By the time the final buzzer sounded on Virginia's 85-77 championship win against Texas Tech April 8, the storylines had already been written.
Head coach Tony Bennett and his Cavaliers had completed a remarkable turnaround, winning the program's first national title just one year after suffering one of the most historic defeats in the sport's history. Some had even wondered if Bennett's teams, with their slow-paced, defense-first style of play, would ever be able to match their consistent regular-season success in the NCAA tournament.
One former teammate of Bennett's, however, had always been a believer.
