Latest / Fightin' Words: The Official Podcast of the University of Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens / Fightin' Words: Episode 5 - Greta Nauck & Rick Deadwyler

Transcript

Fightin' Words: Episode 5 - Greta Nauck & Rick Deadwyler · Fightin' Words: The Official Podcast of the University of Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens

0:00
SPEAKER_00: It's time for Fight and Words, the official podcast of the University of Delaware Fighting Bluehead.
0:06
SPEAKER_00: Here's your host, Ed LeFur.
0:09
SPEAKER_03: And welcome back into Fightin' Words.
0:11
SPEAKER_03: We're really excited for episode four.
0:13
SPEAKER_03: We've got two really prestigious alumni joining us here on the podcast this week.
0:18
SPEAKER_03: Greta Nock, Hall of Famer, Honda Award winner, national champion from the field hockey program.
0:24
SPEAKER_03: She sits down with us to talk about her time as a fighting blue hen and what she's been up to in life.
0:29
SPEAKER_03: And then Rick Detweiler, who recently rejoined the university as the vice president of public affairs, was a men's basketball alum, is going to sit down with us and talk about his time, his current role, and everything going on there.
0:41
SPEAKER_03: But without further ado, let's jump right into it and welcome in Greta Knock.
0:44
SPEAKER_03: Greta, thanks for being here.
0:45
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, thanks for having me.
0:46
SPEAKER_01: Such an honor.
0:47
SPEAKER_03: How uh how was your travels?
0:50
SPEAKER_01: Um it was all right.
0:51
SPEAKER_01: It was uh such a long trip.
0:52
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I'm used to it.
0:53
SPEAKER_01: Uh obviously, yeah.
0:54
SPEAKER_01: Uh went back and forth to Germany and the States, uh, so I'm used to it.
0:58
SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, I'm always glad uh when it's over and when I'm here.
1:01
SPEAKER_01: Uh I don't like flying, I can't really sleep on the plane, so it's always a little bit of a pain.
1:05
SPEAKER_03: How long is your flight from home to here?
1:07
SPEAKER_01: So it was an hour to London, and then we had a layover which kind of was long, which was annoying.
1:12
SPEAKER_01: And then it was eight hours to Philly from London.
1:16
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's okay.
1:17
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
1:18
SPEAKER_03: Um, so how are you?
1:20
SPEAKER_03: How's life?
1:20
SPEAKER_03: What have you what have you been up to since you left Delaware?
1:24
SPEAKER_01: Not much.
1:24
SPEAKER_01: I mean, um I used well, I s I still played field hockey.
1:29
SPEAKER_01: Um I quit last summer.
1:31
SPEAKER_01: Um, so that was really exciting.
1:33
SPEAKER_01: Um, I guess you guys would consider it professional field hockey over there.
1:36
SPEAKER_01: I mean, technically it is, um, because it's one of the best leagues in the world.
1:40
SPEAKER_01: Um, but we don't own any money, so I would never consider it professional.
1:44
SPEAKER_01: Like I still had a full-time job aside of it.
1:47
SPEAKER_01: Um yeah.
1:47
SPEAKER_03: You had a full-time job and we're playing field hockey.
1:50
SPEAKER_03: Exactly.
1:50
SPEAKER_03: Yes, yes.
1:51
SPEAKER_01: So when I went back, um, I had my master's degree first um and still played.
1:55
SPEAKER_01: But then after a year after I finished my um master's, I had a full-time job and still playing.
2:01
SPEAKER_01: Um, so that was very time consuming, and that was one of the reasons why I quit.
2:04
SPEAKER_01: Um, it just you can't handle both.
2:07
SPEAKER_01: Like you basically have no free time anymore.
2:09
SPEAKER_01: Like if either you go um to practice and then you leave the office early or you feel bad about your job, or you stay longer in the office um to do your job right, and then you come back, or you come late to practice and then you feel bad for your teammates.
2:22
SPEAKER_01: So, either way, at some point you can do both like fully.
2:25
SPEAKER_01: Um, for so for me, it didn't make any sense anymore to do it.
2:28
SPEAKER_01: I felt, yeah, like I'm a person who either does it 100% or not at all, and I just couldn't time-wise, and then also missing like weddings, like birthdays, all those things, because you have games, you you miss them.
2:40
SPEAKER_01: Um, so eventually your priorities switch.
2:42
SPEAKER_01: Like, I still love the sport, obviously.
2:44
SPEAKER_01: I would love to still play.
2:45
SPEAKER_01: Uh it's just not possible, like time-wise, and then also, like I said, like missing stuff on the weekends, like you don't want to do that anymore at some point.
2:52
SPEAKER_01: Like, I did that my whole life.
2:54
SPEAKER_01: Um, so yeah, I quit last summer.
2:56
SPEAKER_01: Um, now I'm playing tennis.
2:57
SPEAKER_01: That's fun.
2:58
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
2:58
SPEAKER_01: Um, so still playing a ball sport.
3:00
SPEAKER_01: Um, I really enjoy it.
3:01
SPEAKER_01: I can do it with my boyfriend, that's fun too.
3:03
SPEAKER_01: Um, have a little team and a little club in my hometown uh where we can play.
3:07
SPEAKER_01: Um, so they'll still work out and do some sports, um, but not field hockey anymore.
3:11
SPEAKER_01: But that's fine.
3:12
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I'm so so grateful what the sport has brought to my life, like friendships and memories, and it has shaped my my personality so much.
3:19
SPEAKER_01: So I'm just forever grateful for the sport, and eventually it has to end, and it ended last summer.
3:24
SPEAKER_01: Um, so yeah.
3:25
SPEAKER_03: Well, one heck of a career, and we're gonna get we're gonna get into that in a minute.
3:29
SPEAKER_03: But uh, you're back in the States for a specific reason.
3:32
SPEAKER_03: Uh so we're recording this on on Thursday the 8th, so our listeners know this is before something exciting is happening for you on Saturday.
3:39
SPEAKER_03: What's that?
3:40
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm actually inducted into the Hall of Fame.
3:43
SPEAKER_01: Um, I got the call, I think, two months ago.
3:46
SPEAKER_01: Um, Jordan called me saying that I will be inducted um during this weekend.
3:50
SPEAKER_01: Obviously, a huge honor.
3:52
SPEAKER_01: Like, I'm so excited.
3:52
SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm very grateful for for it.
3:54
SPEAKER_01: Um, and I'm just very excited for the celebration and everything that comes with it.
3:59
SPEAKER_01: Um, and yeah, just very awesome.
4:01
SPEAKER_01: And then knowing that I will have my face here and I will be my name will forever be connected to the school that I love so much that is still my home, and it's it's a very special honor to to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and have my name here at the school.
4:14
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
4:15
SPEAKER_03: I I know before we came in here to record, we were talking with with Coach Zollinger and and we ran around the corner, and there's a big thing on the wall of you and your your Honda Award, and we obviously um are really proud of you, as you can tell.
4:28
SPEAKER_03: Uh was it was it weird for you to kind of walk around the corner and see that and and know that they they walk past that and talk about you all the time?
4:35
SPEAKER_01: I mean, uh at some point I guess you get used to it, you know.
4:39
SPEAKER_01: Um, and I don't like to be the center of attention.
4:42
SPEAKER_01: I mean, that's not what I like about it.
4:44
SPEAKER_01: I guess what I like about it is that I can inspire athletes that come after me, you know.
4:49
SPEAKER_01: And um I remember Coach Wolfander Kirchhoff, who was my coach back then.
