INDIANAPOLIS — When Jimmy Chitwood hit the game-winning shot at the end of “Hoosiers” and became an Indiana high school legend, it was the climactic scene of the movie.
It’s a different story for UConn freshman Braylon Mullins, a fellow small-town Hoosier and Indiana Mr. Basketball, who became a March Madness legend Sunday when his game-winning 3-pointer against Duke sent the Huskies to the Final Four.
Mullins was the toast of college basketball and knew his name would go down in NCAA Tournament history.
“Yeah, after the game, I got 200 or 300 texts (from) family, friends, famous (people),” he said. “Crazy. It’s just all over the place. I think now you’ve got to move past the highs of that moment. I mean, it wasn’t the national championship. And now we’ve got to focus on Illinois.”
Illinois? Oh, yeah, the team Mullins faced while making his college debut Nov. 28, scoring two points in 10 minutes in UConn’s win. As anonymous as he was that day, Mullins enters Saturday’s semifinal game at Lucas Oil Stadium with a target on his back. Every time he touches the ball, fans will be paying attention.
That’s the reward for making one of the most famous shots in tournament history, turning a season-ending defeat into a chance at UConn’s third national championship in four years.
Coach Dan Hurley said he let his players celebrate the win until Tuesday, when his message was to turn the page and focus on the Illini.
“Listen, it’s like a dream come true,” Hurley said. “A made-for-TV movie, or Netflix, I guess, since we’re streaming now. Yeah, we’ve been shot-coaching since Tuesday. I had to let everyone enjoy it. I couldn’t come in on Monday like a cold, wet blanket and just start destroying people. That would’ve been a cruel thing to do to people’s spirits after such an incredible victory.
“Tuesday, you’ve just got to bring everyone back to reality, and like, reality is that that moment is over. It’s an incredible moment. You’ll have that the rest of your life. But we came here for rings, not watches. Everyone that comes to the Final Four gets a beautiful watch. Only one group is going to get a ring.
“So get off social media. Stop injecting dopamine into your arm, and get serious about preparation and practice, because we don’t hang banners for Final Fours at UConn. We hang national championship banners. And if you want to hang a banner, you’ve got to get your eyes off social media and get your face off the phone and get locked in on Illinois. Because Illinois is one of the best teams in the country, and they’re as big a threat to winning this tournament as any of the four teams.”
Mullins was recruited from nearby Greenfield-Central High School, about a half-hour east of downtown Indy, with the idea of having his homecoming this weekend at the Final Four.
“I know with my official visit that I took to UConn, that was the message Coach Hurley wanted to put across,” Mullins said. “It was like, ‘Hey, the goal is Indy.”
One of those recruitment ideas was a giant photoshop of Mullins on the side of the JW Marriott Indianapolis, the hotel that now has a giant NCAA Tournament bracket on it.
“There’s a whole bunch of things,” he said. “That was the message, and we accomplished it. But now we’ve got to win it.”
Photos: Illinois basketball preps for Final Four matchup in Indianapolis
Even though he grew up here, Mullins told me he wasn’t all that familiar with Lucas Oil Stadium, the home of the Indianapolis Colts.
“Believe it or not, I’ve never been to a Colts game,” he said.
He said he did attend a Michigan-Iowa Big Ten football championship game and a couple of state championship football games.
“But I never played in this building,” he said. “It’s crazy how far everything is and how big it is. It’s going to be crazy to picture all those seats filled on Saturday.”
“Crazy” is a word Mullins repeated a few dozen times Thursday, which seems appropriate for someone who ended one of the craziest games ever. After winding up with the ball after a deflected pass, he passed it to star Alex Karaban, who threw it back to Mullins with no time left to think about anything but shooting.
Mullins was 0-for-4 from 3-point range in the game and 4-for-23 from beyond the arc in the tournament. But he had enough time to set and shoot from about 35 feet out.
“The adrenaline helped me feel that, but I definitely feel I can shoot from there, especially,” he said. “It made it easier that I had a clear view to the rim. Or I think it was.”
The shot went through with four-tenths of a second left, and the wild scene on the bench after the ball went through the net was right out of “Hoosiers.” Making the highlight even more memorable was Hurley head-butting referee Roger Ayers afterward.
That’s something even Gene Hackman would never have done as coach Norman Dale in “Hoosiers,” though Dennis Hopper’s character, “Shooter,” might have considered it.
“Coach is one of a kind, man,” Mullins said. “I think he’d be the only one to get away with that. Looking back at it, I can’t believe he did it too.”
Road to the Final Four: Illinois is making its 1st appearance since 2005
Hurley downplayed the headbutt Thursday and admitted he was “intense” and it was “not easy (for officials) to work my game.”
“But I’ve always gotten zero technical fouls in my NCAA Tournament coaching career,” he said before realizing his mistake. “I just jinxed myself. Oh, my God, now I’m going to get bounced out of this thing. Oh, my God.”
Fortunately the headbutt will likely become a mere Easter egg in any potential Netflix version of Mullins’ story.
Mullins was still receiving congrats via texts and DMs before Thursday’s practice at Lucas Oil Stadium. The most famous person to congratulate him, he said, was “Impractical Jokers” star Joe Gatto, who told Mullins he talked about it during his comedy act.
How many times has Mullins seen the shot?
“I know the first day it was countless,” he said. “It was like every scroll on the feed it was there. After the first day I was like, ‘Hey, I’ve got to scroll past it, got to move on, flip the page.’ But the first day it was every scroll. It was everywhere.’’
We don’t know who will win this weekend, but we already know who will make the highlight reel on “One Shining Moment,” which traditionally comes right after the national championship game. Mullins’ fate is secured.
“Looking back at it, it’s insane, knowing that shot is going to be played every March Madness and that I’m a part of that moment,” he said. “That’s something I can cherish the rest of my life.”
Crazy? For sure. But the Huskies’ happy ending isn’t guaranteed, as the Illini hope to remind UConn on Saturday.
This is not a movie, at least not yet.
