Posted on 12/15/2004 4:16:12 AM PST by beyond the sea
With his 86-inch wingspan and sculpted tree-trunk arms, Chevon Troutman's tattoos are hard to miss. They are not decoration, nor were they done on a whim. Troutman designed his bodywork, and they hold special meaning.
The first one, needled onto his left arm, is a cross with the words "Only the strong survive." The second, on his other arm, reads: "God knows my destiny."
A 6-foot-7 senior forward on the Pitt basketball team, Troutman has looked to those words for inspiration over his five years at Pitt. There were times, especially early on, when he had his doubts about making it here.
"I was kind of lost," Troutman explained. "I didn't know anyone. I didn't have a cell phone. I didn't have money to buy a calling card to call home. It was just hard relating to a new lifestyle.
"When I first got here, I wanted to go home bad. I knew that I needed something to help me through this. I was stressing with school at the time. I was frustrated. I knew I was going to have to sit behind some people and not play.
"So I got the cross and the words when I was a freshman. Every time I got down, I looked at it. It inspired me to get through that day. If I was having a bad day, I'd look at it and go back to work."
(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...
This is certainly true. Bringing sports recruits into Pittsburgh, it should be a 'RULE # 1' that they are brought into the city for the first time in the darkness of night. The sight coming out of the tunnel is unforgettable.
definitely an impressive sight. i love my hometown : )
I'm still here after 57 years. My brother brought his daughter to a Steeler game a couple of weeks ago. I insisted that he stay out past the tunnels, and when first coming to visit me, he'd pass through the tunnels after dark. The city was more than lit up for CHRISTMAS season, and my niece, totally surprised, nearly lost her breath when she saw it. It comes as such a surprise, you come out of those tunnels......... and Boom, there it is!
ping
that would definitely be cool. i live in Northern VA now and have for 24 years, but i love to get up there to visit. My son plays travel ice hockey and i took him up for the tournament back in Oct and i drove all over the old haunts.
Chevy is a class act, and one heckuva basketball player. Underrated, but that's OK. The Pitt Panthers will go a long way in March.
Chevy WILL BE a professional athlete. He is one great body, and is quite smart and sly on the basketball court!
He makes great passes near the basket and is very intelligent getting in position for offensive rebounds. He is fantastic.
And what a tight end he'd be in football.
I see them at least in the final four. This is the best team (imo) they've had in the past three years, and the past two have not been too bad!
Pitt's loaded and they're smart!
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Troutman is amazingly strong. I love to watch him play.
Don't know what communication rhetoric is, but it's good to see a college athlete applying himself to his studies for a change! Interestingly, the brother of a friend is one of Pitt's ass't coaches, and he said the team is a rather dysfunctional group. In my (and his) opinion, they're utterly lacking in bball fundamentals. They win almost despite themselves, sometimes.
Don't get me wrong, I cheer for the Panthers whenever they're playing anyone other than WVU, but their record in the past few years is more a testament to their raw talent than anything else. We attended a game last year and it was very exciting.
......... could be true, but I very much doubt it this year.
The freshmen seem to have brought the team together (not dysfunctional) in a strange way this year.
Here's how ...... the older players have taken an unusual amount of their time to aid the young guys, thus bringing a great deal more maturity to the older guys as a result.
Hmmmmm.
Final Four ...... at least.
*****
p.s. good luck to the Mountaineers!
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