7 Things We Can All Learn From The UMBC Retrievers
My sons and I had the good fortune of being at Spectrum Center on Friday night when the UMBC Retrievers basketball team did the improbable. The Retrievers became the first 16th-seeded team to upset a #1 seed in NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament history, and it wasn’t even a close game. UMBC ran the Virginia Cavaliers out of Charlotte by a score of 74-54. “March Madness” had truly lived up to its name.
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How could a basketball team from a school that most sports fans know nothing about, take down the top-ranked squad in the entire country? I mean, Virginia had a record of 31-2, won the ACC Tournament, and was favored by many to win the national championship. UMBC is still explaining to people that their initials stand for University of Maryland, Baltimore County and their mascot is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, not a Labrador Retriever.
While it was absolutely thrilling to witness an unprecedented moment in sports history, it was also great to come away from that game with life lessons for my boys, as well as for myself:
1. Numbers don’t tell the whole story. In sports rankings and tournament seedings, 1 is greater than 16. A 1 seed versus a 16 seed is always supposed to end with the former winning the game. But on Friday night, the 16 was better prepared and wanted it more than the 1. If you trust in statistics only, you’ll miss a lot.
2. Heart matters. The hearts of the UMBC Retrievers and their young coach, Ryan Odom, were big enough and strong enough to carry them to victory. Virginia may have taken their own superior standing for granted and left their hearts in the locker room. Invest more of yourself in the task at hand. It can make all the difference.
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3. “David and Goliath” still happens. UMBC’s point guard, K.J. Maura (above left), is a 5’8″, 140 lb. kid from Puerto Rico. He’s not exactly the prototypical Division I college basketball star. And yet, Maura plays the game like a man twice his size at both ends of the court. Likewise, UMBC played like a seasoned NBA team against mighty Virginia on Friday night.
4. Listen to your teachers. The UMBC Retrievers are well coached by Ryan Odom (below), who has only been a head basketball coach since 2014. He does have the pedigree of coaching greatness (his father, Dave Odom, famously led some very good teams at Wake Forest and South Carolina), but that’s never a guarantee for success. Preparation is a better formula to follow, and Ryan Odom’s players have clearly heeded that lesson from their teacher.
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5. Why not you? Just because the other team is expected to win, or someone else is expected to get the promotion at work, doesn’t mean you won’t. The UMBC Retrievers played like they were the favored team and that attitude carried them to victory over Virginia. It can work for you, too.
6. Patience can pay big dividends. UMBC’s Jairus Lyles (below) began his collegiate basketball career at VCU, only playing about one minute per game during his freshman year. He decided to transfer to Robert Morris University but never played there. Lyles finally landed at UMBC, where he has become the second-leading scorer in school history. Waiting for your shot isn’t always easy, but when that moment does arrive, it can be so sweet.
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7. Never give up. If you want something bad enough, keep reaching for it. You just might get it. The Retrievers wanted to be the first 16 seed to win a game in the “Big Dance.” It was the only game they won, having been eliminated by Kansas State on Sunday night, but the name UMBC is forever etched in the annals of college basketball. And that’s pretty darn good.
