How Princeton and Furman spent 24 hours as Cinderella
8:45 PM ET Kyle Bonagura Close Kyle Bonagura ESPN Staff Writer Covers the Pac-12. Signed up with ESPN in 2014. Attended Washington State University.Michael DiRocco Close
Michael DiRocco
ESPN Staff Author Covered University of Florida for 13 seasons for ESPN.com and Florida Times-Union Graduate of Jacksonville University Several APSE award winner March Insanity is defined
a special dynamic in that a single win can qualify as the most crucial win in school history. And for the players involved– most of whom do not have even a remote possibility of a professional basketball profession– the experience can be life-altering. If absolutely nothing else, it ends up being a story to tell for a lifetime.How those stories are told will evolve in time, the surreal nature unquestionably blurring the instant after-effects and following 24 hours.On Thursday, No. 15-seeded Princeton and No. 13-seeded Furman provided wins that history will remember– knocking off powerhouses Arizona and Virginia,
respectively– and have actually delighted in the quasi-celebrity status that features the area in the hours considering that. Mitch Henderson has now become part of a Princeton upset as a player– above in 1996 against No. 4 UCLA– and as a coach. AP Photo/Tom Russo PRINCETON COACH MITCH Henderson knows much better than anybody how winning a single basketball game in March can pay dividends for a lifetime. He became part of Princeton’s well-known upset of UCLA in the 1996 tournament and, even before this week, the periods between pointers in his life have remained short ever since. “This will take place to these guys in time, too, “Henderson stated. “It will be even much better if you make the Sweet 16. “At a steakhouse after the game, the restaurant personnel greeted the team with applause upon their arrival. It’s unusual treatment for the Ivy Leaguers, and Henderson discovered a suppressed group.”Do you person have any appreciation for what you simply did?”Henderson
asked.”They type of shook their head no.” In some methods, it’s a weird area to be. The win is among the most high-profile in Princeton’s whole athletic history, but just how much celebrating should happen when an even larger phase waits for 2 days later?”Among the best sensations of my life. I do not say that lightly,”sophomore guard Blake Peters said.”I imply, from the beginning of the season, the objective was always to get to the tournament.”Editor’s Picks 2 Associated When
the objective is to reach the tournament, there’s a ramification that winning in the tournament is beyond what the team was hoping for. And that’s why Thursday’s game for the Princeton players and personnel has actually been such a blur.”It was a really surreal feeling,” junior forward Zach Martini stated. “Numerous things happening so quick. How huge of a minute that was [Thursday] night. Up at, like, 6 a.m. Could not return to sleep. Simply taking whatever in.
” Henderson told ESPN he got someplace between 400 and 500 text messages, all conveying congratulatory messages. With a brief turnaround and a hard game versus Missouri to prepare for, responding to those messages represents its own special challenge.”I’m attempting to get to them, trying to react, but then those messages [get actions], like ‘Oh, we were doing this or this,”Henderson said. “It’s incredible. My spouse and I were talking [Thursday night], like,’Wow, this is unbelievable.” About a handful of Henderson’s teammates from the group that took down UCLA were in the stands, in addition to a strong Princeton contingent that included his buddy, soccer coach Jesse Marsch, who is the godfather to one of Henderson’s children.Usually, Henderson tries to prevent
discussing his own playing experience, however it has actually shown to be tough due to the fact that an iconic picture of him celebrating versus UCLA is plastered all over the group’s arena. “I’m glad we can take it down now and put some new images up, “he stated.”It feels a million times much better [as a coach] just because in recruiting, again, you’re bringing a group of guys together and you’re confident. We were defending our life on Sunday simply to get here.” The 13th-seeded Furman Paladins upset No. 4 seed Virginia 68-67 in the preliminary of the 2023 NCAA males’s basketball tournament. Getty Images FURMAN COACH BOB Richey opened his eyes Friday
morning, and for just a fast second wasn’t sure if what he experienced on Thursday afternoon was real.But then the feeling of seeing JP Pegues struck a 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds to play to upset Virginia and provide his program its very first NCAA competition success given that 1974 came rumbling back. He kept in mind Cinderella
