Winning The National Championship As A Manager

Rob Spiesman UConn Manager:

Being a manager for UConn has been a great experience, especially during the 2010-2011 season. Coming into the season, I had thought to myself that we would have one of the top players in the country (Kemba Walker). However, I was not sure what kind of an impact the supporting cast of freshman, sophomores, and little used seniors could make. The fact that Sports Illustrated did not include us in its preseason projection of the field of 68 really motivated the team and showed how low others' expectations really were.

Traveling with the team to Hawaii for the EA Sports Maui Invitational was a fantastic experience. The 12+ hour trip each way definitely was worth it, in part because of the exotic location, and obviously due to the way the team jumped on to the national stage to beat Wichita State, Michigan State, and of course, Kentucky.

The regular season had it's ups (overtime win at Texas) and downs (blowout loss at St. Johns), but for a manager, it was fun to be at practice everyday to witness the team staying together and having fun. However, after losing the last few games of the regular season, the expectations came back down to Earth. Personally, I did not think anything could top Maui, but the Big East Tournament was as good as 5 days could be for a college basketball program. Each game built upon the previous one with some unforgettable moments mixed in. Kemba's buzzer beater vs. Pitt is a moment I will never forget, as is rushing the court after Preston Knowles three pointer bounced off the rim which would have tied the championship game for Louisville.

The run through the NCAA Tournament was just gravy on top of the Big East Tournament Championship. The games in Anaheim were the toughest in my opinion, as San Diego State and Arizona had definite home court advantage in each game as almost the whole Honda Center was filled with their fans. The Final Four in Houston was the culmination of an improbable 11-0 journey to end the season in the best possible way, a National Championship!