Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Athletics

Four years ago, deciding on what college to go to was one of the more difficult decisions I had to make in my life. Luckily my choice to attend school at Saint Mary’s was one of my smarter decisions in life. It is hard to believe how this time has come and gone so quickly. Before coming to college, I would never have imagined all the memories, friends and life lessons that I have encountered that will be held close to my heart for years to come. My basketball career has been full of ups and downs, but I cannot have imagined playing anywhere else but here at SMU. The teammates and great friends that I have been around for my four years at this university have changed my life for the better. Learning the ropes as a freshman and seeing me mature as a person into a leader of this team, is something that could not have happened if I was not surrounded by great people. I have never been much of a vocal leader in practice, but I have tried to lead with my hard work on and off the court. I cannot wait to see the fine gentlemen you underclassman become when you all become seniors. I hope that my actions have inspired my teammates and others who have watched me become the person I am today, to become great individuals and role models for others. That is something that I have tried to do with my time here at Saint Mary’s and will continue to do as I move on from college.

Throughout my time here, I have met some great people that I will hold dear to my heart. I am grateful for every person I have met, especially for those who I have gotten lucky enough to become closer to. (If I missed anybody in my senior salute, I am sorry but I could not make this 10 pages long).

Mom: One thing I have missed most in my four years at college is not being able to see you after every one of my home games in high school. It was a tough transition the first year, even though I did not talk about it much. I have always felt more confident in anything I have done growing up because I knew you were right there by my side cheering me on. Even though I know it has been tough getting to many of my games throughout my four years here, but I think you being there for me in high school gave me the confidence I needed to get through basketball and schooling even though I could not see you every day. I have so many things to be thankful for and I can contribute about 99.9% of it to you and what you have done for me in my life. I hope I have done you proud as a mother watching me grow from a child to a man right before your eyes. I could not have asked for a better life while growing up and it is all because of you. I thank you mom and I love you so much!

Dad: Thank you dad for always believing I could do well in sports, even though I know you were huge on me playing baseball when I was growing up. I think it is safe to say I got my competitive nature from you and trying to be great at any sport I wanted to play growing up. If I am lucky, I will continue my basketball career and I am glad to know that you will be there for support. Love you dad!

Gary: It seemed like since freshman year I could never get rid of you, as an accounting major, a teammate and a roommate and now that we are graduating soon it is going to be hard not having you around as much anymore. You have been a great friend to me these past four years and even though you are the most annoying person to sit next to in class, I would not trade that seat with anyone else.

Lukas: It has been a real joy having you as a roommate for the last three years (would have been four if not for Ralph). I have been very lucky in my life to have met some great people and it is safe to say that you are one of them. You have become one of my closest friends here at Saint Mary’s and it is just icing on the cake when we became teammates as well. It will be a little weird not having you as a roommate next year and will take a lot of adjusting to get to. I am not going to find many people that like cheese balls as much as us. Just know that once you make it big in California and you need an accountant, you know where to find me. You have been such a great friend to me and I hope it will continue outside of college.

Pat: It is hard to believe that we have been playing together for eight years now. Seems like yesterday when we were trying out for freshman spots in high school and trying not to be on the B team. High school was a great time and college has been even better and I am glad we got to experience this time together.

Murph: Thanks to you, Murph, I found out I wasn’t the only video game nerd on the team (besides Josh). It has been a real pleasure to have gotten to know you these last four years. You are a great person and have been a great friend throughout my time here. It is not easy adjusting to college for some people, but having friends like you make the experience much easier and has made my experience much better.

Ryan: Unfortunately we didn’t get to play all four years together, but these last three years have been quite memorable. You have one of the best work ethics that I have ever seen and your work ethic has really inspired me to be the best athlete I can be. Your competitive nature is something that has helped me a lot and is also the reason why I can never let you beat me at anything. You pushed me to become a great player and I hope I have done something for you by trying to be a great friend.

Coach Todd: I want to thank you for everything you have done for me and for this team. I know it has not been easy coaching us for the last three years without us being able to show how great of a coach you really are, but I am very thankful to have you in my corner and to have had you as my head coach. I hope our relationship continues way after I am done with college because I think you are a great person and have been a great mentor to me while I have been here.

To the juniors, Free, Rod, Tim and Tom: You guys will have to be the senior leaders next year and you all need to make sure to take that title with honor and make the SMU name proud as we have tried to do for our four years. There will be a lot riding on you guys, but I know you all can handle any adversity that is thrown at you. (And yes you too Matt, someone has to keep the camera rolling).

To the sophomores, Chris, Josh, Joe, Mike: You guys have just as big of a role as the seniors. You all need to make sure that they are doing their job right as leaders for this team next year (especially you Big Joe!). Continue to push each other in practice like we have done all year. Soon it will be your turn to be the leaders of the team and it begins with hard work and dedication now.

It has been an honor playing besides my fellow seniors for the last four years of my life. Playing through adversity has been something we have faced throughout our time here and I could not imagine having any other guys by my side than these five other seniors. It has been a great run these past four years, and even though we did not reach our ultimate goal, I could not be happier with the relationships that I have created with you guys and hope to continue in the future. And to our underclassman, I hope we have been able to inspire you all with leadership skills and friendships that you all will take into the future. I will be keeping up with you all once my time here is over and I am sure Joe will keep you guys in line if you all are messing around.

It has been a good run here at Saint Mary’s and I will cherish every moment for the rest of my life.