Sallyport - The Magazine of Rice University - Winter 2002

Hearts of Champions - Scoreboard
Winter 2002
VOL.58, NO.2
Hearts of Champions
Hoop dreams weren’t the only things on the minds of Rice men’s basketball
players this fall. Just a little over two weeks before the team held its first
practice for the upcoming season, the team and coaching staff visited
nearby Shriners Hospital for Children to help lift the spirits of the young
patients and their families.
At the end of the visit, the only question on the mind of Rice head coach
Willis Wilson was “Who enjoyed the afternoon more, the children or the
Owl players?”
“This is a voluntary trip we make from time to time, and it’s just amazing
each and every time,” Wilson said. “The faces of those kids just light up
when they get visitors, and by the end of the afternoon, our team is having
just as good a time as the children they came to see.
“These young patients are very brave and inspirational,” Wilson added.
“Our players sure get a sense of that, and it’s really easy to be moved. If we
brightened their day, that is great because I know they brightened ours.”
When Omar-Seli Mance
(left), Michael Walton
(second from left), and T.
J. McKenzie (right),
learned that one six-yearold
patient was unable to
leave her room, they
made a point of paying
her a special visit.
Photo by John Sullivan
For the better part of the afternoon, the Rice players participated with the
children in their daily activities, including a host of games and crafts.
Margaret Harlan, a child life assistant for the hospital, said the impact of
the Owls’ visit was easy to see.
“Having the Rice players come over was a tremendous treat for the children
and made them more active than I’ve seen them in quite some time,”
Harlan said. “Being active is an important part of their rehabilitation, and
today some kids were finally doing things that we’ve been hoping to see. A
lot made a real effort to come out of their rooms when they heard the team
was here because they didn’t want to miss them.”
The visit was held in the hospital’s activity area, but when Baker College
junior Omar-Seli Mance, Lovett College senior T. J. McKenzie, and Sid
Rich College junior Michael Walton were informed that one six-year-old
patient was not able to make it out of her room, the trio made it a point to
take a little extra time to visit her. The girl was from South America and
didn’t speak any English, but through a translator, the players explained
that she could see the Rice campus from her window and that they hoped
she could come to one of their games this season.
The girl’s smiles needed no translation.
“Different groups will come visit but to have a college basketball team was
really extra special,” Harlan noted. “Adults always seem big to kids but
these basketball players are so tall and athletic that I think the kids were
kind of in awe. The team wasn’t just in one area either. They interacted in
all the different areas, and that was pretty unique.
“I know the kids, their families, and the hospital staff are all very thankful
that Rice’s basketball team took the time to come out. It really means a lot.”
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