If there are any cracks in the mortar between the red bricks of Millett Hall, there will be nostalgia oozing out of them tonight.
Miami's Mid-American Conference men's basketball game against Western Michigan is almost secondary to the memories that will be relived during two ceremonies.
Seven former Miami athletes will be inducted into the school's athletic hall of fame during halftime. One of them, basketball star Wally Szczerbiak, also will be involved in pregame ceremonies that are part of the 10th anniversary of the 1998-1999 team that reached the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16.
Szczerbiak, who ranks second on Miami's career scoring list, will be joined by Devin Davis, who's No. 3, in the Hall of Fame. Other inductees are career baseball pitching victories leader Ben Barnau, All-America golfer Maarten van den Berg, seven-time MAC women's swimming champion Kelly Davis, thousand-point women's basketball scorer Gaby Downey and football offensive lineman Bill Gunlock.
Szczerbiak, a Cleveland Cavaliers player who's available this weekend because NBA teams are off to celebrate the league's all-star game, was the leader of the 1998-1999 Miami team that went 15-3 to win the MAC regular-season championship. The RedHawks, who were in their third season under coach Charlie Coles, lost to Kent State in the MAC Tournament championship game, but they bounced back as the Midwest Region's 10th seed to edge seventh-seeded Washington 59-58 and upset No. 3 seed Utah 66-58 in New Orleans to log the deepest penetration by a Miami team in the tournament.
No Miami team before or since has gotten past the second round of an NCAA Tournament.
The RedHawks then advanced to the regional semifinals in St. Louis, where they lost 58-43 to Kentucky.
Current Miami assistant Jason Grunkemeyer was in his first season of eligibility at the time, after sitting out a season following his transfer from Ohio University. He spent a lot of time in practice working against Szczerbiak, whose No. 32 jersey was retired in 2001, and believes the unanimous Mid-American Conference Player of the Year took the MAC Tournament loss to Kent State personally.
"He was dinged up for that game," Grunkemeyer, a Moeller graduate, said. "He had a knee injury and didn't play well in the final. It was on national TV, and he didn't have a good game. He was a prideful guy, and he saw the (NCAA) Tournament as a way to make amends. I could just tell all week that he was looking forward to that game against Washington. He scored 43 (points). He was trying to make a statement that he was for real."
What stands out in the memories of Grunkemeyer and Coles is the confidence of that team, which showed in a season-opening win at Notre Dame and victories at home over Tennessee and Dayton.
"They were ready to go from the beginning," Coles said. "They were a veteran ballclub. They knew what to do. The main thing I did that year was manage. I was like a baseball manager. I just tried to correct the little things, because I knew those guys would take care of the big things. I just tried to stay out of the way."
Miami's Mid-American Conference men's basketball game against Western Michigan is almost secondary to the memories that will be relived during two ceremonies.
Seven former Miami athletes will be inducted into the school's athletic hall of fame during halftime. One of them, basketball star Wally Szczerbiak, also will be involved in pregame ceremonies that are part of the 10th anniversary of the 1998-1999 team that reached the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16.
Szczerbiak, who ranks second on Miami's career scoring list, will be joined by Devin Davis, who's No. 3, in the Hall of Fame. Other inductees are career baseball pitching victories leader Ben Barnau, All-America golfer Maarten van den Berg, seven-time MAC women's swimming champion Kelly Davis, thousand-point women's basketball scorer Gaby Downey and football offensive lineman Bill Gunlock.
Szczerbiak, a Cleveland Cavaliers player who's available this weekend because NBA teams are off to celebrate the league's all-star game, was the leader of the 1998-1999 Miami team that went 15-3 to win the MAC regular-season championship. The RedHawks, who were in their third season under coach Charlie Coles, lost to Kent State in the MAC Tournament championship game, but they bounced back as the Midwest Region's 10th seed to edge seventh-seeded Washington 59-58 and upset No. 3 seed Utah 66-58 in New Orleans to log the deepest penetration by a Miami team in the tournament.
No Miami team before or since has gotten past the second round of an NCAA Tournament.
The RedHawks then advanced to the regional semifinals in St. Louis, where they lost 58-43 to Kentucky.
Current Miami assistant Jason Grunkemeyer was in his first season of eligibility at the time, after sitting out a season following his transfer from Ohio University. He spent a lot of time in practice working against Szczerbiak, whose No. 32 jersey was retired in 2001, and believes the unanimous Mid-American Conference Player of the Year took the MAC Tournament loss to Kent State personally.
"He was dinged up for that game," Grunkemeyer, a Moeller graduate, said. "He had a knee injury and didn't play well in the final. It was on national TV, and he didn't have a good game. He was a prideful guy, and he saw the (NCAA) Tournament as a way to make amends. I could just tell all week that he was looking forward to that game against Washington. He scored 43 (points). He was trying to make a statement that he was for real."
What stands out in the memories of Grunkemeyer and Coles is the confidence of that team, which showed in a season-opening win at Notre Dame and victories at home over Tennessee and Dayton.
"They were ready to go from the beginning," Coles said. "They were a veteran ballclub. They knew what to do. The main thing I did that year was manage. I was like a baseball manager. I just tried to correct the little things, because I knew those guys would take care of the big things. I just tried to stay out of the way."
