't mean theyre always fair.

Every player on this team has a new role. That includes Bryant, Will and Steve. Their roles now are as new to them as college ball in general is to JP, Jake and Nik. Theyre trying, trying their hardest, maybe trying too hard, to adjust to those new roles.

It remains to be seen whether Bryant, Will and Steve are trying to be things they cant be. That’s only four real games. But its a statement of fact that they're trying to be things they havent been.

“I think the biggest part is being expected to be a leader,” Bryant told me after the game outside the locker room. “Right now Im making mistakes. How can we expect our freshmen to do things the right way if Im not doing things the right way?”

This could be a long season?

No. This is a long season. They all are.

Thats the point.

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