Tales from the Bench at the NCAA Tournament
MARCH 31, 2007 Listen to this Story
- Go Nate Althouse
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The NCAA Basketball tournament is slowly coming to an end, and not all the players got their time to show off their skills on the court, especially those sitting on the bench. Penn State Alumni Nate Althouse was intimately familiar with his warm seat on the bench. But Althouse eventually got his big chance to play and he reminisces about it with one of his fans, Dan Fravel.
Notes from Producer Charlie Schroeder
Nate Althouse played high school basketball at Warwick High School in Lititz, PA, but was recruited by just a handful of small Division III colleges.
Rather than play for one of the smaller teams, he enrolled at Penn State, a large Division 1 sports powerhouse. When he arrived on campus to pursue a career in the arts, playing hoops was the furthest thing from his mind. After all, what were the chances a 5' 10" could make the team as a walk-on? Especially at such a big school.
It didn't long for Althouse to get back in the gym, honing his skills and sweating out some intense, self-motivated practice sessions. At first he became the basketball team's manager, proving himself a vital asset to the team, brimming with chutzpah and team spirit. But Althouse wanted more. He wanted to play.
Soon he found himself at tryouts, his manager's uniform traded in for a pair of hightops. After a number of intense days, Althouse was given a spot on the team. Out of 70 students to try out, Althouse was one of only three walk-ons to make it that year.
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