GARDNER-WEBB UNIVERSITY
November 20, 2007
Volume 11 No. 6
Serving the Gardner-Webb University community for more than 60 years
This Edition
— In campus news —
Christopher Shaver
interviews GW students
on their experience
traveling to NYC. See
page 2.
Samba Fall tells what
it was like playing in
Madison Square
Garden. See page 2.
Students share their
favorite Thanksgiving
traditions. See page 2.
Carl Cartee comes back
for the 10th benefit con
cert. See page 4.
Carole Edwards com
petes in Miss. Deaf
North Carolina. See
page 4.
Males and females par
ticipate in “No-Shave
November.” Page 4.
. Opinion/editorial.
r
Editor Rebecca Clark
shares Thanksgiving
memories. See page 3.
Jacob Conley comments
on Liberty’s football
victory against GW.
See page 3.
■ In sports.
Men's basketball wins
against Radford. See
page 5.
Vollyball season has a
quick end. See page 5.
Womens basketball
team’s youth shows in
tournament defeats. See
page 5.
Weather
¥
Photo by Dr. Bob Carey
Grayson Flittner, 4, and Auryn MacMillan go up against University of Oklahoma players Friday in
Madison Square Garden. The Bulldogs were defeated 55-69, finishing fourth out of the 16 teams
that participated in the 2K Coaches vs. Cancer tournament.
Scruggs has
By Nancy-Pat Dire
Pilot advisor
Rick Scruggs’ voice is back
- until tonight, at least, when the
Runnin’ Bulldogs basketball team
takes on the University of Connect
icut again.
The team’s head coach said
the voice he famously lost during
the game against the University of
Kentucky Nov. 7 “sort of comes
and goes.”
"It’s still not back totally,” he
said. “It comes back and then leaves
again after the games.”
He croaked his way through
the ESPN interview Nov. 8, but his
voice held up Sunday as Scruggs
summed up life since the upset win
over Kentucky that took his team to
last week’s 2K Coaches vs. Cancer
tournament at Madison Square Gar
den.
“It has been surreal,” he said.
“Hectic, but well worth every min
ute. I’m tired and the kids will be,
too.
“They got their fill of basketball
this last week,” he said laughingly.
“I’d go through it all again in a
heartbeat, it’s been so much fun.”
Dream come true
Scruggs said that it was a dream
: to play in Madison Square Garden.
come true
Photo by Bob'carey
The Gardner-Webb University
Runnin’ Bulldogs faced UConn
in the semi-finals of the 2K
Coaches versus Cancer Tour
nament in New York Nov. 15.
And beating Kentucky in Rupp Are
na is something special for coaches
across the United States.
“I’m still worried somebody is
going to wake me and my wife up,
and I’ll find that the Kentucky game
hasn’t happened yet.”
The reality of it all began sink
ing in when the team arrived in New
York City last Wednesday, he said,
because that was the first chance
they had to reflect on what they’d
accomplished.
“It was a hectic couple of days
rigiit after tile Kentucky game,
Scruggs said.
Still, it was hectic in New York
City, in part thanks to the media.
“After the Kentucky win, you
worry about the pressure with the
media blitz,” he said. “ESPN in
terviewed us again, and Sports Il
lustrated followed us around for a
whole day.”
That gave the team a taste of
what it’s like for the big-name ath
letic programs.
“It was fun to see it from the
other side,” said Scruggs.
The media experience was a
good one on both sides, he said,
because of the Bulldogs’ accessi
bility. The big-name schools aren’t
as open with the press, so GWU’s
willingness to give interviews was
to the media’s liking.
Scruggs was glad to do what
he could to spread the word about
GWU.
“Our identity has been escalated
over the last couple of weeks,” he
See SCRUGGS page 5
It all started
in Kentucky...
By Ashley Chatham
Special to The Pilot
Gardner Webb University’s
men’s basketball team went into
Kentucky’s Rupp Arena Nov. 7
and astonished the 22nd-ranked
Wildcats by winning 84-68 before
20,000 fans.
A lot of other people were as
tonished, too, but not the team and
Coach Scruggs.
Player Auryn Macmillan said
that he went into the game confi
dent and that the entire team had
the same mindset.
