Moon Township, Pa. – Tiny Cove City, N.C., conjures images of Norman Rockwell paintings. Sprawling cornfields and tree-lined roadways envelop this town of 400.
The mood is generally laid-back and peaceful, and everybody knows everybody.
Robert Morris University senior forward
Aaron Tate proudly calls Cove City home. This is where he played his first basketball game, learned how to rebound from his stepfather, Allen Hall, and established an unassuming and introspective personality.
"I think there might be one stop sign there," said Tate, a fifth-year senior who received a medical redshirt after missing all but three games last season due to injury. "I live out in the sticks. It's pretty quiet. And that's how I am. I don't like to draw much attention to myself."
That's why Tate was relatively unmoved after his blocked shot helped to preserve a 66-63 victory against St. Francis Brooklyn in the 2015 NEC Tournament title game.
If not for his feverish sprint downcourt in the waning moments, the Colonials might have missed out on an NCAA Tournament berth and a subsequent First Four victory against North Florida.
While his teammates celebrated the program's eighth trip to the Big Dance, Tate remained relatively muted.
At least, on the outside.
"I'm not an enthusiastic person, but in those moments, my mind is going crazy," he said. "Everybody was jumping around, celebrating. I felt the same way, but you just wouldn't know it by my body language. I just kind of wipe it off, but inside, I'm going crazy, too."
Tate was hardly the headliner for that memorable 2014-15 team. Yet he was a profound difference-maker.
So much so that coach Andy Toole and his staff selected him as the team MVP.
It didn't matter that he ranked ninth in scoring (3.8 points per game) and fourth in rebounding (4.4). His contributions superseded statistics.
"The award is for most valuable, right?," Toole said in reference to Tate, who arrived at RMU as a sophomore after playing a season at Dodge City Community College. "To us, there's a lot of value to things other than points and rebounds. You look at a guy like Aaron and you see the consistency he brings every day. It's the way he carries himself and how he knows the scouting report, how he plays on both ends of the floor. I can think of four or five plays that he made from that NCAA Tournament season that won games for us. You think back on that game-saving block and you say, 'How did that happen?' It's because he's prepared for everything. That's an MVP."
Tate played through pain in his legs throughout much of the 2014-15 season. He initially thought it was shin splints, but the condition worsened.
Undeterred, the player whom Toole calls the Colonials' "Glue Guy" stuck it out. He knew no other way.
"The adrenaline pushed me through," Tate said. "I wasn't about to miss anything. Even though it might not have been the best choice, I decided to work through it and worry about it later. I don't regret it. To get a chance to be a part of the NCAA Tournament, where we were getting police escorts and given a chance to compete in such a great event, words really can't explain it."
After enduring a rigorous rehabilitation program in the offseason, Tate had hoped to be at full strength entering 2015-16. But after three games, he still struggled. Something was amiss.
"It was a tough time for me," he said. "Frustrating."
Diagnosed with compartment syndrome, a malady in which his legs lacked sufficient blood flow, he was forced to undergo surgery and missed the rest of the season.
He succeeded in getting a fifth year of eligibility in the offseason due to the medical hardship.
"We're glad to have him back out there with a chance to finish his career on a high note," Toole said. "He certainly deserves it."
To open the season, Tate said he was out of synch. His mind wasn't in the right place and his focus wasn't up to his high standards.
"I was throwing my own pity party," said Tate, who's averaging 6.0 points and a team-best 8.8 rebounds. "I went off into my own world and didn't say much to anybody. That wasn't the right thing to do. I guess maybe I was putting too much pressure on myself. I had to say, 'This is not how this is going to go.'
"Now, I feel everything is back on track. Things are getting back to normal. I like to be precise, perfect."
If Tate sounds like a future mechanical engineer, that's because he is. He likes to analyze and strategize, and he's always looking for the best angle. Literally.
"I'm not going to lie, if I'm not as precise as I can be, it wears on me," said Tate, one of four seniors on a youthful Colonials team. "For example, if someone scores on me, I get mad because I think, if I would have calculated things better, if I would have been in the exact position, I wouldn't have given up those points. I feel like I should have those things measured out.
"It can be a good thing and a bad thing. I wouldn't say I always have to be perfect, but ..."
Tate paused, before finishing the thought.
"Well, the way I look at is, if you're going to do something, do it to the best of your ability. That's always been my approach."
A winning approach. An MVP approach.
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