Winter 2002

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Greek Games

Feature

GREEK GAMES The Minuteman hoop squad starts its season with travel

Story and photos by Stacey Shackford '99

"A LOT OF STUFF DIFFERENT": senior forward Jackie Rogers at Sounion. PICTURE IT: SHORTLY AFTER NOON on Thursday, August 16, the worn marble columns of the majestic, 3,000-year-old Temple of Poseidon glow yellow in the Mediterranean sun. The sky is so blue it looks like it’s been painted by a child, and at the bottom of the steep, jutting cliff, the glistening Aegean spreads as far as the eye can see. Against this backdrop UMass president William Bulger, clad in a blue polo shirt and khaki shorts, stands beaming, flanked on both sides by towering, muscular young athletes who strike various poses and motion for their coach to join them. The image seems peculiar, especially to the group of tourists who have gathered to watch, no doubt wondering who these stunning giants are and what they are doing here. Back home, others wonder what such a seemingly extravagant trans-Atlantic jaunt has to do with improving the men’s basketball program and with improving the odds that this will be the year UMass hoop returns to its mid-’90s, Calipari-fueled glory. For new head coach Steve Lappas, the objective of the trip was clear: for players to get a head start on practice and team-building before the official season-opener on November 16. There were the added benefits of exposing student-athletes to another culture – his culture; of seeing how they played against an entirely new type of opponent; and of making it to the beach for a little rest and relaxation when a generally hectic itinerary allowed. LAPPAS, WHO LED VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY to two Big East titles and a National Invitational Tournament championship during his nine-year tenure there, was introduced as the 19th head coach of the UMass Minutemen on March 26, shortly after the exit of James “Bruiser” Flint. Expectations are high for the 47-year-old New York native. The Minutemen haven’t been to an NCAA tournament in three years; last year they didn’t even make it to postseason. Lappas says he shares the passionately held goal of UMass fans to be NCAA finalists again, and soon. Is it possible to make such a quick and complete turn-around? Well, as Lappas enthusiastically points out, the Atlantic 10 conference welcomes eight new coaches this season, and he’s the only one getting to work with his team before the regular season. NCAA rules allow teams to make international trips once every four years, and to play unofficial games while abroad. The same rules allow a limited amount of pre-trip practice. Lappas took the opportunity to put the Minutemen through eight days of double-session drills, and to coach them in four games against aggressive Greek teams in Athens. The Minutemen won only one of those four games, but that wasn’t the important thing, says Lappas. The important thing was the chance to see them in competition for the first time, and to introduce his “motion offense” strategy. The strategy – with fewer set plays and more rapid movement of both players and ball – depends on player cohesiveness, says the coach. So in the long run, some of the most important parts of the trip may have happened off court. “I was very impressed with the way they played,” Lappas would say as the trip came to a close. “And we’re not even a 20th of where we will be in December.” AFTER POSING FOR PHOTOS IN front of the temple at Sounion, the team listens attentively for a few minutes as a Greek tour guide tries to describe how the temple complex once appeared. Then they disperse to explore the ruins. Senior guard Shannon Crooks jumps over a rope, climbs atop a high marble stair and thrusts out his arms as teammates laugh and cameras flash. Other players gather near the edge of the promontory to glance down at the cliff and sea below. President Bulger, a famously devoted amateur classicist who’s flown in for a few days from a London conference with university trustee Ned Dubilo ’71, chats with Lappas about the ancient Greek leader Themistocles. Senior forward Ronell Blizzard sits alone, staring at the temple. Like many of his teammates, he’s having his first experience of a foreign country. “Being here and seeing ancient monuments has aroused my interest in not only this country but foreign countries in general,” says Blizzard. “This is a chance to enjoy college and a way to make the absolute most of it. I’m learning about not only this country, but about my teammates, the coaches, and a lot about myself.” Still, he’s spent most of his free time in the hotel so he can finish work for a summer course, says Blizzard. He plans to finish his undergraduate degree at UMass this year, then take graduate courses in child and family development. SOME TEAM MEMBERS MAY GET course credit for the trip itself. Assistant athletic director Matt Komer ’97, ’99G came along to advise them in a three-credit independent study in which they read about