ADAM EMMENECKER

Recruiting lists? Top 100 in the country? Leading scorer on your high school team? Playing for the best AAU team? Scholarship offers?

Forget it…

Just work hard, play your ass off and make your opportunity.

Adam Emmenecker from Drake leads his team to the Missouri Valley title.  Oh you don’t know who I’m talking about? ESPN.com fills you in on the kid who was going to play baseball in college and decided to walk-on at Drake.

“He likes to do things his way, and we pretty much let him,” Mike Emmenecker said as he stood on the Scottrade Center court Sunday afternoon. “He wanted to play Division I. I didn’t think that was necessarily the best thing to do, but he did, and look what happened.”

Did I mention he was voted player of the year in the conference? This coming from a kid who just wanted a little playing time…

PLAY THE RIGHT WAY! 

DRAKE-BUTLER

I had the chance to catch the game today on ESPN2 with Drake winning one on the road in Indy 71-64.

What an outstanding contest to watch.  Do these guys play the right way or what?

Adam Emmenecker the point guard for Drake played 38 minutes and only took 5 shots, yet he was probably the best player on the floor.  He runs the show like a great floor leader is supposed to.  Here’s a guy who didn’t average double figures in high school but somehow has found himself running the point for the #18th ranked team in the country. Emmenecker had 7 assists and pulled down 6 rebounds.

Drake is now 24-3 and they are going to knock someone off in the NCAA tournament.

If you watched any of the game, you saw players move the ball, they moved without it and always made the extra pass for the ‘great’ look.  You saw very good pressure, man-to-man defense, you saw charges drawn, players diving on the ball and of course, you witnessed guys who actually box out and go pursue the rebound.

Drake shot 18-20 from the line as a team.

At one point Butler’s A.J. Graves was on the free-throw line and after watching him shoot my wife said, “wow, he has a great form!”

If you are a young player, be sure to catch Emmenecker or Graves before they leave college.

PLAY THE RIGHT WAY!