Here is a quick recap of the best photos I took before/during/after the championship game last weekend:
Let’s start with some of the pregame pageantry:
The trophy that everyone is playing for:
Ian Eagle is taking over for Jim Nantz as the main CBS play-by-play guy:
The crew preparing the court for the title game:
Me standing in the corner trying to stay out of everyone’s way:
Zach Edey is so big that he gets his own section:
He is a LARGE man:
He won his 2nd straight Wooden Award as national POY…
And then celebrated with his mother Julia…
While the only other 2-time Wooden Award winner (Ralph Sampson) happened to be sitting in the crowd!
Edey was surrounded by a sea of media in the Purdue locker room…
While his size-20 sneaker remained awfully silent:
If you like seeing Hall of Famers then you should definitely attend a title game because there are always tons of them everywhere you look:
Ray Allen:
Charles Barkley:
Jim Boeheim (with his guys from the ACC Network):
Jim Calhoun:
Bob Hurley Sr.:
Gene Keady:
Shaquille O’Neal:
Roy Williams:
Jay Wright:
Since it is also the college basketball event of the year there were plenty of media personalities all over the place:
ESPN analyst Jay Bilas (who scored 4 PTS in Duke’s 1986 title game 3-PT loss to Louisville):
CBS Mornings co-host Nate Burleson:
Food Network host Guy Fieri:
NCAA correspondent Andy Katz:
CBS Sports analyst Clark Kellogg:
NBA/college analyst Kenny Smith:
With the Huskies attempting to win 2 in a row there was also a pack of Huskies in the house:
2011 NBA champ Caron Butler:
17-year NBA veteran Rudy Gay:
1999 Final 4 MOP Richard Hamilton:
2023 NCAA champs Jordan Hawkins/Joey Calcaterra:
Bill Murray (whose son Luke is an assistant coach at UConn):
2004 Final 4 MOP Emeka Okafor:
2004 NCAA champ Charlie Villanueva:
There were also some well-known basketball people who did not fit into any of the categories above:
2009 NCAA champ Danny Green (who followed me to Arizona after watching our respective alma maters lose during the Sweet 16 in Los Angeles):
2024 national COY Kelvin Sampson (who I think is a fine coach but was booed LOUDLY by almost everyone in the stadium):
I did not take many photos during the game itself but I had a great view of the postgame party scene:
The Huskies hoisted the trophy…
While the confetti fell to the floor:
Several players took a group photo with the trophy:
SO C Donovan Clingan did his best Edey impression by cutting down the net without the use of a ladder…
Then took a peek at tomorrow’ newspaper:
SR G Andrew Hurley joined his uncle Bobby as back-to-back NCAA champs…
While his father Dan reminded the crowd that that was UConn’s 6th NCAA title…
And swung the net over his head…
Before leaving the court with the net around his neck:
