The 2021 Rams Reflect is the sixth in a series of annual collections. Senior captains and representatives of Suffolk teams have been invited to contribute viewpoints based on personal experience from both their senior seasons and full varsity careers at Suffolk.
For a complete listing of past and present Rams’ Reflections, click here.
Brendan Mulson | Hometown: Albany, N.Y. | Marketing
The first thing I want to say is that I just feel blessed. I feel blessed for what my life has turned into these last four years, I feel like I could write for hours about the experiences that I’ve had here at Suffolk and in Boston, but I want to start with where and how it all started.
In my opinion it started when I was four years old when my parents introduced me to organized basketball. Back then I was just playing a game that was fun, I had no idea the places it would take me and the things that it would teach me along the way, so for that I would like to thank my mom and my dad for exposing me to something that would change my life forever. Throughout high school I never imagined going very far away from home for college, but thanks to the interest that Coach Juron had in me I was able to get this wild opportunity to go play the game that I love in a city that I had never been to before. Upon my visit I knew that this was the place that I was going to come to for the next four years, which turned into a love that I now have for living in a city on a daily basis. After graduation I want to pursue making it back to living in a city for the rest of my young years. Little did I know at the time of my visit that not everyone’s college career works out as well as I feel mine has.
I’d like to acknowledge the people who have been there to guide me not only on the court, but also throughout my tribulations off of it, my coaches. From freshman year to now, every coach I’ve ever had has made an impact on me; Coach Wheeler, Coach ARob, Coach Tobin, Coach Sharkey, Coach Liberty, Coach Harris and finally Coach Juron. We’ve had our good times and definitely some bad, but I would like all of you guys to know that I took different lessons from each of you and those experiences will definitely serve me well for the rest of my life. You guys pushed me on the days that I didn’t want to be pushed and were real with me on the days that I didn’t want to hear it from anyone, this taught me that having people in your life who have experienced more than you is the most important thing to have if you want to grow as a person beyond the lines of the game. You don’t realize how much time your coaches take out of their day to help you, until you start to realize how busy these guys really are. Their commitment to the team doesn’t get talked about enough, especially when coaching at this level.
I have full confidence that with the culture we have built as a whole, this program will never be an easy game for any opposing team and we will be feared on everyone’s schedule for years to come. Suffolk basketball is a force to be reckoned with now and I believe that in my years playing here, we all created that. So for all that you guys have taught me, I would just like to say that I feel blessed to be able to know you all and I hope that this is not the last time we cross paths.
Making that decision as a 17 year old kid to take a leap of faith and attend school far away from home in a big city, without knowing anything or anyone going into it, was one of the better decisions that I’ve ever made. I can still vividly remember what I was feeling like on that long car ride to Boston for my first day of college back in 2017. Getting put into a group chat of about 20 guys who I was hours away from meeting was extremely nerve racking at first. These guys who I’d come to know as brothers welcomed me with open arms and I am thankful every day for that. Being a freshman, the only thing I wanted to do is fit in and they made it easy, I was able to earn myself a prominent role on the team throughout the fall and not one guy ever put me down for it. I remember our first scrimmage getting the opportunity to start was shocking, getting on the court and throwing up five bricks in a row and hearing from my teammates “keep shooting.” Any of those guys could have handled that differently, but hearing those words gave me the confidence to be myself for the rest of my years at Suffolk. So, to my future youngins coming to play for this program, every time you throw on a Suffolk uniform you have to play with an intensity and a chip on your shoulder like you’re the worst team in the league, but also a confidence and appreciation like you’re the best team in the league. Play with your heart on your sleeve and with your head on your shoulders.
The things that I’ll remember the most aren’t who scored the most points or what our record was each year. The things that I’ll remember the most are those tough New Years day practices where every other Suffolk kid is in their hometown laying in their bed, the tough losses, the long bus rides to and from games, the battles at fall pickup sessions, the late nights out together on the weekends, the daily grind of practice, the hours in the locker room, the first time ever meeting each other and the last time saying peace out. Having a situation where you see the same people every day for five months at a time, grinding in the trenches together gives you perspective on them that you don't normally get with most people. Some people from the outside looking in couldn’t understand why I put so much time into “just playing D3 basketball”, but these people don’t see what happens beyond the lines of the game. These memories will last me a lifetime and I can confidently say that I’ve made lifelong friends throughout this process and it has been a process to say the least. I feel like I have grown up so much in the last four years and basketball has done more for me than I could have ever imagined. Basketball taught me what it’s like to push through adversity no matter how you’re feeling, it taught me what it’s like to compromise for the greater good of the whole and most importantly it taught me that there’s absolutely nothing more important than the relationships we build with people with the time we have here. Suffolk has given me the opportunity to experience the world in a way that maybe wouldn’t have been possible if I chose differently back in 2017.
If I had to put into words what my greatest achievement was throughout my life so far, it would be the impact that I’ve made on my teammates and coaches, the program and the school itself, all the while putting myself in a position to have that same impact made on me.
Thank you Suffolk.
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