Video by Jess Tennett, Maddy Worley and Patrick Smith
Cabrini’s annual men’s basketball Alumni Game offers the chance for former Cavaliers to share the hardwood with those who have come before and after themselves. For some, it’s their first time lacing up their sneakers and stepping on the court in while. On the same Nerney Field House basketball courts where these very same players have left everything they‘ve had on the floor, on Jan. 21, 2017 at 6 pm, they played a friendly game of basketball where the ending score really didn’t matter at all.
Former Cabrini basketball player Lamar Fisher (class of 2011) went into detail on his life after Cabrini basketball, “I still play basketball every summer and join summer leagues so I can keep up with the guys I graduated with when we get together. The one thing I remember vividly about my time playing basketball at Cabrini is the relationships and the bonding that I was able to do with my teammates. That is the most memorable moment outside of the court just having that relationship and having one another’s back,” Fisher said. “Cabrini has helped me become a better man and most importantly a better leader. In my current career I have the role of leading/managing a group of people. Cabrini taught me how to manage that all which in retrospect helped me even off the basketball court.”
The unity was in the air as the alumni got together and played the game they loved. As the game was played, many of the friends and family members of these alumni got to cheer on the former student-athletes again, after witnessing the current Cavaliers team get a win against the Marywood University Pacers. While winning on the court is significant, the lessons learnt from working with a team are what the former Cavaliers are able to take with them onto their future careers.
Alumnus Fran Rafferty (class of 2010) spoke on Cabrini’s impact and life after Cabrini, “I have been playing basketball sparingly, it’s tough when you get in the working world to get together and play a pick up game unless you are signed up in a league,” Rafferty said. “The one thing that was most memorable for my time at Cabrini was the win’s that my team and I have gotten; we had a great four-year run. Cabrini is a great place especially for a student-athlete coming out of school, I had a good amount of connection just from being a student of Cabrini.”