4:54
SPEAKER_01: Um, my soft beginning of sophomore year, he brought me to the poster of Eleanor Delado.
5:00
SPEAKER_01: And he told me, Greta, you can become this, like you can become a Honda Award winner.
5:05
SPEAKER_01: And um, it was after my freshman year.
5:07
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I did well, but not that good that I ever imagined to be, you know, become a Honda Award winner.
5:13
SPEAKER_01: And he trusted in me and said, you can do it.
5:15
SPEAKER_01: Um, and starting from that point, I really wanted to become a Honda Award winner.
5:20
SPEAKER_01: And then a season after I did, and I think that's very special.
5:23
SPEAKER_01: And um the poster for me doesn't stand for my name at all.
5:27
SPEAKER_01: It stands for what you can achieve in this school, you know, and having that up the ward and having um student athletes come there, look at me, and knowing what the school offers and what it provides and what it what you can achieve in this school is what it stands for me, and that's I think very special, and that's why I love it.
5:44
SPEAKER_01: Um, not because my name's up there, but the the meaning of it and and what it can do for student athletes.
5:49
SPEAKER_03: Well, that's incredible.
5:50
SPEAKER_03: I I I love the perspective you have on it.
5:51
SPEAKER_03: We're gonna get more into you and your legacy and and and what's important to you in just a minute.
5:56
SPEAKER_03: But I I want to talk first about how you got to Delaware, right?
6:00
SPEAKER_03: We know that in Europe there's a strong pipeline to come in and play in collegiate field hockey in the United States.
6:05
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
6:05
SPEAKER_03: Walk us through how you ended up here and and why you chose to be a fight in Blue Hen.
6:11
SPEAKER_01: Um it was a bit of a longer journey.
6:13
SPEAKER_01: I mean, like I said, at home, I I still played already or already played professional hockey back then.
6:19
SPEAKER_01: Like I still played, already played in that league, the highest league.
6:22
SPEAKER_01: Um, so field hockey-wise, I mean, I had a great environment.
6:26
SPEAKER_01: Um, but after high school, I just wanted to go abroad.
6:29
SPEAKER_01: Like I wanted to um get away from home, like build my personality and kind of get out of my comfort zone, like me make new experiences.
6:37
SPEAKER_01: And then um at home, like I said, it's field hockey in school is separate.
6:41
SPEAKER_01: You can't do it at one.
6:42
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
6:43
SPEAKER_01: Um, so whenever you let's say you have games and you actually have to study for school, it doesn't matter, or if you have classes or like whatever it is, like when you have to study and you have classes and there's a game at the same time, it doesn't matter, it's separate.
6:55
SPEAKER_01: Like you can't combine both.
6:57
SPEAKER_01: Um, and being able to study and play field hockey for the same school and combine both is something that is like so unique for us Europeans.
7:05
SPEAKER_01: Like, we don't have that at home, or at least in Germany.
7:08
SPEAKER_01: Um, so yeah, I think the combination of going abroad, going outside your comfort zone, and then knowing I can combine school with sports and do it on the highest possible level together was something that really intrigued me, and I wanted to do it.
7:21
SPEAKER_01: Um, and then there are agencies in Germany that um know all the logistics of it and all the organization of it.
7:28
SPEAKER_01: Um, so they contacted me.
7:30
SPEAKER_01: I think back then it was Facebook actually.
7:32
SPEAKER_01: There you go.
7:33
SPEAKER_01: Um so I got a Facebook message um if I wanted to study in the States and was like, yeah, sure, I do.
7:39
SPEAKER_01: Um so then I it was kind of awkward.
7:42
SPEAKER_01: I had to make a video of me, like of my skills and like how I played, and like some snapshots of like games that I had.
7:47
SPEAKER_01: Um so I sent it to like different schools in the States, and then they contacted me saying, Well, we want you to play here.
7:53
SPEAKER_01: Um, and then I had a few different offers, and like Delaware just like stuck out to me from the beginning.
7:59
SPEAKER_01: Um like I'm a huge family person, especially going abroad.
8:03
SPEAKER_01: Like, it's you know, like you want to be close to people and you want to have that feeling of family and a feeling of home when you're so far away from your own family.
8:11
SPEAKER_01: Um, and family like Delaware provided that for me right away.
8:15
SPEAKER_01: Like, Rolf really showed that we are a big family, like people care for each other and stuff.
8:20
SPEAKER_01: So, um, and then obviously the field hockey program is pretty good back then, it wasn't as good.
8:25
SPEAKER_01: And he had that mission to make it a top 10 program, and he said, eventually you want to win a national championship.
8:31
SPEAKER_01: And that goal of like growing the team and growing the the school in the name of Delaware um was something that really intrigued me.
8:38
SPEAKER_01: Um, and my my goal personally was always put Delaware on the map, and we did.
8:43
SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think all of those factors contributed to me coming to Delaware basically, yeah.
8:48
SPEAKER_03: That's incredible.
8:49
SPEAKER_03: Well, I I I'm gonna talk about your accolades because I think they're as impressive as anybody has.
8:55
SPEAKER_03: A 2016 national champion, a 2016 Honda National Player of the Year, a 2016 National Offensive Player of the Year, a 2016 NCA statistical leader with 33 goals, a four-time All-Region, three-time All-American, two-time Region Player of the Year, three-time All-CAA, two-time CAA Player of the Year, 2026 Delaware Athletics Hall of Fame in Ducky, the program's all-time leader in goals and points.
9:23
SPEAKER_03: When you hear all of that and and and reflect on your time at Delaware, what comes to mind for you?
9:30
SPEAKER_01: I mean, that's a tough question, because obviously not one thing comes to my mind.
9:34
SPEAKER_01: Um honestly, like sometimes I would even say like stats are a little unfair because I do the credit for the work that the team does.
9:44
SPEAKER_01: You know, like if I don't get an assist, I can't score goals.
9:47
SPEAKER_01: Um, if I score a corner goal, I can't score it.
9:50
SPEAKER_01: If the inserter doesn't pass the ball exactly the the way I want it to be passed.
9:55
SPEAKER_01: Um so sometimes, even though stats are nice, even though it's nice to hear, well, I scored 33 goals, there were so many people involved who don't have those stats.
10:04
SPEAKER_01: Um, so obviously I'm very grateful for it, and it's very nice.
10:07
SPEAKER_01: Uh, but one thing that comes to my mind is that it's a team effort.
10:10
SPEAKER_01: Um, and that I'm just very grateful that I had such a great team around me, like such great teammates.
10:15
SPEAKER_01: Um, and not only on the pitch, like I was I had a lot of pressure.
10:19
SPEAKER_01: Like, like I mentioned, uh Rolf told me you can be a Honda Award winner.
10:23
SPEAKER_01: And then it's a lot of pressure that you have to deal with.
10:26
SPEAKER_01: Um, and then especially when you go through the season and and people start watching you because I'm doing well, it's so much pressure.
10:32
SPEAKER_01: And I was still young.
10:33
SPEAKER_03: And um, you're only a sophomore when you in 2016 when all of this happened.
10:37
SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
10:38
SPEAKER_01: So um having conversations with with the coaching staff and and team, teammates, like seniors who are experienced, that just helped me so much.
10:46
SPEAKER_01: And I think that made us such a good team because we were not the best team on paper.
10:50
SPEAKER_01: Like there were teams that were more skilled than us, more experienced than us, but we were the bet best team overall.
10:56
SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think that that are things that that come to my mind that I'm just very grateful that I had a support system around me.
