Swenson’s next stop: NCAA Tournament
Unique journey to big stage spans continents
Stephan Swenson’s road from Brussels, Belgium, to Stetson by way of Fort Lauderdale — from unrecruited to the starting point guard for an NCAA Tournament team — has certainly been a unique, winding one.
And that makes it, as coach Donnie Jones called it, “The typical story in March Madness.”
Swenson may not quite be a national darling yet, the Hatters would likely have to pull a big early upset, maybe of the 1 vs. 16 variety, for that to happen. But whether the Hatters advance or not, he’s left an indelible mark in DeLand and on a program venturing into uncharted waters for the first time in 53 Division I seasons.
Moreover, Swenson seems to have the same lasting impact on others around him. Even a veteran coach like Donnie Jones, now in his 35th season of coaching.
“I’ve coached a bunch but I don’t know if I’ve been around a kid I love more than Stephan Swenson,” Jones gushed.
The comment came during a postgame press conference after the Hatters had rallied from 10 points down in the final four-plus minutes to shock
Friday’s game
Men’s East Region first round, at Brooklyn, N.Y.
No. 16 Stetson (22-12) vs. No. 1 UConn (31-3)
Before we weigh in on
Aaron Rodgers being a heartbeat away from the presidency, a question:
Who is the most popular female in the USA not currently dating Travis
Kelce?
If you said Caitlin
Clark, you’re a winner.
You also do not qualify to serve on the NCAA tournament selection committee, which potentially sabotaged the biggest March Madness in women’s history.
I know being a committee member is a thankless job. Millions of people start calling them clueless pinheads about 3.1 seconds after the brackets are announced. I don’t question their basketball acumen in sticking Clark and her Iowa Hawkeyes in the toughest bracket. I do wonder if they’ve been wandering the Amazon jungle the past four months.
Clark has become a cultural phenomenon. She could tie her shoes and it would draw record TV ratings.