Pool Participants

Updated Tuesday
March 1, 2005
8:15 pm

       Meet The Participants of the 2005
ACC Tournament Fantasy Basketball Pool

Stann	Kristen	Rob	Walt	Wesley
Kathleen	Roman	Paul	Vance	Mark

Stann Harris (State Fan):

1. Still believes that the Derek Whittenburg to Lorenzo Charles hookup to win the National Championship game over Houston, was indeed a pass by Whitenburg, and not a shot which fell incredibly short.

Kristen O'Brien (State Fan):

1. Has attended at least 10 consecutive ACC Tournaments.

Rob Johnson (Tarheel Fan):
1998 Champion - Rob Johnson

KGB Career Leader in Steals, First KGB Hall-of-Fame Candidate, AFFTA
Co-Founder, MVP of the Last Ever Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl, Three Time KFFL Champion, Two Time UFFL Champion, One Time ACC Tournament Fantasy Champion and All Time Fantasy Husband.

Walt Johnson (Duke Fan):
2003 Champion - Walt Johnson

No Bio provided.

Mark Griffin (UNC Fan):

No Bio provided.

Wesley O'Brien (Tarheel Fan):

1. Rusty LaRue's former piano teacher.

2. Still believes the Tarheels to NOT be in demise.

Kathleen O'Brien (Deacon Fan):

1. Has Rusty LaRue's chocolate pie recipe, which she got from Shirley O'Brien, who got it from Rusty's mom.

2. Works in the same office with Josh Howard's Aunt, and had frequent discussions with her on the progress of Josh Howard's NBA career.

3. Gave birth to ACC prospect Davis O'Brien, who scored his first basket on an 8 foot goal at the age of 3 years, and 4 months, and had his first 20 point game at the age of 6, in the YMCA 1st grade league (final score was 26-2).

4. Gave birth to ACC prospect Davis O'Brien, who averaged 2 pts per game in the 1st grade YBA league, even though he was only in Kindergarden.

Roman Nelson (State Fan):
2000 Champion - Roman Nelson

Roman Nelson, born July 18, 1962 in Winston-Salem, NC at 8lbs. 10 oz. I was named after a young quarterback who had been drafted into the NFL to play for the LA Rams; a former superstar of NC State, and a native of Wilmington, NC - Roman Gabriel.

My father sat my brothers and I down in December of 1972 to discuss something of grave importance. He had come to the conclusion that we were old enough to make some choices in our lives. Yes, it was time to pick our ACC team. We could pick any team in the ACC as long as we followed his simple rules: Rule 1: If we choose UNC....adoption was a certainty. (My ex-sister Caroline really liked blue dresses.... I hope her foster parents have treated her well)

Rule 2: Please pick a team from North Carolina..... Side notes: Virginia was too close the Mason Dixon line, Maryland was even closer, South Carolina, Clemson and Georgia Tech had nothing but cotton-pickin', nose pickin', truck drivin', tobacco spittin' rednecks. This left us to pick Wake Forest (who hadn't won a championship since I was born), Duke (who hadn't won one in 6 years), or NC State - a fine outstanding college that my father adored.

Rule 3: Santa Claus is getting you knit toboggans this year for Christmas and if you ask for red ones (with NC State on them)... then he may bring you that bicycle you have been asking for!

Rule 4: You bleed red.... not any shade of blue or gold. Side note: And if you didn't believe him... he was willing to show you.

Rule 5: Would you rather be known as a flaky Deacon, a fruity Blue Devil, a silly lt. blue Ram, or a mean, tough Wolf that ran in packs and conquers everything in its path?!!!!

Rule 6: Which ever team we picked....we had to stay with it for life.... no jumping the ship!

Rule 7: If we choose UNC... adoption was a certainty. (he felt better to state it twice).

So, Taking all of 2 seconds.... it was unanimous... the entire family picked NC State. (Caroline was already placed in foster care).

Notable ACC moments:
1. Phil Ford was a substitute teacher for us in high school. And as expected... I didn't learn anything from a Carolina graduate that day.
2. I slept in Bowen Dorm (NC State) while visiting my brother.
3. I slept at the dorms at UNC while at a camp in Chapel Hill.
4. Met Roman Gabriel 3 different times.
5. Met Tommy Burleson once.
6. Took Mugsey Bogues to eat at Woodlands in Blowing Rock 3 years in a row. (Hornets Training Camp)
7. Have a personal video of J.R. Reid singing 'Mary had a little lamb' for his NBA rookie initiations. (After his early UNC departure)
8. I saw Pat Benetar and got tipsy at Wait Chapel (Wake Forest) while she was at the pinnacle of her career. (I have repented several times for drinking at a church)
9. Rusty LaRue lived in my neighborhood.
10. Drove a 1970 Mercury Comet from Boone, NC to Raleigh after NC State won the NCAA in '83 to help celebrate the occasion.