“We have to remember that the
opposing team is human too and
that it’s not impossible to defeat
them,” he said. “They breathe like
us, they bleed like us.”
The few GWU fans in Rupp
were not the only ones bursting
■ with excitement as the game pro
gressed.
Back at the home of the Run
nin’ Bulldogs, the student body was
rapidly gathering in the newly reno
vated Kennel in the Dover Campus
Center, which can hold 150-200
people.
The game was playing on each
of the eatery’s televisions and stu
dents began to migrate to the “Ken
nel” to observe the Bulldogs. Soon,
there were more than 150 crammed
in the space.
Students filled every chair, were
seated on the floor or peered through
the windows to catch a glimpse of
the score.
Student Taylor Hutchins said that
when the meal exchange was reno
vated, it was never expected that a
such a momentous event would cre
ate such a gathering there.
“Including the people that were
pouring in from outside the ‘Ken
nel’ and the people lined along each
window, there had to have been 400
people there,” said Hutchins.
“It was such a great sound of
constant enthusiasm. We woke up
this morning to people screaming
‘Go watch ESPN, we’re the top
story!’ ” exclaimed Hutchins.
When the game ended, the cel
ebrating began. Students gave their
recaps the next day in a pep rally at
Paul Porter Arena.
Grace Whiteside said, “After
they won, guys were ripping their
shirts off, running through the
quad, the dormitories and the apart
ments trying to get other students
See KENTUCKY page 5
Redding has '5 seconds of fame’ on TV in NYC
Today
Wednesday
Nov. 20
Nov. 21
76/46
76/55
Sunny
Mostly sunny
Source:
Weather
Channel
Index
News
Op/Ed
Sports
page 5
Photo
page«
By Nancy-Pat Dire
Pilot faculty advisor
The Gardner-Webb University
basketball team players weren’t the
only GWU students to appear on
television last week in New York
City.
Rachel Redding, a communi-
cations-video/film major from At
lanta, had what she called her “5
seconds of fame” Friday morning
when she was interviewed brief
ly by A1 Roker, weatherman for
NBC’s “Today” show.
Redding, a junior, was one of
the students who made the journey
to New York City to cheer on the
basketball team in the Coaches vs.
Cancer tournament. She and other
team supporters had a plan to show
; their support on national TV outside
: of Madison Square Garden.
“Today” does part of its broad
cast from a plaza area outside the
television studio. The anchors in-
i: teract with visitors who stand be
hind barriers around the plaza.
“We made signs in advance be-
; cause we wanted our signs to be
j seen,” Redding said. “We wanted
I people to know the support we had
I for the team.”
Roker saw the large sign hang
ing on the barrier and came to talk
with thc^^^uring a c'o|^ercial.
Redding then away.
She didn't expect him to come back
and ask her about Gardner-Webb
during the broadcast, but he did.
“It was the chance of a lifetime,”
she said. “We were so cold and ex
cited, we just soaked it all in. ’
After that her phone started ring
ing, as parents and friends called to
say they had seen the group on tele
vision. Redding said that an hour
later, as they were walking up 5th
Avenue, a woman they didn't know
came up and said she’d seen them
on “Today.”
That just added to the overall ad
venture, which Redding said started
as a spontaneous decision to try and
get some of the coveted $50 tickets
for the GWU-sponsored bus trip to
the Big Apple. She and her friend
Lauren Bilyeii camped out for 15-
16 hours Sunday night and snagged
tickets 86 and 87 out of 100.
Even that was a fun experience.
Redding said, because^ich Rick
Scruggs H|lit pizza fiAe camp
ers, and pl^®''® '.iWoo.
“All of the players stopped by to
show their appreciation.”
3 courtesy Of Rachel Redding
Rachel Redding, right, and Lauren Bilyeu walk in Central Park
after appearing on the “Today” show Friday.
den. It is something to talk about
for the rest of our lives.”
The whole experience has cre
ated a stronger bond with the uni
versity, Redding said.
“It makes me just enjoy Gard
ner-Webb a whole lot more, to see
One reason why Redding want
ed to go to the tournament was be
cause of her personal relationships
with team members.
“I have classes with a lot of the
guys. I was in New York City sup
porting my friends,” she said.
“It was so exciting to see the
men play at Madison Square Gar-
how our campus is unified now. It’s
more fun.”