University of Tennessee Athletics
Mark Pancratz: Virgin Islands Diary Day 4
November 22, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 22, 2009
Pancratz: Virgin Islands Diary Day 3
Pancratz: Virgin Islands Diary Day 2
Pancratz: Virgin Islands Diary Day 1
Saturday. Let me start off by thanking everyone for their messages about this blog. I hope everyone is enjoying it! To be honest, I haven't written this much since I got my Master's degree two years ago, so I apologize for my embarrassing writing skills (thank goodness for spell check... I mean, is it then or than; accept or except? ha ha!).
In the morning we let our guys sleep in a little longer than we have been because it was Saturday and we didn't require our guys to have a study hall session. On the other hand, Coach Pearl and other members of the staff were up bright and early preparing for DePaul. Although some people (like my fiancé and the other wives) think the staff is crazy for the lack of sleep we get, there are some benefits to getting up early. For instance, this morning I saw a HUGE and gorgeous white cruise ship as it entered the harbor. I swear it could have fit the entire population of Greeneville, Tenn., on board it was so big. I really need to find the time to go on one of those.
Our guys were required to come down for breakfast at 9:30 a.m. before we got together as a team for film at 10:45 a.m. Before Coach Pearl showed our guys the breakdown of DePaul's plays and personnel tendencies, he discussed with them how important it would be to start the game off with great energy and focus. Last year, DePaul had its worst season in school history. Therefore, they are very excited to have a clean slate and are hungry to develop a winning mentality by leaving it all on the floor as they sacrifice any personal agendas to do what's best for the team. After talking to the team, our staff began showing them the DePaul breakdown. After a couple players asked thorough questions about certain defensive tactics, Coach Pearl stopped the tape and said, "You know what guys? This year I really feel like I'm watching and learning with you while we have our film sessions. I see a difference in your eyes when we watch this together. It's exciting, and I appreciate that!"
As you may be figuring out by now, after film we went to the high school gym for practice. As we somewhat expected, we did not have a great practice. We were missing energy. This, as Coach Pearl pointed out, is exactly what he was talking about in film. We can't choose certain times in practice, games, the classroom or anywhere else when we want to do what is asked of us. We need to come to get better everyday, and as teammates you need to be there to pick up other teammates' energy if they didn't bring it that day. That's how WE get better each day. After a slow start in our shooting and ball-handling drills, the energy jumped up immensely when Emmanuel Negedu returned to the court as a member of our scout team. Although Eman is still not allowed to participate in any intense exercise, I suggested to Coach that we utilize Eman today since the scout team would just be walking through DePaul's half-court plays. Seeing the elation in Eman's eyes when I told him he would be playing the role of DePaul's best post player, Mac Koshwal, made my day. Whenever anyone talks about Eman, they always refer to how great of a kid he is and I can't help but do the same. He is one of the best people I have ever met. His heart may be vulnerable in areas where most people's are healthy, but his heart is stronger than 99.9 percent of the world when it comes to his sincere kindness for every person he encounters. The best example that I've seen of how our guys are playing for Eman was seeing each of their faces light up when Eman got the ball in the post. Despite not doing anything physical for the last seven weeks or so, Eman jumped up as though he was on a pogo stick and dunked the ball.
We had to hurry back to the hotel after practice to catch our catamaran ride that the tournament set up for our traveling party to go snorkeling. We didn't make the entire team go, due to some of them having family in town that they wanted to hang out with, while others just wanted to relax around the hotel. Seven of the guys and most members of the staff decided that they didn't want to miss this awesome opportunity. I can guarantee you that I wasn't about to miss it. Especially considering how I hadn't been out of the hotel for anything other than basketball functions (practice/game) for the last three days. I'm pretty sure that if I didn't go, my fiancé would've killed me!
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I don't have enough time to talk about all the hilarious things that were seen and said while we were sailing out to the snorkeling hot spots, so I'm just going to tell you one of the best ones. Before we were allowed into the water, the captain gave a brief snorkeling lesson before we could get started. More than half of our group, including most of our players, stayed back to learn. Well, as the captain of the boat was beginning this lesson, Eman politely interrupted the captain to ask. "Do we have to be able to swim to snorkel?" The captain replied with "Yeah, that would be a good start!" Eman, somewhat embarrassed, responded with "I don't swim, I climb trees!"
Once everyone had convinced themselves that it would be painless and they wouldn't drown (some of the players were pretty nervous) we all jumped in. As soon as we ducked our head into the water, we became witnesses to an entirely different world. We saw fish of all different colors and sizes, stingrays, huge sea turtles and unique coral. It was an experience that everyone should get the chance to do at least one time in their life.
After an hour or so in the water, it was time to head back to the hotel. Although it only took us about 30 minutes to get out to the snorkeling location, the way back took much longer because we ran into some rainy weather. As the captain informed us, the reason it was taking us much longer to get back was because rain clouds actually slowed down the wind. This rain forced our entire group underneath the deck for a decent portion of the trip back. With Dave Matthews Band blaring on the boat's sound system--and plenty of food, drinks and friends--we were still able to view and enjoy our picturesque surroundings. I was completely content, that is, until the weather cleared up and the sun showed itself right before it set for the night. It was during our return back to the harbor, while other sail boats were sailing around us and a soft warm breeze came into the air that I almost wished someone could hit pause so that I could enjoy the moment just a little bit longer.
When we all got back to the hotel, we were starving! I informed the team that we would be meeting down in the lobby at 6:45 p.m. to board some vans so that they could go get some food. We chose this time because we all wanted the guys to be able to get back to their rooms in time to watch the football Vols dominate Vanderbilt on senior night. Brooke (my fiancé) and I went with Ken Johnson and his wife and some other members of our athletic department to a local restaurant to watch the first half of the game. I've become happier and happier for not only Lane Kiffin and his staff each week, but for quarterback Jonathan Crompton in particular. The mental toughness that he has demonstrated throughout this season has been unbelievably inspiring!
Soon after the game, Troy Wills (our Strength and Conditioning Coach) brought drinks (water, Gatorade, etc.) and snacks (protein bars, granola bars, etc.) around to all of our players. After a day many of them spent in the sun, it was going to be very important that they had plenty of fluids in their system.
Now that the day's festivities have ended, it's time for our players to begin to physically and mentally prepare for our 7:00 p.m. AST semifinal contest vs. DePaul on Sunday. As our guys lay their heads on their pillows, I hope they are thinking about how lucky they are for the opportunity the University of Tennessee has given us to experience the Virgin Islands. However, as Tyler Smith told me yesterday, this trip is strictly business. I hope you'll be able to check us out tomorrow on Fox College Sports Sunday!
Mark
