Long before he and his teammates walked off the court in Minneapolis as national champions, before they got off the buses at JPJ with the trophy, and before they walked out onto the field at Scott Stadium to 21,000 fans cheering them on, Kyle Guy was just a basketball player who had made a decision and knew his next step.

“I think Coach (Tony) Bennett is perfect for me,” Guy told me that afternoon. “The coaching staff, the system, the school, the conference. It’s the perfect fit for me. It really and truly is.”

That’s what the four-star recruit, before he was a McDonald’s All-American and Indiana’s Mr. Basketball, thought not long after committing to the University of Virginia.

Some 1,646 days later, Guy announced his intention to stay in the upcoming NBA Draft, joining fellow 2016 signees Ty Jerome and De’Andre Hunter in that pursuit.

“After further discussion with my family, I have decided to forgo my senior season and remain in the 2019 NBA Draft,” Guy said in a statement. “Saying goodbye to my second home of Virginia basketball wasn’t easy but I know I’m ready for this next step in my basketball career. UVa has meant more to me than you’ll ever know. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!”

Four and a half years after telling Guy that “he could touch greatness” in Charlottesville, Bennett wished him well just as he had Jerome and Hunter last week.

“Kyle had a remarkable three-year career at the University of Virginia,” he said in a statement. “He has been a model teammate and student-athlete, and we obviously respect his decision to remain in the draft. I loved coaching him, watching him develop, and turn into a terrific young man. We’re excited for Kyle and his family and wish him nothing but the best at the next level.”

Guy, who wore and embraced the UMBC loss more than anyone, leaves on the highest of high notes. He goes out as the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four—averaging 19.5 points across the two games and hitting three free throws with 0.6 seconds left to send UVa to the title game—and a two-time All-American with an ACC Tournament MVP to boot. He also finished his career first in 3-point shooting percentage (42.5), third in made 3-pointers (254), and 26th in scoring (1,323 points). His 120 3-pointers this season rank second on UVa’s single-season list.

In what ended up being his final media obligation as a Wahoo, I reminded Guy of that quote from 2014 and what Bennett had told him.

“Wow,” he said. “I’m kind of at a loss for words for what we’ve accomplished. I told Ty and Dre that we said we were going to do something like this when we came here and obviously we talked about it too. To see it all come to fruition is one of the greatest accomplishments and feelings that I’ve ever felt on a basketball court.”

The Big Three are now headed to the next level and an excited and thankful fanbase must also reckon with the way forward without them. And Bennett and Co. must also figure out what to do with next year’s roster, as minutes at guard are readily available. In a way, Guy announcing this now allowed for Virginia to have more time to truly begin that endeavor.

“I think these young men will always know that this will be a family they’ll have forever,” Bennett said following the celebration, “and our ‘way back home’ is obviously Charlottesville, this community. But the pillars in our program, no matter where life’s journey takes us and all these different cities…some things won’t change and they will know their way back home. We’ll always be…kind of bonded together for life but this will be special.”

“I’m not sure it’s going to settle in any time soon,” Guy added. “For me, this is all so crazy. You dream of moments like this.”

It’ll be so odd to see the Wahoos take the floor next year—a national championship banner aloft—without Jerome, Hunter, and Guy being introduced in the starting lineup.

But their job is done. Their watch is ended. It’s time for the next coaching staff, the next system.

Their next step.

“Coach has been harping all year on ‘united pursuit,’” Guy said last weekend. “We were all in this together and to be able to bring this community a championship, its first ever in men’s basketball, it means the world. And I hope it means the world to them too.”

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