Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Kent Williams NCAA Touranment Journal
03/15/2002 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
March 15, 2002
CHICAGO, Ill. - Wednesday, March 13
As soon as I got off the bus at the Palmer House Hotel, it finally hit me that we were at the NCAA Tournament. Fox Sports hit me up for an interview before I could even get my bags. The hotel was magnificent, very fancy. After a quick team meeting, me and Carney explored the streets of Chicago. People were everywhere. It was pretty busy. We hit up a few stores and later ran into the rest of the team.
For dinner, we ate at Dave and Busters. It was a fabulous meal, and there was an arcade. I played on the football toss for about 30 minutes and worked up a good sweat. I had my pass working. After my arm started to get sore, I decided to quit. Then on my first try, I hit the jackpot on the game. I sat there for 10 minutes while 500 tickets came spilling out. I felt pretty lucky after that, so I tried a few more times, but was unsuccessful.
When I got back, I did a quick phone interview on a radio station in Chicago. It was pretty cool, but I've been interviewed so much about this game, I basically say the same thing.
We watched a little more film when we got back. Tech looks pretty good. Me and Carney went back to our room and talked a little bit about Tech's team and looked at our scouting report. I had trouble sleeping. I was still a little excited. I laid in bed thinking about the game and how this is a chance to step up and also get recognition for Southern Illinois.
Thursday, March 14
Woke up and ate a quick breakfast. Then we went to UIC for a walk through and shooting. I felt pretty good shooting. My sore wrist and elbow are feeling a lot better. It took me about five minutes before I could shoot and relax without pain. Florida was practicing next to us. I also got to talk to a buddy and former teammate from home, John Flood. He's playing baseball here. I haven't seen him in a while, so that was nice
We then ate lunch, and after a quick power nap, we left for the United Center. The bus driver was about 25 minutes late and it drove me nuts. We finally arrived at the United Center, and it was big. Very similar to the Savvis Center. Me, Rolan and Marcus did a quick press conference. We were of course asked about Bobby Knight. That's all people have been talking about. We sat in the locker room watching some upsets unfold, and then it was our turn to practice. When I walked out there, the first thing that went through my head was MJ played on this floor, shot at this basket. But once I got shooting, I could care less that he played here. You just have to say, the goal is 10 feet, the free throw line is 15 feet and the balls are the same, so let's play ball just like in my backyard. We did a lot of shooting. My shot felt good. I was focused and so hyped, I could have played right then. After our time was up, we walked by Murray's team. I saw one of my buddies from Nike All-American Camp, Chris Shumate. He's redshirting this year due to injury.
After the shoot-around, we showered at the hotel and headed to the ESPN Zone for dinner. My steak was perfect and the Zone's a cool place because all of the NCAA games were on. I hit up the gift shop for a key chain. I needed one cause I only have three small keys and a broken card and I lost them at a practice a week ago.
Me and Carney came back to the room and watched some more basketball. I fell asleep better because I was more exhausted. I did lay there thinking about my game. Tech lays back in the lane, so I will have plenty of opportunities for 3's. I also thought about getting in the lane and making sure I look for the guard looping behind me. It should be open. They also go around screens, so I need to make sure and read it. The shot fake should work a lot. I also need to get to the line for some easy points. I also visualized my defense. Where I need to be in certain situations. Even though defense is usually played the same way, I still visualize so I'm comfortable mentally.
I continued laying, thinking "I know we can beat these guys."
