It’s hard to believe, but it was a little over a year ago that I wrote one of my favorite articles ever, “A Goodbye to Kemba Walker.” I’ll always be a UConn fan before I am a writer, and Kemba’s goodbye letter reflects that. It’s not some pre_packaged puff piece, but heartfelt and through the eyes of a fan.
Well, one year and a few days later it’s time to write another letter, as another key cog in the 2011 championship team leaves Storrs. Alex Oriahki isn’t departing for the NBA but instead transferring, and will spend his final year of college at Missouri. And while Oriahki doesn’t leave UConn with the acclaim, hardware, or statistical resume that Kemba did, he was just as important to the 2011 title run as Kemba, or anyone else on UConn’s roster. Simply put, UConn wouldn’t have won the title without him.
So as Oriahki gets set to depart, and spend his last year of college ball at Missouri, I only thought it was appropriate that I gave him a final goodbye as well. His college career might not be over, but his time at UConn is.
Here goes…
Dear Alex–
When I wrote Kemba his goodbye letter last year, I opened it with the following two paragraphs. They went as follows:
So word on the street is that you’re leaving UConn, huh??
can’t say that I totally blame you. actually, I take that back. I can’t think of one good reason you should come back to UConn. well, unless you enjoy the sorority parties and 15-degree January nights that much. really, looking at this thing objectively, I can’t remember a college basketball player with less reason to come back to school for another year
Take out the last sentence, and I can’t think of a better way to open this letter to you. I’m sad to see you go, but given everything that’s going on at UConn right now, I can’t think of many good reasons for you to stay. We all know you had a tough junior year’ UConn is ineligible for the 2013 VCAA Tournament and Missouri offers you the opportunity to play right away, for a team in the Top 10it’ll likely start the year in t For all the things you love about Storrs (which I’m sure to include off-the-court indulgences like D.P. Dough and Ted’s), it’s time for you to move on to the next chapter of your life. Don’t listen to any of the idiots on Facebook or Twitter giving you a hard time. This is the right move. It just might take some of us some time to get over it.