The Blessing Behind the Hardship: The Story of McCune's Mother

Note: this feature ran on GoldenGrizzlies.com on Sunday, Nov. 15

By Catherine Slonksnis
GoldenGrizzlies.com Contributor

Growing up, Oakland forward Tommie McCune would go to the grocery store with his mom for more than the fun of it. Latricia Mitchell taught her son how to shop for more than just snacks and candy. She taught him how to balance a checkbook, cook, be responsible. Latricia was her son's biggest cheerleader, fan, and critic.

No one in Latricia's neighborhood made better tacos, folks would suddenly drop by for a visit when she made those famous tacos. She was tough, but she cared deeply about her son. Latricia never pushed Tommie to pursue basketball. She peaked his interest at an early age by placing a ball in his hands, but it was Tommie's decision to go after it.

In high school Tommie kept himself occupied with basketball while his mother worked, to make life easier for her. When they spent time together, Latricia and Tommie would rent a movie, although they never made it through without falling asleep on the couch. His mom's favorite shows were soap operas, and Days of Our Lives was at the top of that list.

College didn't initially agree with McCune. Being far from home while he attended West Virginia University was difficult and when he came home for the holidays, Tommie didn't want to leave. "I'm not sending you back for basketball, I'm sending you back to get an education," she'd say. "You'd be the first one in our family to graduate from college, think of the bigger picture." So Tommie got on the bus and went back.

McCune struggled after he transferred to Oakland University in 2012. He was a top-100 recruit -- a first for Oakland -- but by his own admission Tommie had a hard time staying out of trouble. He sat out his first year with the Golden Grizzlies partially due to a suspension from the team before he was later reinstated.

Latricia kept up with her son and she was always at the games. Between his mom and coach Greg Kampe, who pushed Tommie to make better choices, McCune began to turn things around. He spent time with a better group of people, his focus increased, and Tommie studied harder.

When Latricia learned she had cancer she initially kept the news to herself, but in the last month before she passed away, she and Tommie spent hours on the phone. Two hours turned into three, three turned into four. Tommie's last phone conversation with his mother lasted five hours, about two weeks before she died.

The two talked about everything from Tommie's father -- who wasn't in his life growing up -- to the life lessons Latricia had taught her son throughout the years. That conversation remains one of Tommie's best memories of his mother. It represented everything she meant to him and how deep of a bond they shared; not even a telephone could diminish it.

The call that Latricia was in the hospital came late at night and McCune rushed to the hospital with the help of his girlfriend, who drove him there. Tommie slept in her room at the hospital, refusing to leave his mother's side.

The day she passed, Tommie remembers tearing up at the sight of his mother in bed but she wouldn't have it. There was no crying allowed while she was still alive, something Tommie still smiles about. Then she was gone, just weeks after being diagnosed.

"It just happened so quick, especially with the way that me and my mom were, it was like the second that it hit me that she was gone, just a big piece of me just left," McCune said. "Even now there's times where I have a problem or something to do with life and I'll catch myself calling my mom and the number's disconnected. You sit down for 25 minutes trying to keep from crying."

At the request of the Athletics Department, Oakland University received special permission from the NCAA to pay for Latricia's funeral. The funeral home was so full with family and friends that both adjacent rooms needed to be opened. Family members who couldn't stand each other sat side-by-side and Tommie's whole team was there. Tommie's priorities had changed following his mom's passing though and McCune's eight-year-old brother, Branden, needed to be taken care of. Concerned, Kampe called McCune into his office and had a long conversation about his future. As a result, Tommie chose to continue attending Oakland.

"I have a tremendous respect for him (Kampe) and everyone at Oakland University," McCune said. "When you've got someone fighting for you, someone pushing you to better and you got someone doing the things that coach Kampe does for you, I gotta do something for him. All he asks is stay out of trouble, go to class, play hard. That's the least I can do because I could never repay him the way I want to, in the sense that he really changed my life."

Not a day passes that Tommie doesn't wear his mother's necklace, something that helps let him know everything will be alright. Latricia was more than Tommie's cheerleader, she taught him how to become an adult. Ask McCune and he'll tell you his mother was the strongest woman there ever was. Not just because of the cancer but because that's just the way she was, and that's the kind of man Tommie hopes to one day become.