When I was getting recruited, I wanted to choose the 4 year college that had the best chance for me to play in March Madness. How did I end up at St. Louis University? The answer is Larry Hughes. With that answer it was like everything made sense. That has been my standard answer, and it's so far from the truth. With that answer I didn't have to say anything else and that's the way I liked it. It was just the shorter version of the truth. I will now give you the long version.
SLU was my second choice, not that I'm complaining about how things turned out. I know you are not supposed to admit that your alma mater was Plan B, but it's the truth. Plan A was going to Pepperdine and playing for Lorenzo Romar. I mean the campus was in Malibu! Walking on campus you could hear the waves. I would be away from home but not too far away that my family couldn't visit. I also built a good relationship with the assistant coach, Randy Bennett (now the head coach at St. Mary's). They had some guys transfer in like Jelani Gardner (at that time he was star), and it seemed that the team was a step away from national recognition. A week before I took my official campus visit they signed someone else. I was crushed. I was told through out the whole recruiting process that I was their guy. How can I be your guy when you take my scholarship away from me? So it was on to Plan B.
I had a list of the top 5 schools I wanted to go to written down on this piece of paper. I crossed Pepperdine off, and the second school was SLU. Their sales pitch was come play with Larry "the Legend" Hughes. I had watched the McDonald's All American game, and I thought Larry was the best player on the floor, and I had to admit we would have a great back court. After being heart broken about Pepperdine, I started to think about why SLU was second on my list in the first place. The school had even more positives. SLU was one of the first colleges to recruit me, and they were also loyal to me where Pepperdine was not. I remember when Coach Spoonhour came to a game of mine. I think I scored 5 points, but they continued to recruit me which amazed me. After that game I thought they would pull my scholarship also, but they still had faith in me.
I was upset no one told me college coaches were at that game, because I felt I would have played better. I think Nebraska was there as well to watch me play. I knew nothing about the "Show Me State" or what a "Billiken" was. The more I thought about it, the more positive I felt about SLU. I knew it was a great sports town. Mark McGwire was smacking 500 foot home runs for the Cardinals, and the Rams were the fastest team on turf with Marshall Faulk and Torry Holt. The city loved "Spoonball"! They just had a top 10 recruiting class headlined by Larry the Legend. They played home games in a 20 thousand seat arena. I would play against my home town college, University of San Francisco, in San Francisco, and my family could come watch me play. They had a Nike contract (yes it was important to me at the time). My community college teammate was going to Kansas, and we would play each other the next two years. SLU was also in a great conference. Conference USA had Cinncinati, Louisville, DePaul and Marquette just to name a few schools that were ranked in the Top 25. SLU was also a great academic school, which appealed to my parents. Of course having to go to Plan C was on my mind, and I didn't want to lose out on another school. So, I signed my letter of intent right away.
The thought of playing with Larry Hughes got me to SLU, but things would quickly change. Even before I got to campus, Larry would enter the NBA draft and be selected 8th overall. Coach Charlie Spoonhour (R.I.P.) would retire after my junior season, but then Coach Romar was hired. It's funny how things work out. Why did I go to SLU? The school that was my first choice took away my scholarship. The player I wanted to play with left. I still kept my commitment to the school. After a year the coach I wanted to play for retired, yet I stayed committed to SLU. What about the coach I originally wanted to play for at Pepperdine? I ended up recruiting HIM to come to SLU!
Not only did I come to SLU, but I stayed committed. There was times after we had a big win or I had a good game, and I would walk into Coach Romar's office and ask him about that player he gave my scholarship to. "Coach how is Craig Lewis doing!?" Then I would hear Coach laugh, and I would just walk right back out of the office. It was my running joke. Craig Lewis put a big chip on my shoulder. That chip lead to the Miracle in Memphis. In the end SLU won the Conference USA Tournament, and I got my chance to play in the NCAA Tournament. The next time I'm asked why did I chose SLU, it will be my turn to say Craig Lewis and laugh.
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