With the GW men’s basketball down Saturday afternoon by some 30 points in a nationally televised game against Atlantic 10 powerhouse Temple University, something truly special transpired. The capacity crowd at the Smith Center implored Coach Tom Penders to play the team’s sparingly used senior walk-ons, Mark Lund and Sam Anyan, with thunderous applause.
Realizing the game was out of reach, Penders responded to the chant of We want Mark, we want Mark, by calling on the Alaska native to run the point guard position. Moments later, a roar went up from the crowd as students chanted We want Sam, we want Sam. Penders again looked down his bench, and to the delight of the crowd, placed the Baltimore native, Anyan, into the game.
Lund brought down the house when he threw an alley-oop pass with pinpoint accuracy from the top of the key to an airborne Jason Smith, who finished the play with a powerful dunk. On his next trip down the court, Lund hit an off-balance three pointer from the corner as the hysterical crowd roared its approval.
With less than a minute left in the contest, Anyan collected the ball in the post and drew a foul as he made a move to the basket. With the confidence that comes with countless hours of practice, Anyan knocked down both free throws.
Sometimes the connection in the term student-athlete can be a rather tenuous one, but GW’s two walk-ons personify what the term means. Lund and Anyan work as hard in the classroom as they do on the court. Each consistently makes the athletic director’s honor roll, which includes athletes with a minimum 3.0 GPA. Lund, an exercise science major, plans to attend medical school, while Anyan will decide between a job offer with Lehman Brothers or continuing his education in law school.
Mark Lund and Sam Anyan – two Colonials from entirely different backgrounds – truly represent the diverse, yet unified, GW student body. Saturday the GW community showed its gratitude to a pair of upstanding young men and its appreciation for four years of hard work and dedication.
