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Game week is here! I sort of expected a football depth chart to have been released last night, but I suppose we’ll wait a day or so and would think that it will be released today. Only a couple of links from the weekend and recommend the oral history and watching the video.

Basketball

The official site posted kind of an oral story where the coaches and staff talked about their earliest memories regarding basketball. There’s a ton there and I’ll blockquote some of it, but you sort of get to know the coaches and staff a bit more:

Adams: My dad had an incredible competitive spirit in boxing, basketball and life. Even when we played chess and checkers it was really something. We were a competitive family in everything. Playing my sister in cards was a battle. Everyone in my family fought for everything. I think that’s helped me throughout my life.

Green: My senior year of high school we went undefeated and won a state championship. That year was up and down for me. I also played quarterback on the football team and we were really good. We were No. 1 in the state. But we got upset in the quarterfinals. That has to be the biggest disappointment I’ve ever had in athletics. Then we turned around and were on the basketball court the next Monday. We went 27-0 and won the championship. We should have won it in football. That still gets me.

Rich: I was fortunate to play on a high school team that went to four state championship games. We won two and lost two. All those teams built my love for the game. I gained a love for winning long before I understood personal glory. I’ve always been associated with winning teams more than stats or honors. It helped carry me over the years. It’s never been about me. As a coach, it’s what I try to filter into our players. From early on, my entire being is about being apart of something bigger than the individual.

Williams: My mom influenced me the most. She’s a little bit different. I could score 24 points and she would talk about the three free throws that I missed. She never let me relax. I was feeling good about myself when I scored 36 points in a game and she told me my defense was bad. Pointed out that someone blew past me once. She always encouraged me to be better. To have fun playing. There was no stipulations on anything. She wasn’t pushing me to get a scholarship or anything like that. She just wanted to make sure that I was competing and having fun. Her words made me love the game.

Pinkins: My dad coached me from the start. He coached everyone in our neighborhood. He never stopped coaching me, even when I was playing at North Carolina State. If he wasn’t at the games, we would talk right after them and he would coach me on things I did right and wrong. He was a huge influence on me.

I’m not going to lie, I’m really interested in Al Pinkins, Corey Williams, Rich Darby, and Steve Green. I feel like I don’t have a feel for them at all and I definitely do after reading this.

Football

Via the official site head coach Joey McGuire decided to bring back the Raider Walk, the walk will start about 2 hours and 15 minutes before kickoff. There’s more details about where to stand and each week the official site will announce the exact time once they know their kickoff time due to television coverage.

You can watch the entire kickoff luncheon, but if you want to watch the new intro video for the football team then start watching around the 44 or 45 minute mark. Also, after the video, Robert Giovannetti interviews Joey McGuire and he’s pretty darned fired up. Definitely worth a listen.