LEHMAN, Pa. — No matter how many medals you have around your neck or trophies are displayed in your case there's a chance you may still need a helping hand when it comes to heights.
As the players on Penn State Wilkes-Barre's basketball team discovered during a net-cutting ceremony on campus where they used a ladder to get to the basket and cut pieces down of the net to celebrate the team's recent victory.
"We're celebrating our third national championship in five years and back-to-back USCAA Division II champions, and it's been an incredible ride for the last two years. The time and effort the coaches and the athletes put in" said athletic director Scott Miner.
"It was something that we planned to do," explained head coach LeShawn Hammett. "We knew we could do it. We had some ups and downs during the season, but we never gave up on each other, and we knew that we could get the job done. So it was amazing."
"Because you know, we had a lot of ups and downs, a lot of trials and tribulations but I feel like this last week and a half they really came together at the right time and it became really connected as brothers and you know, we got the job done," added junior Jedidiah Ashton. That's all that matters. You know, we're national champs back to back, three in five years. So you know, we're a legacy, we're a dynasty."
The athletic staff here at Penn State Wilkes-Barre says this does more than add hardware to the case or another banner to the gymnasium. This sends a bigger message to anyone looking to play college sports at a smaller college.
"What it does is, it just kind of shows that we compete at a high level, and we also have a good opportunity here academically and athletically to really, you know, to really excel at the college level and give some other folks an opportunity to compete. That may have been overlooked or not had an opportunity at another school," explained Miner.
"It's just about like believing yourself, staying true to your hard work, and being dedicated to your craft, and know that it's gonna pay off," added Ashton.