Edinboro 6-foot 9-inch junior center Bryan Theriot had the support of his parents Curtis and Cheryl, who for two years would make the drive from Middleburg, Ohio, to see the Fighting Scots men play at home or at some reasonably distanced sites on the road.
Enter sister Rachel, who like her older brother starred at Midpark High School in the Cleveland area. Rachel accepted a scholarship to Division I Nebraska, where the 6-foot point guard has started 25-of-31 games as a freshman for the 25-9 Cornhuskers of coach Connie Yori, who contended for the Big 10 regular season title and lost in the semifinals of the tournament, then reached the Division I Sweet Sixteen before falling to No. 5 Duke 53-45.
The folks have been putting on the miles to watch both of their younger children. Two older boys did not pursue athletics.
“They have been hopping in rent-a-cars and driving where they can to see both of us play,” said Bryan, who i averaged 18.4 points and 9.2 rebounds for the Division II Scots. Edinboro finished 18-10 in the PSAC West, losing to champion Indiana 89-87 in overtime in the second round of the playoffs. Theriot missed five games with a knee injury. Theriot played three seasons for coach Greg Walcavich, who resigned after 24 seasons at Edinboro. Assistant Pat Cleary, who helped recruit Theriot, was elevated to head coach.
“The nice thing is, we play Wednesdays and Saturdays, and they play Thursdays and Sundays,” Bryan said. “I’m able to live-stream their games, and Nebraska played Purdue on a CBS game that went overtime that I was able to watch. You can also see games on the Big Ten Network.”
Rachel, with imposing size for guard, averaged 6.2 points, 2.8 rebounds,and 3.0 assists. She had 12 points and 3 assists in a 77-59 win over Tennessee-Chattanooga in the first round of the tournament, and 7 points and 3 assists as the Huskers, a No. 6 seed, upset 3 seed Texas A&M 74-63. She had 7 points and 2 assists in the loss to powerhouse Duke.
“She had offers elsewhere, but she picked Nebraska (under 11th-year coach Connie Yori), and luckily they moved to the Big Ten. Lincoln (Neb.) is a long haul, but they can easily make it to places like Ohio State, Indiana, Purdue, Michigan and Michigan State and even Penn State,” Bryan Theriot said. “Our parents just love to follow us, and we’re grateful for that.”
– Bob Jarzomski
