Please go to his Blog to read the full post. But in short, Damien signed a contract to play in Venezuela. His flight there was supposed to go through Miami, but they gave him a connecting flight through Charlotte, NC, instead. While there, the flight to Venezuela is delayed, delayed and then cancelled. Meanwhile, Michael Kidd Gilchrist, a player for the Charlotte Hornets gets injured. The Charlotte GM contacts Damien's agent, and so Damien just happens to be in Charlotte when the NBA team based in Charlotte wants to give him a shot. They hammer out the deal in no time flat and Damien, who wanted just one more NBA opportunity, has one laid in his lap.
Shucks, I hope Damien makes the team. Even if he doesn't, that means God has something better for him down in Venezuela. He might get cut, but he can't lose. It's called being on adventure with a God who knows each one of us and wants our best.
I watched an interview this week of an author who writes from a small shed in the middle of a hog farm. Fascinating. So many good nuggets from that writer's comments.
The author and I share a few things in common. One of which is sloppy writing. Get it? Sloppy writing! Snort! Get it? Snort!
I digress.
My real point, before I got sidetracked, was that in addition to the books written, the author also has a blog.
Having a blog is a different writing experience. By and large, there is no editor. There is no cost of entry for the most part. No publishing company demands. No royalties. No chapters. No development of characters. Just an author's desire to share with readers, most of whom are and will remain unknown.
I'm good with that.
Readers put up with my musings, my thoughts, my awful attempts at humor. You read the posts, mostly about Georgia basketball, occasionally touching on football and other sports, and all with a healthy dose, I hope, of Life (Mark 8:36-38) included.
Sometimes you post comments. I am glad to offer a free resource for feedback on the past, present and future of Georgia basketball.
Some of you have followed the Blog for a good while. Others may have recently discovered it. Glad you're with me on the journey.
The Chronicles is seven years old this month, and I wanted to reach out and say thank you, the reader.
In the first week of preseason practice of his freshman year, Richt said David Pollack "was literally crying saying, 'I'm not good enough, coach, I made a mistake, I'm not an SEC player. Coach (Rodney) Garner doesn't like me.' Everything was wrong. He literally was ready to quit. We had to talk him off a cliff and convince him to hang in there."
How about that? Three-Time All-American almost threw in the towel just before he was about to do great things. Easy to see how bad a decision that would have been for Pollack and for the Dawg Nation. But Richt's comments were not about Pollack, and not about something that happened 15 years ago. His remarks were aimed squarely at my chest and yours. Those of us who are facing our own personal mat drills today.
Don't give up on your family. Don't quit in your career. You can lose the weight, write the book, achieve the goal. Keep fighting. Become an All-American in life.
Not sure what to record on the occasion of Lauren Hill passing away. Very, very emotional story, and my words seem feeble.
Still I write. Lauren's legacy of perseverance, guts, commitment, selflessness and faith deserves telling and re-telling. Everything that is right about basketball, collegiate athletics and life is wrapped up in her story.
It's why I have a blog. I wanted to write about this Lauren and other Lauren's. I wanted to have one place to remember and chronicle stories like hers.
Hopefully having her story here will help someone. I need encouragement and so do you. It's much bigger than basketball. Bigger than team sports at Mt. St. Joseph. Bigger than cancer. It's life. So even if you have seen the videos about Lauren before, do yourself a favor and watch them again.
If you watched the first video, did you catch what was on the back of Lauren's t-shirt?
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged. For the Lord thy God shall be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9.
Maybe we didn't lose her after all. Lauren's story, fund-raising efforts, and legacy live on. May we all face life's challenges with an equal measure of faith and courage.
J.J. Frazier is out for today's game with concussion symptoms and a fractured orbital bone. Elbow to the face does a lot of damage.
Hope he has a speedy recovery.
In the meantime, Blog readers may enjoy reading last week's Thomasville Times-Enterprise article on J.J, and his family (father, James; mother, Sonya; and sister, Kadeshia).
The article notes that James, owner of a concrete company, worked hard so that J.J. and Kadeshia could enjoy their academic and athletic pursuits. J.J. developed his speed and stamina from running behind Kadeshia as she pedaled her bike around rural Glennville, Georgia.
