ChipperF1
02-25-2002, 12:59 PM
Tomorrow night, the Big 12 regular season ends for Nebraska. Unlike many in the middle of the best season in Big 12 history, Husker fans will have nothing to look at for the postseason.
For the second straight year, the Huskers will finish with a losing record. For the second straight year, the Huskers will miss any postseason play.
But Senior Night 2002 will truly be a Senior Night, unlike last year where it was a "good riddance" celebration.
The Huskers have one senior. Center Amanda Cleveland is that lone graybeard. This season she's averaged a nondescript 2.3 points per game.
Nothing about her journey is nondescript.
If someone told me back in 1997 that Amanda Cleveland's first start as a Husker would be in 2002, I'd have them referred for drug testing. She came in with credentials. A high school All-American and All-Stater in her native Texas. A 6-4, stealthy fast, athletic player. A symbol of the future of the womens game and perhaps a bright future for Nebraska womens basketball.
I'll never forget her first game. She was out of control and raw, but she made up for it with speed and a lot of aggressiveness. She had seven rebounds that night, but what struck me is how she moved. She wasn't the typical womens basketball center (stocky and immobile or Angie Welle-elfin), she was a chiseled fast athlete. She was a threat to add to a team that was quickly surpassing expectations.
Then came the shock. Doesn't bone marrow realize that when you are in the body of youngster with a dream that you don't derail it?
Aplastic Anemia. The words have a sinister sound, like some evil secret formula from a spy movie. It's not pretty what this disease can do to someone. The bone marrow stops producing blood cells. The very chemical of life is embargoed from the body that needs it.
Amanda found out a few days after a win and another good outing. She was improving, but she was feeling fatigued more than usual.
When she found out, Amanda left the team and went home to Lancaster, Texas. She spent more than a month in the hospital. Those of us in Nebraska heard she took a drastic downturn. Some thought the next time teammates would see Amanda, the girl would be in a casket.
What makes some people win such battles and some people lose? Is it a matter of whose number comes up in the cosmic roulette wheel of the universe? Is it a matter of God's Will? Is it a matter of personal choice and courage? Who knows such questions.
Could it have been seeing and hearing teammates who didn't allow fatigue to bend them to cowardice? As Amanda fought her battle, her team fought their own. Nebraska never lost a game at home that year, as small #12s were marked on their sneakers. They ded long losing streaks to the powers of the old league and battled with the new powers in the young Big 12.
Amanda rode with them as the Huskers surprised everyone by going to the Preseason WNIT final, and going toe-to-toe with UConn at UConn. The team marched forward to 22 wins and a bid in the NCAA tournament.
Perhaps Amanda was watching that March day or perhaps she heard how her teammates faced Old Dominion and gave as good as they got before bowing 75-60.
Who knows? Who knew?
By June, downturn became upswing. Amanda, surrounded by family, rallied back.
Classes opened in Lincoln that August, the way they always do. This year, the campus would again by graced by a tall mocha-skinned girl from Texas. Ms. Cleveland had reentered school.
But she wanted more. As she was studying she heard the call of the court. She wanted back in uniform.
She'd still be at practice, albeit limited. But the conditioning seemed endless. It seemed to be a bridge too far. Spirit willing, body weakened from a battle for life.
She didn't play or practice the entire next season. Her body was trying to win the war.
But that summer, good news. Full remission and with it full committment to a new mission. She wanted to put on #12 again.
There were workoutsall summer. There was the fatigue, the hurt, the pain. The good days, and bad.
August. September. October 15. Practice is open. Amanda is there.
Season opener vs. Oakland. Second half.
"Now checking in #12 Amanda Cleveland!!!"
It was the loudest of cheers in a season opening win. Amanda had completed her dream.
Forget about .6 points and .6 rebounds a game. Never mind 12-18. The team didn't gain many victories that year, but it might as well have been 35-0 and a Final Four trip for this kid.
Tuesday night, Amanda Cleveland will get her first start in a Nebraska uniform. Most of the season she's been solid enough to play in spurts. The aftereffects of her recovery and her illness blunting the ability she came in with as a freshman. Still she is considered the team's most athletic player.
It is saddening at times to consider the "what ifs". The saddest words of tongue or pen truly are those of what might have been. And there's a lot to consider when it come to what might have been for Amanda Cleveland, and what might have been for the team had she been there. Perhaps she could have tipped the scales in the Huskers' favor that day at ODU. Had NU advanced to the regional that year, they would have had a rematch with Connecticut. Perhaps an improved Amanda Cleveland makes a difference. Perhaps she goes on to a sterling career. Perhaps this senior night would be crowning gem for a Nebraska team at the top end of the Big 12 standings.
But to be sad about what might have been takes away from what the triumph that is. This young woman had every reason to give up. You can be quite sure she thought about giving up. Fatigue does make cowards of us all, and fatigue was her ailment's calling card.
When Amanda Cleveland walks on the playing floor at Bob Devaney Sports Center with parents in tow, it's an exclaimation point on one of the biggest wins Nebraska Womens Basketball has ever seen. No, there won't be a gaudy list of stats and honors, but what makes this kid special is that she never gave up on herself.
Tuesday night she will step in the circle, and look into the eyes of a Britt Hartshorn or a Tera Bjorklund with blazing intent. She'll feel that special anxiousness just before the battle begins. I'm sure Amanda will enjoy that feeling and smile. A smile she's earned with her heart.
I hope she has a career night, on one level she already has.
--ChipperF1 http://hoopscoop.net/ubb/smile.gif
[This message has been edited by ChipperF1 (edited 02-25-2002).]
