Roberta Sweet-Brown, a Delta ramp agent at Atlanta International Airport, was off from work last Wednesday and having the oil changed on her truck when she got one of the most memorable phone calls of her life.
It was University of Miami basketball coach Jim Larrañaga, informing her that her son Bruce, a freshman guard with the Hurricanes, had been named to the Atlantic Coast Conference All-Academic Team — an honor that requires a minimum 3.0 grade-point average.
Sweet-Brown burst into tears, and nearly broke down again when she discussed it a few days later.
She said that news was more exciting than watching her son score 30 points against North Carolina, more thrilling than seeing him scorch Duke for 25 points or record the second triple-double in UM history.