Greek history and culture and write essays drawing on their observations. “It’s just one of those opportunities you can’t afford to pass up,” Komer says. “Everybody learns a little something.” Senior forward Jackie Rogers, who’s been getting out more than Blizzard, says he’s enjoying the experience. “You see a lot of different stuff different from us,” Rogers says. “There are a lot of mopeds. Not like there aren’t mopeds in the States, but there are more here. And there are a lot of dogs chasing the mopeds. They’re nice dogs, they won’t bite you. Unless you get on a moped. “The food is very different,” Rogers has noticed. “They don’t season it. They drink goat’s milk. And there are no pancakes. They don’t believe in it or something.” Basketball has been the main focus for senior forward Eric Williams. While most of his teammates crowd inside a gift shop near the temple, he sits by himself in the corner of an empty café in the shade. “I’m so worked up about basketball, I didn’t even bring a camera,” says Williams. “It’s nice to see a different culture, to see a different atmosphere and everything, but the best part is playing. We get a chance to see a new coach, a new style.” In many ways, for Williams, the trip is not much different than team trips during the season. “To me, we just travel, stay at hotels and go out. I guess it’s good for the players that didn’t travel last year, they get to see what it’s like.” THE TEAM DID NOTHING IF not get used to traveling on this trip. They left Boston’s Logan Airport on the evening of August 12. Twelve hours later, at 9:30 p.m. Greek time, they were dropping their luggage at their Athens hotel and being shuttled off to dinner in the historical section of the city. By 9 the next morning they were at the Acropolis, already swarming with tourists, some of whom stopped the players, wondering if they were from the Knicks and asking for autographs. Afterwards they visited the stadium erected for the first modern Olympics in 1896. A few brave souls ran a lap around the track, but most saved their strength. For, after a full day of sight-seeing in the hot Grecian sun, they had a 7 p.m game in the seaside resort of Glyfada against the Under-25 Greek National Team, a group of young semi-pro players. The rest of the trip kept up this pace, with sight-seeing most mornings and early afternoons and basketball games in the evenings. Lappas imposed a curfew and early morning wake-up calls. In addition to Athens and Sounion, the team visited the ancient site of Corinth and the islands of Hydra, Poros and Aegina. A trip to Delphi was cancelled to spare the players further travel. The tour was topped off by a few days of fun on the island of Mykonos, famed for its picturesque windmills and throbbing nightlife. Inevitably, much time was spent on buses, which became good venues to observe the evolving team dynamic. ON AUGUST 14, THE FIRST full day of the trip, fourteen long legs form pointed arches between the seats of the two-tiered tour bus. Their owners sit with heads cocked toward the windows as the bus lumbers through Athenian traffic on the way to the first game. The bus has segregated itself between team members – each of whom has two seats to himself – and the entourage of coaching staff, administrators, family, and friends, who double up. The players wear matching silver headphones, and several bop their heads to music from portable CD players. The bus is silent save for the occasional comment about Athenian female fashion – skin-tight pants, low-cut halter tops with clear plastic bra straps, and painfully high-heeled sandals – or song lyrics shouted out with seeming urgency at random intervals. Two days later on the trip to Sounion, the bus is alive with chatter. Players double up in their seats, and not just with each other, but with fans and the Lappas family. Lappas’ 11-year-old son, Peter, beams at the jokes several players are telling him. He later curls into a ball and takes a nap, as his seven-foot-tall seatmate delicately tries to stretch his long legs a little. Seventeen-year-old Jeff Irvine, an Amherst High School student and die-hard UMass fan since 1992, sits near sophomore guard Jameel Pugh, discussing game strategy. For Irvine, it’s the family vacation of a lifetime. His parents, astronomy faculty members Bill and Susan Irvine, splurged on the $4,000-per-person trip. Before now Jeff had never met a team member; now he has a photo of himself with the entire team in front of the Parthenon. “We’ve gotten to know them pretty well,” says Jeff proudly. “It’s pretty amazing.” THAT EVENING ON THE LAWN of the luxurious Astir Palace Hotel, where a dinner sponsored by President Bulger is getting underway, the players are in good spirits despite having just lost their second scheduled game. Fresh from their showers and dressed in maroon polo shirts and khaki trousers, they sit around enormous tables on a lawn overlooking the sea. The lights of the resort community of Glyfada twinkle across the harbor and light up the Athenian Yacht Club as a first course of