Big Cat

You trusted the wrong people.

Yeah, I mean, it's an awesome moment for you.

It's an awesome moment for Illinois, first time back to the Final Four in 20-plus years.

For you specifically, though, your story is awesome.

You coached in the lower levels for so long and grinded it out, Juco and assistant coaching.

I think it was 26 years before you got your first head coaching job.

Was there ever a moment that you're like, hey, am I ever going to get a shot here?

Because these are the stories we love, not the flash-in-the-pan guy, you know, whiz kid.

It's the guys who put in the hours, and they finally get to see that big moment, which you saw last night.

Yeah, it's very cool.

I love it.

I love it.

Was there a moment this year where you felt that this team was special, or is it something that has just kind of recently occurred to you?

Like, yeah, this team has what it takes.

I always think that maybe with a team that's this good, there's usually a moment earlier in the season where you see something and you think to yourself, like, this team could be different.

I had a question about Keaton because this season in college basketball has been a lot of talk about these unbelievable freshmen.

And we knew about AJ.

We knew about Boozer.

You know about Acoff and Darren Peterson, all these guys.

But Keaton was kind of – he was totally under the radar.