By
Ryan Finley
To most people in McKale Center, last night's 65-54 victory against Oregon State wasn't much of a game. The play was sloppy, the tempo was slow, and the highlights were few.
Just don't try to tell that to Susan Edgerson, the mother of senior forward Eugene Edgerson.
Think the kneepad-wearing senior forward is eccentric? Try meeting his mother, who is visiting Tucson from her home in New Orleans to see Gene play his final home games.
Susan Edgerson, who proudly sports an authentic No. 33 jersey and takes great pride in getting UA students into the game, was a blur of energy during the game. Some say she gets more of a workout cheering than her son does playing.
"I ain't got no shame," she said, trying to catch her breath at halftime. "I acted the same when he played at (St. Augustine High School in New Orleans), when he played 'bitty' ball as a kid, and when he played AAU ball. You're supposed to have fun."
After years of play, Gene is beyond getting embarrassed.
Midway through the first half, Susan Edgerson brought the fans behind the south basket to their feet when she held up a sign that read, "Listen to Gene's mom and stand up!"
Gene, sitting on the bench at the time, couldn't help but laugh.
"She's crazy, man," he said after the game. "Here's a woman who's going to cheer her son to the end. She's a woman with a lot of energy."
On the outside, it seems as if Gene and his mom have little in common.
Relatively smaller with tightly-cropped bleached hair, Susan Edgerson doesn't stand out in a crowd like her son does.
But you don't have to look far to find Susan's eccentricity in her son.
For nearly five years, Edgerson has been known as the outlandish player with the afro haircut, the old-school shoes and high socks. He attributes his rebellious nature - both on and off the court - to his mom. When Edgerson was asked to take a week off to evaluate his role on the team in early January, it was his mom that supported his actions.
"He defied the norm," she said. "Eugene is the backbone. Eugene gave up so much for this team and this school. The older Gene gets, the more of me comes into Gene."
Edgerson - and the entire UA basketball team - has noticed his change.
"You can ask my teammates," he says. "They're like, 'Yep, you must be kin to her. We understand why you're crazy because she's crazy.'"
Gene has rewarded his mom's loyalty with rings - lots of them. Somehow, rings just don't go too well with kneepads and old-school shoes.
"I got all the rings," she says proudly. "I got the (high school championship) ring, I got the class ring from St. Augustine's, I got the NCAA ring, I got the school ring, I got the Pac-10 ring."
As her son's UA career comes to an end, Susan Edgerson seems to finally be getting her life back.
She graduated from Southern University in December with a degree in social work and is "putting some feelers out" for a job.
"I've been in school since Eugene was a junior in high school," she said. "It's mama's time."
At the end of the weekend, Susan Edgerson will head home to New Orleans to take care of her other children, including Chad, 18, who is developmentally disabled.
"Chad is just a basketball junkie," Gene says. "He'll watch tapes of me playing over and over - he can tell you what I'm going to do or what another team member's going to do."
When she gets home, she'll try to find a way to put her degree to work. She'll try to find a way to get to the NCAA Tournament. She'll try to find a way to get the late-night UA games on television.
But for now - for this weekend - Susan Edgerson is proud to be the mother of one of the most unforgettable Wildcats in program history.
"If I'm not going to back him up, then who's going to back him up?" she asks. "Of course, he got his ball from me. I own McKale."
You're wrong, Mrs. Edgerson. Your son does.
