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twitterUNLV BASKETBALL:
Losses or injury, ‘Mama Wink’ does her best to console
Monday, Jan. 12, 2009 | 2:10 a.m.
UNLV guard Wink Adams takes the ball up the court during the second half of their Mountain West Conference opener against New Mexico at the Thomas & Mack Center earlier this month. Adams returned to the lineup after missing the game against Louisville due to an injury.
The Rebel Room
TCU POSTGAME: Rebels fall after playing small
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Ryan Greene and Rob Miech discuss UNLV's first Mountain West loss of the season, as the Rebels fell to TCU on Saturday afternoon in Fort Worth, 80-73. The guys talk about just what went wrong after Lon Kruger went with a smaller lineup to start the game, then stuck with it for much of the afternoon. Plus, a look a bit down the road at just how UNLV can make up for their first league stumble. Also, is TCU for real in the MWC race?
FORT WORTH, Texas – Watching her baby boy Wink walk away from her Saturday hurt Reandre Adams almost as much as it did when he left Houston that first time for Las Vegas.
In Wink Adams’s return to the UNLV starting lineup, the Rebels lost to TCU in the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
She held him early Saturday night. He looked up at her. She kissed his forehead.
“Keep your head up and smile,” said ‘Mama Wink,’ as she is known all over Houston. “This will hurt. You’ll hear negative things. You’ll hear this and that. Get on that bus and let them know it’s OK.
“You’re the captain. Say, ‘Look y’all, we’ll be all right. We got the next game to worry about.’”
Mama Wink held back tears.
“It hurt to see him walk away,” she said while sniffling. “He doesn’t know how much I wanted to walk behind him. I’ll be OK, but I miss him a whole lot.”
She could not hide a wave of tears when Wink first left Houston for UNLV. That was the first time he saw his mother cry.
He had nearly entered the airport gate when he turned back to wave to his mother. He saw the tears. He walked back to her and wiped one from her left eye with his right thumb.
He wiped it on his right cheek.
“Mama, what’s wrong?” Wink said. “I’ll be strong for you.”
Strangers stopped in their tracks to console Mama Wink, telling her it will be all right. Right there in the airport. He’ll go to college and everything will be all right, they said.
“Yes, he’s on his way,” she said. “It was just amazing. My tears were rolling down onto that floor. He doesn’t like to see me cry. It bothers him. He’s been strong ever since.”
A 45-year-old hairdresser, Mama Wink was working late Dec. 23 at Kut Creations, on Tidwell Road in northeast Houston, when the first of several calls came about Wink falling against Southern Utah.
He was injured. It didn’t look good.
“I was really in shock,” she said. “I was scared. I couldn’t stop cutting a customer’s hair. I didn’t know whether to put on a jacket, get some flying wings and go out there.”
Moments later, her cell phone rang. It was Wink. He had a UNLV official fetch his phone so he could call her.
“Baby, you OK?” she said.
“I’m all right,” said Adams, 23. “Mama, I’m all right.”
In high school, Wink once banged his head into someone else’s. Blood streamed down his face. Another time, he injured a leg. She heard that same voice.
I’m all right.
“That’s a strong kid,” she said. “I just watched a tape of his fall. Tears were rolling down again. Oh, that tore me up. They picked him up. Everyone was clapping. There was nothing I could have done.
“I couldn’t fly to him. I couldn’t get to him. I knew the Runnin’ Rebels would take care of Wink Adams.”
In front of his mother, and about 30 relatives, friends and a few former coaches, he passed Larry Johnson for 13th on UNLV’s career scoring chart Saturday.
Wink was about to turn 5 when he and his mother watched UNLV win a national championship on television in 1990. Mama Wink loved watching Johnson play ball.
Wink declared he’d play for the Rebels one day.
“And look at him now,” said Mama Wink. “He beat LJ on the charts. Amazing. We were sitting there, watching LJ play. And my baby went to UNLV and caught LJ.
“It felt so warm at the TCU game. All our friends from ‘H-town’ were there to see Winky play. It was beautiful.”
In middle school, Winky was so good with the sousaphone and tuba –- especially the tuba –- there was talk about a band scholarship.
“Man, when he was blowing that big ol’ tuba thing on his shoulder, I was thinking, ‘This boy has talent.’” said Mama Wink. “Teachers told me he could play any instrument. They told me he’s such a good role model.”
Like they always do, a few locals approached Mama Wink at a grocery store in her neighborhood Sunday morning. How’s Winky, they ask. Fine, she says.
