2008 Woodie Awards
'If you wanna win put Gio in'
Sophomore basketball player gets limited minutes as walk-on
Brooks Kirchheimer
Issue date: 2/13/07 Section: Sports
Imagine practicing and training six days a week and up to four hours a day for a Division I sport and hardly be given the chance to perform in game action. That is what DU men's basketball player Brian Giometti and numerous walk-on athletes around the country go through every year.
"As a walk-on, it basically translates into being a practice player and your job is to make sure that the guys that play are ready to go for the game. You got to bring it everyday," said the San Diego native.
"He comes to practice every day, works just as hard as everybody else. The only difference is he is not on scholarship; we treat him no differently than any of the other guys," said interim-head coach Kevin Reynolds.
Giometti started dribbling the leather ball and swishing through the hoop during elementary school. Then he realized he had some talent and took it to the high school level where he played three years of varsity for Francis Parker High School.
During his senior year of high school, Gio met with his college counselor and she recommended visiting DU. He came to Denver with his dad and met with the coaches, who said he would have a chance to get onto the team.
"Of course you want to be a scholarship player; nobody wants to pay for tuition. When it came down to it, my options were limited and this [DU] was my best opportunity and I took it," talking about why he chose Denver.
Life as a college basketball player has not been easy for Giometti, who saw action in just four of the Pioneers 31 games last season. He played all of seven minutes combined in those four games and scored five points and recorded one assist, rebound and steal throughout the season.
"It can be real tough sometimes, especially if we are struggling, you just got to keep working hard and hopefully when the opportunity presents itself you can take advantage of it."
Struggling is definitely what DU has been going through this season as they are currently 4-21 and in jeopardy of amounting the least amount of victories in DU Division I history. Even during the tough times the sophomore has still managed just 12 minutes in seven games, scoring two points and recording two assists.
"As a walk-on, it basically translates into being a practice player and your job is to make sure that the guys that play are ready to go for the game. You got to bring it everyday," said the San Diego native.
"He comes to practice every day, works just as hard as everybody else. The only difference is he is not on scholarship; we treat him no differently than any of the other guys," said interim-head coach Kevin Reynolds.
Giometti started dribbling the leather ball and swishing through the hoop during elementary school. Then he realized he had some talent and took it to the high school level where he played three years of varsity for Francis Parker High School.
During his senior year of high school, Gio met with his college counselor and she recommended visiting DU. He came to Denver with his dad and met with the coaches, who said he would have a chance to get onto the team.
"Of course you want to be a scholarship player; nobody wants to pay for tuition. When it came down to it, my options were limited and this [DU] was my best opportunity and I took it," talking about why he chose Denver.
Life as a college basketball player has not been easy for Giometti, who saw action in just four of the Pioneers 31 games last season. He played all of seven minutes combined in those four games and scored five points and recorded one assist, rebound and steal throughout the season.
"It can be real tough sometimes, especially if we are struggling, you just got to keep working hard and hopefully when the opportunity presents itself you can take advantage of it."
Struggling is definitely what DU has been going through this season as they are currently 4-21 and in jeopardy of amounting the least amount of victories in DU Division I history. Even during the tough times the sophomore has still managed just 12 minutes in seven games, scoring two points and recording two assists.
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