If Kendall Marshall has ever inspired anyone to follow his or her dream, you’d think it would be a basketball-related dream.
This was not the case, however, for one UNC student who was Twitter-stalking UNC’s former point guard.
“I was on Twitter one day, and I was looking at Kendall Marshall — former UNC point guard’s — Twitter profile, and it says, ‘I once climbed a mountain, just to see how tall it was.’ I realized, there’s no chance that Kendall Marshall ever climbed a mountain, and I actually wanted to,” said Scott, sophomore.
After deciding that he was going to climb a mountain, Scott found the highest mountain in the United States that was not located in Alaska and recruited his friend Ben to go with him.
“I asked my friends and Ben was only one who thought I was serious and we booked our flights the next day,” Scott said.
The mountain they chose was Mt. Whitney, located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California and rising an impressive 14,505 feet.
How do the guys plan to achieve this undertaking? How are they preparing their bodies for those 14,505 feet?
“Right now we are fully sedentary for the next two months. Sweating is off limits,” said Ben. The two climbers feel complete and total rest is the best approach for this goal. Ben mentioned fried foods as their diet plan.
As with any goal, people are responding in different ways. Some people have expressed their doubt that Scott and Ben will succeed or even climb the mountain at all.
UNC sophomore and Fraternity brother to Scott and Ben, Matt Maurino is one such “hater,” as Scott and Ben like to call them.
“Frankly, I think it’s pretty foolish, not having any experience or not doing any activity. I think it’s a bad idea,” Maurino said.
While Maurino doesn’t think the two will succeed, he also doesn’t think that they will die.
“I don’t think they will die because I don’t think either of them has the drive to see this through to death.”
There are many others who share Maurino’s feelings, but Scott and Ben also have supporters.
“There are some people who think it’s hilarious and are very supportive about the whole thing.”
Kendall Marshall, the original muse for the idea, is among these supporters.
On Tuesday, March 19th when the story broke on the internet, Marshall tweeted, “s/o to Scott and Ben, I have faith in you. Operation ‘Started from the Bottom’ #PleaseDontDie.”
“At this point, we’re America’s sweethearts right now. It’s all eyes on us,” said Ben.
“I think heroes is the word to describe what we’re becoming.”
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