Inevitably, kids always ask her if they can come around her home. They need help with their homework, or they want to know about the rights and wrongs in life.
Look at Winky and his older brother, Jarvis, they say.
“I was amazed,” said Mama Wink. “I couldn’t even continue shopping. I didn’t even want them to see my eyes watering.”
Ron Turner, who coached Wink at Gulf Shores Academy, raved about the source of his energy, enthusiasm and work ethic after Saturday’s game.
“I give her a lot of credit,” Turner said. “I’ve never seen a single parent deal with her child the way she dealt with him. What they’ve accomplished is incredible.”
She invites anyone in need of a talk, homework help, food or a place to sleep into her home. Those nine-hour shifts are starting to tax her feet, but she’s strong.
“I wish I could help all the kids in the world,” she said. “People know that Mama Wink cares about everybody. My love, my care, my hugging and my shoulders, they need to use them.
“I’m there.”
Discussion: 11 comments so far…
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Rob, the LVSun coverage of the UNLV basketball team has been UNREAL. I just wanted to say thank you and for all that you and the paper are doing for us UNLV fans. This kind of coverage has been a long time coming--and for a long, long time lacking here locally.
Everything from the in-game blogs, inside stories on UNLV players and coaches, and the various high-resolution videos has been amazing. Thanks again and keep up the good work.
Rebelred22 is right. We are very thankful for the job you guys have been doing.
And we love Mama Wink too!
Ha ha ha, jerry and rebel, Mama Wink is an incredible person. If she could, she'd like to wrap her arms around all of Vegas and thank it for how it's treated her son. She loves all Rebels fans. It looks like she'll be out here for Senior Night on March 4 vs. Air Force. Anyone and everyone is welcomed to approach her and talk with her, she would like nothing else. She is so thankful for so much, regardless if Wink moves on, makes tens of millions and puts her in a big home sooner than later. She said, if that happens, it happens. He is a class act, and it is very easy to see where he gets all of his moxie, manners and toughness.
This story doesn't do her justice, though. You have got to meet her.
And you are welcome for the coverage. We're just getting bigger and better, and we have much more planned to keep you all into the action and behind-the-scenes stories.
Yes, beyond the disagreements, joy, frustration and jubilation we're very ecstatic about the energy and effort you guys put into the Rebels. It is simply fantastic and unprecedented in the valley. Rob, it seems you've been the busiest lately with the articles, so I'll point you out and say that you're a good dude and that you actually seem to enjoy UNLV, unlike other reporters, writers or disc jockeys that work here locally with the Rebels. They're from different parts of the country, have their fixed loyalties......and it shows in their work. However, this seems not be the case with those employed by the Sun and it's just wonderful.
Appreciate it Fast. Well, not sure what to say. Can't talk about anyone else but me. Been in the biz for 21 years and was lucky enough to see UCLA win the national title in 95. I covered the Bruins, hoops and pigskin, for more than 10 years.
Enough about me. I just think it's the least I can do for fans. This whole operation is awesome, especially the interaction with fans. You deserve the best. If you have a particular question or query, zip us a message, either here or via an e-mail. We'll get to it asap. The Shark Bytes, too. That has gotten a tremendous reception. Again, that's all about fans. Thanks a ton
Mr humble... :) Cant speak for all rebel fans, but I just want to let rob and everyone at the sun that we appreciate you. Appreciate your insight and the long hours. Oh yeah.. not to mention your job requires... forces.... MAKES you sit through UNLV running rebel basketball games. Ha.. My dream job. Thanks again.
Rob,
Did you see Bill Bayno quit the job at Loyola. Something about "stress related to being a head coach"
just saw the update on the Sun's mainpage. Guess you guys have it covered
yeah Jerry, too bad. Sounds like that was a load of stress from the start. Too bad. Hopefully he gets it worked out and has a healthy and productive life.
Another great article, thanks Rob. Usually, great kids like Wink are the result of some awesome parenting. I just want to thank Mama Wink for raising such a fine example of a young man. I'm proud that he's representing the university, the team, and all of us Rebel fans everywhere. And it doesn't hurt that he's a Texan, of course. Finally, I would like to echo everybody else's comments above about the Sun. Your coverage of UNLV athletics has been just simply amazing. I don't live in MWC market, so anything that I can get on the Rebels, I'm extremely thankful for.
Awesome, Texan. We appreciate the feedback, no doubt. It's gratifying to hear such comments. We're setting the bar high but will keep setting it higher. Thanks a lot!