By Jimmy Robertson
WASHINGTON, D.C. – After 39 minutes and 59 seconds of exhausting and exhilarating basketball, the Sweet 16 matchup between Virginia Tech and Duke literally came down to the final second, and fans at Capital One Arena, despite the late hour, desperately craved five more minutes.
They nearly got it. Nearly.
Unfortunately, the Hokies' season ended Friday night when a perfectly designed play and a perfectly executed one didn't produce the desired result. Ahmed Hill's layup attempt off an inbounds play rolled off the left side of the rim – and left the Hokies on the short end of a painful, heart-crushing 75-73 loss to the Blue Devils.
Moments afterward, Tech fans – a majority of the 20,000 or so in the building – applauded not only their team's inspired effort, but its magical season, as the players and staff members walked off the floor. They certainly earned it. Tech won 26 games, won 12 conference games and won two NCAA Tournament games. No other team in the program's 110-year history had done that, so without question, the 2018-19 campaign ranks as the greatest in school history.
Hill, Justin Robinson and Ty Outlaw, the triumvirate of seniors who brought respectability back to the program and placed it on today's current lofty pedestal, found it hard to focus on the big picture after such a gut-wrenching end to their careers. After all, NCAA Tournament losses bring the most excruciating of finality to a basketball player.
Yet all three showed up in the postgame news conference, eyes glistening and faces crestfallen. Robinson immediately took the blame, saying he made a poor pass to Outlaw, who missed a 3-pointer with 3 seconds left that went out of bounds off a Duke player. Then he added that he made poor pass to Hill on the inbounds play.
Hill, though, refused to let Robinson get away with it, taking sole blame for short-arming the layup.
"Justin threw a great pass, and I just came up short," Hill said. "And that was about it. I wasn't worried about anything. I just tried to get my eyes locked on the rim, and it just bounced to the left."
In essence, their answers to the questions during the roughly 10-minute media session provided a snapshot of everything for which the program stands. The Hokies worked hard this season, they played hard, they played tough, and they played unselfishly. And in the end, when things didn't work out, they held themselves accountable.
The best part, arguably, about this team was that they refused to make excuses. This season, the Hokies lost Chris Clarke to a suspension, they lost Landers Nolley to an NCAA matter, and they lost maybe their best player in Robinson to an injury for 12 games.
In spite of all that, they took on the mentality of Buzz Williams, displayed a tireless work ethic and an unmatched desire to #getBETTER, and set school records for wins and ACC wins.
"I'll say I'm most proud of how we've consistently worked every day," Outlaw said. "And through injuries and adversity, we always stayed together, and didn't make excuses. We just found a way to try to get it done. That's what I'm most proud of."
"I would say the same," Robinson echoed. "The 12 games I was out, the best coach in the conference did a good job of making switches, and my team just did a tremendous job of staying to themselves and just learning and finding ways to win when we got labeled as a team that couldn't score without me. And that blessing and being around a group of guys that never gave up and fought to the end is what I was most proud of."
Friday night sadly marked the end of an era. Five seasons ago, in Williams' first campaign, the Hokies finished in last place in the ACC. Robinson, Hill, Kerry Blackshear Jr., and later, Outlaw, who was a junior college transfer, helped Williams reverse the program's fortunes. A school with a football pedigree became noticed for its basketball exploits. Games against Wake Forest and Georgia Tech started selling out. Fans took notice of a special metamorphosis taking place.
From last place in the ACC to three straight NCAA Tournament berths to the Sweet 16, it has been, for sure, quite an amazing ride – one that has left not only fans in awe, but the head man feeling overwhelmingly appreciative of all those on the journey, especially his players.
"I learned so many lessons, incredibly grateful," Williams said. "Just listening to these guys, I don't know that I would say anything different. Obviously, I think in many respects I've learned more from them than maybe they've learned from me.
"It's been a lot of fun. Lifelong relationships not only with the players, but with our managers and student trainers. I think I've become a better parent because of my relationship with these parents and seeing their life story and then obviously being around their children every day. Thankful for how it's all transpired."
Williams pointed out the symmetry of the final few seconds of the season – Outlaw shooting a 3-pointer, Hill taking the layup attempt and Robinson making the passes on both. As a coach, he got exactly what he wanted, just not the coveted result.
For sure, there was a harmony there, one not easily replicated. Now, Tech basketball gets ready to enter a new era. There will be new faces, new strategies, new plans and new challenges. There will be expectations, too.
The expectations come about because of those who played their final game Friday night. Virginia Tech has put many good teams on the floor over the past several decades. Because of these guys, though, Virginia Tech now has a true basketball program, one that is becoming the envy of schools from around the country.