The Best of Us

Often when I go to national conferences on education, I get the sense that people think of Vermont as quaint and idyllic. We are the land of Ben & Jerry's, Bernie Sanders, and maple syrup. However, when I talk about our statewide education initiatives (proficiency-based graduation requirements and personalized learning), that very quickly gets their attention. This past week though, there were two moments, one shared with the nation, and one lesser known that demonstrates what I believe we genuinely are as a state. They both come from the University of Vermont Men's Basketball team.

By now, we know that our Catamounts lost a hard-fought game against Florida State last Thursday in Hartford. But that is truly burying the lead. Last Sunday night on ESPN, Scott Van Pelt highlighted the tremendous integrity of Head Coach John Becker. (Click here for the link to the video, courtesy of YouTube). In 2015, Josh Speidel who had already committed to play at UVM was in a car accident, and the resulting injuries left him in a coma. Three days later, Becker flew to Indiana and assured Speidel's family that there would be a spot for him on the team and further told the family, that UVM would honor the scholarship offer. This was before Becker could know that the NCAA would decide that this would not count against the number of scholarship players on the team.

How easy would it have been for Becker to very quietly tell the family that since Speidel could not physically play basketball, there was no place for him? Given the extent of the injuries, one might even consider that a reasonable way forward. Not Becker. Integrity is doing the right thing when no one else is looking. This was the right thing to do.

Such leadership from a head coach filters down directly to the players, and that brings me to the other moment, one that did not receive national attention. On Saturday, March 16 UVM defeated the University of Maryland Baltimore Campus (UMBC) to win the America East Tournament and earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Anthony Lamb had 28 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 assists. What was truly noteworthy to me was what he did after the game, and after he helped cut down the nets, a tradition that goes to the winners.

Lamb went around Patrick Gym and took a picture with anyone who wanted a picture and signed an autograph for anyone who wanted an autograph. Let me make this clear: no one who wanted either a picture with Lamb or his autograph left the UVM campus that day without it. I've never played sports competitively any higher than junior varsity in high school. I cannot imagine what it must feel like to compete for almost 40 minutes at the Division I level. Lamb played 39 minutes, helped his team earn a victory and then made the UVM fans feel like they were part of the family. Every single one of them.

Sports does not always bring out the best of us. There are countless stories of grown adults, admittedly usually men, behaving badly both on and off the court. And then there are stories of integrity and leadership from a coach, that's then exemplified by his players. Perhaps we can continue to confound the rest of the country as to what we really are all about in Vermont.

Because what we saw this week from UVM really is our best, as human beings.

Photo Courtsey of The Burlington Free Press