The Basketball Fitness Class: Wrap Up of March Madness 2022 and Being the Cinderella

“Jason Williams will murder you, Huff,” Eric Haut said, smirking. He was our backup Kent State shooting guard. “You better hope we don’t play Duke.”

“All I want is Duke,” I said confidently. “They won’t be expecting us to compete.”

I was sitting on the trainer’s table, smiling, getting my ankles taped by Steve Nordwall, (aka Nordberg), our Scandanavian-looking trainer that loved to talk about politics, Beavis and Butthead, and hunting. We were sitting in the bottom of Rupp Arena in a rather plain beige-painted visitor locker room. I was intent on tilting my ears past his words towards the roar of a million jet engines screaming through the souls of the Indiana and Duke fans above us.

“What’s the line on us winning against Pitt tonight, Steve?”

“What?”

“Who does Vegas have winning?”

“Not you.”

“By how much?”

Steve kept taping, putting bright white sports tape onto the hairless ankles he made me shave up to the bottom of my knee, “Dunno. I’m sure they are picked to win though,” he said, nonchalantly. “How high you want it today?”

“Right above my ankle. Not too high.”

“You’ll be fine kid,” taping up to my calf, “Focus on beating Pitt first.”

“Oh, we gonna get to the Final Four Nordberg. Screw Vegas, what do they know anyway?”

“Exactly,” Steve said.

March Madness in 2022 is a basketball tournament for sports purists — soulfully sewn together from a fabric of childhood basketball dreams, Cinderellas, sweat, gladiator-style effort, blood, and jumpers.

Yet, on the outside, March Madness is an oversized machine of brittle bones — connected by fame, greed, status, using athletes, patriarchy, and riches. Even being a March Madness Cinderella isn’t without politics.

“Just get the college scholarship,” I kept telling myself when I got to Kent, and boy did that scholarship change my life. I played in three NCAA tournaments. I played in the First Round (lost to Coach John Chaney and the Temple Owls), the Second Round (lost to Bob Huggins and the Cincy Bearcats), and an Elite Eight (lost to eventual runner-up Indiana Hoosiers). Yet, all I cared about was winning in March Madness and getting to the next round with my teammates, staff, and community.

I never wanted to be college-famous, I just wanted to win and be the best player I could be.

Yet, even looking back now, every fiber of my basketball soul wanted Duke to win so the Kent State Golden Flashes could play them. I wanted Carlos Boozer. Chris Duhon. J-Will. Mike Dunleavy. Their entire starting five played in the NBA, and still, I wanted to show the world I was good too. Kent State had won the MAC Tournament (again), won 20 games in a row, and personally, due to our team's success, I had won the MAC Tourney MVP (again), broken our school scoring record, and most of all, was a senior playing my last college games.

Lose and go home. Win and move on. Kent State was the Cinderella in 2002, but I’ve never stopped being an underdog.

There is nothing more gladiator-esque than pairing down the 64 teams to one champion in the NCAA tournament. This is still why I love March Madness, even in 2022, even if I don’t understand the play-in games.

At its essence, the NCAA Tournament is about big versus small. David versus Goliath. Everyone has a chance.

And Duke was our chance.

March Madness in 2002 was Kent State’s chance to earn its rightful place in Mid-Major historical dominance. We were the next Butler. The next Gonzaga. And I felt so blessed to be on the 2002 team, with my Kent State teammates — Antonio Gates, Andrew Mitchell, Demetric Shaw, and Eric Thomas.

We were family, these were people and teammates I loved and to this day, I would go in a March Madness basketball foxhole with no other men.

“You’re wrong E-Haut. We can beat Duke. They are just hyped up.”

Eric Haut, a sophomore walk-on that eventually earned a scholarship by shooting 1000 shots a day and turning himself into a D1 player stretched his calves by pushing his hands into the Rupp Arena shower wall.

“If you say so, Huff, if you say so.”

“Well, I’d rather be an underdog, than play Indiana again.”

“True,” Eric said, wincing as he moved his ankle in circles.

Then my phone beeped.

I opened my Sprint Razor flip phone to see a text from my mom:

Good luck honey. I’m so proud of you — win or lose. Have fun and express your best self.

I quickly texted my mom back:

Thank you for coming all the way down to Kentucky, supporting my dreams, and helping me get to the Sweet Sixteen.

I was only 21 — about to smash onto the world’s sports center stage and I knew what I was capable of doing on a court.

But first came Pittsburgh in the Elite Eight.

First came winning, first came helping my team.

Then Duke.

Swish House March Madness Shooting Challenge

My Kent State’s Cinderella sports story will get you in the mood for March Madness 2022!

A book I co-authored called, *The Golden Dream (Yes, I get that Amazon beer money commission) is officially a book and resonates with my dream to make Swish House a national basketball fitness company.

We are all underdogs at some point as we get older, find a beer gut happening, lose touch with the game, yet still want to stay or get in basketball shape. This is why we created Swish House, to tap into the Cinderella mindest of the basketball fitness world.

We aren’t afraid to put in the fitness work and get better at the game we love playing and training for every day!

So buy a few copies and keep them near your toilet, bed, or while you travel in an over-cramped Subaru Outback to Disney World on spring break when you long for that motivation to keep shooting and coming to Swish House basketball fitness classes in your city. And yes, March Madness 2022 — it was the best time of year!

Why did the Kansas Jayhawks win? Well, my take is they were deeper, fitter, and more connected as a team. The ability to sprint the floor every possession, play smothering defense as North Carolina started to get fatigued, and battle through adversity was the difference maker what turned out to be an amazing Final Four and National Championship game.

Am I right?

So let’s get in the spirit, join Swish House, get your basketball fitness right, and read one of the most unlikely Cinderella stories ever.

Sincerely,

Trevor Huffman, The Godfather of Swish House Basketball Fitness

*Yes, I will make some Amazon beer commission money if we sell enough book copies!