My March Madness, about so much more than basketball.

Gorgui Dieng's joyous smile--soft, glowing, and genuine--makes me so happy to have been at the game on March 15 so that I could watch him (and his team) play, to see this smile come across his face as he walked off the court at game's end, and to able to take this photo. What a privilege. I mean that, straight from my heart.

And then when I was getting this post ready, I found this enlightening commentary on ESPN dot com, ”Gorgui Dieng living his dream,” by Eamonn Brennan. I'm sitting here with tears streaming down my face, filled with awe and hope. I want to share this with you, thus my photo and this link. I hope you have a chance to click on the link, read the article, and join me in finding out more about this remarkable young man.

I am thankful that I found Mr. Brennan's piece online because, well, you know that feeling you get when you connect with someone new, someone you instantly like, want to know more about. That's exactly what happened to me, a 64-year-old Mississippian who loves basketball, when I saw this young man play, and I had not even really met him. Like I said in an earlier post, Gorgui Dieng is a good reason to pull for Louisville.

My March Madness continues with Louisville Cardinal Gorgui Dieng, a good reason to pull for Louisville

Sophomore Gorgui Dieng, 6'11", 235-pound center for Louisville, blocks a Davidson shot during the first half shot during the Second Round game between the two teams. On the Louisville basketball Web site, I read that his hometown is Kebemer, Senegal--at the game he was announced as from Senegal, no mention of the town. Intrigued me, let me tell you, after having watched a few young men from Senegal play at a Jackson Public School back home in Jackson, Mississippi. I used to keep score for the high school basketball teams where I was a librarian, so I traveled with the teams and kept score in our own gym--loads of fun for me!


Look at that ball fly! Found on the Louisville basketball Web site's post-game notes:
Gorgui Dieng swatted two shots in the game for 113 this season. Through his two-year career, he has registered 169 blocks, which ranks sixth all time. He also scored nine points to reach the 500-point mark in his career.


This photo makes it look like the ball flew by so fast that it caused those two players to swivel swiftly at the waist! I decided early on in the game that I liked watching this young man play. As a result, I decided I would pull for Louisville. They ended up defeating Davidson, 69-62.