journey to 351

Game #135 of 364 37% complete

The Dedmon Center at Radford University has a free parking lot in front with a short walk to the arena. This is always a plus to me having spent many hours looking for a free parking lot on campuses on my trips. I was greeted by this huge inflatable mascot representing a highlander.

Fortunately, I was sitting in a bucket seat not on the bleachers on the other side. One good thing about small arenas and small schools is that you can usually get a good seat at a great price. I was at dead center court about 4 rows up.

I was impressed with Bucknell coach John Griffin. This man was into the game yelling out instructions out to his players throughout the game and wearing his emotions on his sleeve. I won’t name other coaches but the majority stand there with their arms crossed and make an obligatory argument to the referee occasionally. Griffin helped lead Bucknell to four NCAA Tournament appearances, two as a player (2005, 2006) and two as an assistant coach (2017, 2018). You can tell that he loves coaching at Bucknell.

A teddy bear toss was performed at halftime. The stuffed animals were to be donated to a children’s hospital. I did not bring one with me obviously but fortunately there was a table of stuffed animals in the concourse. I grabbed the last one and threw my bunny (not a bear) onto the court almost hitting the photographer seen in the photo.

I was very impressed with Bucknell guard Achile Spadone scoring 24 points in a losing effort. He captained the U16 and U18 Switzerland national teams. He attended the private school St. Thomas More in my home state of Connecticut. His stellar ball handling, defensive guarding and shooting ability made him standout from all the other players on the floor.

This was an exciting game with Radford pulling it out into overtime. Given that I had a plane to catch after the game, I was glad that there was not a second overtime.

But what made this visit special was a showing in the concourse of the school therapy dogs. They provide comfort and stress relief to Radford students. Anyone who knows me is that I am an animal lover and could not pass up a chance to have my picture taken with one of the dogs.

If you ever in the Roanoke area, a visit to the Virginia Museum of Transportation is a must. Cars from every decade were displayed there along with a cool assortment of trains and passenger cars.

Happy Holidays to my fellow college basketball fans!