Justin Zale

Past Entries

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January 19, 2004

Picture fasting for two weeks then sitting down to break that fast with a gorgeous slice of sausage pizza. But just before you sink your jaws into that succulent slice of joy, the pizza cheese falls off onto the floor.

No five-second rule applies. You're left agitated and unfulfilled. That serves as a microcosm for last weekend. We felt great for about 24 hours after our win at Washington University (Mo.), but then the entire thing was spoiled by putting on a sub-par performance and losing at the University of Chicago.

At Washington, we played in front of a packed house and our extremely suave and commitment-free freshman, Eric Barvin, played the game of his career and dazzled the crowd with swooping buckets and foul-line jumpers.

Once again, we played a great first half and a mediocre second half, but we'll take the W. A prophet once told me a win like this is similar to being in a bar at 2 in the morning. It might be ugly but you take what you can get.

We arrived in Chicago the next morning and immediately went to our shootaround. Chase Fawsett, a revered and supposedly dominant teammate of mine, just couldn't seem to beat me in "Horse." Perhaps practicing basketball doesn't occupy enough time in his busy schedule of pilates, archery, and John Mayer.

That night we ate a lovely meal at Alex's house. Absolutely delicious. The myriad of spices and flavors tickled and teased my palate all night. Unfortunately, the next morning we came out flat and unready and Chicago just wanted it more than us.

We really cannot afford any more losses like that if we want to win the conference championship. A win on Friday against Rochester would certainly raise our spirits. I look forward to the chance of knocking off the second-ranked team in the nation. Friday night should be fun. See you all there.

Justin Zale is a sophomore from Brookville, N.Y. He would love to answer e-mail questions from Emory recruits and fans.