Goodbye to the seniors

Every year when basketball practice starts in October, there's a period of adjustment as I learn to associate the new names with the new faces. Two years ago, when Mick Cronin re-started the UC program basically from scratch, the task was more difficult than usual because there were virtually no veterans with whom I was already familiar. Everybody was new. It took awhile, but eventually I figured out who everybody was. Now, after two years, Marcus Sikes, Jamual Warren, Marvin Gentry, John Williamson and Adam Hrycaniuk will play their last UC home game tomorrow night vs. DePaul.

These guys have taken a lot of grief because they haven't been as talented as past UC players. They did nothing to deserve that grief. All they did was play as hard as they could and do their best to help rebuild the program. I'll admit that sometimes it's hard to watch them play because of their talent limitations. But there have been other times when I've been impressed by what they've been able to accomplish under difficult circumstances.

From my standpoint, every one of them has been pleasant to deal with. Jamual Warren, who wears his heart on his sleeve, has been the best quote because he says what's on his mind, even though he likes to make fun of my sweaters. Adam H., with his Polish accent and his willingness to share what he's gone through the past two years, is always fun to talk to. Marcus Sikes is so polite and respectful that no matter how many times I've asked him to call me Bill he still shakes hands when I see him and says, "Hello, Sir."

None of them has embarrassed the university with off-the-court behavior and all five of them will graduate. Sikes, Gentry and Williamson are expected to graduate at the end of the current quarter. Warren and Hrycaniuk are on target to graduate at the end of spring quarter.

When Bob Huggins arrived at UC in 1989 to take over a program on probation, he talked about how Andre Tate, Levertis Robinson, Lou Banks and Keith Starks would be remembered as the players who helped start the program back on the road to success. That's exactly what they did. Assuming that UC returns to national prominence in the next few years, the current crop of seniors will be remembered the same way.