The article about Audrey Gibson in last week's issue of The TIMES was a good read. I taught Audrey art all through elementary school and I coached her in basketball for her first four years of organized play. It is really heartening to see former students excel.
When little Audrey, well okay, she was never really "little," was in first grade, she would accompany her sister and Dad to her older sister's basketball practices for the fourth-grade team. Never a shy one, she asked permission to participate in the drills we were having and knowing her as an exceptional student, I told her "why not."
So from September through the first of the year, she had about the best attendance record of anyone on the team and she always sat on the sidelines to watch and offer support during games. One day, an opportunity was thrust upon her when I didn't have enough girls to field a team on a particular Saturday morning. I asked her if she would like to play, which was really a no brainer, as she readily accepted the challenge.
Even the best first grader there is would be no match for average fourth graders, and while Audrey didn't dazzle the fans with her great play in that setting, she did impress with her fearlessness. While a bit unsteady handling the ball, opposing ball handlers knew she was there as she dogged several players, a few who looked annoyed at someone so young challenging them.
Of course, a few parents complained that first graders shouldn't be allowed to play, and that would probably be true 99 percent of the time. Truth is, she had put as much practice time in as anyone else, and I was so impressed with her grit.
We started a second-grade team the next year, then played an all third-grade roster on the fourth-grade B schedule on the following year. Audrey was the heart of my zone and man defense that limited the opposition to just 5 points a game while scoring 15. Playing in the middle of the lane on defense, she deflected or stole an incredible number of passes, and was often the linchpin of our fast break offense for two seasons of fourth-grade ball.
In last week's story, Audrey remembered the fact that every starter on her team led the scoring in one game or another. A lot of that was due to her, as she attracted a crowd due to her size and play. With all her teammates having developed speed and athleticism, she manages to get quite a few assists for an elementary player.
Busted lips, skinned knees and road rash were a lot of the souvenirs young Gibson brought home from games. Of course, she wasn't the only one to play like that but she was the first one. That kind of play can be infectious, and the last two years I got to coach her, she and the other girls played a level of defensive intensity that I think would be tough to ever match again on that level.
I would like to wish Audrey good luck as she travels to Smith College next year, although I wish you could have played a bit closer to home. If fearlessness, smarts and toughness has anything to do with being successful, then successful you will be.
Hogs, maybe they will -- or won't
I was a witness to the absolute lambasting the Hogs put on Mississippi not that long ago at Bud Walton Arena. On the heels of sweeping Kentucky in both basketball games, beating No. 3 team Georgia, and winning seven of eight games, it look like the Hogs were destined to sweep into the NCAA tournament. Who knows how far they could go.
While the Hogs proved they could beat just about anyone, they also proved they could turn around and lose to just about anyone. They lost to a poor Alabama team by 25, then got beat by the next to last team in the SEC in South Carolina. That proved to put the kibosh to their NCAA dreams.
Of course, there is always the NIT (National Invitational Tournament) Championship which the Hogs got invited to and played in last night. They were invited and were seeded No. 3 in one of the four eight team regions, hosting Indiana State in round No. 1. Should they beat the Sycamores, they would likely travel to Berkely and take on the University of California in the next round.
Should they win there, they would likely play Southern Methodist University, a team the Hogs beat not long back. SMU is coached by Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown who, while getting kinda old, still has the fire to coach up players.
Getting past all three rounds would put the Hogs in the NIT final four in Madison Square Garden. A lot of folks call the NIT the National Insignificant Tournament and while it is no NCAA championship, it does help for next year.
I predict that the Hogs could win it all -- or they might lose in the first round.
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Editor's note: John McGee is an award-winning columnist and sports writer. He is the art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools, coaches elementary track and writes a regular sports column for The Times. He can be contacted through The Times at [email protected].
Editorial on 03/19/2014