Last Thursday I had the opportunity to travel with the men’s and women’s basketball teams to Manhattan. I received the chance to experience the women’s preparation for the game and how the men celebrated the team’s big win over Manhattan.
At 2:45 p.m., the women boarded the bus at the Walsh Athletic Center. They all seemed very light-hearted as they greeted others on the bus. As the bus rolled out of the athletic center, head coach Dianne Nolan walked to the back of the bus and handed out written player and team goals and a scouting report for their upcoming game.
The goals for the players were how many rebounds they should grab, or what their shooting percentage should be. Team goals covered their field goal percentage, rebounds, turnovers and assists. Those team goals also went for what Nolan wanted the Stags to hold the opposition to.
As we started trucking along on I-95 some of the players started doing homework, some decided to listen to music and some of the girls decided to talk a little bit.
The coaches, who sat in the front, went over the game plan and the scouting report. One of the assistant coaches put in a tape of Manhattan’s last game against Marist. The women watched the tape, while looking over the scouting report.
The players’ attention eventually drifted to the window. As they gazed out, I could only guess what they were thinking. Are they going to win the game? How many points is one of them going to score? What is on TV tonight? As we got deeper into the trip, I noticed many of the girls had dozed off, and eventually I would too.
I woke up when we got off the exit and realized the players were gathering themselves and their eyes were widening as we approached the school. I wondered if they were nervous and how they were feeling. But the look in their eyes told me that they were confident and as ready as they could be for the game.
I saw that same confidence and poise in the women’s play, especially in the first half. And with that attitude they took a 31-27 lead into halftime against the No. 1 ranked team in the MAAC. The Stags ended up losing the game, but I was convinced that the women were very composed in their preparation for the game.
At around 10 p.m., I boarded the men’s team bus, after their biggest victory of year, and of Tim O’Toole’s coaching career at Fairfield. Fairfield just beat Manhattan, who had the longest winning streak in the nation at the time of 15 games, and was ranked No. 1 in the MAAC.
Fairfield won the game 70-68, in what some people called an upset, but according to the players on the bus they knew they could win and weren’t all that surprised.
When I got onto the bus there was the expected hooting and hollering about the victory. There was talk about how they felt they shut down Luis Flores, the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year, in the closing minutes.
Deng Gai walked on the bus with a big smile, giving out pounds like he gives out blocks during a game. And he also got a pizza. Everyone on the team — players, coaches, team managers — received their own pizza.
As we left Manhattan, some of the players talked about how they shocked the gymnasium and how they felt no one in there gave them a chance to win. The hoopla on the bus quickly quieted down soon as we were on the highway. The coaches briefly discussed some of the game, but mostly sat in silence also.
An overall feeling of professionalism came over me as I looked around. They knew that they had a job to do there, and they went there and did it. No extreme celebrations, just all business.
This poised group of young men acted professionally on and off the court, and riding with them on the way home, I just got the feeling that this team is all business when it comes to playing ball.
After the quiet ride home, we got off the exit around 11:30 p.m., and were greeted with a few cars honking that welcomed the team home after one of the biggest victories in Fairfield basketball history.
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