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| Holy Cross is the most unlikely team in the NCAA tournament, and it’s fueled by D.C. area natives | Holy Cross is the most unlikely team in the NCAA tournament, and it’s fueled by D.C. area natives |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Holy Cross juniors Malachi Alexander and Anthony Thompson have been playing basketball together since they were little kids growing up in Prince George’s County, and so their nights since the Crusaders turned the Patriot League upside down have resembled a childhood sleep-over. | Holy Cross juniors Malachi Alexander and Anthony Thompson have been playing basketball together since they were little kids growing up in Prince George’s County, and so their nights since the Crusaders turned the Patriot League upside down have resembled a childhood sleep-over. |
| The two roommates and close friends can’t seem to fall asleep at a decent hour, their minds racing with excitement because what the Crusaders did last week, and the opportunity before them, are still “so hard to wrap my head around,” Alexander said in a telephone interview. | The two roommates and close friends can’t seem to fall asleep at a decent hour, their minds racing with excitement because what the Crusaders did last week, and the opportunity before them, are still “so hard to wrap my head around,” Alexander said in a telephone interview. |
| The only team in this year’s NCAA tournament field with a below-.500 record has a decidedly Washington flair. The three players who started the most games for Holy Cross this year spent much of their offseason training together, taking on all comers in gyms around the Washington area. | |
| Holy Cross senior Cullen Hamilton, as well as Alexander and Thompson, were never regarded as can’t-miss prospects during their time at the Potomac School, Eleanor Roosevelt and Bullis, respectively. Even now, as they prepare to lead the Crusaders into an NCAA tournament First Four game against Southern on Wednesday night in Dayton, Ohio, they are hardly household names. | |
| But they’re all central figures in this March’s first Cinderella story. | But they’re all central figures in this March’s first Cinderella story. |
| “To be honest,” Hamilton said, “it doesn’t make sense.” | “To be honest,” Hamilton said, “it doesn’t make sense.” |
| Holy Cross (14-19) entered the Patriot League tournament with losses in 13 of its previous 16 games and did not win a single conference road game all season. It then proceeded to win four road games in a row, including a play-in game against Loyola (Md.) and a double-overtime thriller against top-seeded Bucknell, to earn an NCAA tournament berth for the first time since 2007. | Holy Cross (14-19) entered the Patriot League tournament with losses in 13 of its previous 16 games and did not win a single conference road game all season. It then proceeded to win four road games in a row, including a play-in game against Loyola (Md.) and a double-overtime thriller against top-seeded Bucknell, to earn an NCAA tournament berth for the first time since 2007. |
| [NCAA tournament cheat sheet: Everything you need to know] | [NCAA tournament cheat sheet: Everything you need to know] |
| Suddenly, the defensive lapses and shooting woes that had marred new Coach Bill Carmody’s first season in Worcester, Mass., vanished. Behind a career-high 26 points and six three-pointers by Alexander, the Crusaders knocked off No. 2 seed Lehigh, 59-56, last Wednesday in the Patriot League championship game. Then, the purple clad Crusaders celebrated. | Suddenly, the defensive lapses and shooting woes that had marred new Coach Bill Carmody’s first season in Worcester, Mass., vanished. Behind a career-high 26 points and six three-pointers by Alexander, the Crusaders knocked off No. 2 seed Lehigh, 59-56, last Wednesday in the Patriot League championship game. Then, the purple clad Crusaders celebrated. |
| “It’s a pretty amazing story that the core guys are from the DMV and we were able to accomplish our goal after all the hard work we put in,” said Thompson, the older brother of Paul VI point guard and Division I recruit Aaron Thompson. “It feels like it’s long overdue. All that time we put in in our high schools has really paid off.’ ” | “It’s a pretty amazing story that the core guys are from the DMV and we were able to accomplish our goal after all the hard work we put in,” said Thompson, the older brother of Paul VI point guard and Division I recruit Aaron Thompson. “It feels like it’s long overdue. All that time we put in in our high schools has really paid off.’ ” |
| Recruited by former Holy Cross Coach Milan Brown, the trio began to put in long hours together at their former high schools each summer after becoming college teammates. Weekdays were reserved for conditioning and skill development, usually at Eleanor Roosevelt or the Potomac School. On the weekends, they’d go out searching for pickup games at Bullis. | |
| They all separately admitted to knowing exactly where the other will be on the court because of all this time spent together. But Hamilton, who did not know Alexander or Thompson well before college, believes their connection also played a major role in helping the Crusaders stay the course during what had been an otherwise difficult transition under Carmody, who previously coached at Northwestern and Princeton. | They all separately admitted to knowing exactly where the other will be on the court because of all this time spent together. But Hamilton, who did not know Alexander or Thompson well before college, believes their connection also played a major role in helping the Crusaders stay the course during what had been an otherwise difficult transition under Carmody, who previously coached at Northwestern and Princeton. |
| “When things got rough this season, the whole team — but us especially — we had a spirit and a bond about us because we knew how hard we worked and we had such great chemistry,” Hamilton said. “It’s definitely strange because no matter how much we lost, guys just really seemed to enjoy being around each other. That was really weird.” | “When things got rough this season, the whole team — but us especially — we had a spirit and a bond about us because we knew how hard we worked and we had such great chemistry,” Hamilton said. “It’s definitely strange because no matter how much we lost, guys just really seemed to enjoy being around each other. That was really weird.” |
| All three Washington area members of the team will be integral starters when Holy Cross takes the floor Wednesday in Dayton. | |
| Alexander is the team’s soft-spoken leading scorer (12 points per game) who was mostly overlooked on the recruiting trail after leading Eleanor Roosevelt to a state championship back in 2013. Thompson is the pass-first point guard who returned to form after recovering from labrum surgery last year. Hamilton is the Crusaders’ leader and “the glue guy” who delivered stirring pregame speeches throughout the Patriot League tournament run, according to Thompson, his back-court mate. | |
| Never in their wildest dreams, though, did they think they would find themselves here — in the field of 68 with a chance to play on into March. | Never in their wildest dreams, though, did they think they would find themselves here — in the field of 68 with a chance to play on into March. |
| “The moral of the story,” Hamilton said, “is when you love each other and really care about the guy next to you, you can go a lot of places.” | “The moral of the story,” Hamilton said, “is when you love each other and really care about the guy next to you, you can go a lot of places.” |
| More NCAA tournament coverage | More NCAA tournament coverage |
| A Las Vegas bookie’s love-hate relationship with March Madness | A Las Vegas bookie’s love-hate relationship with March Madness |
| Here’s why No. 12 seeded teams upset No. 5 seeds in the tournament | Here’s why No. 12 seeded teams upset No. 5 seeds in the tournament |
| Most likely first-round upsets | Four possible Cinderella teams | Most likely first-round upsets | Four possible Cinderella teams |
| Cheat sheet: Everything you need to know to win your bracket pool | Cheat sheet: Everything you need to know to win your bracket pool |