CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – Every NCAA Tournament team has great stories surrounding them and Queens will be no exception.<\/p>\n
The Royals punched their ticket to the Big Dance for the first time in program history with a win over Central Arkansas on Sunday in the Atlantic Sun Conference championship game.<\/p>\n
Before the season, Queens was picked to win the ASUN, but just having talent doesn\u2019t always get you to a championship.<\/p>\n
Teams have to do the little things that effect winning.<\/p>\n
Enter Buddy the Street Dog!<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s funny how small things can become big,\u201d said Queens head coach Grant Leonard. \u201cIt\u2019s like our spirit animal.\u201d<\/p>\n
All season long, coach has rewarded tough play and doing the little things that lead to a victory like diving on the floor to come up with loose balls.<\/p>\n
The tough, grimy things a dog in the streets may do to survive. Whatever it takes.<\/p>\n
The award is the Street Dog of the Game and the player who exhibits the traits of said street dog gets to hang with Buddy the Street Dog.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew this team was talented offensively, but to win– especially in those tough games– it was going to come down to the loose balls, the 50\/50 balls. The stuff when someone is going through tough times like a street dog, that they fight for. That\u2019s what our guys needed. They needed that energy to make those extra plays. Buddy has been an unbelievable inspiration to our guys and they have galvanized around the spirit of doing tough things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buddy is not a real dog. He\u2019s a stuffed animal, but he certainly means a lot to the team. It\u2019s all about playing tough basketball and Buddy brings it out of Queens.<\/p>\n
Buddy did lose a couple of legs during the season and had to be replaced, but coach says, you can find anything on Amazon. But what you can\u2019t get off the internet is heart and tough play for a basketball team. Buddy has provided that and has helped guide this team into the history books as the first Queens team to ever advance to the NCAA Tournament.<\/p>\n
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