11:04
SPEAKER_01: Um, I mean, all the facilities here, like when I come back now to campus and I show my boyfriend who's from Germany who's never seen it, um, I point out so many times look, all the like resources we got, like all the support that we got, that made me or that allowed me to perform that well.
11:20
SPEAKER_01: Um, because we had people taking care of us in any aspect that we need.
11:24
SPEAKER_01: Um, and that's something also we don't have in Germany.
11:27
SPEAKER_01: Like, we don't have as many trainers, we don't have sports medicine, we don't have a psychologist, we don't have a nutritionist, like all those resources that really allowed me to become the player I was.
11:38
SPEAKER_01: Um, and that's something that I will always be thankful for because um, like now that I'm a little older and now that my focus is not as much in sports, but in my academic or in my professional career, it's it's so great to know that when you have high goals you can achieve them, and that's something that sticks with me in my personality and my self-esteem so much.
11:58
SPEAKER_01: Um so I'm very happy that that I could achieve all of that.
12:01
SPEAKER_01: And I mean, yeah, overall, all these stats are because of the team because we had such a great team that allowed me to perform that well.
12:07
SPEAKER_03: So, would you say, I mean, for you, the thing that makes you the most proud of all of those things I read was probably this trophy right here.
12:13
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, 100%.
12:14
SPEAKER_01: I mean, um, yeah, obviously, like I I I love winning.
12:18
SPEAKER_01: I'm very ambitious.
12:19
SPEAKER_01: Um, I love winning at board games, I love winning when it's uh just riding the bicycle and then someone is in front of me.
12:25
SPEAKER_01: I wanna I wanna race fast.
12:27
SPEAKER_01: Um, so I'm very ambitious.
12:29
SPEAKER_01: Um, and my goal all along was to win a national championship 100%.
12:32
SPEAKER_01: Like I went to sleep with the thought, I woke up with the thought, I I ate with the thought, I I just I was dreaming, thinking it all day, like I wanted it nothing more, I won I wanted that nothing more.
12:42
SPEAKER_01: Um, and um no, yeah, I'm very proud of it.
12:44
SPEAKER_01: It's it's awesome.
12:45
SPEAKER_01: And something that that sticks with the school forever, you know.
12:48
SPEAKER_01: It's not only my trophy, it's even coming back after 10 years and it's standing here, it's like it's an awesome feeling for sure.
12:54
SPEAKER_03: You you guys get to celebrate the 10-year anniversary tomorrow night at the the game.
12:58
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it'll be your first game back at Rullo playing.
13:02
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
13:02
SPEAKER_03: Um, what kind of emotions do you think you'll be running through your body when you see your teammates, you guys get recognized on the field?
13:09
SPEAKER_03: Like it's been 10 years.
13:10
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, it's crazy.
13:12
SPEAKER_01: I mean, it doesn't feel like 10 years, it feels more like 10 minutes, honestly.
13:16
SPEAKER_01: Um, even though I know I don't know the girls, I'm very excited to meet them, um get to know them a little.
13:20
SPEAKER_01: Um, I I I think the first thing that comes to my head is is being proud.
13:25
SPEAKER_01: I'm extremely proud to be a Bruhan.
13:27
SPEAKER_01: Like I'm I'm I I love representing the school and I love being an alumni.
13:32
SPEAKER_01: It's very great to be part of such a great school.
13:35
SPEAKER_01: Um, and I can't wait to see them compete.
13:37
SPEAKER_01: I hope they will win.
13:38
SPEAKER_01: Um, I mean I know it's not all about winning.
13:40
SPEAKER_01: Um, but no, I'm really excited to see them play, and I mean, so many emotions will run through my head.
13:46
SPEAKER_01: Um the adrenaline before of before games is something I miss the most.
13:50
SPEAKER_01: Like when I watch games or even movies about sports, like I still get emotional because you you can't disconnect it from your own experiences.
13:58
SPEAKER_01: So once you watch it, like you always remember the emotions and and everything the experience you had.
14:03
SPEAKER_01: So watching the game will definitely bring up a lot of emotions, and um, especially seeing it with my former teammates will be a special, special experience for sure.
14:11
SPEAKER_03: When when you were you were talking before, and you you said you guys weren't the most skilled team that year, or maybe um but you were the best team.
14:18
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
14:19
SPEAKER_03: What do you think set you guys apart from from other teams that season?
14:24
SPEAKER_01: I think and I I I I would say you can read it in so many books or or anything about sports, is if you play a team sport and you want it more for the person next to you than for yourself, that makes you the best team.
14:38
SPEAKER_01: And that was the case.
14:38
SPEAKER_03: So team culture was just an all-time house.
14:41
SPEAKER_01: The team culture was just like outstanding.
14:43
SPEAKER_01: Like, I've never been part of a team that had such a team culture.
14:47
SPEAKER_01: It was incredible.
14:48
SPEAKER_01: Like, um, I was very close to the seniors, um, and I guess one reason was like I said, like I was under a lot of pressure, and they really helped me dealing with it.
14:57
SPEAKER_01: Um, so and they were great leaders.
14:59
SPEAKER_01: I mean, they had the experiences of three seasons, um, they really like created and built that culture over years, um, that also Rolf obviously started to create.
15:09
SPEAKER_01: And um, I mean, yeah, they were great leaders, and I think everyone wanted to do it for them, and then we wanted to do it for each other.
15:17
SPEAKER_01: Um, and everyone also really knew or knew their role, and I think that's very important in a team as well.
15:23
SPEAKER_01: Um, even though we had one player, um, she's one of my best friends, uh, she didn't play much, but she was an incredible practice player, and she pushed us harder in practice to become the players we were once it was game day, you know.
15:37
SPEAKER_01: And she was one of the even though she didn't play much, and even though she con didn't contribute, and she probably wasn't on any of the scoreboards or score sheets, but she was such an important part of the team because she pushed us in practice.
15:49
SPEAKER_01: And I think that's the main thing that you wanted for each other, that everyone knows their role, that everyone contributes and like fulfills their role.
15:57
SPEAKER_01: Um, and yeah, I mean, also knowing something that I really liked about the States as well.
16:02
SPEAKER_01: Back at home, everyone has their name on the jersey, like my last name.
16:06
SPEAKER_01: And here at Delaware, you wear Delaware across your chest, and you don't have your name on the back.
16:11
SPEAKER_01: So it's not about yourself, it's about who you represent and the players who came before you and like who built that legacy as as as well.
16:19
SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think that's something that really stuck to our heads too.
16:22
SPEAKER_01: Like, we were all proud to represent Delaware.
16:24
SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think that's that's something that's so important, and that makes you well, that gives you that little extra energy and that little extra push.
16:32
SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think that's all about that's what team sports is all about.
16:36
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
16:36
SPEAKER_03: Well, that that was beautifully said.
16:37
SPEAKER_03: I I got I got goosebumps just just listening to you.
16:40
SPEAKER_03: That's that's incredible.
16:41
SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, you've left a legacy at Delaware that most will not even come close to.
16:47
SPEAKER_03: What what's the one thing you want people to remember about you when you know they hear your name or or they watch tape of you or they look at this trophy or they see your face on the wall?
16:57
SPEAKER_03: What's the one thing you really want them to remember?
17:00
SPEAKER_01: I mean, like I said, I do like winning.
17:02
SPEAKER_01: Obviously, I'm absolutely in love with the sport.
17:06
SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think that's something that's obviously important.
