By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor
Together they took a leap of faith and joined forces with a young coach. . . .
"He just portrayed a different message," says Vic Law, the first recruit signed by Chris Collins after he was hired to guide the 'Cats. "All the other schools, especially the brand name schools, they were like, 'We have the culture, we have the gear, we have all the amenities you need. Come to us. We want you.' Coach Collins said, 'We need you.' That was a big difference. And he portrayed this, this feeling. Just his passion and energy were fantastic. I felt like when I believed, other people started to believe. All he needed was one and I was happy to be that one."
"The confidence he had," says Gavin Skelly, explaining why he too believed and joined Law as part of that first recruiting class. "Coach Collins and the rest of the staff came in and said, 'We're going to make it. This is the class that'll do it. We're going to start this right now.' So you knew coach had that mentality. Then talking to Vic, Bryant (McIntosh) and Scott (Lindsey), they were all, 'Yeah. We're going to do this thing. We're going to change this whole program. We're going to start building it. We're going to make this thing absolutely huge.' For me, I was like, 'Count me in. Where do I sign?'"
"It goes back to my parents," says Lindsey, explaining his faith. "My parents gave me the belief that I could be anything that I wanted to be. When I decided I wanted to be a basketball player, they were always behind me, they always supported me, they came to every tournament. My dad did everything he could to help me become a good basketball player. So it started with my parents and my family. Then to find coaches who believe in you and feel you can be part of something great, that's what gave me the belief. As a team, our coaching staff, our athletic director, all the people that deal with us every day gave us the belief that no matter what goes on, if we lose a game, if someone gets hurt, we can always rally together and come together and achieve what we want to."
"Vividly. Vividly," says Nathan Taphorn, remembering the separate visits made to his Pekin home first by Collins and then by athletic director Jim Phillips. He had committed to the 'Cats when they were led by Bill Carmody, and here they were selling him on maintaining that commitment.
"Both visits, both guys brought passion for this place," he goes on, explaining why he did just that. "When you have a passion for a place, and you find someone who has the same passion, it was definitely something I thought was worth staying for. They both pitched me on believing in this and I did. I took a shot and here we are."
"You saw it as soon as he came in, his passion, his belief," says Sanjay Lumpkin, who was already a 'Cat when Collins arrived. "Everyone had to buy in. If you didn't, you were weeded out. There were tough times. It wasn't always easy. So it's extremely special to see everything come together. Especially as a fifth-year senior, I've seen it all. I've seen the whole process."
Together they took a leap of faith and joined forces with a young coach and set off to make history. . . .
"That was something Coach Collins pointed out to me," says Lindsey. "That you can make your own history. That you can be part of something special, that you can be looked at as a person that started a dynasty, or something great. That was really important to me once he put it that way. That's why I came here."
"That we could make history here. That was his pitch," says Dererk Pardon. "I believed in him and just rode it."
"That was real important," says Law. "Even if I hadn't been the first to commit, to be the first team that got over the hump is remarkable. But to be the first guy who took that leap of faith I thought was a good thing. And being from Chicago made it a lot more important because all my family, all my friends could come out and see this remarkable journey that we've been on."
"Obviously, as a kid in high school, what I wanted to do was do something special," says Skelly. "I wanted to make history. I wanted to be remembered for something. This was a great opportunity. To be remembered as the first person to do something is a lot better than somebody who continues to do something. For me, that was a special thing. That was something I was looking for in a lot of schools and Northwestern kind of rang every single bell that I asked for."
"There were places I could have gone for my fifth year," says Lumpkin. "But I never even thought about leaving. I put too much into this program. I knew what I meant to the guys. It never crossed my mind to leave."
Together they took a leap of faith and joined forces with a young coach and set off to make history, which is no easy thing. . . .
"My freshman year was a long season, and then I got hurt sophomore year," says Law. "To come back this year and to play the way I'm playing, and to get over the hump and get into the tournament—not be on the bubble, but to be in—is remarkable. It's not just me. It's everybody. This team embodies different pieces of the star that make one full star."
"The first year was very hard," says Lindsey. "It really showed us this is not easy. Just because you're a D-I player, and just because you're in the Big Ten, doesn't mean you're going to make the tournament or be a great team. . . . I'm thinking right now of all the struggles that I've had. It's been such a long road. Even before I got here, nothing was ever given to me. I had to work hard, harder than anybody I feel, to get to where I'm at, and I came to a place where you have to work harder than everyone to change. But I always had the belief we could do it and it would come over time. That's what we've done."
"I don't know anybody who truly understands the magnitude of what you have to do on a daily basis until you get here," says Pardon. "The grind of a 24-hour period is just ridiculous. Academics. Sports. Film. Weight room. Everything. You have to really be committed. If one ounce of you is not committed, then you're not going to succeed here."
Together they took a leap of faith and joined forces with a young coach and set off to make history, which is no easy thing. But make it they did, earning the 'Cats their first invite to the NCAA Tournament. . . .
