GREENVILLE, S.C. — Kylan Boswell imagines at some point, after the buzzer sounds on his last college game, the emotions will hit him.
But right now, ahead of his fourth NCAA Tournament, the Illinois senior guard is focused on making sure his teammates are in the right mindset to extend the run as long as possible.
Three years ago, as a freshman at Arizona, Boswell was on the second-seeded Wildcats team that lost to No. 15 seed Princeton in the first round. He knows how quickly the end can come, how in a blink the Illini could be saying goodbye to a special mix of players that has its eyes on a national championship run despite some recent bumps.
On the eve of No. 3 seed Illinois’ first-round game Thursday against No. 14 seed Penn (18-11) — another Ivy League opponent — Boswell said the Illini (24-8) have talked about being ready for their moment.
“The sense of urgency has to be there,” Boswell said Wednesday in the Illinois locker room before practice at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. “I’ve already seen it. I’ve been a part of it.
“It’s everybody’s last game, and you never know what’s going to happen. So you can’t come out lackadaisical and not being mentally prepared.”
On a team headlined by freshman guard Keaton Wagler, an Associated Press second-team All-American, and supplemented by Big Ten all-freshman team forward David Mirković, Boswell is Illinois’ voice of experience in this NCAA Tournament.
It was Boswell who hosted a players-only meeting Saturday after the Illini’s overtime loss to Wisconsin in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. He had played a season-low 17 minutes after getting in early foul trouble, including an unwise technical foul, and watched as Badgers guards Nick Boyd and John Blackwell tore the Illini apart.
On the bus ride home from Chicago on Friday night, Mirković approached Boswell about getting together as a team. Mirković said the Illini players have “great chemistry” and thought it would help to meet and get their frustrations out in the open.
So Boswell texted the group, and they met for pizza, wings and conversation at his place, getting their minds right for the trek ahead.
“Sometimes throughout the season, you don’t want to say something to step on toes or you’re timid or something like that,” Boswell said. “When I had everybody over, it was chilled and relaxed. We talked about everything, got everything out there.”
Boswell has spoken often about what was expected of him when he transferred to Illinois after two seasons at Arizona. The Champaign native, who played high school ball in California and Arizona, knew that Illinois coach Brad Underwood planned to push him hard to mold him into a leader.
That started last season and grew this season amid a group of players that includes Wagler and a contingent of five players with Balkan heritage, which taught Boswell new things on and off the court. Even as he missed seven games with a broken right hand, he tried to be vocal and engaged with his teammates.
Boswell said there isn’t a day that Underwood isn’t in his ear, telling him he needs to be a leader — usually with words that “I wouldn’t be able to say here.”
“He’s a very intense coach, what I needed when I first came here too,” Boswell said. “He helps guide me in tremendous ways. He pushes me every day to be my best.
“He’s always telling me when I’m on the court, I need to have the most energy, I need to be as dominant as I possibly can be on the defensive end. Being vocal is just something that comes along with being a leader.”
Underwood said Boswell doesn’t shy away from the intensity.
“He’s got a gift that not many young people have,” Underwood said. “It’s why he’ll be a good coach one day. It’s why he’ll be a good leader of people. He’s not afraid of conflict.
“Most kids are wimps today, and they don’t like that. They don’t like other people telling them stuff they don’t want to hear. Kylan has the ability to do that.
“And he’s pretty cerebral. He’s got a great understanding of what he’s talking about, so he demands that respect and that’s been a benefit for us for sure.”
Boswell’s leadership has benefited Wagler during his rise to becoming one of the best freshmen in the country.
One of the first players to tout Wagler’s potential to coaches, Boswell — who called Wagler “like my little brother” — has been a champion and pick-me-up for the freshman through some ups and downs this season. They have grown close off the court, talking on FaceTime and playing video games together.
“It’s building the smaller chemistry,” Wagler said.
And they have worked together on the court. Boswell, who was named to the Big Ten all-defensive team, tries to push Wagler in practice and said it hasn’t been a second thought to cede the ball to him more. Boswell averages 13.2 points, four rebounds and 3.3 assists to Wagler’s 17.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists.
“When you come in as an unknown and you run into a veteran that is a willing helper, that’s huge,” Underwood said. “The one thing is Kylan’s unselfishness, his ability to want to help — knowing that his counterpart, sidekick, guy next to him is young — it doesn’t happen very often. It’s very unique in my opinion.
“Kylan has helped him grow in every aspect. As the season’s gone, you’ve seen Keaton grow and respond and their communication just become really special, and that’s fun to see.”
Illinois will be at its best this week in South Carolina if Wagler and Boswell are at their best. And Boswell, who averaged 19 points, four assists and four rebounds in last year’s NCAA Tournament, isn’t taking that for granted.
“I’ve gotten older,” he said. “Being a senior now, knowing this is my last run, last time I’ll be playing college basketball ever in my life, it’s just being really appreciative of all the moments and everything around me, especially being surrounded by such great people.”
