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Trying to Balance Student and Athlete
A team tutor travels with Magnum Rolle and LSU so they can keep up with their class work. "We've got way too much going on up in here," Rolle said.
(By Andy Lyons -- Getty Images)
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"Come on. Give me a Dorito, bi-otch."
"Fine," Johnson said, handing over a chip, "but now I get to call you bi-otch, bi-otch."
Timmer, cheerful and popular among the players, watched the exchange and smiled sheepishly. She had long been aware of the imperfections of this study hall setup. Individual sessions would likely be more productive, Timmer said, but time constraints made those impossible. She felt generally content to be involved and helping with the trip at all. Some teams managed with less.
Wisconsin-Milwaukee, which advanced to the second round, came to the tournament without an academic representative. Florida, playing in the round of 16, had an adviser come only for part of the first two rounds because the school was on spring break.
"Most basketball teams have somebody that travels with them, but there's really no recommended way to do it," said Sandy Meyer, president of the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletes. "It's virtually impossible to have any meaningful study time during the NCAA tournament. It's too much to expect a college student to juggle."
Seven questions into his math test, Davis asked Timmer if he could give up. The material consisted mainly of calculating down payments and mortgage rates when buying a house, and Davis said it would usually be a breeze. But the night before an NCAA tournament game, his every thought -- no matter where it started -- landed back on basketball. He read half of the test's eighth question, which detailed a scenario involving a housing loan. Then he stopped abruptly and let his mind wander.
"You know, I'm actually trying to get into real estate right now," Davis said. "You've got to get into real estate, no matter how much you make or what profession you're in.
"Hopefully I'll make the NBA. I don't think I'm good enough, though. I don't get the same publicity as like Shelden Williams and those other guys, 'cause I don't jump like them. Maybe if we win another couple of games in the tournament, they'll start talking about me. Man, just a couple more wins . . . "
Davis glanced briefly back at his test, then pushed it aside.
"All I know," he said, "is I'm getting out of here."
