A Cross Between A Young Marv Albert and Bill Walton’s Teeth.

Thanks to everyone who came out to support us the weekend at the alumni game! I was pleasantly surprised by the turnout – it seemed as though we had a couple hundred people in the stands (not bad for having only a few days to get the word out). It was a heck of a lot of fun seeing all the guys again, and great to have them back in Des Moines. I guess it’s not a surprise that even some of us 2008 alums were a little off our game. Maybe in the coming years we’ll have to practice a few times before the “show”- make sure things go a little smoother. By the way, does anyone have any ideas to make the game more fun to watch? I was thinking maybe music should be playing during the game to help with times when the game isn’t going so well. Please let me know if you have any other suggestions.

To make the weekend even better, it was a treat to watch Drake vs. Creighton. Both teams played a very phsyical game and the Knapp Center was rocking with the largest and most intense crowd of the season. Naturally, I was glad to see Drake come out victorious, but such a well-played game would have been entertaining either way.

I was fortunate enough to have a great seat for the contest – in press row next to Mediacom play-by-play announcer Larry Morgan. For the first time in my young career, I was a color commentator for cable television. After being asked by Mediacom about a week before the game, I was excited for the opportunity. It turned out to be a lot of fun. I was able to combine the great part of being at the game (atmosphere and being close to the action) with the statistics and game insights you get from watching on TV. Larry Morgan made the job pretty easy and I definitely enjoyed working with him. If anyone out there watched the game, I’d be interested to hear your thoughts – both positive and negative, I’d love to hear your comments.

Drake Alumni Game

The Alumni Game is all set – 4PM Jan 30 at the Knapp Center. We have 21 players scheduled to play at 4, followed by what should be a great matchup between the red hot Bulldogs and perennial power Creighton BlueJays at 7PM.

Alums slated to actively participate in the game are Dave Bancroft, Jacob Baryenbruch, Ajay Calvin, Tyson Dirks, Pete Eggers, Zach Egli, Ronnie Gwin, Brent Heemskerk, Leonard Houston, Aliou Kieta, Klayton Korver, Dave Newman, Mike O’Neill, Josh Powell Lynnrick Rogers, Kevin Sams, Armel Traore Dit Nignan, T.J. Whelton, BJ Windhorst, and Alex White. It’s a good mix of players and the teams will be dividing evenly for what should be great competition.

Come on out and support us former Bulldogs!

All the boys are back in town

And the planning begins! Next Saturday, Jan 30th, Drake is hosting a men’s basketball alumni game at 4 PM in the Knapp Center. Originally slated for 9 PM, we’ve changed the game time, hoping for a better player turnout and maybe a few extra fans. Already we’ve had more than 20 players say they would attend including myself, Klayton Korver, Leonard Houston, Jacob Baryenbruch, Brent Heemskerk, Alex White, Tyson Dirks, and Kit Avery from our 2007-2008 NCAA Tournament team. In addition we will have Dave Bancroft, Ajay Calvin, Pete Eggers, Zach Egli, and Mike O’Neill joining us for the festivities. (I may have left some people out, if I didn’t think of your name at the time I wrote this, I apologize but still look forward to seeing you soon)

Regardless, it should be a lot of fun to catch up with so many former players. Not to mention the roster list will make for some pretty good basketball. We’d love to have some fans come out and show their support! To any DrakeNation readers, please post this on the discussion board so we can increase awareness. Thanks everyone and hope to see you soon!

Oh, and PS – if you have any ideas for things you would like to see during the alumni game or afterwards, please let me know. Thanks!

