My Losing Season

The Citadel stare is a term used by Conroy and other members of the basketball program to describe the expression that cadets often have on their faces. This expression is likely due to their experience of going through the plebe system and the continued extreme discipline that is required of cadets at The Citadel. In Chapter 19, while summarizing a tirade by his coach during halftime, Conroy describes the Citadel stare as his coach’s “most despised manifestation of our school’s influence on his game plan” (237).

Green weenies was the nickname that Citadel basketball players gave the group of players that typically never got into actual games but formed a solid second unit as a practice team going against the starting unit of players. Conroy and the other members of the green weenies took much pride in their roles of practicing against the starting unit and cheering them on during games. Conroy was unique in that he began his senior season as a member of the green weenies, but he eventually earned playing time and moved into the starting lineup.