17:08
SPEAKER_01: Like, we want to create that winning culture at Delaware, but I think the most important thing is to be a good person, you know.
17:15
SPEAKER_01: Like, personality is always what comes first.
17:18
SPEAKER_01: And I think I want to be remembered for a good person who was a good teammate, like a good personality, like someone uh people are looking forward to coming back to campus, you know, stuff like that.
17:28
SPEAKER_01: Like, I want to be remembered for a good person.
17:30
SPEAKER_01: I think that's the main thing.
17:31
SPEAKER_01: Obviously, people associate me with them being an athlete, but I want to be remembered mainly as a person who I am.
17:38
SPEAKER_01: Um, and then I would never see me as a role model, I would never say anything like people should look up to me in a way, but I think one thing maybe that people um can learn for me is like the pride I had for Delaware and like you know, not putting yourself first, but knowing your role in a team and and knowing that you're part of something bigger than yourself.
18:01
SPEAKER_01: Um and I think when people learn that and and and know what what their role is and that you are part of a team, and um I think that's one thing that's extremely important, and then also what I said like sometimes I set myself or I set goals for myself that were in the beginning extremely high.
18:18
SPEAKER_01: Like even I sometimes didn't believe I could achieve them, um, but at the end I did.
18:24
SPEAKER_01: And I think that's something that people hopefully remember about myself is that even though I was just a sophomore and even though I was young, um when you really put the work in and if you know what you have to do for it, and if you really contribute yourself to it and and work hard and do the things you need to do, everything is possible.
18:43
SPEAKER_01: So um I think those are the two things that I hope people associate with me when they think about me or when they look up to the to the Honda thing uh next to to the office.
18:52
SPEAKER_01: And yeah, I think that that would be my answer.
18:55
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
18:55
SPEAKER_03: That's incredible.
18:56
SPEAKER_03: Uh obviously the national championship is probably at the top of a top of the list, but what other memories do you have that that stand out to you as some of your favorites from from your time at UD?
19:07
SPEAKER_01: Everything around around the team.
19:10
SPEAKER_01: Um I mean, also this weekend, like tomorrow for the game.
19:14
SPEAKER_01: Um, I already know that a few parents are coming up.
19:17
SPEAKER_01: Um we will have a tailgate before the game.
19:19
SPEAKER_02: There you go.
19:20
SPEAKER_01: Um, and that's just awesome.
19:21
SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's been 10 years, and I'm so excited to see my teammates.
19:25
SPEAKER_01: I'm so excited to see the parents.
19:27
SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think that's something that really will forever stuck with me.
19:31
SPEAKER_01: Like all the memories outside field hockey and outside the pitch, outside from practice and stuff, um, spending time with them.
19:38
SPEAKER_01: Um, and in our team, we we used to have adoptive parents.
19:42
SPEAKER_01: So, like every international player had adoptive adoptive parents.
19:46
SPEAKER_01: Um, and two of my teammates, well, the parents of two of my teammates were my adoptive parents, and they took me in to Thanksgiving and for Easter, and those are the memories I will forever cheerish and remember.
19:57
SPEAKER_01: I mean, that doesn't have to do something with field hockey, but still.
19:59
SPEAKER_01: Um, and then obviously um the bus rides.
20:02
SPEAKER_01: Oh my god, the bus rides were so much fun, you know.
20:04
SPEAKER_01: Um, the only one that wasn't fun was like 12 hours to Michigan.
20:08
SPEAKER_01: That wasn't fun.
20:09
SPEAKER_01: Um, but the rest of it was just so fun, like singing on the bus, like doing karaoke, um, playing games, um, just fooling around.
20:17
SPEAKER_01: Like those are the memories that I will forever remember.
20:20
SPEAKER_01: Um, and then yeah, all the activities when we had away games between the games, like doing, I don't know, going bowling or like, you know, stuff like that.
20:27
SPEAKER_01: It's uh team dinners, you know, like all the social stuff around field hockey, um, that we the the the time we spent together is something that I will forever remember.
20:36
SPEAKER_01: And um, yeah, the whole culture here is just so special.
20:39
SPEAKER_01: Um, all being together uh on campus, um living together, you know, like you really become a family, and that's extremely special.
20:47
SPEAKER_03: Was there a moment during the 2016 season or maybe the preseason where you kind of like look back and you're like, yeah, maybe we've got something going on here.
20:56
SPEAKER_03: We we we might be able to do this.
20:58
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, maybe the seniors would answer differently.
21:02
SPEAKER_01: Um, I think personally, there was never a point in the season where we didn't think we could do it.
21:08
SPEAKER_01: We were extremely focused, like we were very sure of the goal that we had, and we set it right away.
21:14
SPEAKER_01: Like in the beginning of the season, our goal was to go to the final four.
21:17
SPEAKER_01: Like that was the goal we had um in our minds from the beginning.
21:21
SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think we were extremely focused throughout the entire season.
21:25
SPEAKER_01: So, since there was never a point where we didn't believe it, there was also no point where we started to believe it because we believed it from the job.
21:32
SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
21:33
SPEAKER_01: Um and I think the most breakthrough moment though was actually making it to the final four.
21:40
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
21:40
SPEAKER_01: Um, and I remember uh Rolf asking us after the game, so what do we learn from this win?
21:46
SPEAKER_01: And initially, like I said, the goal was to go to the final four.
21:49
SPEAKER_01: So when he asked us, so what we do we learn from this from this game, one of the seniors immediately answered and said, Well, we're changing our goal because now it's no longer going to the final four, but it Becoming a national champion.
22:02
SPEAKER_01: And that was really cool because immediately we weren't satisfied with achieving that goal, but already setting a new goal within seconds after the game.
22:10
SPEAKER_01: And that was really special.
22:11
SPEAKER_01: I think that was a breakthrough moment in the season, knowing, okay, we achieved the final four, and now nothing and no one will stop us.
22:18
SPEAKER_01: And that was very special.
22:20
SPEAKER_01: But throughout the season, I wouldn't say there was this one moment because we were very focused throughout.
22:23
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
22:24
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
22:24
SPEAKER_03: I I want to come back to one last thing with you, right?
22:27
SPEAKER_03: You you did this all as a sophomore.
22:29
SPEAKER_03: And you know, you talked a little bit about the seniors and and their ability to provide some leadership and some stability.
22:35
SPEAKER_03: But like how do you think you were able to gain outside of those that group of seniors the ability, the confidence, the leadership skills within yourself to go out there and and really be a leader on the field?
22:51
SPEAKER_01: I think I wasn't the verbal leader.
22:54
SPEAKER_01: Um obviously sometimes on the pitch I would I would make comments or like help younger players.
22:58
SPEAKER_01: Well, there weren't obviously as much younger players, but uh help some other players maybe with my experience.
23:03
SPEAKER_01: Because I mean I've been playing since I was four.
23:05
SPEAKER_01: Uh so obviously I had a little more experience even as some seniors did.
23:09
SPEAKER_01: Um so sometimes obviously I would would open my mouth and say something, but uh usually I would be the leader who led by example by playing well, by by having I would I'm a very emotional person, I'm a very energetic person.
23:23
SPEAKER_01: Um I think there's some some some pictures where where I scream like after a game, like you know, like being excited and stuff.
23:30
SPEAKER_01: Um so I think I I brought the energy a lot on the on the pitch.
23:33
SPEAKER_01: And and um yeah, I mean it it was just such a great feeling being on the pitch with the team because it was everyone believed in it, and there was such a strong energy on the pitch, and I think I transferred that to everyone.