It ain’t no rocket science it’s because

Back to the not so cold weather! What do I mean? Well before Drake started their second semester, Lindsay and I decided to go on a vacation to Cancun. Booked on a Sunday, we left four days later, bound for sun and sandy beach.
Staying at the Catalonia Playa Maroma in Riviera Maya we couldn’t wait to leave the single digit temperatures of Des Moines behind. Sadly, the weather on our six-day vacay barely eclipsed 70 degrees. But, of course we did not let that ruin our trip. Weather in the 60’s was still beach-going enough for us. Not to mention our hotel having awesome food. (Seriously, at this place, All-Inclusive was a steal. The food was amazing and plentiful. Dinner at the a-la-carte restaurants offered an impressive menu, professionally prepared. I like eating)
Other than beach bumming and eating, Linds and I enjoyed shopping on the streets of Playa Del Carmen and a day trip to Chichen Itza. Coined a “classier Cancun” by one of my friends, Playa (as colloquially referred to) is a bustling city center with beachside shops and restaurants. Stretching for more than a mile, the city of more than 100,000 combines authentic Mexican with progressive European styles. It was very interesting to see a trendy European store with outrageous prices immediately adjacent to a local Mexican vendor boasting variable pricing.
Chichen Itza, on the other hand, was more of a trip back through time. After a two and a half hour bus trip to the Mayan grounds, we stopped at a Cenote for optional swimming. A Cenote is basically groundwater contained in a sinkhole with rocky edges. Whatever the description, it was spectacular. It looked like a large swimming pool carved out of a massive cave. A calming 70 degrees, the water was crisp and clean, stretching over 150 ft deep. I took a quick dip as Lindsay took pictures before we headed to the famous Mayan temple.
The extensive landscape at Chichen Itza and the accompanying tour were amazing. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and led us through the temples, a ball field, and the astrological observatory. It is difficult to comprehend how the Mayan society accomplished so many things such a long time ago.
The most impressive aspect of the trip was revealed standing at the base of El Castillo (the major temple associated with Chichen Itza). Now only is it large and steep, but it is filled with symbolism. The number of steps, number of stones, number of sides – it all corresponds with a deeper meaning. On March 21 and September 22 (days marking the spring and fall equinox, respectively) the sun projects an undulating pattern of light on the structure, suggesting a massive snake is climbing the great temple. Even more impressive to me, if one stands at the base of the north steps and claps their hands, the echo bounces off the interior and comes as a bird squawk It amazes me how someone even comes up with that idea, let alone putting it into practice.
Our trip to the Riveria Maya was a great six days. We stayed at a very nice, affordable hotel, had great service, and came back with a lot of memories. Even though the Mexican weather suffered from a cold front much like the rest of US, it was a welcome change to single digits.

Klayton vs. The Fans

Apparently the Utah fans love Kyle Korver… But do they know more about him than his brother Klayton?

Klayton and Kyle Korver. They’re ok guys.

My dear dear friend Klayton Korver, along with his brother Kyle, started a real cool non-profit online clothing store.
It’s called Seer Clothing. Check it out – seerclothing.com.

The shirts are awesome, Klay gave me one that I love wearing. The best part? All their earnings go to underprivileged children and those in need.

Here’s their backstory and a shirt:

The Peace Shirt

Oh, well hello there.

Written on 12/31. Posted on 1/1. Because, ya know, it was New Year’s Eve.

After what can only be classified as months of hiding, I’m back to my website. Yes, I know I really haven’t updated since November. And yes I realize its January. Oddly enough, I’ve even started writing at times but then somehow became distracted. But no matter. This is a new year! (well almost, I mean tomorrow, you know what I mean) So its time to bring this website back to life.

As many of you probably know, I was released from the Iowa Energy the day before Thanksgiving, which coincidentally was the day before their first road trip. After making it through the first few rounds of cuts, I was hopeful to remain on the team. However, as the roster was trimmed to 10, I was number 11 standing on the outside looking in. Coach Nurse was very upfront about the whole situation, citing the fact that many in Des Moines would be upset by this move, but felt with such a low roster number and an already injured big man, he had to pick 10 that gave him the best chance to win that day.

Personally, though I was obviously disappointed (no one likes to be released), I have no hard feelings toward Coach Nurse or the team. The DLeague is going to be a very good league this year, and a roster of 10 is hard to keep. I am appreciative of the opportunity I had and wish them the best of luck.

Fortunately, I was released the day BEFORE Thanksgiving. So for the first time in, I don’t know, 6-8 years or so, I was able to enjoy a Thanksgiving without having to worry about what I was eating! Though my family was in Rhode Island with my sister, I was anything but lost. Lindsay’s family gathered in Ankeny and I happily joined. The food was delicious and plentiful and made it much easier to swallow the whole situation.

In the month of December, things were pretty tame. As the Webmaster said, I turned 24 on December 3rd and had a nice get-together with a few of my friends. And bless his heart the webmaster even paid for my dinner. What a nice guy! (Too bad I did write a post to include on the website a long time ago, but he hasn’t finished editing and adding the things he wanted to say!!! But we won’t mention that. It will get done sometime, right Matt…?)

Shortly after my birthday weekend, my father came to visit for a weekend. We watched the Webmaster eat my sandwich at Jethros (for a then record 13th time. He recently upped the record to 14. Seriously). We also went to a few Drake games (things he misses seeing by the way) and got his Christmas shopping done. As always, it was good to have him out here and we had a good time.

Though I really haven’t had much to do in December, it’s amazing how Christmas shopping can keep one so busy. I don’t mean simply going to the store and buying something, but the process of looking for ideas and price-hunting. As if malls, aren’t enough, searching for a good price from a reputable seller on the internet can take hours. (As a side note, part of the reason this takes so long is because I don’t like making these decisions quickly. In fact sometimes I drag things out way too long. But that’s another story…) I did, however, finally finish Christmas shopping and felt confident with my offerings for everyone on my list.

