Man, I am still over the moon on our first ACC title in men's basketball program history. It is so damn sweet and while the season is not over, I want to be sure to really interpret what this means not only to myself, but all of us. I needed somewhere to write a line or two and here it is. I apologize in advance for the length.

I grew up in Richlands, the far southwestern part of Virginia, two hours west of Blacksburg. I was born nine days after the Hokies shocked Texas in the 1995 Sugar Bowl. Growing up, it was pretty simple what was important. God, my family, friends and Virginia Tech athletics. My uncle was a proud VT alum and worked hard for the Tidewater Hokie Club until his death in 2006. His little brother, my dad, followed suit and also attended VT, just so happening to be in his second semester when the Hokies won the 1979 Metro Conference Tournament Title. Dad has missed three home football games since 1978 (with the exception of the COVID 2020 season). He instilled it in me pretty early and started taking me to athletic events in 2002. I have not missed a VT home football game since 2006 (with the exception of that same COVID season). Blacksburg days in the fall are my favorite thing to be a part of.

Basketball games were scattered throughout. I remember being mesmerized watching Deron Washington soar through the air against Liberty in the first basketball contest I went to as a kid. When I was a student at VT from 2014-2018, if it was not on a holiday break against a mid-major, I was in Cassell. I remember being a freshman and ordering student tickets and getting a front row seat with the Cassell Guard because although Buzz Williams had just been named head coach, there was not much interest in the program that was coming off a nine win season in James Johnson's final year. They would offer free pizza to lure students to the games just to get butts in the seats. I remember watching Christian Beyer punch Jahlil Okafor in the gut one night in Cassell because he could not do anything with him under the bucket. Until my junior year at VT, the program had made two NCAA tournaments in my lifetime in 1996 and 2007. Success was very scarce for the first 19 years of my life. I remember being so confused as a kid as to why the Hokies were in the Big East in football but were in the A10 in basketball and then only to join the Big East in hoops to not find much success. It made no sense to a small kid as to why the football team was so dominant and the basketball team was so bad.

I thought Brian Chase was a stud. Carlos Dixon was also. Dowdell, Gordon, Vassallo, Green, Dorenzo Hudson, Deron Washington, the list goes on and on for me. However, as good as those teams were in the years where the NCAA Tournament committee acted certifiably insane, I never saw what happened Saturday night as a possibility.

When I was watching the Hokies give the league trouble while beating ranked UVA, UNC, Duke and Clemson teams while I was a student, I never saw VT winning an ACC Tournament title. JRob, Bibbs, Clarke, Outlaw, Hill, Blackshear--what a crew. I remember standing in the crow's nest when VT lost to Alabama in 2018 in Pittsburgh thinking this is as good as it gets, only to be proven wrong the next year in an awesome Sweet 16 run. I do not know if it was just past scars of past bubble snubs, the JJ era, just a basketball history that was not very bright or what. I just would have never believed it. I remember being a kid at Richlands Middle School watching the ACC Tournament on all the TVs in the school that week just in awe of the event. I still have nightmares of when Hansborough hit the shot to beat the Hokies. I always dreamed the Hokies would win the event. But always thought it was a pipe dream.

I tell you all that to tell you how good I felt when Mutts put Banchero on a poster Saturday solidifying a Hokies victory Saturday. The ACC Tournament is the marquee conference tournament in all of college basketball. To see the Hokies reach the mountaintop and exercise those ghosts from the years past was awesome. Especially in a year they started out 0-4 and 2-7 in the conference.

I heard from so many friends and college buddies Saturday night. I enjoyed every bit of it. I thought about folks who have left this world that had a great seat for the game but wondered what their reaction would be. Most importantly, I think my favorite part was jumping off my couch and hugging the man that I owe the biggest debt of my life to for making me a Hokie--my dad. Spending that moment with him was awesome. To see SWVA's premier program, win the ACC under the direction of a homegrown coach was so deeply satisfying. Enjoy these feelings. I have read that statement on articles on here and on the podcast. They may never feel like this again. Nothing like the first time.

I am so proud to be a Hokie. I am so proud that the men's basketball program won the ACC. I never thought I would utter that when I was 13 years old. Hell, I wouldn't have believed you a few months ago as a 26 year old. They went into the belly of the beast and beat the top three seeds to do it. It just so happened to run through Tobacco Road. How damn special is that. From not being good enough to join the league for so many years to standing atop of them all.

Enjoy it all. Never forget where you were when it happened. But most importantly, remember why it is so important to you.

Go Hokies! Beat Texas!