Friday, March 10, 2000
Stunned fans try to keep faith
Hope competes with doom, gloom
BY TANYA ALBERT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Sophomore Laura Wilder walked up to a group of friends at a picnic table at the University of Cincinnati Thursday afternoon and asked, “Did you hear about Kenyon?”
By 5 p.m., just about everyone on the Clifton campus knew the answer to that question.
Kenyon Martin, the likely college basketball player of the year, suffered ligament damage and a fractured fibula three minutes into Thursday's game, a 68-58 loss to Saint Louis, casting a pall across campus.
Students were still stunned hours after the game ended. Some predicted the season was over, while others held out hope that the Bearcats would pull together and have a strong showing in the NCAA Tournament, which begins Thursday.
When Martin fell to the floor, “there was total silence,” said Jackie Beach, a 24-year-old from Albany, Ga., who was watching the game with about 60 other students at the Rhein Room, an on-campus bar. “Everybody's mouth was open at the same time.”
The scenes were similar in campus dorms, where people tuned into the game before heading off to afternoon classes.
“There was a collective gasp and a doomsday look was on our faces,” said William Brown, 21, a junior from Columbus who was ironing and watching the game with roommates.
“I wanted to cry,” said Cath erine Prell, a 25-year-old sophomore from Gulfport, Miss.
As the shock of the injury's severity sunk in, talk turned to what the team would be able to do in the tournament.
“It's over,” said Aaron Steele, an 18-year-old freshman engineering major.
“It's going to affect them the rest of the season,” Ms. Prell said. “They should just bail now.”
But others were optimistic.
“They'll come back,” said sophomore Latisha Perry of Indianapolis.
“We didn't look as good as we usually do,” Mr. Brown said. “But you give the team time enough to refocus and they'll be all right.”
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