Next up was Christmas of course. Though slightly complicated because I didn’t expect to be free on Christmas, I was able to book a couple cheap tickets for Lindsay and I to go to Michigan for a few days. Fortunately, my sister and her fiancé, Stephen, along with their new beagle, Honu, were there as well. It was a great few days. We all took turns cooking and cleaning; we opened a lot of presents. I was able to see a few of my friends. It was an all around good time.

On “Christmas Day” (I say it like that because to me, it was kind of over. As a family, we decided a few years ago to open gifts and celebrate as soon as we were all together because I often didn’t have much time at home. So we celebrated the holiday on the 21st. When the 25th came around, it seemed as though Christmas should be over). Let me start over. On Christmas Day, Lindsay and I came back for Christmas #2, this time with her family. After flying seamlessly from Flint to Detroit, then Detroit to Des Moines (More sidebar – apparently there was some sort of bomb threat on an overseas flight coming into Detroit Christmas Day. Fortunately, we were undisturbed.). New sentence again – After arriving in Des Moines, we finished wrapping gifts and went back to Ankeny.

We arrived at Lindsay’s aunt’s home and were once again treated to a great meal. This time, Lindsay’s father prepared the whole thing – prime rib, shrimp, twice-baked potatoes, corn, rolls, you name it. It was delicious. Everyone exchanged gifts and spend much of the evening talking.

When we finally returned, it was Christmas #3 time – Lindsay and I had not exchanged with each other. As time crept passed midnight, our Christmas season was over. Three Christmases: a lot a good food, family, and presents. Thank you everyone involved for helping with such a memorable holiday season.

(Oh! I forgot… I kinda had a fourth Christmas with the Webmaster and his fellow roommates – Brent Heemskerk, Luke Frieberg, and Joel Hull. Quick shout-out to them too.)

That’s the past, now for the future. It’s almost a new year, 2010. A new year and maybe a new direction in my life. As for the blog, I think it may go in a new direction. If I don’t have basketball and life experiences to talk about, maybe the Webmaster and I will introduce some new and interesting twists (if he ever does his part). Let me know if there is anything readers would like to see. Until next time, Happy New Year everyone!!

Happy Birthday

Webmaster here, wishing Adam a Happy Birthday. He turns 24, but doesn’t look a day under 40.

Mailbag!

Mailbag time. Keep the questions coming.

JB Le Bolay wrote:

Hello Adam, first of all, best of luck for your future career plans/opportunities. It must be hard to work out on your own when the varsity teams go back to the gym. I myself play basketball at grad school back in France, and I’m proud to be captain and point guard of my team this year. Not easy, but I’m learning.
 So, would you have any tips to keep one’s concentration before a game? Do you think of something special? Sing a song in your head? How do you stay calm despite the stress at pregame?
 Thanks! 
Take care, man. 
Peace.

- – -

JB,

Thanks for the comment JB! Learning ways to be an effective team leader can be a very difficult process. I wish you the best of luck in your basketball season. In response to your questions, I think preparing for games can be different for every person. Some people listen to music to get themselves pumped up. Others try to block everything out and focus on the task at hand. Still more get their nervous energy out by laughing and playing pranks on other players. For me, gametime means being relaxed but focused on the task at hand. I like to go through a specific routine before every game. This way, even if there are outside distractions beforehand, I know to focus on doing the same thing everytime. Also, by doing this, you train yourself to understand that every time your body goes through the combination of stretching and drills, its time to play. I think it helps minimize bad days and increases consistency in mental preparation.

My routine starts with ballhandling drills. I use these to get a feel for the ball and to warm up my arms and legs. I go back and forth around the half-court line doing every drill with my left hand first, following with my right. I slowly increase my pace until my drills are complete and I begin sweating. I then continue by doing dynamic stretching. This helps me loosen up my muscles but allows me to continue moving. By this time, 20-25 minutes have went by and I’m ready to start shooting. I start close and slowly move out once I’m warm. When the clock shows 20 min before the game, I do a few more stretches to make sure I’m loose. Finally, by 10 minutes to game time, I am fully loose and ready to go – sprinting in layup lines and going almost full speed. Perhaps even a dunk or too. Just to see how it feels.

Though I seem to perform best with this routine, finding something that works best for you is important. Repetition helps, but find what things you enjoy doing that helps you focus. -Adam

If it’s in the news, it must be true.

ABC 5 picks up the Energy story. No word yet if ESPN will discuss it as well.