The University of Virginia men’s basketball team is getting ready to play Auburn in the Final Four Saturday night.
UVA sophomore forward Austin Katstra has played in only 11 of the team’s 36 games this season.
But as a Charlottesville native, he turned down opportunities to play elsewhere and played last year without a scholarship. Last January, he was awarded a scholarship and it was his biggest individual moment.
His biggest team moment? That’s easy. Last weekend’s victory over Purdue that propelled the Cavaliers to the Men’s Final Four. "Just because of how we did it this whole season," Katstra told reporters in Minneapolis. "After last season, it definitely made us more unified and shown what you can do together."
What happened last year was well-documented: UVA became the first Number 1 seed to lose to a Number 16 seed when the University of Maryland - Baltimore County knocked the Cavaliers out of the NCAA tournament. But they turned it around and are in the Final Four for the first time since 1984.
UVA coach Tony Bennett isn’t far from his roots at the Men’s Final Four in Minneapolis.
In the NFL, there’s a bitter rivalry between the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers. But from the U.S. Bank dome in Minneapolis, the home of the Vikings, UVA coach Tony Bennett has no qualms about saying something good about Wisconsin since it’s where he grew up.
His older sister Kathy led Wisconsin-Oshkosh to a NCAA Division III national championship and she now coaches at Edgewood College in Wisconsin. "Watching her, seeing her drive and love for the game had a huge impact on me as a player and certainly watching her coach. Major," Bennett noted during a news conference Thursday.
Bennett later played for his father, Dick Bennett, at Wisconsin-Green Bay before his playing career ended and became a coach. Dick and Tony Benett are the second father-son combo to coach teams at the Final Four.
Virginia's semifinal matchup with Auburn tips off at 6:09 Saturday night.
Police chiefs in the Charlottesville area hope Virginia fans will celebrate safely this weekend.
A letter from the chiefs of the Charlottesville, UVA and Albemarle County police departments says additional police, fire and EMS units will be on duty Saturday. The regional emergency operations center will also activated to coordinate those resources.
Parking and traffic will be restricted in the area known as The Corner from 5:00 p.m. to midnight Saturday. Vehicle crossings on the Downtown Mall will also be closed.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
