By ANDREW CHERNOFF
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
The Miami (Ohio) men’s basketball teams has arguably been the talk of the sport this season.
The RedHawks were the last team to lose a game after winning their first 31 games of the year.
That start helped Miami (Ohio) make it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007.
There are plenty of Central Indiana connections who are part of the program as well, getting to experience this magical run.
For instance, the RedHawks head coach, Travis Steele, was born in Danville, Ind.
“It’s a blessing and an honor to be a part of the NCAA Tournament,” Steele said. “That’s the goal; you put all this effort, the sacrifices, whether it’s from our staff, from our players. You put a lot into this. This is a huge reward for us. But again, we’re not satisfied, obviously, just to be here. We want to advance. That’s the goal. But it is an honor to be a part of it.”
Steele is not the only person though associated with the program with strong ties to Indiana.
Freshman guard Justin Kirby played at Fishers High School. He is averaging 6.4 points per game this season.
And then there’s senior guard Peter Suder, who played at Carmel High School. Suder has had an impressive season. He leads the RedHawks in scoring, averaging 14.6 points per game. In fact, he was named the MAC Player of the Year.
Of course, Suder’s talent is a big reason for his success on the court, but that’s not the only reason. There is a superstation that may play a part in his success as well.
“Peter wears the same socks every single game,” Miami (Ohio) sophomore guard Luke Skaljak said. “The same ones. It’s disgusting.”
Once Skaljak announced that to the room full of media members on Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio, Suder quickly came to his own defense.
“They [the socks] are washed, though,” Suder said. “Every single game they’re washed. There’s clean socks. There’s some holes and loose threads in them now. But Brant’s, I think, is a little crazier. He [Skaljak] eats candy, almost a bag of candy before every game, which I don’t know how he does that.”
Suder was wearing the same socks on Wednesday night when the RedHawks beat SMU 89-79 in the First Four of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament in Dayton.
This story originally appeared on WISH-TV at wishtv.com/sports/suder-miami-socks-ncaa/