I've been calling for Brownell to be let go for the past five years. The ACC tourney failures, the inexplicable close losses, the NIT first-round bow outs...it was all too much.
And after the BC debacle in this year's ACC tourney, I knew this was it. There was no way he could have any success in the NCAA tourney. Getting into the Dance alone was a borderline miracle, it seemed.
I admit that I picked us to lose to New Mexico. Why wouldn't I? What had any of us seen in the final weeks of the season and ACC tourney to give us confidence we'd win a game in Memphis?
Making the Dance was the bare minimum expectation this year. Winning a game was a positive step. Getting to the Sweet 16? Okay, that's something else. That gives me belief that Brad can really get things going.
But how he coached last night is what blew me away. Arizona is a dynamic team, and we never really let them get into a rhythm. A few missteps in the paint gave them easy buckets, but in large, we shut down one of the nation's best teams.
And now, here we are. WE are one of the nation's best teams. Forgive me for struggling still to wrap my head around it. But here it is: Brad Brownell can coach. He can take a roster of mildly talented players and make them...dare I say...ELITE.
Just an incredible run by this team. We've trailed what, two minutes the whole tournament? That's wild.
I woke up this morning only mildly sad my bracket's busted (I picked Zona to win it all). But I wake up astounded that we might...MIGHT be a Final Four team.
None of us, from the biggest hater to the CBB fanboys could've expected it. So rather than point fingers or say I told you so, let's soak it up.
And let's keep dancing, doing to Bama on the court exactly what we've done to them on the football field in recent years.