Octopus. Yes, the eight-legged, slimy sea creature that you probably would rather not encounter in the ocean. This is what I ate. Anyone who truly knows me knows that I am probably the pickiest eater of all time. I stay fit on a regular diet of McDonald’s and Cherry Coke. I don’t eat vegetables, I don’t drink water, and I surely don’t eat random exotic feasts. But today, I made an exception.

After eating at Chris Webber’s restaurant in Sacramento following the Cougars’ victory, we ran into starting guard Derrick Low, who was basking in the glory of the team’s 26th victory of the season — tying the school record — and he introduced me to his father Ken, his brother Dustin, his aunt Pam and uncle Pat, who said he is responsible for Derrick’s sweet stroke. It was nice to meet some of the people behind the soft-spoken Low.

After leaving the restaurant we headed back to the hotel, where I was going to try and write one of these ridiculous blogs my boss told me I needed to write. Then I realized I had left my backpack — which included the school’s laptop — back at the restaurant. We smashed back to restaurant, grabbed my bag, and stopped at a Shell gas station to grab some snacks, and guess who was there? It was Derrick Low’s family again.

His father, Ken, recognized me from earlier and asked if we drank. I gave him the puzzled look like, Helllllooooo, we go to school in Pullman, what the hell else would we do? “Of course we drink,” I replied. “Well you guys should come up to our room and drink and eat some raw fish.” “Great,” I told him, and in less than half an hour, we were drinking and eating octopus with the Low family. How ridiculous.
And what a jovial group of people the Low family was. Hospitable and genuine, all they cared about was the Cougars proving doubters wrong, and kicking back and drinking beer and eating exotic food.

The topics ranged in every direction, from crazy foods to Hawaiian life to Dick Bennett. Ken told us how he was sitting just a couple seats down from the Cougars’ former coach, and he saw him tossing and turning in his chair as the Cougars fell behind early. They said they saw him get upset, stand up and race down the stairs yelling, “Stop bailing them out.”

These people were amazing. They fed us beer after beer, one rubbery tentacle after another, and talked incessantly about their love of the Cougar basketball team and the community of Pullman.

Derrick’s brother Dustin showed us his tattoo — the same one his brother sports on his right leg — and he told us the significance. They told us about the traditions and culture in Hawaii, how the people are of all different cultures, and how more than anything else, they value their people and their families. And they talked about Derrick, how he is always even keel, how he celebrated the Cougars’ No. 3 seed with just a silent fist pump, instead of screaming and jumping up and down like the rest of the team. How Derrick always plays within himself, and how the entire team is worthy of all the accolades and accomplishments they have earned this season.

Pat talked of the time Derrick drove the lane in his high school’s championship game, and dunked on a guy who was 6-foot-6. He said he knew from the time Derrick was 8 or 9 he was going to be special at basketball. Even at the young age, Derrick’s team was running plays for him, running him around multiple screens and springing him for 3-pointers. Opponents still haven’t figured out how to stop that.

Ken talked about meeting the rest of the Cougars the other day, and how humble and genuine they truly are. “You just don’t see athletes act the way they do these days,” Ken said. “There is never anyone that goes into every game saying that he needs to get his points, and that’s why they are good.”

After four hours, it was time to hit the sack, but what an experience this was. Running into our leading scorer’s family, and having them be as cool as their son is on the court, was refreshing. And they even got me to eat octopus.

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