Apt description, and great article (couple of good pictures, too) by the New York Times on Damien Wilkins, who at age 35 started in Sunday's D-League All-Star game.
The Times, noting Wilkins' age and well-traveled career, with stops playing for the Seattle Supersonics, Oklahoma Thunder, Philadelphia 76'ers, Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Beijing Ducks and the Mayaguez Puerto Rico Indios, quoted Wilkins as saying, "Ultimately my goal is to make it back to the NBA. I want that more than anything, man."
Don't know if Damien will get another shot with an NBA team, but the lesson for us might be that whatever our age, whatever the obstacle, let's work hard at our dreams. With God's help, may we all be all-stars in life.
Fantastic Award for a truly great UGA alumnus, competitor and philanthropist.
May all men take to heart Thomas's words and step up in 2015. Dare to give. Dare to be great. Help someone else. We all may not get an award, but the rewards are many.
Misses his family, but is doing what he loves, playing for the Iowa Energy.
The Des Moines Register does a nice job of chronicling the experience of a couple of D-League players who are away from their families during the holidays. As attached, Damien spent 9 seasons in the NBA, earning over $18 million, according to one source. "Yet he'll spend this winter slogging through places such as Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Ft. Wayne, Indiana, playing in front of 4,000 fans."
If I like an article, I normally just link it. This time, I'm taking a different track. The article is too important not to be preserved somewhere.
Not sure when the Athens Banner Herald gets rid of its old links, and they may even ask that I take this post down (which I will, if requested), but I didn't want to risk looking for it one day, and finding that the story is unavailable. Such was the case when I tried to read a couple of old articles about James Eunice. Both the Thomasville Times Enterprise and the Valdosta Daily Times had great stories about Eunice, but the links don't work any longer.
This 2011 article by Marc Weiszer gives insight into UGA, Coach Mark Richt, college athletics at its best, and life. Great writing. Great story.
Here it is:
Touching Tribute: Bulldogs continue to honor memory of James Eunice
Posted: Friday, September 16, 2011
By Marc Weiszer
For several anxious hours on Dec. 3, 2010, James Eunice checked and checked until he was finally able to log onto the University of Georgia website to view the answer he was hoping to find.
He was accepted to the school for early admission.
“I want to try and walk on to the football team,” James later told his mother Tammy.
Eunice was a backup wide receiver at Valdosta High School who made his mark on special teams with the kickoff and punt return units.
Georgia was recruiting two of Eunice’s teammates who eventually signed with the Bulldogs — highly-recruited tight end Jay Rome and receiver Malcolm Mitchell.
One day, Valdosta coach Rance Gillespie called James out of class to come to his office.
Georgia coach Mark Richt was there on a visit.
James just happened to be wearing his favorite shirt that day — a Florida Gators’ T-shirt, of all things. He was still excited to meet Richt and phoned his father when he got out of school to describe the moment.
James Eunice never had the chance for that walk-on tryout at Georgia.
The 17-year-old drowned while duck hunting in January.
This past Thursday marked eight months since that tragic day.
Memories of James certainly live on for those who loved him, for the lives he touched and those that learned about him after his passing.
Word spread last winter about James’ funeral.
Rome and Mitchell spoke — Rome referred to James as “his brother from another mother”— and presented the Eunice family with a Georgia No. 23 jersey — James’ number at Valdosta High — that Richt had sent.
Eunice’s pastor read aloud a note written by Richt.
“Oh yeah, James made the team,” it said.
The entire Valdosta football team was there wearing their jerseys. The coaching staff served as pallbearers.
“I’ve been to a fair amount of funerals in my life and I’ve never seen a reaction from the crowd that that presentation got,” said his brother John, a former Valdosta City councilman now in his second year at the UGA law school. “There wasn’t a single person in there that wasn’t standing and applauding and just overcome with emotion. It was a unique moment that I know I’ll never forget.”
The gesture lifted the spirits of a community and family in mourning.
“I think about what if something were to happen to Jon or David?” Richt said recently of two of his sons. “Your heart goes out to them. If there’s something I can do to bless the family right this minute, however small, I’d like to do that, so that’s what we did.”
