LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For Admiral Schofield, Kyle Alexander, Brad Woodson and Lucas Campbell a chapter of their life came to a close on Thursday night. All four put on a Tennessee jersey for the last time.
Sitting with a towel wrapped around his head, the Canadian big man reflected back to a time when he was still locked in his shell.
"I mean when I got here as a freshman, I was a shy introvert, 6'9" 180 (pounds). I was just a completely different person than I am now," said Alexander. "And I can attribute that to Admiral especially, Brad, Lucas, Lamonte, I mean, all these guys have just had so much of an impact on my life and the person I am today. I'm just so thankful to God that he put me in this situation."
It's easy to appreciate the time spent, but maybe now is not the best moment for reflection. The wound still stings from the overtime loss to Purdue.
"Go back four years ago and where we are today, there's a lot to be proud of," said head coach Rick Barnes, "though right now it's hard to feel any of that, because you're always numb when this happens to you."
Schofield did his best to stay positive in the locker room afterward.
"God has definitely blessed me, I can't be sad, just be appreciative. God gave me everything I asked for, and more," said Schofield. "It's not over for me, but you know, wearing orange and white it is and I just hope I made an impact that I intended to make with the University, the community and on the floor with the program. At the end of the day I'm not sad about anything, I'm just appreciative."
Schofield left Tennessee with a challenge to the rest of athletics on Rocky Top: strive for greatness.
"Just like one fly, we all fly touched the nation, touched our university, the way we play the game, the way we approached every day, the attitude we instilled into this culture and this program, should bleed into every sport and I think that from here on out, there's no reason Tennessee Volunteers shouldn't be in the conversation for every sport to win championships."
Here's a look at some of the final statistics of each of the four seniors.
Admiral Schofield
- 132 games played, 94 games started, 3,287 minutes played
- 1,570 total points (11.9 per game)
- 5.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists per game
Kyle Alexander
- 135 games played, 105 games started, 2,409 minutes played
- 621 total points (4.6 per game)
- 185 total blocks
Brad Woodson
- 21 games played
- 22 total points
- Countless games of Settlers of Catan won
Lucas Campbell
- 16 games played
- 15 total points
- Countless jokes told
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