NORVELL WAS AN INSPIRATION

Luanne Norvell with Brandon Rozzell, her all-time favorite VCU Ram.

I met Luanne Norvell last year, just before the start of basketball season. Her daughter, Susan Brooks had sent an email, proudly gushing about her mother fighting cancer without missing a beat of VCU fandom. She had surgery in the morning and tailgated at the CAA Tournament in the afternoon. She baked brownies for the folks at Massey Cancer Center. She wore black and gold wigs. Brooks called her mother an inspiration.

Norvell worked in the VCU School of Dentistry and was as big a VCU fan as I’ve met. The impression I got after meeting her was that she loved three things: God, her family and VCU Basketball. She spent the first 15 minutes of our meeting asking about my son. She also told me about her time as a chaperone for the Varina High School band, and how she once caught a mischievous drum major named Ryan Kopacsi sneaking out of his hotel room. I eventually had to steer the conversation back to her for fear that I would run out of time before I had to leave.

Luanne was a delight. Unfailingly positive, greatful and optimistic, she talked about her breast cancer in the past tense. Unfortunately, a couple of days after the start of basketball season, she emailed me to thank me for the feature I’d written on her for the men’s basketball program and to let me know they’d found spots on her lungs.

We maintained an occasional email correspondence throughout the year as she battled the cancer, pneumonia, a bacterial infection. Even as she wrote about the awful stuff, she remained upbeat. In one of our last exchanges, she asked me if there was a way to secure a Briante Weber autograph for a little boy at her sister’s school who “thinks he’s the best basketball player alive.”

Luanne Norvell passed away on April 29 after fighting the good fight for the better part of the last two years.

In Luanne’s office, there was a decorative piece, a plaque, a framed photo, I don’t exactly remember, but it contained a quote often attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson:

To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived—this is to have succeeded.

She talked about how much that quote meant to her, how it inspired her. She kept chasing that ideal, to make other people’s lives happier, better. In turn, she inspired others. She inspired me. Someday, her unyielding spirit will help someone else beat cancer. Of this, I am convinced. Maybe she’ll save my life too. While Luanne has passed on, I hope she knows how successful she really was.

Below is my original feature on Luanne Norvell. I never ran it online after she learned the cancer spread. But I read it this morning for the first time since November. I thought it would be upsetting, but instead, it made me smile. I hope it captures even a sliver of her spirit, her joy, her hope for the future and her love of others (and VCU hoops, of course). I hope she inspires you too.

CANCER HASN’T SLOWED THIS RAMS FAN
By Chris Kowalczyk

It was a Thursday night, and Luanne Novell’s hair was falling out. The chemotherapy to treat the cancer in her right breast was killing her hair cells. Finally, she’d had enough. Norvell stopped cooking dinner and told her husband, Danny, she’d be right back.

Norvell drove to a local salon and asked to have her head shaved. The beautician flipped on the clippers and put them to Norvell’s scalp, but the 57-year old Varina resident stopped her.

“Do you think you could shave ‘VCU’ in the back of it?” Norvell asked.

LARRY SANDERS: COAST-TO-COAST

Look, I don’t care if the Bucks are down 3-0 or 30-0 in their series with the Heat. This play says the future is bright in Milwaukee. Guys who are 6-foot-11 shouldn’t be able to do this. Larry Sanders is averaging 12.0 points and 7.3 rebounds while shooting 67 percent from the field against the Heat in this first round playoff series.

BASKETBALL ALREADY OFFERING HINTON POST-HOOPS CAREER PATH

David Hinton at the Jordan Brand Classic April 13.

It didn’t take long for David Hinton to find his way back to a basketball court.

Hinton, a fifth-year senior who recently completed his eligibility with the VCU Men’s Basketball team, is in Anaheim, Calif. this week in conjunction with the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL), a premier AAU basketball camp.

