Many people don’t know this, but the assistant coach for Saint Peters University, Ryan Whalen’s cousin, is the head coach of McDaniel’s basketball team, Kevin Curley. People didn’t know nor care about this information until Saint Peters recently started making history within the March Madness world.
Entering the bracket as the 15th seed, Saint Peter’s was able to defeat the 2nd (Kentucky) and 7th seed (Murray State) to advance to the sweet sixteen. This will be the first Sweet Sixteen appearance in school history! The Peacocks were planning on going all the way that was until they were hit with a covid violation as of March 21st.
Apparently, after their big win against Murray State, players held a huge after-party that was open to both students and the public, which the coach wasn’t aware of, and half the team came back with positive covid results, forcing them to have to forfeit their spot due to breaking NCAA covid violations.
On page 235 of the newly revised NCAA rule book, it states that, “If the coach of a coivid-19 positive team knows of another team that is covid negative and contains players that are willing to take their place, they are eligible to replace them in the tournament.”
Upon learning this information, an ESPN reporter asked Saint Peter’s Head Coach, Ryan, if he had another team in mind.
“Currently, I am extremely furious with my team’s behavior and lack of responsibility following our win against Murray State. We asked many D1 and D2 teams to take our place, but they weren’t willing to share their accomplishments with our school if we won a championship ring if they were to win, nor did they want our coaching staff to help along the way. That’s just not something we’re not interested in,” he said.
“On the other hand, we’re desperately looking for a way for our boys to win a championship out of this situation. After talking with assistant coach, Ryan Whalen, he was able to figure out a deal to make that happen. He was able to talk with his cousin, Kevin, who’s the head coach of a tiny D3 school in Westminster, MD called McDaniel College. They came to an agreement that allowed our coaching staff to call the shots from the sidelines, and if we were to win the championship not only would our school receive rings and recognition, but so would theirs. They could be named the first D3 school in sports history to ever win an NCAA championship!”
McDaniel plans on hitting the courts on April 2, and could participate if St. Peters defeats Purdue and advances to the final four. The McDaniel community is in utter chaos due to the fact their school could possibly win a championship on a national level.
The school plans on streaming the game in WMC Alumni Hall where all students are welcome to watch. Hopefully, it’s a huge turnout, as the McDaniel Community cheers for their fellow classmates.
Go Green Terrors!