looks pretty good in Paladin purple.”I got up [Friday] morning simply making sure I wasn’t at Disney and dreaming all of this
,”Richey said.” But it did take place, and we belonged of it.”Furman’s 68-67 victory at the Amway Center, the Paladins ‘seventh in a row and 15th in their past 16 games, guaranteed it a location in NCAA tournament history with Cinderella status. With that comes interview requests, social media love, calls and texts. And the Paladins have actually soaked everything in. “Crazy,”junior forward Garrett Hien said. “I believed that last Monday
when we won the [Southern Conference tournament] champion in Nashville was the very best day of my life. And it’s been moved to two now. [Thursday] is definitely No. 1. As a kid you dream of being at March Insanity, being on the biggest phase, and after that to actually remain in it is something. And then to win a game and have this March minute … It’s just insane to be marked in [history]
permanently. “The calls and texts started right away after Virginia’s Reece Beekman missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer. When Furman’s players finally got back into their locker room they had messages from household, friends and schoolmates who were watching from the school’s Greenville, South Carolina, campus.Those were enjoyable, but scrolling through social media was even better. Hours later, when the players lastly got back to the group hotel and met household for an impromptu welcome back celebration, they were still scrolling, showing each other tweets and posts. DINSSSS https://t.co/fmNvsfmAjb!.?.!— Walker Zimmerman(@thewalkerzim)March 16, 2023 Paladins just functioned– Trevor Lawrence (@Trevorlawrencee )March 16, 2023 Former Furman soccer player Walker Zimmerman– a member of the U.S. National Group and MLS’s Nashville SC– provided a shoutout. So did Jacksonville Jaguars and former Clemson Tigers quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who threw the first goal pass of his college profession versus Furman in 2018. A photo of ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith’s bracket showing his pick of Furman disturbing Virginia got a great deal of love. Former President Barack Obama, whose bracket in U.S.A. Today chose the Cavaliers, did not.”Barack Obama didn’t select us,”Hien said.”We were making
jokes, like,’Take that.'”Some of their preferred posts were celebration videos from Greenville dining establishments, or of
fellow students taking a dive into the lake
outside the school’s trainee center.”Many individuals have texted me and said
,’I’m getting tickets to come down Saturday,’and trainees are making the drive, buying flights,”guard Mike Bothwell stated. “It’s simply truly cool. “ play 0:18 Furman’s JP Pegues splashes game-winning 3 after Virginia turnover Kihei Clark gets caught and turns the ball over, resulting in JP Pegues 3-pointer that raises Furman to the upset over Virginia.Players have actually re-watched the clip of the game-deciding series: Pegues and forward Alex Williams trapping Virginia guard Kihei Clark along the baseline, Hien obstructing Clark’s desperation pass, Hien’s pass to Pegues, and Pegues’shot a
couple actions from behind the 3-point line. Like, a great deal of times.”It’s been at least 50 times I have actually viewed that particular clip,”Pegues stated.”I was so numb to the reality initially.
I could not believe it.” In the 22 hours in between completion of the game and Furman’s interview session on Friday afternoon, the school’s basketball twitter account and main twitter account have actually each gotten more than 1,000 followers, basketball SID Jordan Caskey stated. He also handled more than 20 interview requests for Richey and Pegues. Caskey said they have actually done as many as they could without disrupting practice and team meetings.One of those conferences happened at 10:30 p.m. ET Thursday, and in it Hien said Richey told the players they had to
give up looking back on Friday and begin expecting Saturday’s second-round matchup with San Diego State. Simply put, Cinderella needed to leave the ball before midnight.”He informed us,’Guys, I want you to delight in the moment, but when we wake up tomorrow, we require to put the phones down, put social media away,
‘” Hien stated.”We’re going to have this moment permanently. I imply, it’s been documented so well, and, and what a better minute would it be
when we win Saturday [and] we’re in the Sugary food 16?'”