After 37 games together this season and the culmination of three years together in the program, the trio of Kyle Guy, Ty Jerome, and De'Andre Hunter enter the biggest game of their lives tonight when UVa faces Texas Tech for the national championship (9:20 p.m., CBS).
It's almost certainly going to be their last game together as teammates, at least on the college level. Hunter is seen by most talent evaluators as a lottery pick in the next NBA Draft. Jerome has drawn enough mentions as a first-round prospect that he's likely to at least test the waters if not stick in the draft. And Guy, though a bit undersized given the traditional measurables for his position, could test them as well.
Whether they're back together again next year or not, huddled in the corner pre-game doing their usual three-man routine, tonight will be special.
And there's no doubt that they know it.
“I said in the press conference that every single person on both sides, both programs, have envisioned cutting down the nets tomorrow," Guy told media members yesterday. "I think it’s important to be focused on what’s at hand, which is answering these questions and practice and so forth and so on.
"If we continue to play the way that we have," he added, "and do the little things and do everything we know we do well, then we’ll have a good shot.”
Guy, of course, carries a lot of the shine for UVa (34-3) even being in this game. Had it not been for his late 3-pointer and subsequent free throws with 0.6 seconds left Saturday night, the Wahoos wouldn't have gotten by Auburn to advance to the title game.
“I think all of my life has led to this," Guy explained. "Everything that I’ve been through made it a lot easier to hone in and try to knock down the free throws. I said that I was terrified. It was a good terrified, though, a good nervousness in my stomach like, ‘This is my chance,’ type thing. I don’t know where it comes from. I know that my family’s always been behind me and I got to look at them before I shot the free throws.”
The way Guy and Co. have turned last year's incredible disappointment into such excitement this season is a testament not only to their hard work and skill but also to the way they approached the offseason.
“Every single part of my game has gotten better," Jerome said. "I think the biggest thing for me was the work I’ve put in the weight room with Coach (Mike) Curtis, just because that allowed me to get to different parts of the floor, allowed me to take contact a little better, and play through contact a little bit, and that opened up a majority of my game. And then Coach (Tony) Bennett, he just taught me how to move and catch and shoot. He always preaches get your feet down, so shooting off the move I really improved at. You know, I could always shoot off the catch in high school but I couldn’t really shoot off the move and that’s something Coach Bennett really worked with me on.
“I think we started believing in ourselves since the loss last year, in a way that’s different than any other team I’ve been a part of," Guy added. "Obviously last year we thought that we could win it all. We were 31-3, best team in the country, and we had a chance. I don’t know if that was hope or belief. I know this year that there was a belief, as soon as that buzzer sounded last year, that we were going to do something special this year.”
It's been an incredible run, especially the last two weeks. The outcomes have defied expectations and at times logic.
“I wouldn’t say stressful," Jerome said when asked about the last two and how they ended, "because as long as you can feel a fighting chance, you’re just so locked into the game and just thankful to be on that stage. So they didn’t really feel stressful.”
In front of more than 70,000 people Saturday night, the Wahoos dealt with pressure that they hadn't seen before. Now, with those jitters out of the way, perhaps tonight come a bit easier.
“I would say so but I don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring," Hunter said. "There may be some nerves again and I’m sure there will be because it’s the national championship game. There will be some nerves, we’re going to have some jitters, but when it comes to the game we are just going to play how we usually do.”
Ultimately, as they always have, the "Big Three" have to rely on their teammates, themselves, and their coaches in order to play well enough on both sides of the floor to have a chance to cut down the nets.
“They’re extremely hard on us," Jerome said of the coaching staff. "Coach Bennett always says I know it’s hard to play for me and that’s the first thing I tell people when I play for Coach Bennett, I say it’s hard but in a good way...That’s why my defense has improved so much since I got here. Just everything is super hard, you gotta stay continuous, and the one thing he’ll always yell at us for is if we’re lazy on defense or if we miss a defensive assignment. There’s no leeway on the defensive end and that’s what got us here.”
Tonight, they have the chance to finally rewrite an ending to their story.
“After last year, I had to take a lot of time to myself...That’s when I wrote the letters, just tried to do anything that was therapeutic for me so I could bounce back from it and be stronger as a person," Guy sad. "I think you see the growth from that, not only with myself but with the team. [Against] Gardner-Webb we’re down 10 or whatever—same position as last year—and we didn’t panic. We just buckled down and tried to take care of business. Again, I’m really proud of the way that everyone’s grown.”
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