salad with lobster, scampi, and artichoke hearts is served. Afterwards come plates of fillet of sole and veal with wild mushrooms. Glasses are filled with wine and fresh-squeezed orange juice for the team. At one table, Lappas and Bulger discuss the value of a good work ethic. At another, Eric Williams tries to speak to a waiter in Greek, though the only phrase he knows so far is thank you. At least he’s trying. “A word a day,” he says, grinning. Across the lawn, a woman in a sequined dress sings American lounge music. Micah Brand sways along, eliciting giggles. At another table Irvine is describing the essence of radio astronomy to the wife of one of the trip’s organizers. As dessert is served, chocolate parfait with strawberries, Bulger rises to speak. “Time after time I have heard from people at the hotel about how wonderful you are,” says Bulger. “And tonight I saw the restraint you exercised on the court. That ref should have been wearing the hometown uniform!” The team responds appreciatively. The president goes on to praise and welcome Lappas, and to encourage the players to make as much of their educational opportunities at UMass as their athletic ones. Lappas, in turn, thanks Bulger for coming to support the Minutemen. WHEN THE SPEECHES ARE OVER, the singer belts out a mysterious ode to Massachusetts. Then the old Greek classics begin. Eric Williams stands to ask Harriet Lappas to dance. Soon there is a line of dancers – players, coaches, administrators – winding around the lawn, Coach Lappas in the lead. Lappas later said it was one of his favorite moments of the trip – “seeing the guys get involved in Greek culture, getting up and dancing.” And the increased sense of camaraderie displayed itself on the court the next night. The difference in play was not only visible but audible. The players talked to each other more during the game. They huddled to discuss strategy more often. They turned to Lappas more frequently and cheered each other on from the sidelines. They ended up beating the team they had lost to twice before, 73 to 63. Sophomore guard Jameel Pugh said he thought the players felt more like a team. “We’ve been here for a week together, with no distractions,” he said. “It just seems like we’re beginning to gel. We’re helping each other out and cheering each other on.” AT A POINT WHEN THE university was already facing budget difficulties (which have since markedly worsened), the dinner at the Astir Palace was characterized by some as an example of lavish and unnecessary spending – as was the trip as a whole, which carried a price tag of $110,000. Lappas actually began planning the trip nearly four years ago at Villanova. When he took the UMass job Villanova allowed the trip to be transferred, and UMass Athletic Director Bob Marcum agreed to pick up the tab. The funding was available, says assistant director Nick Joos, because the department had already planned for a team trip led by Bruiser Flint to Central or South America; the money would come strictly from funds generated by basketball ticket sales. The Court Club, UMass’s independent basketball booster group, raised approximately $10,800 for Lappas’ family to make the trip. The Daily Hampshire Gazette was among the local critics of the spending. On August 22 the Gazette editorialized that “At a time when the university is reducing its budget by more than $5.6 million, the basketball team has been enjoying an $11,000-a-day junket to Greece. “We don’t begrudge the team a nice trip,” continued the Gazette editorial. “The players work very hard for their scholarships and men’s basketball is the only revenue-generating sport at UMass. The problem is the symbolism. Professors and students no doubt see the contradiction in providing basketball players and their entourage (14 people in a traveling party of 25) with an expensive vacation when, back in Amherst, there will be cuts in mail service, maintenance and trash pickup. Bulger, a scholar of the classics, seems to have forgotten about Nero, the emperor who fiddled while Rome burned.” REACTION ON AN ONLINE FORUM at UMasshoops.com was mixed. “It’s too bad the buildings can’t say anything,“ wrote "UMassdawg,” who continued, "With $400 million in deferred maintenance, $110,000 isn’t much, but it’s a start.” In the contrary opinion of “UMass Hoops,” “Increases in attendance are not only paying for the trip, but the overall athletics department programs that benefit beyond men’s hoops.” By any external measure, Lappas acknowledged, it will take awhile to measure the success of the trip. Even after the team began its season in November the effects might not be readily apparent. But he believes it was worthwhile regardless of what season statistics might show. “I think it’s been a tremendous thing for us, and it makes us feel proud of our athletic department,” said Lappas in August. “It’s been a way to represent ourselves and the university we play for.” ©

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Greek games

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