Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Kent Williams NCAA Tournament Journal
03/21/2002 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Tuesday, March 19
I woke up at eight to sign up for fall and summer classes through the unilink. I also got a phone call from my Uncle Roger, congratulating me on the wins and said he was proud. Whenever Roger, my dad, my brother, my grandpa and I get together, a lot of sports is discussed, so that was a nice phone call to start the day.
I ate a bagel for breakfast and headed to class. I sat through my marketing channels class with Sal (an SIU baseball player) and Joe, one of my buddies. We talked most of the time through class about basketball and stuff. Then I sat through my next marketing class just trying to keep my eyes open. After class, I ran home and grabbed a sandwich with my roommates, Eric, Rob and Jeff. We laughed while watching re-runs of Saturday Night Live.
Then I headed to the arena where I had a TV interview with SportsCenter, CBS, channel 5 St. Louis, and a radio interview with Mike Reis. The ESPN and St. Louis girls were kinda hot, so I didn't mind those. The CBS guys are cool. They've been following us around since Chicago. And of course, Reis is Reis. I see him every day, but I told him he came first because he's been there all year.
Once the commotion settled down, we watched film on UConn. They look pretty athletic and talented. It will be difficult, but not impossible. We had a pretty good practice. It was nice to take the floor again, get some shots up and break a sweat after all the off court stuff. We had to cut practice a little short to go to a press conference. Coach, Rolan, JD and I went to the Communications building for a live press conference, which aired on several stations. The lights were so bright, I couldn't even see who was asking the questions.
I had a little break after the press conference, so I had a little to eat before I headed to the arena to do an interview with "The Best Damn Sports Show Period." Me and Coach Weber did that, which was awesome. John Salley and Tom Arnold, along with the other guy, interviewed me. Salley was cool, but Arnold tried to crack a lot of jokes. I told them before we started the interview that I wished Lisa Guerrero would have been there because she's hot, and I watch her all the time. Tom Arnold said she was too much for me to handle. At least he didn't embarrass me on national TV. After the interview, the whole team headed to the floor for the pep rally, which was incredible. We didn't expect a turnout like that, but we truly appreciated it. We had a good time. I think Ed Berger really pumped people up. Ed should think about joining the WWF. He was pretty intense. I think he wanted to play right then. I also made a promise to the crowd that I would dunk next year, and I'm going to hold that promise. Most people think I can't dunk, but I'll surprise some people. I did win a Southern Illinois all-star game dunk contest my senior year in high school.
After a lot of autograph and pictures and talking with my family, my grandma came, which was very nice. I haven't got to see or talk to her much lately with everything going on.
When I got home, I fixed a steak with macaroni and stuffed that down pretty quick. My roomates and I watched some TV, including "The Best Damn Sports Show Period," and I talked to a couple of friends on the phone. I talked to our volleyball star Christi Kemner, and a former football player and one of my SAAB buddies, Jimmy Bearden. After watching some TV in bed, I decided to call it a day. I figure I'll pack in the morning.
