PHILADELPHIA – There were five seconds left in Orlando, Fla., during the 2023 NCAA Tournament when No. 13 seed Furman’s Garrett Hien intercepted a long inbound pass near the March Madness logo at center court and passed up to JP Pegues on the wing.
His NBA-range jump shot hit nothing but net to put the Paladins ahead of No. 4 seed Virginia, 68-67. And 2.4 seconds later, after a desperation heave clanked off the backboard, coach Bob Richey watched his team experience the highest of highs in college basketball.
“It was so unexpected that it was just such a lightning strike. To be a part of that, a moment that will be replayed in March Madness history for the rest of my life, was really special,” said senior Ben Vander Wal, the only player remaining from that Furman roster. He played 12 minutes off the bench in that game and grabbed two rebounds.
“We were there to win and we were gonna enjoy the week and we wanted to have a joy and excitement about being there, but we were also there with a sense of urgency that we were gonna come out and we wanted to play our best on the national stage when our best was required.”
Richey and Vander Wal hope to experience the magic of March a second time in four years.
“That was an unbelievable moment in Furman history, to win in Orlando three years ago, and the way we did it was not easy,” said Richey, 42, who has spent all nine of his years as a Division I head coach at Furman, and the previous seven as an assistant. “If you have a moment to be part of March Madness and to be able to experience beating a team like Virginia, you’re going to have to play really well. You’re also going to have to deal with a lot of different adversity, and you have to stay connected, and we definitely have drawn on some of those moments.
“It’s funny. A lot of times when you think for us to do that, we have to play perfect. That wasn’t the case that day. I looked at the box score this morning. We shot (39%). I think we were 10 for 28 from 3 and 12 for 28 from 2. It wasn’t like we shot the cover off of it. We shot it well enough, but we were able to endure hard moments.”
UConn has never lost in the first round as a No. 3 seed or better. But the 15-over-2 upset has happened three times in the last five years.
Furman, 22-12 on the year, already made one unlikely run to win the Southern Conference Tournament this year as a No. 6 seed.
“For us at this level, to get to the NCAA Tournament, is the dream. When you’re high major and you’re expected to go to the Final Four, sometimes these early round games, it’s not that it’s not a big deal, but for a school like Furman, we have only been in this game eight times in our program’s history, and we only won two of them,” Richey said. “For our guys, it’s really important that we realize that, hey, this is a fulfillment of the dream, and there’s a certain joy and excitement that we have to play with.
“The way that UConn plays, they’re going to try to make that really hard and they’re going to try to make it as miserable as they can for us. The charge for us is going to be to keep our spirit, to keep our fight, to continue to endure and as we go up against a very, very good opponent.”
Mullins first, last? NCAA Tournament
Braylon Mullins could be a first-round pick, potentially even in the lottery, if he chooses to enter the NBA Draft after this freshman season at UConn. But he didn’t come into the season, or the NCAA Tournament, with his mind set on being a one-and-done.
“So grateful, blessed to be in the position that I am, I think everyone in this (locker) room could say the same. I think we’re just so excited to go into (Friday’s) game, clean slate, forgetting about everything else in the past. It’s a win or lose, go home type of deal,” he said. “It’s just trying to stay in the moment. I’m just trying to focus on the tournament and I haven’t focused on anything past that. I know (deciding on the draft) will be down the line, those opportunities will be there… Me being in the present, it will help everything in the future.”
Mullins – a highly-touted, McDonald’s All-American recruit – came to UConn for this March Madness opportunity, but also to develop his game and advance his career.
“I think I have. Just trying to be a better person, player overall,” he said. “Just putting myself with this group of guys, coaches, staff, they’ve taught me so much and I’ve learned a lot. There’s still so much growth within my game and everything else. I feel like it was just the step in the right path and I’m so happy that I made this choice coming to UConn.”
Mick Cronin channeled his inner Geno Auriemma
Mick Cronin has coached a team into 14 of the last 15 NCAA Tournaments, beginning with his time in the Big East at Cincinnati, and now at UCLA. His Bruins, if they beat UCF on Friday, could meet UConn in Sunday’s second round.
How has he done it?
“You got to have players. If you can’t coach, you’re not going to be in those tournaments. If you’re not able to adapt to different rosters, the better players you have, the further you go,” he said. “At the end of the day, I saw my man, the great Geno Auriemma, somebody said, ‘What’s been the key for him?’
“He said, ‘I got a lot of great players’ phone numbers,’ meaning because they played for him. That’s the whole key to getting in these things and advancing in them. But perseverance. If I was to give advice to somebody, you can never be easily defeated. Times will get tough. It’s not always easy. You can never be easily defeated. Never.”