23:45
SPEAKER_01: You know, I felt it from the girls individually, and I think I spread that throughout the team even more.
23:50
SPEAKER_01: And I think I yeah, I led by by by energy and by example, by by by my playing style, I would say.
23:56
SPEAKER_01: It's kind of hard to describe, but not verbally, but by by the person I am, I guess.
24:00
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
24:01
SPEAKER_03: Well, thanks for joining us on the show.
24:04
SPEAKER_03: Congratulations on the Hall of Fame.
24:05
SPEAKER_03: Enjoy the game tomorrow.
24:07
SPEAKER_03: It's gonna be a crazy weekend for you, I'm sure.
24:09
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, for sure.
24:09
SPEAKER_03: But uh really appreciate you being here on the podcast.
24:12
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, thanks so much for having me.
24:13
SPEAKER_01: It was a pleasure.
24:14
SPEAKER_03: All right.
24:14
SPEAKER_03: That was Greta Nock.
24:16
SPEAKER_03: It was great to chat and catch up with her on her life, her career at UD, obviously the national championship.
24:21
SPEAKER_03: But when we come back, it's gonna be Rick Detweiler, the new university vice president of public affairs, that joins us on Fighting Words.
24:28
SPEAKER_00: Delaware football is coming back bloated after a historic 2025 season.
24:34
SPEAKER_00: You be won mid-minute country, and okay.
24:40
SPEAKER_00: And expectations have never been higher.
24:43
SPEAKER_00: Whether you're all in the T2 tickets, picking a bunch of plan for grabbing single games.
24:48
SPEAKER_00: Now it's the time to lock in your stuff for 2022.
24:51
SPEAKER_00: Visit blue hands.com today and be there for the fun and excitement of Delaware football.
24:57
SPEAKER_00: Go ahead.
24:58
SPEAKER_03: And welcome back into Fighting Words.
25:00
SPEAKER_03: I'm your host, Ed Laferge.
25:01
SPEAKER_03: And man, that was a great interview with Greta Nock.
25:03
SPEAKER_03: We're really excited to have her uh back on campus and a part of our field hockey community, obviously celebrating that 2016 national championship team uh was something really special.
25:12
SPEAKER_03: But we're gonna shift over to the Hardwood New University Vice President for Public Affairs and Men's Basketball Program alum, Rick Deadweiler, joins us.
25:20
SPEAKER_03: Rick, thanks so much for joining us here on the podcast.
25:22
SPEAKER_04: Oh, and I am super excited to be here, man.
25:24
SPEAKER_04: Let me tell you, uh uh I am thrilled to be back here at the university in this very uh important uh external facing role.
25:32
SPEAKER_04: Uh uh, but but you know, just just excited to be here.
25:35
SPEAKER_04: Be here with you this morning.
25:36
SPEAKER_04: It's good to have this comment.
25:37
SPEAKER_04: You guys are doing a great job in here.
25:38
SPEAKER_04: I'm enjoying the whole setup and uh the work that you're doing to highlight you know Delaware sports.
25:44
SPEAKER_03: Well, thank you.
25:44
SPEAKER_03: That means a lot.
25:45
SPEAKER_03: You know, uh welcome back to UD again, right?
25:48
SPEAKER_03: I know this is your your your second stint at the university, but tell us a little bit about your your role and um you know what got you back here.
25:54
SPEAKER_04: Ah, so so again, I said I'm thrilled to be back, super excited.
25:59
SPEAKER_04: Uh this this new role that was uh kind of created uh with the new president that came in, uh Laura Carlson, who is uh she she's she's excited about you know making sure that we reconnect and connect in the right way uh to Delaware.
26:14
SPEAKER_04: Sure.
26:14
SPEAKER_04: Uh all the external facing uh uh uh functions of of the organization, government affairs, uh public affairs, communications, and marketing uh uh are all kind of operating out of this new division that they started, public affairs, in which I'll be leading.
26:30
SPEAKER_04: And um it just shows the university's commitment to connect to uh uh the Delaware audiences, you know, the industry, corporate, uh uh the community organizations, uh our industry groups, education, uh, our government officials in a very unique way, and and uh all of the people that communicate about uh the university.
26:52
SPEAKER_04: So making sure that they have a direct line.
26:54
SPEAKER_04: Uh so for me, you know, it's it's really a culmination of my work, career experiences, uh, with some of the, you know, having worked with some of the largest and most prominent organizations and institutions in the state.
27:08
SPEAKER_04: Uh uh now I take those career experiences and and uh bring it here uh to the university, a place that I know well and and I care deeply for.
27:17
SPEAKER_04: So I'm I'm just super excited uh to be back in this way for the university.
27:22
SPEAKER_03: And you're and you're a Delaware guy, right?
27:23
SPEAKER_03: Like you are 302, born and bred and through and through, right?
27:27
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
27:27
SPEAKER_04: Born and raised on the north side of Wilmington, uh uh right off of Concord Avenue.
27:32
SPEAKER_04: Uh went to a small little private school uh on the north side uh uh in northern Wilmington, uh Tatnal, Tatnal School.
27:38
SPEAKER_04: Sure.
27:39
SPEAKER_04: Uh but again grew up right in the city uh uh uh uh with a great group of of uh friends and family, a great neighborhood.
27:46
SPEAKER_04: Uh Haynes Park was my park.
27:48
SPEAKER_04: Those who know where you go those who know, they know.
27:51
SPEAKER_04: Uh but Haynes Park was my park.
27:52
SPEAKER_03: Uh so yeah, they're shooting some jumpers.
27:54
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah, that's where it all started.
27:56
SPEAKER_04: That's where it all started.
27:57
SPEAKER_04: And and now and and actually being back, you know, having the opportunity to uh I sat in on one of the men's practices, men's basketball, uh sat in on one of the women's uh uh uh uh practices, and I look forward.
28:08
SPEAKER_04: Actually, I've been invited to come out and maybe play a little bit with the I look forward to that.
28:14
SPEAKER_04: You you still got it?
28:15
SPEAKER_04: I I do.
28:16
SPEAKER_04: I do so I believe that.
28:17
SPEAKER_04: I do.
28:18
SPEAKER_04: So here's my story.
28:19
SPEAKER_04: I have three sons, uh wonderful wife, uh close to 30 years, but I have uh I have three three sons, uh a sophomore in high school, uh uh a senior uh in high school, both ballers uh uh at the Tower Hill school, and uh my oldest son who played at Delaware State, uh, also a Tower Hill guy, uh all basketball guy.
28:39
SPEAKER_04: So I have to keep it sharp just enough to keep them just.
28:42
SPEAKER_04: Just to keep them in check.
28:44
SPEAKER_03: They know their old man's not it.
28:46
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
28:46
unknown: That's that's right.
28:47
SPEAKER_03: That's awesome.
28:48
SPEAKER_03: Oh, how's it been being back on campus?
28:50
SPEAKER_04: You know, uh, it's been great.
28:52
SPEAKER_04: Uh it's been like uh like a homecoming and the the warm uh welcome from uh the campus, uh from the alumni, from the leadership, the the the community that's been around uh the university as we cross paths.
29:07
SPEAKER_04: I've just been embraced.
29:09
SPEAKER_04: Uh so it's it's been great.
29:10
SPEAKER_04: Like I said, it's it's like a homecoming.
29:12
SPEAKER_04: So I'm excited to be back.
29:14
SPEAKER_04: And and uh folks, you know, when you when you walk into a place, what was the old TV show?
29:18
SPEAKER_04: This may have predated you, but cheers, right?
