Monday night, the emotion finally caught hold of Silvio De Sousa.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior forward was standing on the opposite side of the court, close to the Mocs’ bench, when David Jean-Baptiste’s 3-point shot pierced the net at the buzzer in overtime, sending UTC to its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2016 with a 64-63 win over Furman in the Southern Conference tournament final in Asheville, North Carolina.
De Sousa’s first instinct? To fall down and stretch out on the court, spread eagle. Then he jumped up and made his way to the other end of the floor, where the rest of the team – and UTC fans – were celebrating. In that moment, five years of frustration had washed away.
That’s why, once the initial celebration ended and De Sousa had a moment to himself, tears were shed. Because in that moment, none of that other stuff – NCAA punishments for things outside of his control, legal issues for things he could have controlled – mattered.
“When you think about the ups and downs I had throughout my career in college, it’s crazy how it’s happened,” said De Sousa, who spent three years at Kansas, opted out of the 2020-21 season and joined the Mocs last summer.
“I look back at the past two or three years, it was hard times and now I’m here, going to March Madness where I started when I first came to college. It’s just crazy; it’s unbelievable. I’m just glad the school took me in with open arms and gave me another opportunity when nobody else seemed to care. I’m just glad to be here.”
It helped that during the recruitment process, UTC coach Lamont Paris focused on learning who De Sousa is as a person, more than what he had been. Paris said in November that he hadn’t bumped into too many 23-year olds “as caring as De Sousa,” but the fifth-year UTC coach knew he was taking a chance in signing a player with a controversial past. It appears to have paid off, as De Sousa had a season-high 14 rebounds and a team-high 17 points in the Mocs’ win over Furman.
Entering next week’s tournament – UTC’s seed and opponent will be revealed along with the entire 68-team bracket for March Madness on Sunday – the 6-foot-9, 250-pound De Sousa has averaged 11.1 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per contest for the Mocs, whose 27-7 season includes a sweep of the SoCon regular-season and tourney titles.
“I think people’s perception is going to be based off of what they see and how they interact with him, which is why I encourage anybody to meet our players if they can, because they’re really unique and interesting people,” Paris said. “Silvio is focusing on a mission, and he’s done everything that we’ve asked him to do. He’s a fantastic teammate, and I’m just excited for him to be able to get back out there and to see him smile when he gets out on the court.”
When the Angola native left Kansas and the Jayhawks, it was another step in a journey that included time as a prep star in Florida, including at high-profile IMG Academy. When De Sousa came to Chattanooga, leaving behind the Power Five’s Big 12 for the SoCon, he was seeking another home. UTC, its staff and players have provided that.
Back in December, De Sousa wrote on Twitter that he had “fallen in love with the game again.”
“My whole life in college, I felt like I have been taken advantage of,” he said on Dec. 12. “At one point, I felt like I wasn’t liking the sport as much; basketball wasn’t a thing that I would think of when I woke up. But now it’s a lot of fun, and I feel like I’m loving it, I’m loving it. Just sharing the court with my brothers out there and being around those people, they show me love and show me that they care about me, and that’s why it’s a lot easier to fall back in love with the sport.”
And all of that came to a head Monday night – in one emotional moment that was about more than a winning shot, a conference title or even an NCAA tournament berth.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.