He's A True Gentleman

What do Ohio State athletes need for all
their exams?

Number 2 pencils, of course.

My youngest son told me that.

I'm not so much of a woofer as he is though
so apologies to our Buckeye fans. I've liked
Ohio State hoops through the years to tell
the truth.

My uncle lived in Portsmouth Ohio, and one
Christmas when we visited he and I listened
to a high school basketball game together on
the radio because of this wunderkid named
Jerry Lucas. After leading his team to back
to back state championships he went on to
star at Ohio State with John Havlicek and
brought them several Final Fours and a
national championship. Like many others I
was a Jerry Lucas fan.

I've always been a huge Kentucky Wildcat
fan too though. When I moved to Gainesville
25 years ago I didn't have to worry about my
loyalties much. The Gators were likable but
never used to compete for championships.

Now I'm in big trouble. I love both teams.

I'm really glad the Wildcats snagged Billie
Gillespie instead of Billy Donovan as their
new coach though even though I believe
the Bluegrass State is getting a real keeper
too.

Coach Duane Silver is a retired basketball
coach in Texas who loves the game as
much as anybody around, and here's what
he thinks of the man:

'Last Saturday morning before the Texas
A&M vs Texas Tech football game I was
waiting for a table outside IHOP in College
Station. While I waited, a headline in The
Dallas Morning News caught my eye, and
I tried to buy a paper, but the dispenser
wouldn't open.

As I tried several times unsuccessfully, a
man drove up to IHOP, got out of his
vehicle and bought a copy of The Eagle
[the local paper].

He then came over to the Dallas Morning
News dispenser, saw I was having no luck
opening it, smiled, and left. I gave up on
the paper, sat down on a bench outside,
and continued to wait for a table.

Several minutes later the man returned,
got out of his vehicle, handed me a copy
of The Dallas Morning News, and again
smiled and left. I managed to get out a
'Thank you,' but sat there in shock
someone would be so thoughtful and
take the time to do that for a perfect
stranger.

After he drove off, a couple sitting next
to me asked if I knew who the man was.
When I said no, they told me it was Billy
Gillespie, the [then] new head coach of
the Texas A&M men's basketball team.

I was floored that anyone would take
the time to do what he did, especially
someone in his position, where egos
can sometimes get in the way of good
manners. He must have had 100
things to do on an Aggie game day and
might have had recruits in town he
needed to give attention to.

I just want to thank him again publicly
and let the College Station area and
Texas A&M know how fortunate they
are to have him in their community.
He is a true gentleman.'

And he has proven to be just as good a
coach too as this year's tournament bears
out. So I believe the people in Lexington
and all over the great Commonwealth of
Kentucky are the fortunate ones now.

Shoot For The Stars,

Coach Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. You can be a real gentleman and be
as competitive as anybody. Legendary
Coach John Wooden is the ultimate
example. In fact, I believe like him if your
foundation is lacking it will eventually show
in your play.

Character and fundamentals count.

And if you want to get a solid foundation as
an offensive player you'd do well to listen
to Coach Patrick Chylinski teach how a
scorer needs to think and act.

It's all there in his high-powered ebook on
'How To Average 20 Points A Game' which
coincidentally you can just happen to find at:

http://www.deandelker.com/20ppg.html

Note: This email is protected by copyright,
but I encourage you to copy and share it
freely. Please just make sure you include
the whole message including links and my
contact information. Thanks a ton.

Copyright 2006,2007 Delker Enterprises, Inc.

Coach Dean Delker
8413 SW 4th Place
Gainesville, FL 32607
352-494-6572

dean@deandelker.com
www.deandelker.com