29:20
SPEAKER_04: Oh, of course, coming to a place where everybody knew you everybody knows your name.
29:23
SPEAKER_04: Everybody knows you, and they're giving hugs and high fives, uh uh, but they recognize the work and and your commitment, you know, in addition to all those things, you know, that feels real good.
29:32
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I'm sure.
29:33
SPEAKER_04: I'm sure.
29:33
SPEAKER_04: Uh do you remember the first time you visited campus?
29:37
SPEAKER_04: You know, I do.
29:38
SPEAKER_04: And and the interesting thing about my story and my connection with the university is uh I didn't visit the university.
29:45
SPEAKER_04: I I had never been on a university's campus until I came for my official visit.
29:50
SPEAKER_04: Wow.
29:51
SPEAKER_04: So I'm I grew up 20 minutes away from the university and never spent any real time here until uh until I was visiting to consider whether I wanted to come and play basketball here.
30:03
SPEAKER_04: Um that visit uh uh of uh I remember the guys that were so were supposed to be taking me out, you know.
30:10
SPEAKER_04: Uh I'll call him out.
30:11
SPEAKER_04: Mark Hawton was my my host for the day.
30:13
SPEAKER_04: And uh he he uh we were supposed to have dinner and do some things, but he sent me off to a couple of the younger guys on the team, uh uh Alexander Coles and Denar Montgomery, who actually ended up being uh great hosts.
30:26
SPEAKER_04: And as I decided to come to the university, they were my uh uh kind of my great friends.
30:31
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, you know, while I was here.
30:32
SPEAKER_04: Shepard you in a little bit.
30:34
SPEAKER_04: They took they took great care of me during my visit, uh, played a big part in the reason why I wanted to be here when you know it was elevated on my list.
30:41
SPEAKER_04: And and as I was here, uh they became great friends.
30:44
SPEAKER_04: How how different is is campus now compared to to when you visited back then?
30:49
SPEAKER_04: Wow.
30:50
SPEAKER_04: Uh significantly different.
30:51
SPEAKER_04: Yeah uh uh not just um as you think about uh the the kind of the faces and the people uh but the campus, the bricks and mortar.
31:01
SPEAKER_04: Sure.
31:01
SPEAKER_04: You know, very different when you think about the star campus was you know, back then it was uh uh manufacturing, car manufacturing.
31:08
SPEAKER_03: Right, yeah.
31:08
SPEAKER_04: Uh and everything that went along with that, right?
31:11
SPEAKER_04: You know, uh the smoke and the cars moving in and out.
31:14
SPEAKER_04: Uh I stayed in the towers, which is the North Campus, which wasn't it's not as active and as as you know as it once was then.
31:21
SPEAKER_04: But let me tell you, the the North Campus was where everybody wanted to be, and uh uh now it's kind of light and quiet.
31:27
SPEAKER_04: So uh uh just you know, kind of where the activity and the action uh was on campus, uh that that those are probably the biggest pieces.
31:36
SPEAKER_04: Uh, but but I also think about you know, these these young people now, they have the benefits of of uh the uh kind of the experiential learning uh center, the ice lab.
31:47
SPEAKER_04: Uh they have star campus with the College of Health Sciences.
31:51
SPEAKER_04: Now the the athletes have access to you know these new facilities in the Whitney Center.
31:56
SPEAKER_04: And I have to tell you, uh, because I played in the field house, uh little different than the Bob.
32:04
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, a little different than the Bob.
32:05
SPEAKER_04: Although our senior year, we kind of set the stage for it.
32:08
SPEAKER_04: Uh the uh our senior year, we opened up the Bob uh Carpenter Center.
32:12
SPEAKER_04: But uh that that um that uh uh my junior year is when I think everybody realized there was a real problem.
32:21
SPEAKER_04: Uh and we kind of exceeded that that team exceeded the expectations of what a Delaware basketball team could be or would be.
32:28
SPEAKER_04: So when we made it to that conference championship game and ESPN and USA Today and uh Good Morning America and all these organizations, TV uh media channels were all here, uh, we couldn't accommodate them.
32:42
SPEAKER_04: You know, they actually had to build the lights and bring in rafters so that they could actually film the championship game uh uh in the field house.
32:51
SPEAKER_04: So it was um uh uh we we we kind of I'd like to say we kind of helped uh uh the next generation start what yeah, what the university athletic situation is now, way back when.
33:05
SPEAKER_03: Well, what was it like playing in the fieldhouse?
33:06
SPEAKER_03: I I hear stories all the time, and I I can't picture playing a basketball game in the field house.
33:12
SPEAKER_04: So you know, so I mean let's start with practice.
33:14
SPEAKER_04: Okay, so first in in the field house, you had you had three or four basketball courts, uh, and we were kind of severed off by you know, separated with nets, with netting.
33:25
SPEAKER_04: And then there was a track that ran around it, uh, and they were active winner track.
33:31
SPEAKER_04: We were competitive in track.
33:32
SPEAKER_04: So we had so we had the track going on, we had girls' basketball, maybe on the other court.
33:37
SPEAKER_04: Uh, we had the baseball team who were doing preseason and they were hitting balls and throwing balls.
33:42
SPEAKER_04: We might have had guys on the far court, you know, playing football.
33:45
SPEAKER_04: But then as you walk up the one side of the field house, because there was only one side to this, uh to the stands.
33:51
SPEAKER_04: So the stands were only on the on the north side.
33:54
SPEAKER_04: Uh at the top of the stands, there was a wrestling uh that's that they called it the cage.
33:59
SPEAKER_04: So that's where the wrestlers were.
34:00
SPEAKER_04: And, you know, so there was wrestling, you know, on the second floor, right overlooking.
34:04
SPEAKER_03: You had five or six different sports going on at the same time.
34:07
SPEAKER_04: At the same time, every day.
34:08
SPEAKER_04: And it was very active.
34:09
SPEAKER_04: Uh, folks were coming in and out.
34:11
SPEAKER_04: Uh, it was just, and we were trying to practice, and we would practice on that court while all the other activities uh were happening.
34:18
SPEAKER_04: So that was the one thing that I remember was uh uh the level of activity that was occurring in in the uh um uh in the field house at that time.
34:28
SPEAKER_04: But the other piece was it was a rubber floor.
34:31
SPEAKER_04: So I think to this day, I'm still recovering from my ankle twists, you know, with your rubber shoe catching onto the rubber floor.
34:39
SPEAKER_04: Uh so there was uh it was an interesting kind of technology that we were navigating.
34:44
SPEAKER_04: It wasn't hardwood back then, uh, but it was really cool that when we decided uh the university and and the powers to be in state government, said, let's build this, you know, state of the art then, uh Bob Carpenter Center.
34:57
SPEAKER_04: And and we had a chance to open up that building and and actually won a really big game uh in our first game against uh nationally ranked Rutgers, uh, game one.
35:06
SPEAKER_04: And and uh yeah, we gave them the business.
35:08
SPEAKER_04: We had a great season.
35:09
SPEAKER_04: That was a good year, a good couple of years, in fact.
35:11
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that sounds really cool.
35:13
SPEAKER_03: I mean, and do you remember anything specific about that that that first game against Rutgers?
35:17
SPEAKER_03: Like, was it was there a big crowd?
35:19
SPEAKER_03: Like was it was it a standing room raising only, yeah.
35:22
SPEAKER_04: Standing room only because of the the success that we'd had in the previous year.
35:26
SPEAKER_04: Right.
