NCAA Basketball: Farewells to remember
It was a bittersweet past week for NCAA basketball seniors.
It’s senior night, you’re center court in front of your home crowd for the final time, your coach hands you the mic… 3, 2, 1 what comes out of your mouth?
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For these seniors what came was magic. Emotion we’ve all felt at some point in our lives, emotion we relate to, emotion we wanted to see from the players we’ve grown to know over the past four years.
The thing with goodbyes, endings, finales is you’re always fearful of what’s to come. Will it be as great? Will I feel this way again? Will I experience another moment like this? Questions we’ve all asked ourselves now on the minds of these young men.
Denzel Valentine, Buddy Hield, Georges Niang, Perry Ellis, Marcus Paige, Malcolm Brogdon, Yogi Ferrell, Brice Johnson, Jarrod Uthoff, Fred VanVleet, Kyle Wiltjer the list could go on.
In a league where one and done is far too common the college senior is somewhat of an endangered species. Their talent and skill is something we’ve admired but their heart is what we connected to.
Monday kicked off an emotional week for a group of young men who gave the ultimate commitment to the college game. Paige and Niang proved to be two tough acts to follow and two players impossible to replace.
Paige delivered a lengthy goodbye in which Roy Williams was moved to tears. Yes, tears from Roy Williams.
“I’m a lot better man than when I got here so thank you,” he said.
Up next? Niang. He didn’t say much but what he did say was raw, emotional, and exactly what the Cyclone faithful wanted to hear. He started by thanking his family and finished saying this team would be remembered for a banner that goes up in Hilton Coliseum. Some where in the middle he thanked the fans and the place he’s called home for the last 4 years.
“I was afraid coming to the game today because I don’t want to leave this place, but as I got on the court and saw all 14,000 of you guys I realized, I’m not leaving,” Niang said. “I’ve got a home in Ames forever and I thank you for that.”
The week continued and more farewells were made. Iowa’s Uthoff, Oklahoma’s Hield, Louisville’s Damion Lee, just to name a few. It all concluded Saturday as college basketball bid farewell to three of the seasons favorites, Valentine, Ellis, and Brogdon.
Valentine gave his goodbye the best way a Michigan State senior can, kissing the floor before walking off for the final time. He finished with 13 assists and added 27 points to the Spartans 91 -76 win over Ohio State.
Ellis the Wichita Kansas native who was recruited by Bill Self since the very beginning. Ellis chose the comedic route in his speech and he just may have a future in standup.
“You know, many people say I’ve been here forever, and you know they’re right, I got the chance to play with Wilt Chamberlain, Danny Manning,” Ellis said. “You can ask him. (Manning) is up there. You can ask him.”
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Now as we head into champ week and these young men take one last run in their college uniform we are reminded that yes things end, but that opens the door for greater things to begin.