DePaul Basketball Memories

Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois, home site for the DePaul Games

Wednesday night I ended up at a DePaul Basketball game with my husband. I usually stay home and watch TV or write, but his buddy couldn't make it and my nephew, the backup, was out also.

I couldn't help thinking of when the DH and I first starting going to the DePaul games way back when. In those days, Ray Meyer was the coach. Many of the games were held at Alumni Hall in Chicago. Then the home site changed to The Horizon, which later became Allstate Arena.

We watched some exciting games, with great players on the team, like Mark Aguirre, Terry Cummings, Rod Strickland, and Tyrone Corbin. On edge, we cheered through the playoffs. Our team advanced to the Final Four. In those days, DePaul was a major contender.

Some of the remnants were still present Wednesday night, bringing me back to the old days. The squeaking of gym shoes as the players pounded the court, a player hanging onto the net, the two claps for two shots, the loud, slow chant, THREE POINT PLAY, which I've only heard said that particular way at DePaul games, the cheerleaders jumping up and down, the band playing the school song, the whistles blowing, the obnoxious horn signalling new players coming in or players going out of the game were all familiar to me.

In my mystery, Two Wrongs, the main character, Danny Callaway, is a DePaul basketball player, before he turns pro. He meets his wife at DePaul. It's no coincidence that's also where I met my husband.

Basketball is only one aspect of the plot, but I did enjoy including it. Like Wednesday, it brought back those exciting days when nerves on edge, I anxiously watched every play and hoped for victory.

Have you read or written any books that bring back memories to you? Please let me know.