Clayton Fuller

Past Entries

Entry 1

December 8, 2003

Last week was a culmination of a long odyssey for our team. We started the week with our fourth straight road game, although it was a short trip to the neighboring rivals at Oglethorpe.

It was a chance for our program to redeem teams of the past, for it had been a few years since Emory had won at Oglethorpe. The team was focused because we knew it was a winnable game, and to start the season 3-1, all of them being road games, would be a great start to our season.

With teams that you know you should beat, I have always believed that a light atmosphere is more conducive to producing a win. So I was pleased to see that the team was engaging in various humorous conversations on the bus ride over. The team was loose and focused and once everyone strapped on that jersey I knew the team was ready.

This confident attitude carried over to the game, where we came out and had a great shooting night and just outplayed Oglethorpe. The most satisfying aspect of the game was to see some of the freshmen get their first collegiate action. Alex Ford-Carther came out and really just played hard, reminding me off the same determination that I had when I was a freshman.

A home game is an incredible experience. It allows an athlete to ready themselves in their most suitable fashion. I define a home game as a continuity of preparation. I can be assured that I can control every factor of my preparedness: beginning with sleep, food, and ranging on to every minute detail of when I get to the gym.

More important than this continuity of preparation are the home fans. A home game means a chance to showcase your talents in front of family, fraternity brothers, friends, peers, and faculty.

Because of all these amenities of home, we had been looking forward to our first game at the WoodPEC. We knew that it would be tough because both of our opponents were national top-25 caliber teams, but the only way a team can define itself is by playing top competition.

In the first game against Puget Sound our inexperience really showed and we lost to a really talented team. Because of our performance, Coach Zuver challenged every one of our wills to win, and the team responded.

We came out against Maryville and played our first good defensive game. Despite that fact, we dropped a close game but I think this week definitely taught the team character.

Our team has to remember that a season is a lifetime. And that a lifetime measures the hearts and intestinal fortitude of every person that embarks on this journey.

That is why college basketball exists: to teach young men to overcome failure with a positive attitude and to keep toiling toward what seems to be at times an unattainable goal.

Clayton Fuller is a junior from Sautee-Nacoochee, Ga. He would love to answer e-mail questions from Emory recruits and fans.