Thread by @SantiagoAuFund

Ok...anyone want to hear a story that nothing to do with dollars, gold or bank reserves?
No...?
Well too bad...
Because this week is the 30th anniversary of one of the top 5 moments of my life.
And I'm feeling old.
And sentimental.
So...

I grew up in a small town of 1,000 people on the edge of the sandhills in western Nebraska. Many of my friends came from families that were farmers or ranchers. And everybody loved football.

I did too. As a little kid I wanted to play quarterback for @HuskerFBNation (like Turner Gill) and then for the @steelers (like Terry Bradshaw).
Every day at recess we played football.
And every play was a Hail Mary pass...

But I was very tall.
And I was very skinny.
I broke my left arm playing football in 5th grade (1982).
I broke my right arm playing football in 8th grade (1985).
And I decided that was the end of my football career...

That's when I decided to focus on Basketball.
(nice way of saying "became obsessed with".)
It was the 1st thing I thought of when I woke up in the morning & last thing I thought of before falling asleep. It was the peak of the @Lakers vs @celtics & the @NBA was easy to love.

But in college, the @Huskers weren't known for basketball. But @KUAthletics was.
I had family in Kansas & thought the Jayhawk mascot was far & away the best mascot in college sports.
So as an 8th grader with a broken arm, I decided I was going to play basketball for Kansas.

The problem was everyone in my family from NE liked the @Huskers & everyone in my family from KS like @KState.
No one could understand why I liked KU.
This may have been my first entree into being a contrarian. Although at the time I was labeled the less flattering "Blacksheep".

But that problem was minor compared to the other one.
Namely that @KUHoops was one of the best teams in the country. That year (1985/1986) they made the @FinalFour. Which made me want to play there even more. But also meant the likelihood of me doing so was pretty low...

@CoachBillSelf was then an assistant.
The team was led by Super Sophomore @CoachDManning. His teammates included future pro players Ron Kellog (from NE, there was hope!), Greg Dreiling, Milt Newtown & Calvin Thompson. There was also a little guard by the name of @CoachTurgeon⬇️

They lost to @DukeMBB in the semis that yr.
Legend says it was because they wore these red uniforms rather than traditional blue. It was a crushing defeat and I think I felt as bad as they did...

(p.s. they didn't wear red jerseys again for over 20 yrs)

2 yrs later they were back in the @FinalFour.
It was surprising for most bc they lost several games that year & had only a 6 seed in the tournament.
But the Super Sophomore from '86 was now a senior & the best player in the country. Incredibly, "Danny & the Miracles" won it all!

That small guard from '86 (@CoachTurgeon) was no longer a player, he was now an assistant coach.
He'd come from a small high school but made KU varsity, was its 1st player history to play in 4 straight NCAA tourneys & is still 1 of the all time leaders in assists.
Pretty cool...

But in '88 another guard had taken his place.
@PacersKev was one of the "miracles" to play alongside @CoachDManning. Danny got the glory that night (deservedly so!) but Kevin also had an amazing championship game against @OU_MBBall.
He was fearless!

It's now late winter of 1990.
I'm in homestretch of a very good 4 yr run of high school basketball. All Conference, All State & I've received a number of scholarships from small schools in the midwest. But surprisingly (😅) I'd not yet heard from @UCLA @Cuse_MBB or @KUHoops

I desperately wanted to play Division 1 basketball.
So what to do?
I thought about walking on to the @HuskerHoops team.
I knew some of the coaches.
They were "open" (🤣) to the idea.
But there were no guarantees.
And then I found out that @KUHoops had a Junior Varsity team...

@CoachTurgeon was an assistant Varsity coach but head Junior Varsity coach. I mailed him a highlight reel of my greatest plays (mostly shooting). A few weeks later I called him. Surprisingly he answered & said I may actually have a shot (this was before he saw me play defense🤦‍♂️)

I was so starstruck by getting to talk to him its very possible he said the exact opposite.
Whatever the case, it was now time to tell my parents that I was going to KU & would need to pay out of state tuition instead of me going on scholarship to a smaller school.
My dad ⬇️

So it's now the 1st week of college & I go see Turg.
He says even though I havent officially made the JV team yet (there would be tryouts) it was ok if I scrimmaged with some of the guys in the afternoons after class.
I asked where they played.
His answer?
"Allen Fieldhouse"
Me⬇️

For those who don't know, Allen Fieldhouse is one of the biggest Cathedrals in the world of basketball.
They get sellout crowds.
For the first PRACTICE of the year.
At MIDNIGHT.
If you ever get the opportunity to attend a game there & you don't do it...you are, in short, a moron.

So now now it's a hot humid summer afternoon in Lawrence. I walk into AFH. I see a bunch of guys sitting around lacing up their shoes. They all seem to know each other & are all kind of huddled around one guy in the center of it all. He's telling stories & they are all listening.

Guess who the guy is?
That's right...it's @PacersKev
He'd been drafted by the @warriors a few months earlier but was still in Lawrence preparing for training camp.
I can't remember how I introduced myself.
But I remember what happened a few moments later with perfect clarity...

Gametime!
And somehow...the skinny kid from Nebraska...who had just walked into Allen Fieldhouse for the first time...was assigned to guard the guy who had won @marchmadness 2 yrs prior and was now getting ready to go play in the @NBA...

This is not a story that ends well...
I didnt belong on the same court.
On TV he had seemed like a solid scrappy player.
But in real life, he was the fastest guy on the court & had what must have been a 40 inch vertical leap.
He absolutely KILLED me.
It was like Shaq vs Dudley...

A few games later he was dribbling up court.
I was so tired I could hardly stand.
But the next moment for me is frozen in time.
I can smell the air.
I can feel the heat.
I can see the sun streaming in the windows.
I looked up & saw the banners I'd seen on TV so many times before.

And I just smiled.
I was competing against someone I thought of as a super hero (based on how high he was jumping he might as well have been one) in a venue that was better than any movie set. I was in way over my head. But in over my head was where I had always wanted to be...

I played for @CoachTurgeon for 2 yrs.
He may very well be the most competitive & intense person I have ever met. With his unique way of both complimenting & crushing me in the same sentence, he made me much more confident & tough than I ever could have hoped.
Thanks coach!

I never made Varsity but I played with a bunch of guys like me who loved basketball & wanted nothing more than to be a Jayhawk. I fell a bit short of the ultimate goal but it was still a dream come true. And I will never ever forget that moment guarding Kevin in Allen Fieldhouse.

It's been said you should never meet your heroes.
But that's Bullshit.
Take Risks.
Follow your dreams.
Do everything in your power to meet your heroes.
The worst that can happen is 30 yrs from now you will have a memorable story to tell.
Even if you are the only one who cares...

#RockChalkJayhawk