Daily Vanguard

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March 19th, 2008

Caught in the onslaught

Media by David Holley

As dozens of reporters and cameramen filtered out of the Vikings locker room at the Qwest Center before the team’s Wednesday morning practice, junior forward Tyrell Mara sat in silence with a slightly dazed look on his face.

Minutes before the daunting media onslaught, the Vikings arrived at the arena on the team bus with a squad of police motorcycles as an escort detail. The NCAA Tournament circus had officially begun, at least for the unassuming team from the Rose City with major upset aspirations.

After the Vikings punched their tickets to Omaha last week, Big Sky Conference media man Jon Kasper urged PSU players to speak into the microphones during a postgame interview session, warning them that, “next week, there will be a lot more microphones.”

It’s next week, less than 24 hours before the Vikings’ historic matchup against No. 1 seed Kansas, and the microphones are omnipresent. So how is the team dealing with full-blown media frenzy (not to mention the pressure of being the first-ever PSU team to make the tourney)?

“I feel good,” Mara said. “It’s nice to be in this environment finally. Our coaches and others who have been through this have been telling us there’s going to be a lot of external distractions. I think we’re as best prepared as possible. It’s a totally different environment for us, so we’re still adapting.”

Assistant coach Eric Harper said he thinks the team is doing well, though he admitted it’s his first time as well.

“It’s new to all of us,” Harper said. “We’re still learning.”

The Vikings will learn what it’s like to play a No. 1 seed tomorrow morning. Until then, the circus continues.

More updates will follow today and tomorrow, with live blogging starting shortly before Portland State and Kansas tip off at 9:30 a.m. PT.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 19th, 2008 at 12:49 pm and is filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.