Diary

Clayton
Fuller

Past Entries

January 26, 2004

I have been told by many people that have been associated with Emory University that last weekend is perhaps the most memorable in its history. Although it started out like every other weekend, it ended in the most bizarre fashion, leaving an interminable mark on all that experienced it.

The most indelible realization that I took away from the weekend is what an amazing staff of administrative personnel we have here at Emory. On Friday, the group in charge of promoting athletics did an amazing job by getting the word out on campus about our big game against the second ranked team in the nation, Rochester. The WoodPEC was literally standing room only, and the atmosphere on the floor was absolutely thrilling.

Throughout my career I've developed my own manner in which to gauge the impressiveness of a crowd. I've found that if lip reading becomes a necessity during a game then you have an incredible crowd. On Friday, lip reading became an important aspect of my game. Throughout the contest I would often find that I couldn't hear the actual play that was called or what a teammate was saying to me, but as long as I could read their lips I was fine.

After the game I heard from many people that it was one of the best college basketball games they had ever attended. The back and forth, hard-fought nature of the game was due in large part to the tremendous home crowd and the support they gave.

The events of Sunday would make it difficult for the home crowd. Some Sunday morning downpours left our regular home, the WoodPEC, with water leaks by the basketball courts. Therefore the game was moved to a new facility nearby on campus, the Student Activity and Academic Center.

The near flawless transition is a testament to all the coaches, and training room, sports information, and WoodPEC staff. Everything was moved to the SAAC, including jerseys, statistical computers, fan seating, and all other things that are necessary to put on a college basketball game.

But keep in mind I did say this transition was near flawless. There was one problem with the SAAC facility; one of the ceiling basketball goals was stuck! A long delay followed, in which it seemed that a team from NASA was dispatched to come and operate a very difficult elevator lift up to the basket to get it down.

Meanwhile our restless fans awaited, but my two-and-a-half year old cousin Wiley kept them entertained by running sprints on the floor and tackling various teammates. Thanks to Wiley the crowd did stay and saw an amazing finish capped by a near buzzer beater by my big brother Rashawn Allen.

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