"It still hasn't hit me yet, that it happened. It's surreal," says Taphorn. "It's so— I don't even know how to describe it. I'm kind of at a loss for words. It's almost picture perfect to me. You dream about this stuff everyday. You sit in your living room watching this stuff happen and dreaming of that happening one day— watching it the last three years and obviously not seeing our name— you sit there in your living room, you sit there on your couch, you sit there in a restaurant and watch it and see these teams that are so excited, so impassioned, it's awesome. It's just as much as I expected, if not more."
"The reality is a lot crazier than you think it is," says Skelly. "I remember in high school watching Ohio State make it all the time, and I was thinking to myself, 'That would be really cool to do it.' Even this morning, I woke up, same routine, kind of came to the gym, nothing special. Then our name got called and all these emotions just popped out of me like crazy. I never, never thought it would feel like this."
"It still hasn't really set in. I can't really describe the feeling," says Lindsey. "It's just something I've been working so hard for all the years I've been here, watching the stuff growing up, I can't really describe the feeling right now. It's amazing. Every year I just wanted to make it to this point"—and here he pauses and exhales and then continues—"It's just so much work that we put in. I don't think anyone can see how hard we worked, the hours, how early you have to get up. To finally make it, I can't describe the feeling."
"It was so surreal," says Pardon. "To actually hear our name called, you have so many emotions running through your body you can't pinpoint one. It's just a surreal feeling. Honestly, the best feeling I've ever had in my life."
"It was so surreal, man. I'm surprised I wasn't crying," says Law. "When I committed, everyone said, 'Why? Why this, why that?' This moment right here makes it all— I'm not happy to be proving everybody wrong. I'm just happy that I was right."
"Just to hear our name called was awesome," Lumpkin finally says. "I didn't even care where, who we were going to play. I jut wanted to see our name up there and know that we did it, that everything paid off. I got really emotional. I knew I would. Just knowing that I trusted it, and all the work that all of us put in— that's why I came here. I came here to be part of history. It's a dream come true. It really is. To see our name up there means a lot for not only us, but for everyone who's been part of this program. It's something no one will ever forget.
"This year has been awesome. I can't explain how much it's meant to me. For this to happen in my last year is really amazing. It's like written in the stars. We were talking about that today, how all of this is almost too good to be true. We couldn't wait to see our name up there. This is like a story you see in the movies.
"It's just a magical year. None of us wants it to end. We just want to wear these jerseys as long as we can."
NUsports.com Special Contributor
Together they took a leap of faith and joined forces with a young coach. . . .
"He just portrayed a different message," says Vic Law, the first recruit signed by Chris Collins after he was hired to guide the 'Cats. "All the other schools, especially the brand name schools, they were like, 'We have the culture, we have the gear, we have all the amenities you need. Come to us. We want you.' Coach Collins said, 'We need you.' That was a big difference. And he portrayed this, this feeling. Just his passion and energy were fantastic. I felt like when I believed, other people started to believe. All he needed was one and I was happy to be that one."
"The confidence he had," says Gavin Skelly, explaining why he too believed and joined Law as part of that first recruiting class. "Coach Collins and the rest of the staff came in and said, 'We're going to make it. This is the class that'll do it. We're going to start this right now.' So you knew coach had that mentality. Then talking to Vic, Bryant (McIntosh) and Scott (Lindsey), they were all, 'Yeah. We're going to do this thing. We're going to change this whole program. We're going to start building it. We're going to make this thing absolutely huge.' For me, I was like, 'Count me in. Where do I sign?'"
"It goes back to my parents," says Lindsey, explaining his faith. "My parents gave me the belief that I could be anything that I wanted to be. When I decided I wanted to be a basketball player, they were always behind me, they always supported me, they came to every tournament. My dad did everything he could to help me become a good basketball player. So it started with my parents and my family. Then to find coaches who believe in you and feel you can be part of something great, that's what gave me the belief. As a team, our coaching staff, our athletic director, all the people that deal with us every day gave us the belief that no matter what goes on, if we lose a game, if someone gets hurt, we can always rally together and come together and achieve what we want to."
"Vividly. Vividly," says Nathan Taphorn, remembering the separate visits made to his Pekin home first by Collins and then by athletic director Jim Phillips. He had committed to the 'Cats when they were led by Bill Carmody, and here they were selling him on maintaining that commitment.
"Both visits, both guys brought passion for this place," he goes on, explaining why he did just that. "When you have a passion for a place, and you find someone who has the same passion, it was definitely something I thought was worth staying for. They both pitched me on believing in this and I did. I took a shot and here we are."
"You saw it as soon as he came in, his passion, his belief," says Sanjay Lumpkin, who was already a 'Cat when Collins arrived. "Everyone had to buy in. If you didn't, you were weeded out. There were tough times. It wasn't always easy. So it's extremely special to see everything come together. Especially as a fifth-year senior, I've seen it all. I've seen the whole process."
