Photo of UNC’s All-American Defensemen and Hall of Famer Tom Haus (Loyola)
I don’t member much from my first game in a Syracuse University jersey in March of 1984. I know we won and I held my own against UNC players. But I remember UNC defensemen Tom Haus that day. Tom was a big thick guy, about 6’2’’ 195 and he ran like a deer. One of his college teammates tells me he was a “terrific athlete and ripped but I never saw him lift weights at UNC.” That day at Loyola College Haus wore heavy sweat pants and a pair of blue high top canvas Converse Chuck Taylor’s; they actually looked kind of old and beat up. I know those sneakers are the fashion rage today, but any athlete will tell you they don’t offer much in the way of support. I also remember that Haus covered our All-American attackman Tim Nelson and pretty much had his way with Nellie. In addition to his great footwork, speed, and strength, Haus threw precision checks that often stripped an attackman of the ball before they realized what happened. He threw checks to set you up and then tink, the ball hit the ground. That day, he took the ball away from Nellie several times and then flew up field to start a fast break—I believed he scored one or two goals that day. I remember thinking, I know is older brother John was good, but this dude is nasty [unbelievable]! Haus ended his career at Carolina as a three-time first-team All-American and three-time Defenseman of the Year—still the only person to win the ladder award three times. Yet none of those accolades meant much to him. “The guy didn’t care about lacrosse and never really worked hard at it” says a former UNC teammate. “He was great at lacrosse all his life but it didn’t mean the world to him. He did not go hard in practice but he was a gamer. When UNC won the championship in 86 it was Haus that shut down Hopkins Hall of Famer Brian Wood in the semi-finals and UVA Hall of Famer Roddy Marino in the finals. Yet when his career at UNC ended he never showed interest in playing for the US National Team. He was inducted in the National Hall Fame in 2005. UNC retired his #13 jersey. Tom, hat's off to you man you had game.
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar