Waudda has lupus, and the disease can leave her in the hospital for weeks, but somehow she and her wife Manasin Copeland, who have raised Faried for the past 10 years, have managed to see almost every important basketball game he's played. They, along with Kyra, were in�attendance when Morehead State clinched the NCAA automatic bid by winning the Ohio Valley Conference on March 5. At the end of the game, Faried jumped over his team bench and ran up into the stands to hug his parents and grab Kyra to bring her down onto the floor with him for the celebration.
They are his guide, his inspiration, and without them, Faried says, he wouldn't be playing against Louisville in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Thursday.
"They pushed me, basically, to be the man I am today," Faried said. "They made me a better person. My mother made me a better person all my life and my daughter made me better just by coming into my life. She made me just want to be that much better of a man and supportive for her. Everything I do is pointed toward her, good, bad or indifferent. She's my shadow. Whatever I do, I want her to do better."
This time last year, Faried didn't know if he'd get an NCAA moment to share with daughter. Morehead State had just lost in the finals of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament, dashing any dreams of a repeat trip to the NCAA's. In 2009, the Eagles won their conference tournament and played in the NCAA first round as a 16-seed against No. 1 Louisville. They lost 74-54 and Faried wanted desperately to avenge the loss.
But there he was a year later, sitting in an interview room fielding questions about his team's loss and his future and unsure how to answer either. He was scared about becoming a father for the first time. He was unsure whether he was ready to make the jump to the NBA. But both things were staring him right in the face.
"It was kind of hard my junior year because I had a daughter on the way and I didn't know what to do and it was kind of a stressful moment," Faried said. "I was upset and heartbroken because we lost the conference championship. I was at the table at the interviews and the interviewer was asking me if I was upset and it was just so depressing to sit there and know that you just lost and there's nothing you can do about it. No looking back. And I said at the end of all the interviews that we'll be back next year and it will be a different result if I decide to come back."
And keep his promise of an NCAA tournament berth.
"I wanted to test the waters because of myself. I thought maybe I could make it," Faried said. "But then I pulled out because I didn't feel as though I was ready. I tested the waters for myself and my mom more than anything."
This past year, Faried has proven that now he's more than ready to make the move to the next level. He set the NCAA all-time rebounding record back in February and notched his 84th career double-double in the Ohio Valley Conference final, which tied Ralph Sampson for second all-time and is just three shy of Tim Duncan's all-time record.
And Thursday he'll get to avenge that NCAA tournament loss from his sophomore season. Faried said after the last loss to Louisville, he learned that he and his teammates could play with anyone, but that in order for them to be successful, he needed to get bigger and stronger.
He's done that and then some. NBA mock drafts have Faried listed as a first-round draft pick and he'll have a chance to up that status on the NCAA's best stage. But the best part for him is that he'll get to do it in front of his mother, who arrives in Denver on Wednesday, and his daughter, who will probably be watching at home.
"People dream of this day and my dream came true twice," Faried said. "If it wasn't 'cause of [Kyra] and my mother, I probably wouldn't be dancing. They pushed me to the point that it makes me want to be better in doing the things that I do."
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