Grace and Class

Never seen him in person. Never heard him speak except for a few sound bites on the evening news and post-game interviews.

 

I like him, though. Like his style. Like his calm demeanor. Like the way he coaches. Like the five pillars – humility, passion, unity, servanthood, and thankfulness – which he espouses and to which the young men on his University of Virginia basketball team wholeheartedly subscribe.

 

Bennett has created a culture of excellence in Charlottesville. By all accounts, he runs a clean program, and his win-loss record (69-33 in three years at Washington State, 288-119 in nine at UVA) speaks volumes about his ability to develop players, instill confidence, and earn success against challenging competition.

 

He’s humble, forthright, and seemingly unflappable, qualities which served him well late Friday night when unheralded University of Maryland, Baltimore County (25-10) took his Cavaliers (31-3) to the woodshed to the tune of 74-54 in the opening round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

 

Never in 135 tries had a No. 16 seed defeated No. 1. It was bound to happen eventually, though, but why now? The Retrievers, after all, are an America East Conference signatory. Who outside their region save inveterate agate-readers, I wonder, had ever even heard of them? The Cavaliers, of course, are Atlantic Coast Conference regular season and tournament champs and a unanimous No. 1 in the latest Associated Press poll.

 

The media pundits were quick to pounce, of course. They tossed out terms like “historic,” “humiliating,” “shocking,” “devastating,” and – get this – “…a stain that will never be removed, a scarlet letter on the program.”

 

“Historic” I’ll buy. To the rest I say, Really? I mean, Really?

 

It was a game, folks. A basketball game. Sure, it was high profile. Sure, it was an upset. Sure, it defied the odds, but to excoriate Bennett and the Cavaliers is to miss the mark totally.

 

Consider the body of work. Consider the positive image that the program projects. Consider Bennett’s thoughtful assessment (“uncommon chemistry”) about his team in an ESPN interview a week earlier. Consider that Bennett, a true gentleman, exudes grace and class.

 

“We got our butts whipped,” he told CBS shortly after he emerged from the locker room after consoling his troops. “…it stings, (but) this is life. It can’t define you. You enjoy the good times. You have to be able to take the bad times. When you step into the arena, the consequences can be historic losses (or) great wins. You have to deal with (either).”

 

Consider this also: the Retrievers, superbly coached by Ryan Odom, brought their A-game. They shot 54.2 percent from the field while hitting 12-of-24 from behind the arc. They outrebounded the Cavaliers 33-22 and held them to 41.1 percent shooting including 4-for-22 from 3-point land. They outplayed UVA for 40 minutes and deserved to win. Bennett acknowledged as much. He owned the defeat. That’s a great lesson. In a world where whining, accusing, finger-pointing, and excuse-making seem so commonplace, he rose above disappointment, spoke from his heart, and remained true to himself.

 

Basketball is an emotional sport played by emotional players, coached by emotional coaches, and contested before emotional fans. It can bring out the very best and worst, and you reveal your true colors not when the shots are falling but when they’re not.

Lessons come in many forms. Sometimes they’re simple, easy, and barely noticeable. Sometimes, they knock you to the ground and stomp on you remorselessly. The true test is not so much the lesson but your reaction. Stay down and wallow in disappointment and self-pity or rise, dust yourself off, and move forward, battered and bruised but inspired and empowered.

 

The term “must-win” in regards to sports seems such a misnomer. Games, even big-time games, are hardly “must-win.” Instead, they’re “must-compete.” True adversity – the life-or-death experiences that can blindside us when we least expect them– now they’re “must-win.” Only by facing and mastering the “must-compete” situations, even in unmeasurable ways, can we truly respond in our most challenging “must-win” moments.

 

The measure of Bennett and his team, then, is not their loss. It’s the manner with which they respond to it, overcome it, move forward, and use it as fuel.

 

Don’t cry for the Cavaliers. No doubt they’ll be just fine.

   -- Weldon Bradshaw