CLOCK IS TICKING
Take time to love someone. Today, Tomorrow, For the rest of your life. Because when that unexpected day comes that they pass on, you’ll be left wondering what you could’ve done better. How you could have made them feel more welcome, and show that you do care for them. Don’t wait until it’s too late like I did. Show the love that Jesus has for you to everyone you see. Let your heart break for what breaks His.
That’s how James Eunice began a note he posted on Facebook in April of last year that he titled “The Clock is Ticking” after the death of a schoolmate in an auto accident.
On the morning of Jan. 15 — a Saturday — James came into his parents’ bedroom before he left to go duck hunting to get some money to purchase shotgun shells.
“We told him we’d see him after lunch,” his father John said.
James, who also enjoyed turkey and deer hunting, went with his friend, Drew Pipkin, to Ocean Pond, about 30 minutes from Valdosta.
They took turns about every 20 minutes with one in the boat and the other in the water, Eunice’s father said.
James was in the boat, his father said, and went to reach for something that flew out. As he reached for it, his seat broke, which threw off his balance.
James got out of his waders and was away from the boat, but the water temperature was about 38 degrees.
“He just ran out of time,” said his father, a retired U.S. Air Force colonial. “He was a strong swimmer, but the hypothermia sets in within three to five minutes in those temperatures.”
For 17 days, search and rescue teams looked for James’ body before it was found 7 feet below the surface, according to a report in the Valdosta Daily Times.
Search teams from near Atlanta, South Georgia, Alabama and Florida attempted to find James.
“The communities and surrounding area came together,” his father said. “It was amazing to watch. People donated their lake homes across the highway for us to stay there while the search was going on. They donated them to the dive teams. ... The community just poured out to us.”
‘A FRIEND FOR EVERYBODY’
James Eunice was 17th in his Valdosta senior class, but his interests went well beyond his schoolwork.
He liked to play contemporary Christian, country and rock music on his guitar, sometimes while on Skype with his friends.
He laughed watching YouTube videos when Rome visited the Eunices about once a week to study and eat dinner. Rome loved the Mexican dip and a punch that included banana and ginger ale.
James also played outfielder for the Valdosta baseball team. His brother John remembers a 5-year-old James being the loudest person at Little League games cheering for his big brother.
“That never changed the older he got,” he said. “He wanted to be a friend for everybody. I can’t tell you the number of people that came up to me at the various things throughout high school and said James was the only person that would ever come and check to see how the day was going, check to see how I was doing. … He was everything you’d envision for a true friend and a brother to be.”
James was considering joining the ROTC program at Georgia, his brother said. His father was taught Air Force ROTC at Georgia when James was born in Athens.
He wasn’t a lock to make the football team as a walk-on, but he thought about trying to hook on as a student assistant and perhaps pursue coaching one day.
“In a lot of ways, he was just like a typical upcoming freshman in college,” his brother said. “He wasn’t sure exactly where his life path would take him, but he knew he wanted to play a role in helping other people and be an encouragement to others. His gift was dealing with people and talking with people so he wanted to have a lot of interaction with that.”
James was considering going into broadcast journalism, his father said.
Mitchell called him “a good person, always stayed in church. Prayed for the team.”
John Eunice calls his son a “devout, sold-out Christian. On his door at the mausoleum, we have ‘Faithful Follower of Christ.’ ”
James’ father and brother visited Richt’s new office in the Butts-Mehre building the week after James’ service to thank him for what he had done for their loved one. They spent about an hour with him, telling Richt more about the person that James was.
They presented Richt a T-shirt with “The Clock is Ticking” on the back, which was sold to help raise money for a scholarship fund.
“It’s helped define James and helped us keep his legacy going,” his father said.
DREAM COME TRUE
Months later, Richt still had the T-shirt on his desk.
Richt told them he wanted to do something for the family.
A couple of weeks before the Sept. 10 South Carolina game, the Eunices received a package in the mail with tickets to sit in Richt’s box at the game and a note explaining how they would honor James at the game.
“I was kind of overcome with emotion,” said James’ brother. “It’s really kind of hard to put it into words how something like that means to us, considering that James was a great kid, but James was not a standout in football by any means.”
Georgia already had listed Eunice with his No. 23 on the Georgia roster.
