Miami Student

Issue date: 9/19/08 Section: Front Page

Members of the Miami University basketball team help clear branches on campus Monday after Sunday's windstorm.

To help Miami University rebound from Sunday's windstorm, the men's basketball team lent a helping hand cleaning up fallen branches and debris across campus.

Assistant men's basketball coach Ryan Pedon discovered basketball practice wasn't going to take place in the pitch-black Millett Hall early Monday morning, so he drove around to examine the rest of campus.

"I couldn't believe the devastation," Pedon said. "It was pretty intense with all the trees that were down and the damage done."

Pedon said he went over to Miami's physical facilities department to find out if there was anything he or the team could do. The department was more than willing to accept any help, so Pedon said he discussed the idea with his fellow coaches.

"It was a decision that was made by the coaching staff and we wanted our guys to make a difference," Pedon said. "We wanted them to engage in making a difference."

Pedon said the coaches waited until the team woke up and and spread the word of what was taking place instead of practice.

The team worked for three hours gathering debris at the Hub, the lawn bordering Spring Street near Kreger Hall and the quad outside King Library.

"There were a lot of trees down and a lot of branches," Pedon said. "We helped (the physical facilities department) get the branches in the shredder."

Pedon said the entire team jumped in to help, leaving the coaching staff proud.

"The coach told the team, 'It could have been a day that was lost because of no school and no basketball, but you made a difference,'" Pedon said.

All the team members were more than happy to help out, Pedon said. Senior guard Carl Richburg agrees.

"It was good to help the community, especially in a time like this when everyone was coming together," Richburg said.

The team was taking a part in a good team-building exercise, Richburg said, in addition to helping the community.

"We were all happy to be out there doing it," Richburg said. "We didn't have really anything else to do-just to help out. It was something small but I feel like it was still a big help."

Richburg said the team would like to be known on campus not just as athletes but as students, as well. The greater connection there is to the rest of campus, he said, the more support students might offer for the team.

"Hopefully we can get more people to our games," Richburg said. "If they see us out on campus, they can feel a connection with us and come out and support us."

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