Oh yeah, yeah.

All right, we're ready.

Thank you so much for coming.

We so appreciate you.

I'm Alexander's child nine.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

I appreciate it.

Thank you.

So uh my first question for you um kind of on the championship, kicking things off is what's a moment from the championship that you know fans never saw, but you'll never forget.

Well, uh it's hard for me to say that because you guys all saw, you know, me hugging Jalen.

So I to me that's I mean, all the work, all the years, and then you get a chance to hug your son after winning the championship.

Uh, I mean, that's just this is uh unforgivable uh moment and probably last obviously will last forever.com, thanks for coming.

Oh, that we just did it, you know.

You know, you you uh you work your whole life um teaching y your kids how to you know to grow, to be successful and to get to the mountaintop of your profession, you know, it's it was great.

I mean it's still not sur uh surreal for me.

Just you know, watching him and and obviously sitting there and my stomach getting, I'm nervous, but uh hear that sound go off the the buzzer go off and and embrace him is the best.

And you're being honored here in Syracuse.

I wanna make it very clear.

Like I'm from Syracuse, like I I bleed orange.

Not just orange and blue, but I bleed orange.

Um die hard Syracuse fan, all the coaches up there tell you.

Uh my cousin is Felicia Legat, you know, I'm supporter of of their program.

But every summer I left here in eighty-seven to move to go to high school in Boston and but I came here every summer.

And um stayed with my grandmother and and hung out in Syracuse.

I'm here every summer.

Um my mom's waiting twelve.

Every year.

I have to take my mother to the state fair and walk around for a whole year.

So I would do it again this year too.

But I love Syracuse.

Like this is my I tell everybody I'm from Syracuse.

When people say, are you from Boston?

Oh, I'm from Syracuse, New York.

I'm proud of Syracuse.

Um you know, I I never forget as a young kid.

I cried when Keith Smart hit that shot, you guys are too young for that.

In eighty-seven.

Um big supporter of uh Mellow and his son, so I'm diehard Syracuse.

Um my last question I don't even think now about you know, how did it shape you into becoming the coach and the person you are today?

Basketball is huge here.

Just you know, it's funny, you know.

I grew up on a um on the west side.

Uh I got introduced to basketball going to Shine Street Boys Club.

Um great friend of mine, um, Greg Jones used to be a coach.

I know that uh Nottingham, he was on my team.

I have a picture, bitty basketball.

I have the picture on my phone.

We're kids, uh Bernard Blunt who lives outside of Philly where I live, still friends to this day.

I have friends, Dave Donaldson, uh the Caldwells, you know, Rashida.

I grew up playing against her sister and brother.

So I mean, just playing basketball in Syracuse, and uh I just got lucky.

I I I grew to this height, I moved to Boston.

I don't know, I I got I guess I got a little lucky, got pretty good and went to college.

So, but yeah, I'm um Syracuse has made me, and I and I appreciate that, and this is my home.

What did that mean for you and for the city of Fairfield?

It yeah, you know, for for me, you know, I you guys heard my story.

Um former athlete, um, S U and and do high school and just sports means a lot to me.

It's such a character-building um involvement for young people, and so um to just you know, sports is huge here in Syracuse, and and so many people go through our teams.

Nottingham High School did amazing this year, you know, it just energizes us to get behind our sports team, particularly our local team, and then we flood the dome to to watch the teams both football and basketball.