Drew Sawyer
Senior Guard | Men's Basketball
"Getting To Know Your Gulls" With Drew Sawyer
The last playoff run for my five brothers and I is here, and I couldn't be more excited to get going. We've made it through four years of hard work, the countless practices, drills, meetings, lifts, film sessions… the list goes on… but to make this last playoff run memorable – to finish off the three-peat – we need one thing.
WE NEED YOU!
This is the last time my five brothers and I will put on the Green, White, and Blue for our school, so I'll repeat what I just said.
WE. NEED. YOU!
We need your support, your funny signs, your costumes, your chants, we need ALL OF IT. We aren't the two-time defending CCC champions without your support. Without your support, we may not beat Nichols last year on their home floor. But, because some of you were there, we felt comfortable, we felt confident, and it showed on the court.
And for last year's championship game at home… you guys were amazing. I had goosebumps up and down my arms. When we walked onto our home floor and saw thousands of you in the stands, it gave us confidence, and it made our opponent shake in their sneakers. It pushed us to the next level, because we wanted to win for you.
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| GULL NATION fans storm the court after men's basketball wins the 2015-16 CCC Championship. |
Yeah, we always want to win for the man right next to us, but we wanted to win it for you even more.
But, with that said, we need you for more than just the championship game, though. We need you Tuesday, and then if we win Tuesday, we need you in the CCC semis. We need those signs, those costumes, and those chants for all of our playoff games.
And the other teams on campus need that as well.
Both hockey teams and the women's basketball team need that support, too. The men's basketball team will certainly support them when we aren't playing, just as they've supported us, but they need you just as much.
I want the crowds to be like the White-Out game against Gordon my sophomore year. Our first home game of that year. It was the first game that I remember getting chills. I remember coming off the bench and making a play and the crowd going crazy. I had chills up and down my arms. When someone says EC basketball, it's not the championships I think of first, it's this game, even though we lost, I knew how special our fans and our crowd was.
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| The crowd Drew Sawyer will never forget. The crowd that gave Drew his first look in to how impactful GULL NATION really is. |
Right now, we are playing some our best basketball of the season at the perfect time. We've always had it together offensively, but now our defense is stronger than ever and is leading to our offense. We've been putting ourselves in the right positions at all times and Coach B has pulled all the right strings to get us ready for this historic run.
To win three in a row would mean a lot. Three in a row would mean my five brothers and I would be one of the best senior classes to come through Endicott Athletics and Basketball.
Three in a row would also give me something. My teams in high school never got over that hump. We either lost in the championship or semifinals or had an injury. Three in a row would mean a lot to me personally because a lot of people don't get to see this or have this success at the highest level. To say that I went out on top with my boys would be everything.
What's made us so successful over the past three years is growing together. The six seniors on this team have matured as a unit over the past four years. We know where each other is going to be on the floor. I feel no matter what combination is on the floor we will be successful. I never feel out of a game with these guys, even if we are losing… I never feel out of a game, ever. Let that be clear. EVER.
What's also made us successful is Coach B. Ever since Coach B came in, he has had us ready to win from the jump. Coach B lets us be ourselves out there. Yeah, I know, he makes the game-time decisions, but he lets us take the reins and do what he taught us to do from his first practice on. And that shouldn't be lost on anybody.
My last message to you guys is thank you. Thank you for all the support these past four years.
But our job is not done. Your job is not done.
You don't know how much it means to us and how important it is that you guys come out and support us and all the other playoff teams this week and throughout the whole playoffs. You guys are the best fans in the CCC, but we still have one more job to do. Number three is right in front of us and we need your help to go get it.
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| Let's make Tuesday (and all our playoff runs) another Great Day(s) To Be A Gull. |
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