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Life On the Road: One Family's NCAA Odyssey
March 27, 2003
By HAL BOCK
ALBANY, N.Y. - The Cornette Caravan is surely the most dedicated traveling show in the NCAA tournament - two parents following two sons playing on two coasts. But all those miles on the road matter little to the Cornettes. After all, this is March, and there's some basketball to be played - and watched. On Friday, Mom was headed for Albany to be with Joel and Butler at the East Regional. Pop was in Anaheim, Calif., with Jordan and Notre Dame at the West Regional. The plan is for the father to fly east on Friday for Joel's game. Isn't that what redeye flights are for? Joel said the long journey would be no big deal for his father. "All clocks shut down when it comes to seeing his sons play basketball," he said. "My mom and dad have done a great job being with us."
The round of 16 was much more challenging for Joel Sr. and Christi Cornette than the first two rounds, when Joel played in Birmingham, Ala., with the Bulldogs and Jordan was in Indianapolis with the Fighting Irish. That was a convenient eight-hour commute in the family SUV, even with the brief stop in their hometown of Cincinnati to watch third son Jonathan, a high school player. They made two round trips, never missed a dribble or a dunk, saw four victories and then mapped out plans for this weekend. "We kind of took it in stages, and it turned into this," Christi Cornette said. "How could we miss this?" Joel Sr. said. "It's been worth it, especially because we won four games." Christi Cornette wasn't due to land in Albany until Thursday night, missing Butler's practice.
"She has to do a lot of work to pay for all this travel," Joel said. "She wanted to make sure she could get here. She also had to check on my little brother, lay the law down to him and make sure he wasn't having parties." Joel and Jordan have played key roles in their teams' success this season, but neither is considered a star. Jordan, a 6-foot-9 sophomore forward, started 21 games and averaged 3.1 points and 4.2 rebounds for the Irish. Joel, a 6-10 senior center/forward, has started 96 straight games and averaged 11.3 points and 6.4 rebounds this year for Butler. Joel is also the Bulldogs' vocal leader, and that exuberance prompted him to leap onto a press table after the Bulldogs' upset of fifth-seeded Mississippi State last Friday - a scene that was replayed on highlight shows nationwide. One parent is at every home game for their sons, driving from Cincinnati for two hours to Indianapolis for Butler's games or five hours to South Bend, Ind., for Notre Dame's games. "I can't say enough about how much I appreciate what they've done for us," Joel said. "They'll never know how much it means. The love they've shown us throughout our lives is something special." Things would have been considerably simpler for the parents if their sons had attended the same school. "We thought about that," Joel said. "But we thought it would be better to go our own way. It would be difficult to share the spotlight."
The brothers remain close, rooting for each other, hoping for a family reunion next week at the Final Four. Joel planned to watch Notre Dame's game against Arizona on Thursday night and expected Jordan to watch Butler against Oklahoma on Friday. "And then," he said, "I hope to shake hands with him in New Orleans." Joel was afraid to ask how much this family adventure is costing, and he wasn't sure what the plans would be this weekend if both teams won again to advance to the regional finals. All he knows is that his mother is coming to town and will be at the arena for Friday's game. "I don't know where she's sitting," he said. "Don't worry, I'll find her." |
