Thursday, March 08, 2007

Calvin Roland Finds a Home In the NCAA Tournament

Virginia Commonwealth University will be playing in next week's NCAA men's basketball tournament, having earned an automatic bid by winning the Colonial Athletic Association tournament and surviving an upset bid by last season's Cinderella, George Mason.

One of their players, Calvin Roland, has survived a lot worse than an upset bid in a tournament:

The fourth of six children, Roland was not expected to survive as a child after being struck by a car. Later, as a freshman in college, he found himself as the only one in his family other than his mother with a job. He was starting college, playing basketball, and earning a living to support his family. Soon after he began to pursue his degree, his family fell victim to eviction and was left homeless for the next two years. Roland spent his nights at friends’ houses, in his college locker room, and in the office where he worked .

Click here to read the story on the VCU athletic website about him winning the first annual Charles Barkley Scholarship. I also recommend this post from the blog of sportswriter Michael Litos for a healthy dose of perspective about Roland's story.

Thanks to my buddy at NCAA Hoops Today for the tip.

1 Comments:

At 4:15 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Roland is something else. There was a piece about him on cbs today during "The Road to the Final Four". It didn't quite do him justice. It would be nice to see him get some game-time in the upcoming NCAA tourney. He's a big guy who is not used much by coacj Grant in VCU's quick and small "3 guard, 2 forward" lineup.

 

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