Terrific Story About The Vanderbilt Coach & Gampel Pavilion

[AAADog]

A great feel-good story by Rich Elliot about the Vanderbilt coach's memories of Gampel Pavilion.
Especially the last paragraph with Shea Ralph going to the Xavier kid on the floor.

 

[McHuskyFan]

Wow ... that *is* a great story! Thanks for posting it AAADog

 

[JimGunther]

Great story!

Let's just not "get all-nostalgic" tonight.

 

[terif831]

I was at that game! And I remember the love we showed to Xavier. They played a great, great game. So glad that our team (especially Shea) and we fans could represent like that, to the point that it made such an impression on the coach.

 

[speedoo]

I was at that game! And I remember the love we showed to Xavier. They played a great, great game. So glad that our team (especially Shea) and we fans could represent like that, to the point that it made such an impression on the coach.

I was at that game also. That was the year we had no PG after Sue Bird's ACL, and we lost to Iowa State, in the next game, I believe.

 

[terif831]

I was at that game also. That was the year we had no PG after Sue Bird's ACL, and we lost to Iowa State, in the next game, I believe.

Yes, that's right. Not a long post-season that year.

 

[RadyLady]

It was an awesome night indeed. Thank you for the memory!

 

[kmwmson]

Balcomb was not he Vandy coach but I remember UCONN playing Vandy in the first rounds of the tournament and Swin Cash got knocked out after hitting the basket station. The ESPN camermen were there trying to film as she lay ounconscious and the Vandy male sheerleaders (and they were sizable) go bewtween the cameramen and Swin as she was being worked on and blocked the view (made a wall) so the cameras could not film the activity. The crowd gave them a standing ovation as a thank you.

 

[64Browns]

I think Swin getting knocked out was against Clemson a year later.

 

[kmwmson]

IKnew it wasn;t the same year - was at both games but oh well - both from the south.

 

[CL82]

“And probably the biggest thing that I remember is how we were treated by the UConn fans. It’s very similar now that I’m in Tennessee that they’re great women’s basketball fans. Period. They bleed UConn blue and all that great stuff. But when we worked as hard as we did and played as well as we did and then lost at the end … My point guard who missed the shots was on the ground crying on the floor and Shea Ralph picked her up. I looked up and as we walked off people cheered for us. UConn fans stood up and cheered for us. As I walked out that’s the last memory I have and that will always be in my mind.’’

Great stuff. Thanks for posting, I would have missed it.