Often times as an editor and writer for this publication, I am torn between my obligation as a student and that as a journalist. And this year, the emotions involved in that have, at times been difficult to separate, especially in relation to the men’s basketball season.

On Saturday afternoon, sitting courtside as the Bearcats won the America East championship, and therefore clinched an NCAA tournament berth, I was completely torn as to how to react. In the end, I stayed reserved outwardly, while my mind was screaming in jubilation.

I wasn’t the only one who was dealing with emotions. I saw several Bearcats players choking back tears, and some of them succumbed to the pressure to let go. And that is something we haven’t seen from the Bearcats a lot this season: raw emotion.

Sure, the team has played exceptionally hard and has dealt with a lot, but you, the fan, have not seen what I have seen, including postgame press conferences and interviews in practice.

And what have I seen? I have seen a team that has held it together in the face of adversity for the entire 2008-09 campaign. Written off by critics as the potential fifth-seeded team in the conference, the Bearcats surprised almost everyone and won the AE title. And they did it without huge outbursts and showboating. The team was never a highlight reel worthy squad, never a team that anyone really gave a chance. However, a lot of people are paying attention now.

And why are they doing that? Because Kevin Broadus has his guys playing as a team, no egos, no complaining.

Junior standout D.J. Rivera has never been a flashy guy off the court, in my experience. He is generally loose during pregame warm-ups, but once the game begins, he is all business, as opposing teams have learned the hard way this season. Once off the court, the Philly native is soft-spoken and humble, something most people wouldn’t expect from a guy with such talent.

Postgame on Saturday, Rivera walked into the press conference high on life. He was happy, but reserved. When asked about the recent controversy surrounding his first All-Conference team snub, Rivera responded that he wasn’t even aware that he hadn’t made the first team. I liked the fact that even though he is an elite player, not only in the conference, but in the entire country, Rivera was keeping his head in the game, and not on petty awards. I was impressed by that.

Fellow junior Tiki Mayben has been the subject of a lot of talk this season. Having bounced around to several schools, he already came into Vestal with a reputation. To my knowledge, he has kept his nose to the proverbial grindstone during his time here, and is an elite player much like Rivera.

However, Mayben has at times been criticized as being a bit truculent with the media, or opposing fans. Many attribute this to a killer instinct ingrained in his soul. Some have flat out called him a jerk. However, having witnessed firsthand the UMBC fans unmercifully mocking and screaming at him during shootaround on Saturday, and getting no real reaction from him, I gained a new respect for him. Even more compelling, however, was Mayben’s demeanor during the press conference. Overcome with emotion, he made me realize that while he is simply a basketball player to many people, he is first, a human being. And I think that most people forget that when thinking about athletes.

Finally, Reggie Fuller. Honestly, I could go on for a long time about this man. Fuller has always been a genuine pleasure to cover, not only as a player, but as a person. Sometimes with athletes (in my experience at least), you tend to get manufactured answers to your questions. With Fuller, you get genuine answers, plainly spoken.

Fuller seemed at a loss for words after the game. Normally willing to tell you at length and with a smile exactly how he feels, this was something I had never seen from him.

While they were all extraordinarily happy with what they had accomplished, their physical and mental makeup could not allow them to express their true feelings.

What I saw in that small room was three men who had just played in a 40-minute war. And though they prevailed over UMBC, they could not win the battle against their emotions.

I gained a new-found respect for not only the people at that table, but all athletes in general. We never give them enough credit as people, and expect far too much from them as personalities.