Carrying a Community- My Friend Briante Weber

Even though I go to Mason I root for VCU Basketball. Most people try and give me a lot of grief over this- but there is a legit reason for my rooting pattern. The best player for VCU (Briante Weber) and I went to high school together. We are friends and had Public Speaking together at Great Bridge High. When Briante was a senior on the varsity basketball team I was a sophomore on the junior varsity team. I would work the scorebook for the varsity team after our JV games so naturally I became good friends with the whole varsity team. Briante is a character, to say the least. He is one of the most energetic people I have ever been around- especially in the locker room. But there is a lot that people don't know about him- like his struggle. Granted, I am not going to put all of his business out there  but he has been through a lot. He lost his father as a kid which I know impacted his life tremendously. I was beyond hurt for him when he went down for the season against Richmond and tore his ACL, ending his college career as he is a senior. It was particularly crushing because Weber was only 12 steals away from breaking the all-time NCAA record for steals. I love the way he plays and it's amazing how much his skills have evolved since high school. I thought for sure he would get drafted before his injury, but now that isn't as certain. I know he will bounce back strongly and recover of course. Even while being injured he still genuinely cared about his team and wanted them to succeed, even if he couldn't take the court. He has always been a teammate, and will continue to be a success, and a joy for anyone to get to know.