Cougar Nation!

I wonder what it would feel like if we could make every shot we took in a game? I understand the odds of a team shooting 100% for the entire game is almost impossible, but WOW that would feel amazing. Cedarville is good. They have been ranked in the Top 10 in the nation this year and they have won some big games. On Tuesday, we played well, but I’m not sure if we were standing on Daytona Beach we could have thrown the ball into the Atlantic Ocean. However, all the bad feelings we had from the Cedarville game were washed away on Saturday with Rob Taylor’s game-winning shot!

Before we get to the Northwestern Ohio game, I want to tell you about Wednesday’s practice. We came into practice to find out the practice schedule was a little different than normal. Wednesday, we played Wiffle-Ball. I’m not going to lie it was an intense game! The rules were not like normal Wiffle-Ball and the umpiring was, well, very interesting. Some of the highlights from the game included Coach Thompson’s diving grab to end the 3rd inning, Rob Taylor’s two home runs, Jordan Heatherly’s long bomb to drive in three runs, myself with a shot over the left field "wall” for a three-run homer, Adam Grimm’s slide into third for a controversial call, and the funniest moment was J.T. Holliday’s at bat in the bottom of the fourth. J.T. swung and fouled the ball off, but the bat slipped out of his hands and rocketed toward his team. Thank goodness for the cat-like reflexes of our Cougar team because had they all not dropped face first to the ground I’m not sure Ben Severns would still be here. Wednesday’s practice had a great meaning for our team. While basketball is intense and a lot of hard work, we still need to have fun and playing Wiffle-Ball was a lot of fun. Our fun carried over into Saturday’s win.

There are games each season that are important. There are games each year that many would consider must wins. Saturday, our battle against the University of Northwestern Ohio(UNOH) was a must win game. Here is why. To make it to the conference tournament, you must be one of the top three teams from your division. Right now, UNOH and the Cougars are battling for that third spot. At the end of the year, the three teams with the best record move to the conference tournament for a chance to make it to the national tournament in Branson, Missouri.

Saturday’s game was a blast. From the beginning to the end the game, it was fun. It was neck and neck the entire way. Rob Taylor took control early drilling three consecutive three-pointers and Jordan Heatherly made his jump hook look easy. We went into halftime down seven, but it felt like we were up eight. Even during half-time, our entire team was confident and there was no doubt we were going to walk away victorious. There were some key plays in the second half that stood out to me. AK (Austin Kaiser) came up big with a three-pointer when we were down six to cut their lead to three, Brady Swanson had a huge drive and pull up to close the gap, B-Short had two "and-ones” back to back, and Grimm’s breakaway dunk was the game changer! Grimm-bo picked off a pass and went the entire length of the court in three dribbles and rose up and dunked over two UNOH players. Had our video camera been able to zoom in, I’m almost positive it would have been on SportsCenter’s Top Ten plays. The entire gym erupted.

Then, Rob Taylor came up with what I have named "The Shot”. With under a minute left, we needed a defensive stop and then an offensive conversion to give us the lead. We played perfect defense and grabbed the rebound with seconds remaining. Coach called a timeout and drew up a play. Once the ball was inbounded, the play fell apart, but fortunately Rob ended up with the ball in his hands and pulled a contested 18ft. jump shot. He buried it! He made the shot look easy! With 1.8 seconds left on the clock, it was only right that the full-court pass be stolen by R.T. to give the Cougars the victory. That is why Rob Taylor is our Inside the Huddle Player of the Week.

Let’s Go Inside the Huddle:

Name: Rob Taylor

Number: 12

Year: Sophomore

Major: Financial Management

Nickname: R.T., Big Shot Bob

Hometown: Gahanna, OH

Favorite Place to Eat: Gin-Gis Japanese Steakhouse. The hot spot in Gahanna where Rob first experienced Gurtuni Fresh Fried Shrimp.

Favorite College Activity: Chill with the boys and singing karaoke

Relationship Status: After negotiating with his agent, Rob Taylor decided that it would be in his best interest to move forward in his career and make himself eligible for the 2010 Relationship Draft. While there is no set day for the draft, at this moment in time Rob is the only male entry. According to Facebook, 1,556 females have already entered their names in hopes of drafting Rob. Good luck, R.T. The Staff of Inside the Huddle feel the odds are strongly in your favor.

One Quick Fact: During his freshman year in college, Robbie was duck-tapped to a chair (with written permission from his parents) and spun around a hotel in Dallas, Texas on a basketball trip. With senior captains leading the parade, R.T ended up on the top floor of the parking garage. With one final push, Rob was launch directly into a speed bump. In the seconds that followed, certain members of our team were wondering what they were going to say when they had to explain how Rob broke his elbow. Then, as Rob’s chair was placed on all fours, he made a mistake. Rob grinned a little grin and let out a little laugh announcing he had no pain at all. If only we had those moments on video.

Peace!

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