The Knights have arrived in Rock Island, Ill., for the NCAA Tournament are going through an afternoon practice.
We departed West Gym and Carleton at 9:15 a.m. this morning with 14 players, three coaches, Linda and Abby Kalland (wife and daughter, respectively, of head coach Guy Kalland) and Zoe, the team's video specialist. After a morning spent watching the movie "Tommy Boy" and lots of napping, we had lunch at the Culver's in Waterloo, Iowa, around 12:30 p.m.
We pulled into the team's hotel in Moline, Ill., around 3:30 p.m., checked in and unpacked before heading over to the Carver Center at Augustana around 4 p.m. The team is in the last 10 minutes of practice here as I sit courtside taking it all in.
I've been fortunate to be associated with 11 other teams that have participated in NCAA Championship events, six here at Carleton. It's truly a special experience when you think of the 433 Division III institutions, only 59 will compete in this weekend's NCAA Tournament. I think, in the moment, the players are so focused on the task at hand to reflect on how unique and precious this experience is, but it is one they'll look back on fondly. The previous 94 Carleton basketball teams haven't been as fortunate to get to this spot, and the Knights hope they can make some noise now that they're here.
Today's workout focused a lot on what the Knights need to do against UW-Stout tomorrow night. While I haven't seen the Blue Devils, I know they're a formidable foe. They have height, with three seven-footers on the roster and another player at 6'10", but it may be their athleticism that worries me the most. Carleton will have its hands full containing the Blue Devils on the perimeter, and the Knights need to make sure to take care of the ball and not let UW-Stout's full-court, pressure defense lead to easy baskets for the Blue Devils.
One nice thing about coming down a day early is the players get a chance to shake off the "bus legs" from the nearly six-hour trip. This is something the Knights aren't used to, as most of our trips for conference play are an hour, maybe two. Hopefully the Knights will get that out of their system before tomorrow's game.
One other note on the arena -- it's much bigger than what we're used to in the MIAC. There is lots of room at the ends, behind the basket, kind of like at Concordia's Memorial Auditorium in Moorhead. The colors are nice, though -- navy and yellow, just like Carleton's.
We'll add some more thoughts tonight, including a position-by-position breakdown written by sports info assistant and Carleton junior Adam Rossow. Jake Zivin, Adam and myself will be broadcasting the game on Friday on 95.9 FM and live on Knights Online. If you can't make it down here to Illinois, I hope you'll be able to listen in and cheer on the Knights.
