LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Remember Jim Boylen at The Pit - the hot-headed, confrontational head coach from Utah?
The same coach who menacingly gestured toward Lobo head coach Steve Alford during one of the media timeouts on March 3 broke down after his Utes escaped with a 52-50 victory over San Diego State in the Mountain West Conference Championship on Saturday.
Utes fans and students stormed the court to celebrate with Utah, as members of the team donned on their championship caps.
And there was Boylen - planted in awe. He granted Versus a post-game interview, pumping his fists in exaltation towards the Utes' fan base opposite the scorer's table.
The Utes are champions - and not just regular-season co-champs, Boylen said.
"I said we're going to win one outright," he said. "I told my team what (Salt Lake Tribune reporter) Mike Lewis said to me: 'Did you only keep a third of the net?' Good motivation for us. We got the whole thing this time."
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When asked how it felt to win, Boylen paused. At first, it seemed like he was just milking the moment - savoring the fact that the Utes earned themselves the right to cut down the nets. But then he began to sob at the podium, pausing for nearly a full minute in absolute silence.
"Somebody give me another question," he said. "I'll come back to that one."
For a successful program such as Utah, getting blown out 80-54 by UNLV two years ago in the tournament was an embarrassment.
Almost two years later, Boylen has turned around a program that finished 11-19 in 2007.
"To see these guys grow - I was very hard on these group of guys," he said.
But to Boylen, the team was much more than a group of guys.
"Lawrence Bohra cut his hair (and started looking) like a human being instead of a cartoon character," Boylen said.
Saturday, Bohra had 12 points, 10 coming in the second half.
"He started to take responsibility for his actions," Boylen said. "He became a teammate, instead of a guy that thought he was a great player, who wasn't worth a shit. We gave him an identity. He accepted that identity."
Other guys did, too. Luke Nevill was no exception. And because of that, Nevill has morphed into a staple on the Utes' roster.
But Boylen said he had to battle with the giant Aussie because he was combatant when he first took over.
"There was days I didn't like Luke. There was days he didn't like me," he said. "He was a member of the team, but not a teammate. I hated that."
Now, Nevill, the regular-season MVP, can add another piece of hardware to his collection. The 7-feet-2-inch center scored 18 points and pulled down 15 boards in Saturday's finale, earning him the tournament's MVP award.
However, for the other team, it was agony.
After being down as much as seven points in the second half, the Aztecs battled to within one with nine seconds left.
Two clutch back-to-back 3-pointers by Richie Williams spurred SDSU's near-comeback. Bohra made one of his two free throws with five seconds, putting the Utes up 52-50. On the other end, Williams dashed upcourt but got the ball poked away from him by Shaun Green, and Williams couldn't get a shot up. He slammed the ball repeatedly in disgust after the horn sounded.
"I saw him tap it and I saw it bounce around. I didn't know what was going on," said Utah's Carlon Brown, who finished with 10 points. "When he grabbed it, I just ran across the court and started screaming. Usually Shaun is slow, but, in that instance, he wanted that ball."
Throughout the tournament, Aztecs' star Lorrenzo Wade had made his presence felt, and he was rewarded with a spot on the All-Tournament team.
In Thursday's semifinal victory over BYU, Wade scored 24 points and iced the game with a pair of free throws with 7.6 seconds left, preserving a 64-62 victory for SDSU. On Saturday, though, Wade was limited to 12 points on 5-of-16 shooting.
"The shots just weren't falling down," Wade said. "They were the same shots that I was shooting in the past two games. I think the game changes a little with a big guy like Luke Nevill."
Wade said he stayed up late Friday night because he was anxious to play, but he said it didn't factor into how he played.
"It has nothing to do with thinking about it," he said. "I was talking about it with my teammates on the bus. It's kind of like a kid knowing that they're going to Disney Land - you try to go to sleep. You're laying there with your eyes closed, but you just can't fall asleep. Your mind is going 100 miles a minute. This is my first time in the Mountain West Conference Championship, so it's hard to stop thinking about it."
That's definitely true now, considering how the Aztecs lost.
But head coach Steve Fisher said that if SDSU gets into the NCAA Tournament when the announcement is made on Selection Sunday, Saturday's loss won't be as bitter.
The Aztecs entered the Saturday's contest on the bubble, but with the loss ESPN, now has SDSU listed as one of the last four teams out.
Fisher said he'll be praying the Aztecs get in.
"I'm a good Catholic, and I'm going to light two candles instead of one," Fisher said. "And it will not be hypocritical, because I always go and always light at least one. So, I'll put an extra dollar in and light two candles."
Boylen might want to light some candles of his own.
He said he's been blessed since he chose to become the Utes' 14th head coach. Just before the Boylen stepped down from the stage, he gave kudos to Green.
Green had only six points against the Aztecs, but Boylen said he has been an extension of the coach on the court.
"Shaun Green is the leader of this team," he said. "He's the guy tells me to shut up. 'We got it coach. Coach, we're good. Coach, that's enough.' He gives me the tap or the wink. He calms the huddles down. He was a three-year starter, but he wasn't a winner. I told him I thought he could be a winner if he came off the bench. When the season started, he was 53-59 here. And he was going to be one of the three players in 101 years to have a losing record. He's a winner now."
