Sunday Spotlight 3.27.22
Fine Madness: A Case of (Temporary) Possession
Sunday greetings, with an unanticipated NCAA championship basketball Spotlight edition of newShrink! (Those late-night Blue Devils are in the details.)
But well before last night’s late buzzer, another of those Saturday morning first-coffee zaps of the psyche from irresistible news had already pushed the week’s entire newShrink menu forward. The four stories and teams above have dominated late week for me in all of the best energizing, even some soul-/psychological, ways. For very different reasons I follow and am profoundly moved by each — raising conflicts and contradictions both obvious and surprising given my deep UNC Tar Heel roots!
A couple of big games and outcomes are still in play through late today, with slots for next weekend’s Final Four men’s championship at stake. That’s made this Sunday post primarily a pause to note, capture and share a bit of that spirit somewhat in-real-time.
From a more reflective place later in the week I will post and send the deeper-dive newShrink profile piece. Currently titled Historic Justice, Specters… and Grace, it focuses on U.S. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, the turbulent historic confirmation process unfolding around her in the U.S. Senate, and other stories with particular attention to some related to the Supreme Court. In a quirk of timing, Senate scheduling rules and procedure delay further developments in the Jackson hearing until at least next Monday, April 4 — which happens to dovetail with the close of next weekend’s Final Four championship.
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… themes
As for all kinds of soul- and psychological themes, there’s a trove of them to be mined in NCAA championship basketball. The 3.13.22 newShrink discussed several of those with the impending retirement of storied Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski.
Then for parallels and contrasts toward the earlier end of career life and personal individuation, UNC’s Hubert Davis exhibits a steady authenticity worth examining. For inspiration it’s also hard to beat Cinderella-underdog Saint Peter’s refreshing motivational coach Shaheen Holloway and his visibly present young family. On a dramatic national stage this 15th-seeded Saint Peter’s team plays out and demonstrates for us all what a healthy reckoning with, overcoming and integrating shadow elements and vulnerabilities can look like.
And women’s teams like N.C. State, reaching the Elite 8 for the first time since 1998, demonstrate the interplay of both historic and gender-related pressures and inequities between men’s and women’s sports at every level.
All rich material, perhaps for later revisits.
Today is about the games themselves and their players at every level and role, with just a few images, headlines and outcomes.
The usual navigating details, for opening underlined links in the text or browsing to the newShrink website, are at the bottom of this post after closing comments.
Starting with the photo images at top left:
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… the stories
1. UNC beats UCLA to advance. Tar Heels face Saint Peter’s Sunday for spot in Final Four
From The Charlotte Observer (A photo link is embedded in the story.)
Here’s the story from the other team’s coast and hometown, in The LA Times:
North Carolina pulls away for win over UCLA, ousting Bruins from NCAA tournament
And from CBS Sports:
Caleb Love a powerhouse in second half, scoring 30 points.
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2. NC State comes from behind to beat Notre Dame, advance to Elite 8 for 1st time since 1998
(All links from The Charlotte Observer)
Perez’s late basket lifts NC State to 66-63 win over Irish (AP in The Charlotte Observer)
Photos from NC State Women’s Previous Sweet 16 win over Kansas State
Also in the Women’s NCAA, another win, from the “other” Carolina, that I must include here. Grudgingly.
SC Gamecocks defeat UNC Tarheels for Women’s NCAA Elite 8 spot
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3. Duke Makes the Final Four in Coach K’s Last Season
The Blue Devils beat Arkansas to win the West region and clinch a spot in the Final Four in New Orleans.
Duke (32-6) will play either its fiercest rival, North Carolina, or the miracle makers from tiny St. Peter’s next Saturday in New Orleans. [The outcome of Sunday afternoon’s St. Peter’s-UNC game will determine which. Gulp: Conflict here in any case!]
Here is The Charlotte Observer story, with more photos.
Duke beats Arkansas. Coach K will make 13th Final Four appearance before retirement
In case you missed or would like to revisit, here’s an excellent and thorough Sports Illustrated profile of Coach Mike Krzyzewski with some of my thoughts from a psychological/soul perspective. It’s Item #4 in the 3.13.22 Sunday Postcards edition: “From Butterflies to Bobby Knight: The Mysterious Forces Behind Coach K’s Last Run.”
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And on Saint Peter’s, first the latest history-making headlines:
4. No. 15 Saint Peter's stuns No. 3 Purdue, becomes lowest seed to advance to Elite Eight
Also from USA Today, here’s another with several embedded links to colorful stories about the viral popularity of the Saint Peter’s team and backstory this week.
Saint Peter's made NCAA history with another stunning upset and hoops fans were in awe
The New York Times’ take:
N.C.A.A. Men’s Tournament: St. Peter’s Extends Its Magical Run to the Round of 8
The Peacocks downed Purdue, 67-64, in the round of 16 and became the first No. 15 seed to reach the round of 8. North Carolina knocked off U.C.L.A., and Kansas and Miami also advanced.
With my favorite capture of much of this team’s magic, Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post highlights the school’s deep community ties and origins as a college devoted to success for first-generation college students:
The miracle of Saint Peter’s: How Jersey City produced the most unlikely Sweet 16 team
The home of college basketball's ultimate underdog is gritty, hardscrabble and glowing.
These are just a slice — only the slice I am following — of the many teams, games, stories and themes, from just one sport. Along with all of those that may move and inspire you, this broader arena of sports offers us rich opportunity, examples and archetypes for deeper psychological understanding of ourselves both individually and culturally.
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I’ll leave you with a closing note in the spirit of this Women’s History Month…
And, that is all I have for now! Talk to you later in the week.
🦋💙 tish
… it is important that awake people be awake,
or a breaking line may discourage them back to sleep;
the signals we give — yes or no, or maybe —
should be clear: the darkness around us is deep.
— William Stafford, “A Ritual to Read to Each Other”
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