Thursday, September 16, 2010

MIZZOU Wheelchair Basketball Season Schedule

Here you go guys!  The MU Wheelchair Basketball schedule has been posted!  Games are as follows:

Saturday, October 30th (@ MU Rec. Center) - 11:00 A.M.:  Tiger Wheelchair Basketball Classic Home Opener
(MU games on October 30th also at 1:30 P.M. & 4:00 P.M.)
Opponents TBA

Sunday, October 31st (@ MU Rec. Center) - 9:00 A.M.:  Tiger Wheelchair Basketball Classic Home Opener
(MU game on October 31st also at 11:30 A.M.)
Opponents TBA


Tuesday, November 9th (@ MU Rec. Center)- 8:00 A.M.:  Tigers vs. Columbia Predators


Friday, November 19th- Sunday November 21st (@ University of Wisconsin- Whitewater)- ALL 3 DAYS:  Tournament @ UW- Whitewater 


Thursday, December 4th- Saturday, December 6th (@ University of Illinois) - ALL 3 DAYS:  Tournament @ University of Illinois


Saturday, December 18th & Sunday, December 19th (@ Pittsburgh State; Pittsburgh, Kansas) - ALL 2 DAYS:  Gorilla Invitational 


Saturday, January 15th & Sunday, January 16th (@ Arkansas) -  ALL 2 DAYS:  vs. Arkansas Razorbacks


Saturday, January 22nd & Sunday, January 23rd (@ University of Illinois) - ALL 2 DAYS:  vs. University of Illinois


Friday, February 11th & Saturday, February 12th (HOME- MU Rec. Center) -  ALL 2 Days:  **College Division Tournament**


Tuesday, February 22nd (@ MU Rec. Center) - 8:00 A.M.:  vs. Columbia Predators


Tuesday, March 1st (@ MU Rec. Center) - 8:00 A.M.: vs. Columbia Predators


Thursday, March 10th- Sunday, March 13th (@ University of Texas- Arlington)- ALL 4 DAYS:  **Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball National Championships**




For further information you can contact the MU Rec. Center at (573) 832-2066 or me on my cell phone at (405) 412-4151.

You can also see the schedule online at: http://mizzourec.com/programs/wheelchair_basketball/calendar.asp




CORRECTIONS FROM MY LAST POST:

My apologies to Connor Downes for posting that he played junior club team basketball with the Minnesota Royals.  This was about as far from accurate as I could have been, as Connor in FACT played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he and the T-Wolves won nationals 3 consecutive times.  My bad Connor!

Also, I'd like to mention a member of the team who I (because I'm stupid) forgot to post on the last entry.

Dustin Casey-  An amazing point guard from Kansas.  This dude has basketball talent that reaches to some of the best I've seen in a long time.


Hope to see you guys out to some events!


MIZ!                                                                                                                     ZOU!

Cutter

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Welcome to the ZOU

Hey dudes and dudets!

So it's been a really long time since last I've posted, and for that I'm truly sorry.  A lot has happened in my life in the past 5 weeks or so, and it's been nothing short of a stress-filled transition now from my trip to Europe to school here in Missouri.

First, let me post some corrections about the medal count from the IWAS (International Wheelchair and Ambulatory Sports Federation) Games:

In all, the the 14 USA athletes netted a grand total of 38 medals!!!
                                                                       Of the 38- 9 gold
                                                                                       17 silver
                                                                                       12 bronze

It was, as I've told many of you already, a really awesome experience.

It was really neat to get to share in this experience with everybody, however, the celebration time was extremely short lived.  It seems as though as soon as I landed back in Oklahoma City, I was home for about a half a day, then I moved straight on to Columbia.

The reaction I got from many of the team members from the basketball team here at MU was one of, "Oh, how'd you do in the Czech?  Oh that's neat.  Alright, now time to work!"  And they weren't kidding.  What was going to hit me that week, and especially the week after that, turned out to be some of the hardest work I've ever put in to an athletic endeavor.

So far in basketball practices our week usually goes something like this:

Monday- 2X2 scrimmage work
Tuesday- Boot camp (which is nothing short of its name)
Wednesday- Scrimmage
Thursday- Scrimmage (or) 2X2 scrimmage work
Friday- Chair skills

(Occasionally we also scrimmage in the evenings after everyone's done with classes for the day.  This usually happens on Monday or Tuesday.)

Needless to say, I'm tired.  My hands are the most tired, as I now count 14 blisters on my hands from all the continuous pushing.  Also, on none of these days can I expect to wake up any later than 7:00.  In fact, I'd say I now consider getting to sleep in till 7:00 a privilege.  Normally my alarm clock likes to go off around 5:00 or 5:30 these days.


MEET THE PLAYERS:

Our roster for this year looks something like this:
(I'm not sure of exact positions of everybody yet or numbers, and this is in no particular order)

Jake Wigg- Junior from Omaha, Nebraska.  Has competed on the U23 Team USA in overseas competitions at least once.
Carter Arey- Junior from Columbia, Missouri.  Around 6'3" standing up (approx. 4'6" in his basketball chair.  Big.)
Connor Downes- Sophomore from Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Also has competed on the U23 Team USA.  Won two national championships with his high school club team the Minnesota Royals.
Brenden "B" Downes-  Brother to Connor.  A 23 year old from Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Played on the University of Arizona's wheelchair basketball team, then transferred here for his last season of eligibility.
Jannik Blair-  Freshmen from Melbourne, Australia.  Competes on the Australian National Team.
Andrew "Tuck" Tucker-  Senior from Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Don't let this guy shoot, 'cause he WILL sink it!
Alex Ashton- Freshmen from Baltimore, Maryland.  Big class 1 player.  This guy's gonna be good!
Bobby Voss-  Senior from St. Louis, Missouri.  Fastest guy on the court.
Casey Adams- Senior from St. Louis, Missouri.  Gives Bobby a run for his money as to who's the fastest.
Greg Anger-  Senior from Wisconsin.  Fastest player with CP I've ever seen.  Great inside threat.  Competed at least twice on the U23 National Team
(and)
Kate Cahill-  The only female on the team.  She's a spinal cord injury athlete.  She won't be able to play with us in our D-1 games, but she'll play with us when we play D-2 and D-3 teams which I'm really excited about. She's really good.


In short, I think it's going to be a fantastic season!  I can't wait to get it started!

I'll post a tournament schedule as soon as I get it, so be looking for that.


Cutter