EPILOGUE

 

Our NCAA championship experience ended with a trip to the White House, one that none of us ever will forget. Leaving the White House, I thought about all that had transpired, all our players had overcome, and I was so happy for all of them. President Obama mentioned so many by name in his outstanding speech. He noted Luke Hancock’s Most Outstanding Player accomplishment and Peyton Siva’s contributions, even talked about how excited they were about Gorgui Dieng in his native Senegal. He not only mentioned Russ Smith, who wasn’t at the White House visit because he was playing basketball in Estonia, but mentioned the nickname “Russdiculous,” which all our guys loved. He talked about Kevin Ware’s courage. And the very first player he mentioned was Tim Henderson. Think about it—the leader of the free world, mentioning a walk-on from Christian Academy in Louisville. I could not have been more proud.

“They didn’t just show it on the court; they showed it in the classroom and in the community,” the president said.

President Obama kidded me over the tattoo I got after we won the championship. I promised the players I would get one, and I had to follow through. He told me I had earned something that will live forever—“a shirtless picture of yourself on the Internet.”

That isn’t all that will endure. The lessons we learned along the way will stay with us, too. It was a wonderful way to cap off a season that we all will remember, a season that has left its mark on all of us.

There is not a doubt in my mind that the one-day contract I committed to played a major role in our success. It made our focus sharp, and regardless of deficit our guys never panicked. We utilized technology the correct way, to help us meticulously prepare. Our distractions were kept to a minimum with our eyes remaining on the cutting down of the net after the championship game, but not until then. And I am confident we will hold onto our Ph.D.—being passionate, hungry and driven—into next season. How could we not? We all signed a one-day contract.