“For his dream really to come true and for him to be on the roster really means a lot to all of us,” his brother said. “It means the world to us.”
Georgia players wore a black No. 23 decal on the back of their helmets with the initials “J.E.”
James’ parents, brother and sister Lindsey were guests of Richt and Georgia. The Eunices toured Butts-Mehre after the game and spoke with Richt, whose team had just lost by three points. He took pictures with them and again told him he was sorry about James.
Tammy Eunice wrote on Facebook after last weekend:
I am stunned and completely amazed at the kindness and generosity of Coach Mark Richt. …We felt he had done so much for us and honestly if that had not happened we would have understood. True to his word though, 2 weeks ago we got a package in the mail with tickets to sit in his box and a letter stating that he wanted to honor James with the number 23 on all the helmets. I was stunned! James was a young man who never practiced one time with the Bulldogs ... wasn’t being actively recruited by the Bulldogs . ..and was not promised a slot on the team. Did Coach Richt have to do this? Absolutely not. Did he do this to garner praise for himself? No way. The reason I believe he did this was again to honor the life of our boy.”
Eunice’s spirit will live on not only on the Georgia football team and those that knew him and loved him in Valdosta, but through money raised in his name since the drowning.
About $20,000 came through private donations and the T-shirt sales for a scholarship fund, which supports graduating high school seniors from South Georgia high schools. There were six awarded this year.
Additional funds were raised — $148,000 — to purchase 24 dry suits, a dive boat, a motor, trailer and sonar and other equipment for the Lowndes County Sheriff’s dive team.
It was donated on June 16, James’ birthday.
“We understand God has a bigger purpose in all this,” his father said. “So we’re moving forward. That’s what James was all about. James invested in people, so we’re looking to invest in those same young men and women and tell James’ story every chance we get.”
and discussing how happy I am for Jonas, I thought it appropriate to provide the link for an article I posted a few years ago. The article is mostly about the charitable efforts of Jonas' brother, Jarvis, but it still gives insight on how Jonas and Jarvis were raised and the lasting impact that their parents have had on the Atlanta area.
And just in case NorthJersey.com ever gets rid of the article, I include below an excerpt from the text.
Nets are Winners Where it Counts
Jarvis Hayes grew up minutes from downtown Atlanta and walking distance from Bankhead Courts and Bankhead Highway, a rough area rife with homelessness, gangs, violence, crime and drugs. Hayes’ brothers were robbed at gunpoint twice and one witnessed their cousin being murdered.
CARMINE GALASSO/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Brook Lopez, right, and Devin Harris, next to Lopez on left, with other members of the Nets serve a pre-Thanksgiving meal at the Montclair Citadel Salvation Army.
Hayes vowed to help clean up things where he was raised and make a difference, and the Nets’ forward is making good on his promise.
Last week, Thanksgiving came early as the Jarvis Hayes Foundation teamed with Feed the Children and distributed boxes of non-perishable food, hygiene products and other items to 400 families at Compassion Atlanta, an organization that helps the needy in and around the area where Hayes grew up.
“Not only do I want to give back to the community that I’m a part of, but as a professional athlete I feel like it’s an obligation to help out,” Hayes said. “I was blessed to be in the position I’m in to be a professional athlete. I feel like it’s my obligation to bless someone else, if at all possible.”
Hayes, who is out with a hamstring injury, started his foundation in May 2007. His giving spirit was inspired by his parents.
When Hayes was a youngster, his brother Marcus brought home a boy who basically was on his own. Hayes’ parents took him in and made him part of the family. To this day, Hayes considers Raheem Waller, a Florida A&M assistant basketball coach, his brother.
“Ever since then, from the heart my parents have, it kind of was instilled in me to never turn your back or if you can help somebody, help them,” Hayes said. “That’s how I am today.”
Bankhead Courts was the area where the famous Atlanta child murders of 1979-81 took place. Hayes was born in 1981, and saw enough to know things could have gone very differently had he not followed the lead of his strong parents.
“We’ve seen a lot of drugs, robbery, guns,” he said. “It wasn’t good. We all were blessed to make it out. We all in our own way are making a difference.”
This is the second straight year Hayes’ foundation has fed people for Thanksgiving, and there’s more to come.