Paul O'Brien (State Fan): 2001 & 2004 Champion - Paul O'Brien

1) Played Little League Sports, Ie. Basketball, Baseball, Soccer with and against Rusty LaRue

2) In 1993 Paul had Mario Lucas of Maryland laughing at the scorers table during the middle of a heated contest with NCSU. Mario was a freshman that year. Paul who was seated on the front row, directly behind the official scorer, had stuffed two peanuts, shell and all, into his upper and lower lips and kept yelling out Mario's name until he turned and looked back
behind the scorers table. When Mario finally looked back, Paul shouted "You da' Man!" in a manner which was barely even understandable since the peanuts had distorted his lips so much. Mario started laughing and just turned and continued to wait for a dead ball and his turn to enter the line up.

3) During Paul's student days at NCSU (his freshman year) Paul's walking path crossed each Tuesday and Thursday with that of the Great Chris Corchiani near Reynolds Coliseum. Many times Paul would say " Hey Chris, How you doing?" in a tone which would indicate that Paul already knew him or had met him somewhere else prior. This however was not the case, Paul had never met Chris before, but continued to greet him periodically through the semester, many times many times receiving a confused and pensive look as if Chris were trying to place where he was supposed to know Paul from.

4) Witnessed Live and in Person Jim Valvano's now famous "Don't Give Up, ... Don't Ever Give Up" Speech given at the Duke game in Reynolds Coliseum in 1993. Jimmy V passed away only 2 1/2 short months after that memorable speech.

5) Played 18 holes golf with Fred Baracat, ACC Associate Commissioner in charge of officiating, in Myrtle Beach, during my practice round that year for the Carolinas PGA Section Assistants Tournament.

6) I Share this one with Stann Harris. Paul and Stann both received pats on the back from David Thompson after NCSU's stunning upset of Duke in the opening game of the 1997 ACC Tournament in Greensboro. Duke was #1 seed , State was #9 seed and continued their upset bids all the way through until the gas tank finally went empty against UNC in the Championship game. (By the way this was Herb's first ACC Tourney as coach of the Pack.)

Vance O'Brien (Deacon Fan):
1999 & 2002 Champion - Vance O'Brien

1. Owner of Tim Duncan is this years Yahoo Fantasy Basketball league.
Named my team after Tim ... "The Dunk'in Duncans". Also named my Fantasy Football team after him ... "The Dunk'in Duncans".

2. Season ticket holder for all four Tim Duncan years at WFU. Witnessed his very first action as a college basketball player in his very first exhibition game. To be honest, I was not very impressed. Just four weeks later, you could already see huge improvement in his game, and it was at that time I knew he would go on to be the MVP in the NBA finals and win the NBA championship, which he did.

3. Played pickup ball in Boone, with Mark Price's brother, who was at the time a member of the ASU hoops team.

4. In the Duke cafeteria, before a Duke football game, sat at the table beside Mike Gminski and Gene Banks.

5. Go to church with former NBA player and former Duke All-American Mike Lewis.

6. Former Deacon great, Skip Brown, was my history student teacher at Atkins when I was in the 9th grade.

7. Played the same piano as Rusty LaRue, as Wesley gave Rusty piano lessons at our house.

8. Shut down Rusty LaRue when he was a 7th grader. After I finished at ASU and was back home, I was a regular player up at the K-ville Y. Little Rusty LaRue (gym rat) was always up there too, and us big guys would not let him play in our game, but we forced Rusty to play on the little kids side. Every once in a while, when Rusty actually got in the big guys game,
I would abuse him. Played with Rusty's brother Chan on a regular basis too.

9. In a church league in WS just a few years ago, our team was playing former All-ACC WFU player Jerry Schelenburg's team, and after I was intentionally fouled by Jerry Schelenburgh (although it was not called an intentional foul, and I should have had 2 shots, as opposed to a
one-and-one) ... I hit two free throws with the game on the line to seal our victory. A desperation 3 pt. attempt by Schelenburg at the buzzer, which would have tied the game and sent it to OT, fell short.

10. Creator of the 'Demise of the Tarheels' newsletter, in June of 2001.

11. Work in the same building as Chris Paul's mom at Wachovia.

12. Met David Thompson, Tommy Burleson, Gene Banks, Phil Ford and Charlie Davis at a Harris Teeter autograph signing session at Harris Teeter in G-boro last year.