Tough times pass. Tough people last.  

It's about never giving up on yourself or your team. It's about believing that adversity is an opportunity for redemption, that nothing can break you even in the darkest moments of a game, season or life. It's a reminder that a loss does not define you and that each moment in your journey presents a new opportunity to prove yourself.

 "It really symbolizes what our teams are about," ASU head coach Chris Beard said. "We don't claim to be the best coaches or that we always have the top talent in every game. But what we do take pride in is that there is not going to be a team that is tougher than we are. We are almost sick in the way that we embrace adversity and want to overcome whatever we are going through with basketball and in life."

Angelo State (26-5) is in the NCAA Division II South Central Championship this weekend two years removed from a 7-19 record and with a team that has only two players who were on the roster last season. As talented as the Rams are this season, they are a collection of players who many had given up on. They came to San Angelo not knowing each other to form a team which has believed in each other, their coaches and themselves throughout the season. It's possible to pretend like the winningest season in program history just happened, that a few lucky recruiting trips by associate head coach Cinco Boone and Beard paid off and then it just clicked and now they're here in the regional tournament. But that's not how things work in life or in college basketball. It's a team full of guys who have embraced the second-chance opportunity to believe in themselves and dedicate themselves to their team in grueling practices, film study and in competition.

"This year's team has embraced it perfectly and that's why we are having a good season," Beard said. "They've been a lot of fun to coach because they have embraced the daily grind that is college basketball. It's a process and I can't remember a group that has been this close. We have bought into the same things even though we are all from different backgrounds and have taken different paths to get here. Everyone has their own story on this team, but we all believe in toughness and believe in each other. We know life will throw you curveballs, but it's how you respond to them that will define who you are as a person.

"We first saw how tough this team was this season with Dakota Rawls and Kyle Vasher having season-ending injuries," he added. "Those were going to be great guys for our team and there have been things personally for everyone on this team that could have distracted us from what we were trying to accomplish this season, but they have not allowed that to happen. We are no different from any other team in that aspect, but we have handled our adversity head-on and are a stronger team because of it."

Beard has lived the "Tough times pass. Tough people last" philosophy since 1999 during his first season as a head coach at Fort Scott Community College. That season started with a rough loss where they got 'hammered' by Butler County, a team led by future NBA players Tony Allen and Kasib Powell, and coached by hall of famer Dennis Helms. Beard's first game as a head coach resulted in the lopsided loss before his team evened their record at 1-1 with a home win. The third game came at State Fair Community College and was lost in the last minute.

"We were 1-2 and felt like the world was falling down around us," Beard said. "We got on the bus after another tough loss and we got back to the office late that night. My assistant J.T. Locklear and I were just sitting there at 3 a.m. a little dazed. I was just staring at my desk and started thinking about the things I had believed in all my life. On a piece of paper I wrote down 'Tough Times Pass. Tough People Last'. I'm sure someone had had that statement before, but that was the first time I had ever said it or remember hearing it. Over the next couple of weeks players came into the office and saw the paper and read what it said. It really became something for that team.

"It wasn't a cheesy fake thing, but instead we really believed it," he added. "We knew that we had been going through some tough times, but we also knew that we had some tough people on our team and that we could get it turned around. We got to 3-3 and then won 15 straight games that season and went to the regional tournament. Since then, it's been a theme for all my teams. I constantly get emails and text messages from former players that says 'TTPTPL'. It's a pretty cool deal that our teams buy into and really believe in it."

Beard, who would go on to be a successful assistant coach at Texas Tech, took over the Angelo State program last season and has led the Rams to a 45-15 overall record coming into this weekend's regional tournament. He was named the Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year after helping guide a group of players that have come from all over and from various backgrounds to the winningest season in program history. Even though many coaches in the country had given up on them, Beard and Boone saw their character and talent and believed in them.

"Basketball is similar to life in that you may have five straight games you win which is similar to life where you may have five good days in a row," ASU senior Demario Mayfield said. "But in that sixth game or sixth day, you struggle and have a bad day. You can't sulk about any of that stuff though. You have to reflect and learn from the adversity and make the next day the best day. Coach always refers to 'Tough Times Pass. Tough People Last' and I completely understand it and believe in it."

Another opportunity in the lives of the Rams to overcome adversity comes at noon on Saturday when they play Texas A&M-Commerce in the quarterfinals of the regional tournament in Stephenville. ASU opened the year with a 79-63 win over the Lions, but then took a 71-68 loss in Commerce after Christian Macauley threw down a last-second dunk and then hit a free throw. The Rams reached the LSC Championship finals last Saturday, but fell to the Lions once again, this time 68-61 in a game which could have given the program its first title since 1989. Now, in a win or go home situation in the regional tournament, ASU looks to use the "Tough times pass. Tough people last." philosophy by believing in themselves and understanding that the past will not define how this game goes.  

"Tough people do not give up regardless of what's happened to them in the past," ASU senior Chris Jones said. "It fits this team really well right now. Commerce has beaten us twice and now we have another chance at them. It's an opportunity for this team to show that we don't give up and that this is a team that can last. We've had some tough times against them, but we are a strong team that isn't going to quit on each other be afraid of anything."

Beard and the Rams are one win away from the semifinals of the regional tournament. That's all that matters right now. The previous two losses to Commerce are in the past and what comes after the final horn on Saturday will be dealt with at that point. All focus is on Commerce and what each Ram can contribute to a win. All Saturday is about is believing in themselves and believing in their teammates.  

"We know that runs are going to come with a team scoring six or eight straight points against us, but it's how we respond to it," Beard said. "At this point of a season you're only going to be playing very good teams. We also know that we are going to have our runs and that we have to respond in the right way to our positive momentum. I believe in this team because I have seen them believe in themselves and their teammates all season. They are not going to give up on anything regardless of how tough times get."

Tough times pass. Tough people last.