It’s the second major event in as many weeks for Hinton, who is serving as an event management intern for Position Sports, a sports marketing firm based out of Phoenix. Position Sports is closely tied to many of Nike’s major events, including Hinton’s first foray into event management, the Jordan Brand Classic at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. on April 13.

The Jordan Brand Classic is known for its annual national high school all-star game, but there are actually three games, including an international and regional all-star contest, staged the same day.

Hinton spent a week in New York City helping organizers stage the event. Hinton’s title, event management intern, is in many ways a catch-all for, “pretty much anything we can think of”.

“It wasn’t anything,” Hinton said. “It was everything.”

He says he did everything from the physical set-up and breakdown of the event to assisting with will call and ticketing issues. It also helped, he says, that he played at Barclays Center just a month ago with the Rams in the Atlantic 10 Championship. Not only was he familiar with the layout of the building, but it allowed him to give feedback on things such as, which lockerrooms were preferred and other information.

Workdays were often 16-18 hours and, on the day of the actual event, Hinton says he pulled a 20-hour day. But he’s not complaining.

“It was fun though, doing something I love, working with basketball,” said Hinton, a 6-foot-8 forward who appeared in 75 games in four seasons for VCU.

Hinton earned his bachelor’s degree in Homeland Security last spring, but is currently enrolled in VCU’s Center for Sport Leadership master’s program. His work with Position Sports will earn him three credit hours for a required externship, but more importantly, it’s fleshing out his resume. At a time when openings for government jobs could be scarce, it doesn’t hurt to have other options.

“I’m glad I’m going to have degrees in two different areas, whereas some people have a narrower focus,” he said. “I’m glad I have another degree I can fall back on.”

Plus, Hinton is a self-professed “sneakerhead” who owns more than 100 pairs of Nikes. Working this closely with the shoe and apparel giant is somewhat of a dream for the Winston-Salem, N.C. native.

Hinton’s internship will continue through the summer, and he’ll zigzag the country for different events, including another EYBL session April 26-28 in Hampton, Va.

VIDEO: 2012-13 VCU MEN’S BASKETBALL

ICYMI: TROY DANIELS WINS COLLEGE SLAM 3-POINT CONTEST

First round vs. Sherwood Brown (Dunk City U.S.A.)

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Semifinals: (Daniels at 2:25 mark)

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Semifinals part 2 (Daniels does not shoot in his segment)

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Final Round vs. Jordan Hulls (Indiana)

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Champion’s Final vs. Women’s Winner

THIS DAY IN VCU HISTORY: HAVOC IS BORN

Four years ago today, near mid-court of the Verizon Wireless Arena – underneath where a Final Four banner would soon hang – Havoc was born.

On April 2, 2009, Shaka Smart was introduced as head coach of the VCU Men’s Basketball program, to which we all answered, “who is Shaka Smart again?” Four years later, the man has a higher Q rating than RGIII (okay, slight embellishment) and could run for mayor of Richmond tomorrow (probably not an exaggeration). The Rams are 111-37 under Smart with three straight NCAA bids and a Final Four appearance. Meanwhile, Havoc, Smart’s trademark full-court press defense and opportunistic, up-tempo offense, is an integral piece of the Richmond lexicon, right up there with BBQ and Brown’s Island.

Happy Havoc Day.

SMART-VCU AFFIRMATION KEEPS PROGRAM ON FAST TRACK

Shaka Smart is 111-37 in four seasons at VCU. He needs 26 wins to become the Rams’ all-time leader.

RICHMOND, Va. – Rest in peace, Shakawatch.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s been fun watching this incendiary plume of Internet chatter gestate in just four short days into a series of cheeky Photoshops, faux insiders and a Shakawatch hashtag. Where’s Shaka? Here’s a photo of him riding the rollercoaster at Mall of America. Here he is in the VCU dining hall. Nope, here he is posing with two fans in another team’s colors. Never change, Internet. Never change.

