Garrison Keeslar offers instruction to his teammates in win over Wofford
photo by Ray Soldano/GoMocs
Hope seemed to be fading for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in the waning moments of last week’s contest against visiting Wofford.
The Mocs had spent most of the evening digging themselves out of an early 20-point hole, eventually taking brief two-point leads on several occasions in the second half. Now down by three with under two minutes remaining, Chattanooga needed a spark in the worst sort of way. And it came in an unlikely manner.
In pursuit of a long rebound on a potential game-tying 3-pointer, Garrison Keeslar made a beeline to save the possession as the ball caromed toward the UTC bench. In a full sprint, the senior forward extended his 6-foot-7 frame in midair as he flew headlong over his teammates seated on the sidelines, landing face-first on front row of the riser bleachers.
A hush fell over the crowd as Keeslar laid motionless on his back while being tended to by UTC assistant athletic trainer Gracie Thurson. Further evaluation was provided by team dentist Dr. Frank “Bubba” Trundle, but it seemed likely Keeslar’s night was over.
But the moment ignited a fire within the UTC huddle while watching their wounded teammate paying the price for his hustle. It particularly impacted Bash Wieland.
“It was incredible,” Wieland said. “I mean, just to see he's willing to go in the stands like that for a ball. Shoot, I wanted to compete even harder. I wanted to match that intensity. If you have a guy that wants to win that bad, that just sends the message to everybody else, like, ‘Let's win this game. This game needs to be won.’”
With Keeslar exiting the game with 1:26 on the clock, Wofford doubled its lead to six on its next possession. But Wieland refused to allow his teammate’s valor to be in vain, canning 3-pointers on consecutive UTC possessions to knot the contest with 17 ticks left on the clock.
As Wofford called timeout to draw up a final shot to win the game, the unthinkable happened. Keeslar, with his lacerated upper lip glued shut, checked back into the contest to play defense. The Mocs faithful inside McKenzie Areana roared with equal parts relief and appreciation as their best defender stepped back onto the court, and his deflection of a pass forced the Terriers into a missed desperation heave.
Chattanooga went on to win the game in overtime, with Keeslar playing the entire extra frame.
In reliving the incident that saw Keeslar narrowly avoid a more serious injury after crashing into the bleacher stairs, he now recognizes how fortunate he was.
“I thought I had a chance to save the ball, and it turned out I was like an inch out of bounds,” Keeslar said. “It was hard to try to save it and clear the bench, and I remember I hit the stair and it cut me open. It was my God moment of the week, because I was probably an inch away from my teeth being gone and like an inch away from severely hurting my nose.”
Trying to regain his senses and while watching Thurson wipe away the blood streaming down his face, Keeslar’s mind quickly shifted to getting back onto the court. After sealing the incision and passing all needed medical protocols, his focus was on winning the game.
“It hurt and I couldn't feel anything on my face,” Keeslar said. “Once Gracie slowed the bleeding, she put a lot of glue on it, and it was fine. It didn’t even require stitches.”
Keeslar’s kamikaze actions had a profound impact on his teammates in that moment.
“I saw him coming through between Latif (Diouf) and Sean (Cusano) thinking he was about to grab the ball, so we didn’t want to interfere,” Frank Champion said. “Then they got out the way and he flew over the bench. I thought to myself, ‘That’s a dog right there.’”
Honor Huff witnessed the moment from the court with admiration, but good-naturedly chided Keeslar for his crash landing.
“First off, he’s crazy for doing that,” Huff said. “As soon as I touched that sideline, I would have stopped or jumped over the bench. Garrison does a lot of things well, but athleticism isn’t his strong suit.”
That singular moment encapsulated the contributions Keeslar has made to this year’s squad since his transfer as a fifth-year senior from Walsh University, a Division-II school in Ohio. During his four seasons at Walsh, Keeslar compiled 1,209 points, 630 rebounds and 434 assists, starting every game and earning first-team all-conference honors each of his last three seasons. He had a career-high 35 points in one contest his senior year and led Walsh to a pair of D-II NCAA Tournament appearances.
