Florida Gators senior guard Will Richard knew the team would be national champions before the season even began.
“I saw it in the first week of offseason that we had a special group,” Richard told “CBS Mornings” in a post-victory interview from San Antonio. “I knew as long as we kept the right mindset and just attacked every game the same way we were going to give ourselves a good chance to do something special this year.”
His sharp shooting and unwavering confidence helped propel the Florida Gators to their first NCAA basketball championship since 2007 with a nail-biting 65-63 victory over the Houston Cougars on Monday night.
Richard, who hit four three-pointers in the first half and played crucial defense in the final minutes. The win came after a dramatic final sequence where Houston’s potential game-tying shot attempt never materialized as time expired, setting off a celebration for the Gators, who overcame a 12-point second-half deficit.
Richard, who chose to return to Florida rather than enter the NBA draft last year, credited the team’s connectedness for their ability to overcome the late deficit.
“I think it goes back to the trust we have in each other,” Richard said. “I feel like we’re a connected group and I feel like as long as there’s time left on the clock we can give ourselves a good chance to win.”
Richard called his decision to stay with Florida and play for coach Todd Golden “a blessing,” adding that “it’s good seeing all the work we put in come to fruition and being able to bring a championship back was special.”
After the championship celebration, Richard has his sights set on the next challenge.
“Having a good career in the NBA is the next step,” he said. “This is definitely one I’ll celebrate for a few weeks leading up to working for the draft.”
Forward Thomas Haugh still has a piece of the championship net tucked behind his right ear, hours after the team’s historic victory.
He said he hasn’t gotten any sleep, running on energy from last night’s victory.
“It’s amazing. It doesn’t feel real yet,” Haugh said. “I can’t wait to get back to Gainesville and see the fans there and go celebrate.”
Haugh described the tension of those final seconds from his perspective on the court, particularly focusing on his defensive mindset as the clock wound down.
“I was just hoping to not let my man score. I didn’t want to be the one who gave up the game-tying or the game-winning bucket,” Haugh said. “I just kind of locked on him, and then I saw the ball go loose, and that time started ticking down. Once we kind of gained possession, the buzzer ran out. Just craziness from there.”
The championship game’s unusual ending featured a Houston player who appeared poised to take a potential game-tying shot but opted instead to drop the ball as time expired.
“I thought Walt did a great job of getting to close out on him and it kind of limited him to kind of double clutch and thought about a shot,” Haugh said. “Just credit to Walt and him getting on there and closing out on him.”
Haugh also revealed that the team’s comeback was fueled by their coach’s halftime message when they faced a double-digit deficit.
“He just told us to stay the source and stay focused,” Haugh said. “We were in that situation a lot this tournament, probably more than we would like to be. But we had experience with that. And being down in a deficit, and we got down to 12 or whatever when the second half began. And we got into that time-out and just said remain calm. And he does a great job of keeping us level and running our game plan.”
