Why Schenschational?

"Why Schenschational?" is a question that has come up a few times.  Easy answer: Luke Schenscher, what else.  However, since I've had 300 visits to my website already (That's an average of 13.6 visits PER DAY!), I figured I'd take a little time to explain myself. 

I root for the underdog.  Growing up, I was a Packer fan in a state full of Vikings fans (after the couple of Super Bowl wins, the state's shifted more toward the Packers).  I wore the black alternate Scottie Pippen jersey to 4th grade when Michael Jordan was the star, and then only because the local store's didn't have a Luc Longley jersey.  I stuck with the Bulls when they once started a lineup featuring Bryce Drew, Fred Hoiberg, Ron Mercer, Marcus Fizer, and Brad Miller.  I wear the Vote Obama shirt in a state that hasn't voted for a democrat since Lyndon B. Johnson. At last years D-League draft, I lobbied for Coach Ticknor to draft Royce Parran and Rashid "Seven and Sum Change" Byrd.  I am trying to get into the basketball industry, even though I'm coming out of Bemidji State University, my grandparents are farmers, my dad's a factory worker, and my mom is the produce manager at the local grocery store.  I'm a freaking underdog.

 

I suck at thinking of sweet names.  My whole life, I haven't been much of a creative guy, with any name I come up with either being really boring or just not making any sense, or both.  My favorite stuffed animal was a brown bear that was from my mom I had when I was adopted.  I named him Browny, presumably because he was brown.  The Y-Ball team I captained in 8th grade was nicknamed the Grizzlies.  Not sure if it was named after the Bryant Reeves led Vancouver Grizzlies or my elementary school Grimsrud Grizzlies, but we were the Grizzlies... and Terrible.  My best friend, Jordan Rosendahl, got the nickname JRose, though his basketball skills clearly surpass those of Jalen Rose's.  This weird cowboy kid that I worked with at Central Market was nicknamed DP, though his real was Dan Eberhardt.  One time when DP walked into the library and JRose kind of called him DPenis, and it kind of stuck.  My trivia team at Stadium Sports Bar has been called Andes Mountains the last few weeks.  I'm just not creative.  When thinking of someway to immortalize what I planned my blog around, a place to talk about (Mostly) the D-League, Schenschational hit me.  I hope someday to get Marv Albert to give me a sound clip, or somehow find him saying 'Sensational', as this is my inspiration.

Luke Schenscher is the man.  This I know is true because 7-foot-1 Luke Schenscher once took a picture with my drunk 5-foot-2 mom at Ground Round after a Forth Worth-Dakota game, along with the Mavericks Jose Juan Barea, who is also, in real life, 5-foot-2.  This would be a sweet posse.  I first became a fan of Schensch in 2004 when he was the most likeable player on a likeable team, including fellow future D-Leaguer's  Will Bynum, Ismail Muhammad and Anthony McHenry, along with future NBAer's Chris Bosh, Jarrett Jack, and Mario West.  Overall a stacked team, where Schensch provided the glue needed to hold a solid team together.  Even though he averaged just 10 points, 7 boards, and 2 blocks a game, he was still developing and went to Summer League twice.  Though both the Nuggets and Spurs passed on him and his flowing blonde-red locks, he caught on as a 2nd round pick of the Fort Worth Flyers.  Playing just 36 games and averaging 8 points, 6 boards, and a block, he was called up by the Chicago Bulls, who no doubt noticed how much of a stud he could be.  With the Bulls, he averaged 8 minutes, playing the final 20 games with the Bulls that season, averaging 2 point and 2 boards.   After playing with the Bulls that Summer, he was their last cut, but was assigned once again to Fort Worth.  Averaging 9 and 7 with the Flyers, he was once again called up in March, this time by the Portland Trailblazers, averaging 2 points, 2 boards, and a block.  After playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves the following season in the Vegas Summer League, he decided to go overseas and get paid, signing with Brose Baskets Bamberg in Germany to compete in Euroleague.  After playing in one game and struggling with knee tendonitis, he took the rest of the season off to rehab.  This season he's back in Australia playing with the Adelaide 36ers.  So far he's averaging 16 points and 8 boards, and over a block a game.

To sum it up, I'm a fan of hard working underdogs, and Luke Schenscher fits this perfectly.  As odd looking as he is, he still gets chicks, and even though he doesn't light up the stat book, if you watch him play, he can ball, and that's what counts.