Wittwer's Blog on Men's Hoops Final Days in LA

Sophomore guard Trevor Wittwer wrapped up the University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball team blog about its trip to Los Angeles.

Saturday, December 29

                We got our wakeup call at 8:15 a.m. Saturday morning. The hotel breakfast was one of the best meals of the entire trip. It consisted of everything you can imagine from pancakes and eggs to cereal and bagels. After breakfast we reviewed some game film for Colorado College.  We departed for the University of La Verne shortly after film for our game day shoot around. Shoot around lasted about an hour and then we headed back to the hotel for our pregame meal. Our meal was catered by the hotel: hamburger pasta with a side salad and toasted buns. After a short nap, we departed for the gym once again. We knew it was going to be a tough game, but we felt prepared and we were ready for another win. We never had a huge lead on Colorado College, but we maintained it for most of the game. At the end, it ended up being a two point game but we managed to hang on for the win. After two wins it was time to relax and enjoy the California weather. We walked from the hotel to a nearby restaurant for dinner with family, friends and alumni.

Sunday, December 30

                After an early wakeup call and another delicious breakfast, we departed for Pepperdine University to practice. After driving along the beach for a half hour we finally arrived at the campus, which was situated up in some mountainous terrain overlooking the ocean. It was probably one of the most amazing views, and it was a beautiful campus. After a tough two hour practice we went to downtown Los Angeles for lunch. We split up and everyone could do and go as they pleased. A few of us ended up eating at the ESPN Sports Zone across the street from the Staples Center. We also got to watch the Packer game because there were so many Wisconsin residents in LA for the Rose Bowl. As we walked the streets, we happened to find the "Badger Bash" at the Staples Center. The road was closed off and there were Badger fans everywhere. The UW band was playing and the entire football team came out on the balcony above the street. Coach Barry Alvarez even came out and said a few words for all the fans. It was a very cool experience and fun to be a part of. After eating and bumming around we finally got into the Staples Center for the Clippers game versus the Jazz at 6:30 p.m. Our seats were way up in the third deck but it was still fun to watch nonetheless. The Clippers ended up winning and there were some exciting plays during the game, but no big dunks for Blake Griffin. Overall it was a very fun night.

Monday, December 31

                Monday we had breakfast and checked out of the hotel. We had tickets to tour the Parade of Roses for the Rose Bowl. We got to see the making of the floats and most of the finished floats. There was also a lot of carnival food and stands set up selling Badger apparel. It was interesting to see all the work that goes into making a float for the parade. It was especially cool because the Badgers are in the Rose Bowl again! At least most the coaching staff are all badger fans, the same can't be said for the whole team. After the tour we went to Knotts Berry Farm amusement park for the rest of the day until our flight. The whole team and coaching staff enjoyed the rides and games. Some didn't like rides so much. Everywhere we went people stared and whispered about us and how tall we were. Several times people would ask where we were from and who we played. It was almost like we were small scale celebrities. We met some pretty cool people and talked to quite a few UW-Platteville alumni, or people that were somehow associated with UW-Platteville in the past. After all the fun and games, we went to a pizza place for one last team meal before heading to the airport. We got through security pretty quickly and the wait was on. Even though we were on the plane during the New Year countdown, it was worth staying an extra day in California. Everyone was quite exhausted at the airport. We tried to get our sleep on the plane and on the bus before returning to Platteville for another practice.

Wittwer and the Pioneers return to conference play on Thursday when they travel to UW-La Crosse at 5:30 p.m.