Together they took a leap of faith and joined forces with a young coach and set off to make history. . . .
"That was something Coach Collins pointed out to me," says Lindsey. "That you can make your own history. That you can be part of something special, that you can be looked at as a person that started a dynasty, or something great. That was really important to me once he put it that way. That's why I came here."
"That we could make history here. That was his pitch," says Dererk Pardon. "I believed in him and just rode it."
"That was real important," says Law. "Even if I hadn't been the first to commit, to be the first team that got over the hump is remarkable. But to be the first guy who took that leap of faith I thought was a good thing. And being from Chicago made it a lot more important because all my family, all my friends could come out and see this remarkable journey that we've been on."
"Obviously, as a kid in high school, what I wanted to do was do something special," says Skelly. "I wanted to make history. I wanted to be remembered for something. This was a great opportunity. To be remembered as the first person to do something is a lot better than somebody who continues to do something. For me, that was a special thing. That was something I was looking for in a lot of schools and Northwestern kind of rang every single bell that I asked for."
"There were places I could have gone for my fifth year," says Lumpkin. "But I never even thought about leaving. I put too much into this program. I knew what I meant to the guys. It never crossed my mind to leave."
Together they took a leap of faith and joined forces with a young coach and set off to make history, which is no easy thing. . . .
"My freshman year was a long season, and then I got hurt sophomore year," says Law. "To come back this year and to play the way I'm playing, and to get over the hump and get into the tournament—not be on the bubble, but to be in—is remarkable. It's not just me. It's everybody. This team embodies different pieces of the star that make one full star."
"The first year was very hard," says Lindsey. "It really showed us this is not easy. Just because you're a D-I player, and just because you're in the Big Ten, doesn't mean you're going to make the tournament or be a great team. . . . I'm thinking right now of all the struggles that I've had. It's been such a long road. Even before I got here, nothing was ever given to me. I had to work hard, harder than anybody I feel, to get to where I'm at, and I came to a place where you have to work harder than everyone to change. But I always had the belief we could do it and it would come over time. That's what we've done."
"I don't know anybody who truly understands the magnitude of what you have to do on a daily basis until you get here," says Pardon. "The grind of a 24-hour period is just ridiculous. Academics. Sports. Film. Weight room. Everything. You have to really be committed. If one ounce of you is not committed, then you're not going to succeed here."
Together they took a leap of faith and joined forces with a young coach and set off to make history, which is no easy thing. But make it they did, earning the 'Cats their first invite to the NCAA Tournament. . . .
"It still hasn't hit me yet, that it happened. It's surreal," says Taphorn. "It's so— I don't even know how to describe it. I'm kind of at a loss for words. It's almost picture perfect to me. You dream about this stuff everyday. You sit in your living room watching this stuff happen and dreaming of that happening one day— watching it the last three years and obviously not seeing our name— you sit there in your living room, you sit there on your couch, you sit there in a restaurant and watch it and see these teams that are so excited, so impassioned, it's awesome. It's just as much as I expected, if not more."
"The reality is a lot crazier than you think it is," says Skelly. "I remember in high school watching Ohio State make it all the time, and I was thinking to myself, 'That would be really cool to do it.' Even this morning, I woke up, same routine, kind of came to the gym, nothing special. Then our name got called and all these emotions just popped out of me like crazy. I never, never thought it would feel like this."
"It still hasn't really set in. I can't really describe the feeling," says Lindsey. "It's just something I've been working so hard for all the years I've been here, watching the stuff growing up, I can't really describe the feeling right now. It's amazing. Every year I just wanted to make it to this point"—and here he pauses and exhales and then continues—"It's just so much work that we put in. I don't think anyone can see how hard we worked, the hours, how early you have to get up. To finally make it, I can't describe the feeling."
"It was so surreal," says Pardon. "To actually hear our name called, you have so many emotions running through your body you can't pinpoint one. It's just a surreal feeling. Honestly, the best feeling I've ever had in my life."
"It was so surreal, man. I'm surprised I wasn't crying," says Law. "When I committed, everyone said, 'Why? Why this, why that?' This moment right here makes it all— I'm not happy to be proving everybody wrong. I'm just happy that I was right."
"Just to hear our name called was awesome," Lumpkin finally says. "I didn't even care where, who we were going to play. I jut wanted to see our name up there and know that we did it, that everything paid off. I got really emotional. I knew I would. Just knowing that I trusted it, and all the work that all of us put in— that's why I came here. I came here to be part of history. It's a dream come true. It really is. To see our name up there means a lot for not only us, but for everyone who's been part of this program. It's something no one will ever forget.
"This year has been awesome. I can't explain how much it's meant to me. For this to happen in my last year is really amazing. It's like written in the stars. We were talking about that today, how all of this is almost too good to be true. We couldn't wait to see our name up there. This is like a story you see in the movies.
"It's just a magical year. None of us wants it to end. We just want to wear these jerseys as long as we can."