Pro Sports Blogging

YPSILANTI, Mich. —- The parade of the three shiny black and chauffer driven limousines pulled into the driveway and rolled toward the front entrance of the friendliest basketball arena in the Mid-American Conference and the home of the Eastern Michigan University Eagles – the Convocation Center.

As the tires skid to a stop, then the vehicle’s door of the lead car swings open and two gentlemen dressed in black suits and the sunglasses that are mirrored scan the area before they reach the middle vehicle.

There is a final glance and then a quick nod to the third car in the lineup and a couple of more black suited gentlemen step out of the vehicle and then run across the walkway and reaching the door and pulled a couple of the doors open waiting for the passenger from the middle vehicle to emerge into the sunshine.

As the door opened and the man unfolded from the inside of the limousine and he is escorted inside of the Convocation Center and once he arrived into the lobby he proceeded into the building like he had been inside 1000 times before, the mayor of the city of Detroit, Dave Bing came to Convocation Center September 27, 2011 to pay a visit to the new basketball coach of the Eagles Rob Murphy.

Murphy accepted the position as the basketball coach for Eastern Michigan University, April 21, 2011 after working as an assistant coach at Syracuse University for seven seasons.

Bing graduated from the class of 1966 with All-American honors from Syracuse University before he became the first-round draft pick of the National Basketball League’s Detroit Pistons.

Bing played for 12 years as a guard for the Piston and became one of the best players in NBA history and he was names one of the top 50 players and is a member in the NBA Hall of Fame.

Bing met with Murphy and the rest of the Eagles and he talked to them about working hard in practice, being diligent in the classroom and preparing for life after college were some of the topics that Bing addressed the Eagles.

Bing also explained that he lives by the 5-P mantra of Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance and impressed upon the student-athletes the importance of giving a great effort in everything they do in life.

After Bing finished his playing career as a Piston, he became a successful businessman in the city of Detroit and established the Bing Steel Company before embarking into a career in politics when he was elected as the mayor of the city May 2009.

“We are very fortunate to have someone of Dave Bing’s stature here to share his life experiences with the eastern Michigan University student-athlete and coaches,” Murphy said after the visit.

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Written by Mel Suiter
Graduated from Eastern Michigan University in 2002 and have been working as a beat writer for The Ypsilanti Courier covering Eastern Michigan University football and men's basketball during my school career and after graduation. I like the Mid-American Conference and the rest of the mid-major conferences.