WHEN DREAMS BECOME REALITIES
By Bruce Pearl
Is everyone excited yet? This entire week, leading up to the
first game is like the week before the holidays. There is so
much anticipation and excitement that it?s almost unbearable.
It?s the time of year when dreams become realities. This is
March and there is nothing quite like it.
Cinderella has already visited Milwaukee to hand us the glass
slipper. Now the question is whether or not it will fit. Alabama
is certainly the favorite. Mark Gottfried?s team is loaded with
talent. Every member of the Crimson Tide starting five was
recognized with an All-SEC honor. That says it all.
Alabama is a team that can beat you in a variety of ways. They
can be dominating on the boards. They can really shoot it from
the perimeter and they will get after you defensively. To state
that we have a great challenge is understating the point. To
make that slipper fit we are going to need a lot more than just
a shoehorn.
Given the task at hand, a lot of people have asked me if we are
just happy to be here? To best answer that question, I think you
just need to look at our players. They have the look of a team
that is ready to play basketball. They know that the mountain is
steep and the climb will not be easy, but nobody ever said
reaching the summit would be a walk in the park.
If it were easy, it would happen all the time.
Since the first day of practice our motto has been, ?Still Not
Satisfied.? Two years ago we were a part of March Madness. We
entered the tournament as a relative unknown, but thirty-nine
minutes into our first round game, against Notre Dame, we were
in position to slide that slipper on. Unfortunately we came up a
little short.
Last season we had another great campaign, as we won the regular
season championship in the Horizon League. We played well in the
conference tournament, but unfortunately we came up a little
short in the championship game.
Both seasons were exciting and everyone associated with UWM
basketball can be proud of the success. But both season left us
wanting more.
We entered the 2004-05 season with a lot of expectations. Many
people thought we were supposed to win the regular season title.
We did. Then still more thought we should win the conference
tournament. We did. Now the great majority believes that our
great season will come to end quickly.
We enter the NCAA tournament having done what we were expected
to do. Now we are going to try and do the unexpected.
If you enter March with a just-happy-to-be-here approach then
you probably won?t around for long. If we don?t have that
we-can-win attitude then we won?t win. As I told the media on
Sunday, we have to be able to dream that we can beat Alabama in
order to make it happen.
We know that mountain is steep and we know that we aren?t making
the ascent with the same climbing gear as Alabama, but we still
plan on making the climb anyway. The Alabama-UWM climb departs
at 12:25 (EST) on Thursday. And who knows, three hours later
that shoe may just fit.
Lastly, I would be remised if I didn?t commend
CollegeInsider.com?s Angela Lento on paring me with Seth
Greenberg on the Runway to the Fashionable 4. I am sure Seth
would agree with me when I state, there has never been a better
matchup of Jewish guys.
I am somewhat disappointed that I earned no better than a No. 12
seed, with Seth grabbing the No. 5 seeding. It looks like a
mismatch on paper, but Seth knows all too well that anything is
possible. He is still smarting over the fact that his beloved
New York Yankees were unable to close the door on those guys
from Boston.
STILL NOT SATISFIED
By Bruce Pearl
In my four seasons at UW-Milwaukee we have had more size and
more intangibles, but we have never had a greater commitment.
This is really a special group, which is unique in many ways.
Right now we are pressing better, scoring better in transition
and are very dangerous from three-point range. Those are not
always conventional ways of playing, but it has been a very
successful style for this team.
The Panther media guide reads, ?Still Not Satisfied.? This is
our third title in four years, but we still haven?t achieved all
that we set out to achieve. Two years ago we came very close to
beating Notre Dame, in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
We played well, perhaps better than many believed we could, but
we were unable to advance.
It may seem like a lofty goal, but we don?t want to just be a
participant in the Big Dance. We want to win and advance. Until
we reach that goal we will remain unsatisfied.
We have one regular season game remaining, against a very tough
opponent in Cleveland State, before the Horizon League
Tournament begins on March 3. But nobody is looking ahead and
that is what has helped to make this group so special.
Tremendous character and all the overused clichés can best
describe this team. Often fans hear coaches using the familiar
phrases to describe their respective teams, but it?s not often
that clichés truly represent the product.
I am hard pressed to think of a group that has played with as
much passion. There have only been a couple of times this season
when our opponent has out-worked us. Our kids really come to
play every night. They take great pride in representing the name
on the front of the jersey, rather than concern themselves with
stats for the name on the back of the jersey.
And that commitment extends beyond the basketball court.
The Milwaukee community has been nothing short of outstanding.
This is my fourth season and in each season we have bettered the
attendance record from the previous year. That commitment is as
important as the results on the court.
John Calipari has been quoted as saying, administrations and not
coaches win championships. How true that is. Without a complete
and total commitment, a program can only go so far. The
beautiful thing about UWM is that there is no ceiling. There is
a sky-is-the-limit approach here. The infrastructure was built
to for success.
A perfect example is the number of televised road games the
University has produced. In addition to the ESPN and Fox Sports
games, UWM has produced more road games (5) than any other team
in the Horizon League. That speaks to the great commitment.
Of course that is just one example. I could fill page after page
with examples of dedication and commitment of the University and
the community.
Throughout the season, many of you have corresponded with me
through my website. While it is difficult for me to respond to
all of your emails I have made a concerted effort to reply to as
many as possible. It is important to understand that one email
and one fan are important to this program. I speak for the
players and my staff when I state that we greatly appreciate
your continued support.
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