35:27
SPEAKER_04: So uh we were uh we had a 20 24 and oh run.
35:33
SPEAKER_04: I think we ended up uh uh 27 and three that season.
35:37
SPEAKER_04: I'm I'm trying to think, but we had a 24-0 run uh through through the conference, uh uh the last game.
35:43
SPEAKER_04: Uh the last loss we had was to Delaware State, which will, you know, I'd love to talk a little bit more about that.
35:49
SPEAKER_04: But but when we think about the um, you know, that experience of opening up the Bob and being in that facility, it was standing room only.
35:57
SPEAKER_04: So if you can imagine the Bob Carpenter Center now, all the seats were filled, but they also had standing room at the top.
36:03
SPEAKER_04: So folks were allowed to just concourse.
36:06
SPEAKER_04: They could just stand, and so they were letting folks in.
36:08
SPEAKER_04: Uh so those that that season was pretty full because the expectations were high for us.
36:13
SPEAKER_04: Now, and I I only share this with you because I think it's an important note uh of history.
36:18
SPEAKER_04: I don't know how many pieces that I can offer like this, but I made the very first three-pointer in the Bob Offer Center.
36:25
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, so it's in the record book somewhere, I'm sure.
36:27
SPEAKER_04: It is.
36:27
SPEAKER_04: So at some point they're gonna have to put a little symbol on the floor.
36:30
SPEAKER_04: The first three-pointer would be right here.
36:32
SPEAKER_04: There you go.
36:32
SPEAKER_04: Arrow on that spot.
36:33
SPEAKER_03: You have any you have any you have any pictures of uh of that of that three-pointer?
36:37
SPEAKER_03: They might have.
36:38
SPEAKER_03: We had to go back to the archives.
36:39
SPEAKER_03: Go to the archive, see what see what we can find.
36:40
SPEAKER_03: That's awesome.
36:41
SPEAKER_04: Great time in a great time in in Delaware basketball.
36:44
SPEAKER_03: I I want to revert to the start of your Delaware basketball career.
36:47
SPEAKER_03: Talk about your recruiting process.
36:48
SPEAKER_03: How did you how did you land here and and what ultimately made you want to be a fighting blue hand?
36:53
SPEAKER_04: You know, interesting.
36:54
SPEAKER_04: I I was uh uh not until my senior year was I really heavily recruited by uh uh a range of schools.
37:01
SPEAKER_04: So it wasn't until late in the late in the game, yeah.
37:04
SPEAKER_04: I mean senior year.
37:05
SPEAKER_04: Uh so it it kind of narrowed down to about three, three or four schools.
37:10
SPEAKER_04: And uh my father helped me, you know, he had the the thought say, hey, look, we're going to narrow down to the schools where you want to go that that makes sense for you and and your career, your academic, you know, interests, you know, so we'll narrow down from there.
37:24
SPEAKER_04: And once we get to those, you know, three or four schools, we're gonna stand back and then we're gonna see which school truly wants you.
37:32
SPEAKER_04: And uh I remember we went down, we visited uh a school down in Hampton Roads, is where I really wanted to be.
37:38
SPEAKER_04: All my friends from high school, my neighborhood friends, my greatest friends were all there.
37:42
SPEAKER_04: And uh I spent some time with the coach, and the coach told me, he said, Well, you know, great numbers, and I think you could really contribute here.
37:49
SPEAKER_04: He said, But um, you know, we don't have any scholarship, you know, support.
37:52
SPEAKER_04: We can help you with books.
37:53
SPEAKER_04: And it was at that moment my father, my father stood up and shook his hand.
37:57
SPEAKER_04: He was like, But coach, thanks, this is a beautiful campus and and love meeting your team and and uh the school's leadership, uh, but we're gonna make our way.
38:04
SPEAKER_04: But it was a great day.
38:05
SPEAKER_04: Fantastic.
38:06
SPEAKER_04: Nice to meet you.
38:06
SPEAKER_04: So it was kind of a game, yeah.
38:08
SPEAKER_04: He he kind of shut uh shut my thoughts down about being around all my buddies and and my great friends from school.
38:14
SPEAKER_04: But it was uh a coach, uh coach Dennis Felton that was recruiting me from the University of Delaware.
38:20
SPEAKER_04: And it was uh the championship, it was a it was the tournament season, and uh I had a great game against a real tough uh Milford team, who was one of the top-ranked teams uh here in Delaware.
38:32
SPEAKER_04: And and uh we we can't, you know, we uh we beat them and we weren't supposed to, uh my my Tatno guys, and and I had a fantastic night, right?
38:41
SPEAKER_04: 30 plus, whatever the numbers were.
38:43
SPEAKER_04: And and I remember after the game walking out of the locker room, and uh I felt great because of the win.
38:50
SPEAKER_04: I felt great because I had a personal, uh, uh, you know, personal great night.
38:56
SPEAKER_04: And I saw the coach and my father were almost kind of high-fiving and hugging.
39:01
SPEAKER_04: And they, he, you know, Coach Felton was equally as excited about the success of the game.
39:06
SPEAKER_04: And he almost matched my father's at that time, who always was very, very involved.
39:10
SPEAKER_04: And it was at that moment that when I saw him kind of excited and and with my family, I knew.
39:17
SPEAKER_04: I was like, okay, Delaware's at the top of my list.
39:20
SPEAKER_04: This is where this is where I think I need to be.
39:22
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, right at home.
39:22
SPEAKER_04: Right.
39:23
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, oh yeah.
39:24
SPEAKER_03: I mean, it makes sense.
39:25
SPEAKER_03: Uh yeah, I I want to I want to swing into probably one of the highlights of your your career.
39:30
SPEAKER_03: I mean, you were a part of one of the very first NCAA tournament team in in program history, right?
39:34
SPEAKER_03: The very first 20-win plus season in in Delaware basketball history.
39:39
SPEAKER_03: What what does that mean to you?
39:41
SPEAKER_04: You know, it means a lot.
39:43
SPEAKER_04: It means a lot, and and uh, and I can tell that the the coaching staff now and in the previous coaching staffs, it it means something to them as well.
39:54
SPEAKER_04: So not just us.
39:55
SPEAKER_04: So I can feel uh the the level of interest and respect that uh the coaches and and the players have uh for that time.
40:04
SPEAKER_04: Uh they take a break in the action to receive us and and and have conversations with us.
40:09
SPEAKER_04: So so that always feels good when you're recognized for that kind of accomplishment.
40:13
SPEAKER_04: Um uh so that was cool.
40:16
SPEAKER_04: But I I will tell you the one thing that stands out uh about that time, those memories, uh, were you know, we weren't always you know playing well.
40:25
SPEAKER_04: I mean, Delaware was, you know, kind of low expectation for what Delaware basketball uh was going to be.
40:30
SPEAKER_04: So the idea that that group of guys, and it was a it was truly an eclectic group, uh uh Virginia, uh Maryland, uh DMV, uh we had guys from Asbury Park, New Jersey, uh guys from Philly.
40:44
SPEAKER_04: We had guys from different parts of the community who didn't know each other.
40:46
SPEAKER_04: The only thing that brought us here uh together was basketball, but we became fast brothers.
40:52
SPEAKER_04: Uh we endured uh lots of losses through those first and second seasons, and then we started to have some really big wins against some big teams.
41:02
SPEAKER_04: And uh those were as we start to think about you know how we came to become that championship level team with this group of characters from from uh the different parts of the country.
41:14
SPEAKER_04: Get Canada, my roommate was a seven-footer from Wolverhampton, England.
