NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT : Rhode Island’s Biggest Fan Has Never Actually Seen Rams Play

Tom Garrick Sr. will follow his son and his Rhode Island teammates as far as they go in the NCAA tournament without ever getting to see him, at least the way other spectators do.

The elder Garrick has been blind for 43 years, losing his sight when he stepped on a mine in Germany during World War II.

He has never seen his wife or their eight children. A native of South Carolina, he met his wife in Pennsylvania. She was a nurse who helped him during his recovery and rehabilitation. They married two years later.

Garrick also has not seen any of his grandchildren, one of whom slept on his lap after the Rams upset Syracuse, 97-94, Saturday in the East Regional.

When Syracuse’s last bid to tie the score failed--Earl Duncan’s three-point shot spun out of the basket--and the buzzer sounded, the younger Garrick did a half-court victory run and looked up to where his father, sister Stacy and brother John, were seated.

The elder Garrick knew what had happened because Stacy and John kept up a running commentary on the game.

“I think he’s one of the greatest,” the elder Garrick said of his namesake. “I’m just so happy for him and myself because when he came out of high school, everybody wanted to recruit him as a (Division II) player. He felt he could play (Division I) ball.”

Garrick, a senior, proved he was right, averaging 20 points a game in the regular season and leading Rhode Island to within striking distance of top-ranked Temple for the Atlantic 10 title.

The elder Garrick is a craftsman, and he has used blindness to build his attitude. “If you want to do something bad enough, you can if you put your mind and heart in it,” he said.

He’ll be in East Rutherford, N.J., Thursday when Rhode Island plays in the regional semifinals. “I believe they’re going all the way,” Garrick said.