Playing sports is supposed to be fun. Playing sports for a major college basketball program is supposed to be really fun. When your team goes an entire season without a conference victory, however, it becomes a little bit tougher to find a silver lining.
Boston College’s impossibly sad basketball season ended on an impossibly sad note
That was the position Boston College senior Dennis Clifford found himself in after the Eagles' 88-66 loss to Florida State in the first round of the ACC Tournament. Clifford had played well, scoring 15 points and grabbing nine rebounds, but his team had ultimately lost its 25th game, the most losses ever in a season for an ACC team.
In the postgame press conference, Clifford was asked a seemingly standard question, but he struggled to come up with an appropriately standard answer.
Afterward, Clifford was asked what his best memory of playing college basketball will be. He choked up and put his head down, pausing for more than 20 seconds. When he looked back up, his face was red, his eyes were welling.
His answer: “Going out to eat.”
The video of the exchange seems to indicate that Clifford was driving at something bigger, but couldn’t compose himself enough to finish his response.
After Clifford has wrapped up his portion of the press conference, Boston College coach Jim Christian sung the praises of his senior center and the rest of his players for continuing to fight all year despite not winning a game after Dec. 30.
“If you don’t think that those kids cared whether we won, lost or fought ... this is not easy to do now,” Christian said. “These are kids. They cared and played hard every night, and I take my hat off to them. This is where the beginning of the next stage is. You have to show character, you have to show a caring in what you do. It starts with (Clifford).”
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