[This message has been edited by ChipperF1 (edited 02-25-2002).]
For the second straight year, the Huskers will finish with a losing record. For the second straight year, the Huskers will miss any postseason play.
But Senior Night 2002 will truly be a Senior Night, unlike last year where it was a "good riddance" celebration.
The Huskers have one senior. Center Amanda Cleveland is that lone graybeard. This season she's averaged a nondescript 2.3 points per game.
Nothing about her journey is nondescript.
If someone told me back in 1997 that Amanda Cleveland's first start as a Husker would be in 2002, I'd have them referred for drug testing. She came in with credentials. A high school All-American and All-Stater in her native Texas. A 6-4, stealthy fast, athletic player. A symbol of the future of the womens game and perhaps a bright future for Nebraska womens basketball.
I'll never forget her first game. She was out of control and raw, but she made up for it with speed and a lot of aggressiveness. She had seven rebounds that night, but what struck me is how she moved. She wasn't the typical womens basketball center (stocky and immobile or Angie Welle-elfin), she was a chiseled fast athlete. She was a threat to add to a team that was quickly surpassing expectations.
Then came the shock. Doesn't bone marrow realize that when you are in the body of youngster with a dream that you don't derail it?
Aplastic Anemia. The words have a sinister sound, like some evil secret formula from a spy movie. It's not pretty what this disease can do to someone. The bone marrow stops producing blood cells. The very chemical of life is embargoed from the body that needs it.
Amanda found out a few days after a win and another good outing. She was improving, but she was feeling fatigued more than usual.
When she found out, Amanda left the team and went home to Lancaster, Texas. She spent more than a month in the hospital. Those of us in Nebraska heard she took a drastic downturn. Some thought the next time teammates would see Amanda, the girl would be in a casket.
What makes some people win such battles and some people lose? Is it a matter of whose number comes up in the cosmic roulette wheel of the universe? Is it a matter of God's Will? Is it a matter of personal choice and courage? Who knows such questions.
Could it have been seeing and hearing teammates who didn't allow fatigue to bend them to cowardice? As Amanda fought her battle, her team fought their own. Nebraska never lost a game at home that year, as small #12s were marked on their sneakers. They ded long losing streaks to the powers of the old league and battled with the new powers in the young Big 12.
Amanda rode with them as the Huskers surprised everyone by going to the Preseason WNIT final, and going toe-to-toe with UConn at UConn. The team marched forward to 22 wins and a bid in the NCAA tournament.
Perhaps Amanda was watching that March day or perhaps she heard how her teammates faced Old Dominion and gave as good as they got before bowing 75-60.
Who knows? Who knew?
By June, downturn became upswing. Amanda, surrounded by family, rallied back.
Classes opened in Lincoln that August, the way they always do. This year, the campus would again by graced by a tall mocha-skinned girl from Texas. Ms. Cleveland had reentered school.
But she wanted more. As she was studying she heard the call of the court. She wanted back in uniform.
She'd still be at practice, albeit limited. But the conditioning seemed endless. It seemed to be a bridge too far. Spirit willing, body weakened from a battle for life.
She didn't play or practice the entire next season. Her body was trying to win the war.
But that summer, good news. Full remission and with it full committment to a new mission. She wanted to put on #12 again.
There were workoutsall summer. There was the fatigue, the hurt, the pain. The good days, and bad.
August. September. October 15. Practice is open. Amanda is there.
Season opener vs. Oakland. Second half.
"Now checking in #12 Amanda Cleveland!!!"
It was the loudest of cheers in a season opening win. Amanda had completed her dream.
Forget about .6 points and .6 rebounds a game. Never mind 12-18. The team didn't gain many victories that year, but it might as well have been 35-0 and a Final Four trip for this kid.
Tuesday night, Amanda Cleveland will get her first start in a Nebraska uniform. Most of the season she's been solid enough to play in spurts. The aftereffects of her recovery and her illness blunting the ability she came in with as a freshman. Still she is considered the team's most athletic player.
It is saddening at times to consider the "what ifs". The saddest words of tongue or pen truly are those of what might have been. And there's a lot to consider when it come to what might have been for Amanda Cleveland, and what might have been for the team had she been there. Perhaps she could have tipped the scales in the Huskers' favor that day at ODU. Had NU advanced to the regional that year, they would have had a rematch with Connecticut. Perhaps an improved Amanda Cleveland makes a difference. Perhaps she goes on to a sterling career. Perhaps this senior night would be crowning gem for a Nebraska team at the top end of the Big 12 standings.
But to be sad about what might have been takes away from what the triumph that is. This young woman had every reason to give up. You can be quite sure she thought about giving up. Fatigue does make cowards of us all, and fatigue was her ailment's calling card.
When Amanda Cleveland walks on the playing floor at Bob Devaney Sports Center with parents in tow, it's an exclaimation point on one of the biggest wins Nebraska Womens Basketball has ever seen. No, there won't be a gaudy list of stats and honors, but what makes this kid special is that she never gave up on herself.
Tuesday night she will step in the circle, and look into the eyes of a Britt Hartshorn or a Tera Bjorklund with blazing intent. She'll feel that special anxiousness just before the battle begins. I'm sure Amanda will enjoy that feeling and smile. A smile she's earned with her heart.
I hope she has a career night, on one level she already has.
--ChipperF1 http://hoopscoop.net/ubb/smile.gif
[This message has been edited by ChipperF1 (edited 02-25-2002).]
[This message has been edited by ChipperF1 (edited 02-25-2002).]