“They are really good players, but they have something different about them collectively,” he said. “After last year, they all had to deal with their own stuff, and the opinion of others, and come together, and they were just a joy to coach.
“I have seen them mature through everything, and for them to do what they did, and win how they have won. … It’s a great story. It really is.”
According to Ty Jerome, the bond that he and his teammates share made it all possible.
“This is a dream come true, and it’s even more than that, because you never even imagine you’ll be able to spend a year with people you actually love, your teammates and your coaches,” he said, Guy and Hunter beside him. “Not a lot of people get along like we do, so to share this moment with them is unbelievable.”
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Guy, named the tournament’s most outstanding player, kept it simple.
“We came together and said that we were going to win a national championship, and to be able to hug each other with confetti going everywhere and say we did it, it’s the greatest feeling. It’s the greatest feeling I have ever felt in basketball,” he said.
Post-Game Euphoria
The massive Cavalier crowd on hand could not have been more excited.
Hoos flooded Minneapolis over the weekend and on Monday, traveling from all corners of the country and around the globe to cheer on their team. They packed the stands and stayed long after the final buzzer to relish the confetti, applaud the players and Bennett as they cut down the nets, and stretch the moment just a little longer.
Some of them had a very personal stake in the outcome. Watching from the first row, Priscilla Hunter was in euphoric disbelief. Her son, UVA third-year guard DeAndre Hunter, posted a game-high 27-point performance Monday night.