But with one year of eligibility remaining and having surgery to repair both of his hip labrums last spring, Keeslar prayerfully sought a different chapter to close out his college career by entering his name into the transfer portal.
He immediately was contacted by UTC assistant coach Ander Galfsky and scheduled a visit to Chattanooga a week later.
“There were a lot of schools reaching out, and I don't really know what it was but there was something different about the call with Coach Galfsky,” Keeslar said. “When I came down here, everything was fantastic. The facilities were great and the coaches were really family-oriented, which meant a lot to me. It seemed like they really cared about bringing in guys that were going to have good camaraderie as a team, and that's what I was looking for. I didn't want to go to a team with a bunch of egos where no one was really connected.”
As one of five incoming transfers on the Chattanooga roster, Keeslar sensed an immediate connection with his new teammates.
“I think we all have the common mindset that we came here wanting to win for our last year,” Keeslar said. “They brought in guys with high character, so that's been the best part about it. I came to a program that was a team, not separate individuals.”
There is nothing flashy about Keeslar’s style of play, and his numbers on the stat sheet don’t jump off the page although he is among the top 10 players in Division I when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio. But his contribution to the Mocs success goes beyond black and white figures according to Huff.
“The stuff he brings you can’t put on a stat sheet,” Huff said. “He's one of one. You need a Garrison Keeslar on every team to be successful. I don't think we’ve had that in my years of college until this year. He just wants to win and will do whatever it takes.”
Champion echoed Huff’s sentiments when discussing Keeslar’s impact.
“Every time I see him, I'm like, ‘Hey man, you keep doing what you're doing, because we need that,’” Champion said. “You have to have people that can bring that type of thing because that's championship level. He doesn’t care about the stats. The only thing he does care about being is first team all-defense. That drive right there tells you enough, because not a lot of people tell you they want to do something like that.”
After years of being a primary offensive threat at Walsh, Keeslar has adjusted to his new role at Chattanooga with no reservations. He typically is assigned to defend opponent’s best offensive player, something he takes great pride in.
“I don't really care too much about stats,” said Keeslar, who is averaging 5.7 points per game with a high of 13. “I came because I wanted to win at this level and play in the national tournament, and this was a great place to do it. I told the coaches I'm willing to do whatever that takes, whether that's guarding their best player some nights, whether it's cheering on my teammates, whether it's just being a positive influence for guys or uplifting for people.
“Whatever I could do, I want to do it, even if it doesn't show up in the stat sheet. I think if you work hard enough when you're on the court, people will see it and appreciate it, and it's not really about what the stats show. It's more how you can help the team win. And that's all I'm looking to do.”
Wieland, who transferred from Bellarmine for this season and is Keeslar’s roommate, has a deep appreciation for what his fellow Ohio native provides for the Mocs.
“Garrison is a great leader and an example for the younger guys to see what it takes to be successful in college basketball,” Wieland said. “You’ve got to be tough, you’ve got to want to play defense, and you’ve got to compete. He’s capable of scoring a lot of points like he did that at the Division II level, but he understands that's not his role anymore. Garrison is unselfish and understands that this is what it takes for our team to win.”
Keeslar does not mind fulfilling his role in relative anonymity and with little acclaim. As a young man with a deep and abiding Christian faith, he merely trying to demonstrate the core principles he has adopted from his understanding of the Bible.
“Jesus was loving of others and compassionate towards others, and he never wanted it to be about himself,” Keeslar said. “I try to live out the Bible verse that says, ‘work willingly, as if you're working for the Lord.’ That's what I try to do. No matter who's here, no matter who's watching, I want to work willingly. I want to work as hard as possible because that's what I'm called to do.”
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com
Garrison Keeslar cheers on his teammates during a UTC contest
photo by Ray Soldano/GoMocs