Better Men

It’s an often-used cliché in sports when people (namely pundits of the sport) claim, "Nobody could write a more perfect ending."

However, in the case of the Senior Day game for the Emory & Henry men’s basketball team, this was the case. When the Wasps’ lone senior (on the floor) JD Dyson stole a poorly placed in-bound pass and took it in for the layup as time expired, it was proof positive that in this instance, the saying was true.

For Dyson and injured senior Josh Brown, the win allowed them to come full circle. Although during their career at E&H there has been adversity beyond what anybody could imagine, this senior class handled it with maturity beyond their years. As the late coach Bob Johnson used to stress, winning was only part of the equation. In Division III, becoming a better basketball player and a better man were priorities on which he placed a great deal of emphasis.

Not only did these two young men have to deal with the passing of the coach who recruited them to play here, but also they suffered through injuries, transitioning out of the run-and-gun offense, maddening last-second losses, and often playing against taller, bulkier players.

Having said that, it's unbelievable what these two seniors have accomplished. As first-year students they were a part of the team that not only beat, but DEMOLISHED the defending national champion Virginia Wesleyan team. They gave Division I Radford a run for its money at Radford, leading for more than 30 minutes in that game before succumbing to the size and UFC-esque physicality of the Highlanders. They gave then first-year Radford coach Brad Greenberg a serious case of the sweats.

They helped put Emory & Henry among the national leaders in scoring offense, and they rewrote the ODAC record books. Individually, JD Dyson was among the national leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio as a freshman, and he will finish in the top 3 all-time at E&H in assists.

As for the injured Josh Brown, many think that had he been able to play more this year, the Wasps' fortunes would have been different. Without a true back to the basket scorer, the Wasps were often outmuscled inside and unable to establish a scoring threat in the post. That in itself is a testament to how important Josh Brown’s influence was to this team.

When Dyson’s lay-in sealed the Wasps' fourth win of the season (by far the lowest total in the four years of this class), there is no doubt that Coach Johnson was looking down on these two seniors with a big grin on his face, smiling at the fruits of his labor. Although they did not go out the winningest class in E&H history, these two players left the court named for their late coach better basketball players, better men, and on that day, winners. Nobody could have written a more perfect ending.