Bill Shanks: Bears pass difficult test
This was not just another game on the schedule for the Mercer Bears. It was the first game after a tragedy. It was the first game after something happened that could easily ruin what has been a tremendous season.
The Bears took the court in warmups Saturday with T-shirts that featured an important slogan -- "Together We Will." They had to do it with one missing teammate who was the victim of a senseless crime and also two more players who were suspended before the game.
The Mercer players looked somber as they entered a jam-packed Hawkins Arena. They were likely still in shock about what happened to Jibri Bryan just blocks away earlier in the week. And then to find out Jestin Lewis, Mercer's leading scorer, and Desmond Ringer were suspended for undisclosed reasons did not help.
Another huge crowd was there to support the Bears and honor Bryan, but let's be honest. They wanted to see how the team would react and play after perhaps the toughest week in this program's history.
Seasons have to go on. The games still have to be played. Bryan was on everyone's mind as the game was played, but the Bears still had to play it. The players had to go through the motions, no matter how hard it might have been. Considering the leader Bryan was, he likely would have wanted it no other way.
When I was a kid, I remember a tragedy in baseball. Thurman Munson, arguably one of the best catchers in the game and the leader of the New York Yankees, was killed in a plane crash on an off day. A few days later, the Yankees' players had to attend Munson's funeral in Ohio and then fly back to New York to play a game that same night.
New York's players wept on the field as they honored Munson before the game. The Yankees won that night, and the players said simply getting back on the field helped ease the pain, if just a bit.
That likely was the same medicine Mercer's team needed Saturday. The Bears started with an impressive 14-2 run, and there was just no way they were going to lose the game. They might have done it for Bryan, but they likely did it for themselves just as much.
These next few weeks won't be easy. This team will grieve for a while. A vital member of the team is gone, and the uncertainty of the suspended players puts even more of a damper on the season. But this team is in excellent hands with Bob Hoffman, Mercer's head coach.
He's the type of coach, the type of man any team would need in this situation. Hoffman must hold it together for his team and his program. Everyone will be watching to see if this tragedy tears this team apart, or if it is strengthened by the adversity and finishes a very good season. Having Hoffman gives Mercer a great chance to survive this.
The environment at Hawkins Arena was interesting. Mercer once played big games in the Macon Coliseum, but it's doubtful it ever had a crowd there as large as the one that watched it play The Citadel on Saturday. The invocation meant a little more, and the applause was almost tempered at first. But then the game began, and the Bears did what they normally do at home -- they won 88-72.
Great teams usually always face adversity, and Mercer will have more tests the rest of the way. But in this first game after a nightmare week, the Bears showed just what kind of team they have this season. Why should we expect anything else?
Listen to "The Bill Shanks Show" from 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WPLA Fox Sports 1670 AM in Macon and online at www.foxsports1670.com. Follow Bill at www.twitter.com/BillShanks and email him at thebillshanksshow@yahoo.com.
This story was originally published February 6, 2016 at 6:51 PM with the headline "Bill Shanks: Bears pass difficult test ."