41:19
SPEAKER_04: Oh wow.
41:20
SPEAKER_04: It was a real eclectic group.
41:21
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
41:22
SPEAKER_04: Um so I think about the the cast of characters that we had that that took us to that level of of success.
41:27
SPEAKER_04: Uh, then I think about um what it actually took to get there.
41:31
SPEAKER_04: I told you about when they had to build the building out just so that we can film the the the ESPN's championship game.
41:39
SPEAKER_04: And they we just weren't ready for it.
41:40
SPEAKER_04: Right.
41:41
SPEAKER_04: Um, so those were the things that that I remember.
41:43
SPEAKER_04: But it was the Delaware community.
41:45
SPEAKER_04: It was the idea that they've endured.
41:48
SPEAKER_04: I mean, I'm just thinking about the the two or three years that I was here that we didn't have that success.
41:53
SPEAKER_04: But there's been 30 years or 50 years of basketball, you know, great, great talents that came through, but we just didn't have that level of success.
42:02
SPEAKER_04: But the Delaware faithful was always there.
42:05
SPEAKER_04: And when we decided to win, uh, when we won those championships, when we won that championship and the way the students took to the court, the community was in the stands.
42:14
SPEAKER_04: Uh, it was something that I won't soon forget.
42:16
SPEAKER_04: That memory of the way that the University of Delaware family, the Blue Hen family, uh embraced that success.
42:24
SPEAKER_04: Uh and I was again there, and we were in the middle of it.
42:27
SPEAKER_04: Uh, and and that's how we are.
42:28
SPEAKER_04: Uh whether it's football, basketball, uh women's team who probably led the way, uh, who we were practicing next to, you know, for those handful of years, um, uh to see the support that we received.
42:42
SPEAKER_04: That might be uh uh the most memorable moment of of uh that experience, but anyway, that the Delaware folks that showed us the love because we know they've endured, you know, for a period of time without any success.
42:55
SPEAKER_03: Well, you you you you've talked about some of the memories, right?
42:57
SPEAKER_03: The championships, the different things.
42:58
SPEAKER_03: What else, what else do you remember?
43:00
SPEAKER_03: What else stands out to you from from your career?
43:02
SPEAKER_03: Are there are there certain times that you go back to, maybe a specific game or or something that really uh you know piqued your mind that you think about?
43:10
SPEAKER_04: It's funny.
43:10
SPEAKER_04: We talk about the the huge success of uh of that season of the the uh 92, of the 91-92 season, huge success, or first time uh great group of guys uh at a certain point uh early in the season, we were ranked nationally because of some success that we had.
43:27
SPEAKER_04: Uh well, the first time I was also a part of a first.
43:31
SPEAKER_04: It was the first uh University of Delaware, Delaware State uh men's basketball game.
43:36
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
43:37
SPEAKER_04: I was there.
43:37
SPEAKER_03: And as a Delaware guy, that's gotta mean something to you.
43:39
SPEAKER_04: So I mean, I was the only at that time, I was the only Delaware guy.
43:42
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
43:43
SPEAKER_04: In fact, my neighbor, uh, my great friend, uh Andrew Miles, who was uh again a great talent, was recruited to Delaware State.
43:52
SPEAKER_04: We were three or four, you know, we're a block away from one another, you know, our neighbors.
43:55
SPEAKER_04: And we grew up in Haynes Park together playing ball.
43:57
SPEAKER_04: And I remember the the the news journal.
44:00
SPEAKER_04: And the local uh media took attention to he and I, who competed in high school.
44:05
SPEAKER_04: Sure.
44:05
SPEAKER_04: He and I were going to take the fight.
44:07
SPEAKER_04: They get took dog square off against each other at the next level, right?
44:10
SPEAKER_04: And the funny thing was, as talented as we were, and as big a game as that was, and I remember when they made the decision to play it, we lost.
44:21
SPEAKER_04: And it was uh, and how I explained it is while they were a talented team, they also dazzled us a bit, right?
44:28
SPEAKER_04: You know, they had uh uh the tubas were out, the music, uh, the cheerleaders and the band.
44:35
SPEAKER_04: And it was just one of those nights.
44:37
SPEAKER_04: It was in the field house, it was full.
44:40
SPEAKER_04: Uh uh, and the but the spirit was it was just a full warm night.
44:45
SPEAKER_04: Uh uh, and uh, but we didn't realize until two minutes into the game, two minutes left, that we were down because of all the lights and just so much going on.
44:55
SPEAKER_04: So much going on we didn't realize.
44:57
SPEAKER_04: And then we when we finally decided to get together, uh, they had a guy who was just shooting lights out that night.
45:02
SPEAKER_04: Shout out Ty Boker.
45:04
SPEAKER_04: He gave us the business.
45:04
SPEAKER_04: I don't know if he had another game like that for the rest of his career.
45:08
SPEAKER_04: I tell you what, he had a night that night, that for sure.
45:11
SPEAKER_04: And um uh uh yeah, so so we took a big loss.
45:14
SPEAKER_04: And and the tough part for me, and and the reason that I think that game was a little more painful was because I was the only Delaware guy, and everybody else went back to England and Canada and Virginia, and I was here in Delaware, and I had to endure and navigate all the okay, Delaware gave you the business this year, and I and it they made it really tough for me, even in the workouts in the city summer leagues and things like that.
45:38
SPEAKER_04: So uh the cool part was there was a part two, so we had a chance to play uh uh Delaware State Little Redemption.
45:46
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, a little redemption, and we did.
45:47
SPEAKER_04: They invited us down to uh to Dover, and I had if not not necessarily my one of my best games of my collegiate career, but certainly one of the most meaningful ones for me.
45:58
SPEAKER_04: Certainly, because I cared.
46:00
SPEAKER_04: Uh, that game mattered uh for me, and I was not going to endure another summer.
46:04
SPEAKER_04: We weren't gonna have another one.
46:05
SPEAKER_04: I wasn't I was not so I had a great game, we had a big win, uh, and I felt good uh knowing that you know I was gonna at least end my college career.
46:14
SPEAKER_04: It was my senior year, I would end uh with my relationship with that series just getting started uh on a high note.
46:21
SPEAKER_04: So uh great, great.
46:22
SPEAKER_04: It was uh, you know, one of those ebbs and flow, right?
46:24
SPEAKER_04: Uh we we we lost a big loss, uh, had a big loss, but we came back in one big too.
46:29
SPEAKER_04: So it felt great.
46:29
SPEAKER_04: And and I don't I went down with real intention.
46:32
SPEAKER_04: Uh game to make sure that the Delaware folks knew that that we were back.
46:37
SPEAKER_03: Well, that's awesome.
46:38
SPEAKER_03: Rick, thanks so much for for taking some time out of your day and joining us here on Fighting Words.
46:42
SPEAKER_03: Thanks for the invitation, and I look forward to the next time.
46:44
SPEAKER_03: This was great.
46:45
SPEAKER_03: You guys are doing a good job.
46:46
SPEAKER_03: I appreciate that.
46:47
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
46:47
SPEAKER_03: That was Rick Deadweiler here on Fighting Words, episode five in the books.
46:53
SPEAKER_03: Can't believe we we've gone through five already, but we're really excited for what we have ahead.
46:57
SPEAKER_03: Uh, don't forget to subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you get your podcast.
47:02
SPEAKER_03: Um, and we're really excited for for what's ahead.
47:04
SPEAKER_03: I'm Ed LaFurge.
47:06
SPEAKER_03: Thanks for watching.