Hayes hopes to team with his church in Carrollton, Ga., about 50 miles west of Atlanta, to stage a similar event for Christmas. He also will sponsor a child.
Hayes recently started an after-school program with Maynard Jackson Small Learning Communities to help kids improve their grades and prepare them for Georgia’s standardized tests. A program is in the works to teach student-athletes how to balance academics and sports. Hayes’ parents made sure he received good grades or he couldn’t play sports.
“It feels good just to make an impact,” Hayes said. “I do it for no other reason but to make an impact.
“It’s my obligation. … No matter how good it was and how bad it was you can never forget where home is. I fortunately haven’t.”
He gets it.
I love to win. Loved it when I was involved in athletics and love it now when I win vicariously through the young bucks out there on the gridiron and the court.
Yet, winning isn't everything. Trophies, at the end of the day, are just shaped and shiny rocks. What is really meaningful is life. Guys who play hard, do their best, and graduate and make us all proud. Now, if we can win the national championship in the process, then all the better.
I remember people complaining about Tony Dungy, how he couldn't win the Super Bowl. He didn't win it in Tampa, but he set the stage. And when he got to Indiana, he put it all together. Turns out he was a pretty good coach after all.
Mark Richt is a lot like Dungy. Hope the guys who harp on the lack of a national championship don't get what they want and chase Richt out of town. Think of all the programs across the college football landscape which made a coaching change and ended up much worse. Meanwhile, Richt would probably go to a new school and win like crazy.
Who knows? Richt may win it all this year, at Georgia. In the meantime, he is doing things with excellence. Whether he wins or loses the biggest game, Georgia is very fortunate to have Mark Richt as coach of the Dawgs.
Anybody notice the difference between the demeanor of Mark Richt and Will Muschamp?
On one notable occasion, a Florida player was called for a penalty (I think it was illegal substitution). When the player came to the sideline, Muschamp glared at him, almost going cross-eyed in his anger. Then, after an inordinately long stare-down, Muschamp got in the guy's face and screamed (if my lip-reading was correct), "G-D-you!"
I don't want to make more of it than it is, but I don't want to miss the point either.
Football is an emotional game. Coaches have pretty wide latitude in how they motivate their players and instill discipline. However it seems to me that Muschamp crossed the line.
I want the Florida coach to be passionate about the game. It's good for the sport. I do not want him, however, to have a coronary on the sidelines, nor do I want Muschamp to go all Woody Hayes on a player.
This post isn't even so much aimed at Muschamp as it is a reminder to myself. Attitude is important.
When Georgia lost to South Carolina, not having even showed up for the game, Mark Richt didn't jump and scream, nor did he throw players under the bus.
A lot of UGA fans were livid. Losing a key game was bad. Losing 35 to 7 was worse. Now Coach Richt wasn't angry, not throwing his proverbial visor? That was too much to take. Many wanted Richt fired. "He can't win the big game", "can't beat a top ten team," "can't motivate his players". On an on. But Richt was calm under fire. He said "the one thing Georgia was not going to do was panic." He knew that football is only a game, and that the game itself is played over a long season.
Richt wants to win. He is just as passionate, if not more so, than other coaches. He is just as conscientious about the requirements of coaching at a proud institution like Georgia. The difference is that he channels his passion in positive ways.
And that's a difference that makes a huge difference. I sure am glad we have Coach Richt at the helm. If I were the parent of a player with lots of options for which college to attend, no way I would send him to a school with an out of control coach. I would, however, be proud for my son to spend key formative years with Coach Richt.
Not only does the attitude of the coach pay dividends in recruiting, it more often than not shows up in the wins and losses columns. When Georgia's Aaron Murray was having the worst day of his career, when Malcolm Mitchell had let his excitement get the better of him, when Florida was driving with two minutes to play, when it came to crunch time, the Dawgs stayed calm and we were able to hunker down and make a play.
I don't always post videos from football, and certainly not from other teams, but when I do, I prefer videos related to Life. Stay inspired, my friend.
So far the scene of Vanderbilt walk-on Marc Panu being awarded a scholarship has gotten over 210,000 hits.
Congratulations, to a young man who obviously deserves it.
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