But as quickly as irrationality drove message board hits through the roof and sucked up enough bandwidth to power NORAD, last night, they pulled the plug. Smart quietly agreed in principle to a contract extension that provides enhancements for the basketball program and allows VCU Basketball to reach his vision.

“Coach Smart has demonstrated through this process that he is loyal to VCU and his greatest concern lies with our program moving forward every year,” said VCU Director of Athletics Ed McLaughlin in a statement. “Our goal was to present him with a revised agreement proactively rather than wait for another institution to step in with an offer.

Although that cut the legs out from under the Carmen San Diego-like @ShakaWatch Twitter account before it picked up much steam – it had just 47 followers as of this morning – it does allow Smart and VCU to move towards a milestone of significance. It’s probably one Smart or most fans aren’t even aware of.

MICHIGAN, SHMICHIGAN; FINDING PERSPECTIVE AS VCU BASKETBALL FORGES AHEAD

Junior Juvonte Reddic led VCU with 16 points Saturday. He is one of three starters set to return in 2013-14.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Rob Brandenberg wasn’t ready to turn the page. It was too soon, the loss too recent, the pain still too raw. After VCU’s 78-53 loss to Michigan Saturday in the NCAA Third Round at The Palace of Auburn Hills, he wasn’t prepared to reflect on a season filled with a lifetime of highlights. Not yet.

“You know, later on in the future, but right now, I can’t do that,” he said.

It’s a cruel reality we face every season, one that VCU Coach Shaka Smart embraced in 2010 on the way to a CBI Championship, “very few teams get to end their season with a win”, he preached. Smart understood the value of that final win and how it can help frame the narrative of the season.

This season was like a freight train of success. There were a couple of hitches along the way, but for the most part, the Rams chugged along with a momentum and enthusiasm that has been captivating. At some point, we hitched a ride and celebrated the victories and the milestones and didn’t want to end. It felt more like a party bus. But the inevitability of a day like Saturday closed in. When a season comes to an end, it’s rarely a soft, comfortable glide into the station. It’s more like hitting the bumpers at the end of the track: sudden, jarring and painful.

Some people hold onto that feeling longer than others. Some let that one negative event color what has been five months of achievement. Don’t.

MICHIGAN PREVIEW: IT’S ‘HAVOC’ VS. ‘CAN’T HAVE IT’

VCU leads the country in defensive turnover percentage (28.8), while Michigan turns the ball over less than any team (14.4).

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Havoc is ubiquitous. From Briante Weber-inspired Havoc headbands, to the back of VCU’s warm-ups, to billboards, to Spike Lee’s Twitter feed. It’s as hard to avoid the brand as it is to avoid Weber with a full head of steam. On the floor, it’s more of the same. As the Rams disassembled Akron Thursday night, CBS gushed over Shaka Smart’s trademark full-court press.

As much as we’ve talked Havoc on this blog, and it has been often, you’ll have to forgive me for doubling down now. Because if we’re not talking Havoc as it relates to the Rams’ NCAA Round of 32 contest with fourth-seeded Michigan Saturday, then I don’t know why we’re talking about it at all.

If there was ever a time to ponder the power of the Rams’ unique system, it’s now. On Saturday, Havoc may face its greatest challenge, the yin to its yang. It’ll be a game that seeks to find balance in the basketball universe. On one bench, there’s VCU, which leads the nation in defensive turnover percentage (28.8) against a Michigan squad that is the country’s best at protecting the ball. The Wolverines turn the ball over on just 14.4 percent of their possessions. Michigan’s season-high in turnovers is 14. The Rams have turned an opponent over at least 15 times in a game 28 times this season. They are 27-1 in those games.

So, forgive me if it’s time to drum up a few more Havoc hashtags this weekend. It’s kind of important.

On Friday, one local beat writer didn’t seem convinced. Were we all just making too much of a big deal out of all this, Havoc versus Michigan’s terrific guards, including NBA point guard-in-waiting Trey Burke?

VIDEO: VCU THROTTLES AKRON

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