At least one student-athlete from each Association school will blog about a UAA basketball road weekend this season.
Joe Timmes, New York University
As a senior in the UAA, my appreciation for our road trips grows each time our team boards a flight to another city. When I committed to NYU as a high schooler, I had an idea of the type of opportunities that would be provided to me, but they have surely been exceeded.
The two objectives I came into my senior season with were to:
- help lay the foundation of a winning culture for our 10 new freshmen, and
- enjoy the journey of all that the season throws at me.
In regards to the first objective, our team has done a tremendous job of preparing ourselves for each game. Although we have not racked up a bunch wins, I can certainly say we are continuously improving and achieving success. Our 10 freshmen along with Doug (Gertner), a sophomore, and Ross (Udine), a junior, are going to be dangerous in the coming years! How do I know that? We have showed incredible determination and resiliency by never hanging our heads. I can truly say that we have improved each game. It has been an unbelievable first half of the season with these guys and my teammates are the reason why traveling has been such a fun experience time and time again.
Now, as for my second objective - ENJOY THE JOURNEY. One of our assistant coaches, Taylor Roth, wrote up on the board “precious the present.” He was speaking more to us being completely engaged in each possession, and that phrase resonated with me. “Precious the present” is certainly the motto I have taken when traveling on the road. The UAA provides such an incredible opportunity for us as student-athletes to travel and experience different regions of the country, and that is certainly something I have always enjoyed about the season.
Photo: Joe Timmes watching game video with Assistant Coach Michael McSloy on bus
This weekend NYU traveled to St. Louis and Chicago. I personally love walking around each city and exploring various attractions. Part of that exploration for me includes trying the food. I come from an Italian family, so we’re all about the food. The WashU/Chicago trip resulted in gooey butter cake and deep dish pizza. Ask me which style pizza is my favorite, thin crust or deep dish? I will always pick NYC-style thin crust pizza over Chicago’s deep dish. Being a New Jersey kid going to college in New York City, that is an obvious choice.
Photo: Doug Gertner, Joe Timmes, Cameron Moore, Nick Medavoy
As far as the schedule goes, the UAA is unlike any other Division III conference in the country and one that we all must appreciate it. Yes, it sometimes means that we are at the mercy of the airline as we are desperate to return home, but conversely we have that much more time to spend together as a team. We really are like a band of brothers, and I promise, I am not just saying that. After our flight was delayed in Chicago, we exited the plane at midnight and as we waited at baggage claim, we seemingly formed a huge circle of laughter, jokes and dance moves. The bus ride back into Manhattan was about 45 minutes long and every minute was spent talking to one another. It may have been 1 a.m., but the only thing I wanted to do was to enjoy the team’s camaraderie at the end of an exhausting road trip.
Each trip is unique in its own right and I have always had fun exploring the cities we travel to, but this year I certainly have cherished the moment more. Continuing to “precious the present,” I look forward to the rest of the season by enjoying the journey, as I conclude my career as a collegiate basketball player.
Joe Timmes, a senior guard and co-captain, currently ranks first in UAA games in three-pointers, fifth in steals, and sixth in three-point field goal percentage, while averaging 13.4 points per game. He hit the game-winning three-pointer with 3.8 seconds left in the NYU win over CWRU.