Footage has emerged of outgoing Virginia Tech coach Buzz Williams praying over this team after they finished this year’s NCAA tournament with a 75-73 defeat to Duke University, which went right down to the wire. The Hokies just fell short of forcing overtime against Duke after Ahmed Hill missed a crucial shot right on the buzzer. But that didn’t dismay Coach Williams from gathering his team together in the locker room, linking arms and praying.
“God, you say in the Bible that when we don’t know what to say, you understand our heart,” Williams declared, surrounded by his clearly exhausted and downtrodden team members.
How great is this from @Hokie_Hoops coach Buzz Williams praying with his team over his 3 seniors.
"Your character will always win. I love you. In Jesus name, Amen."
– @TeamCoachBuzz
https://t.co/uBXLUemeCM— Jason Romano (@JasonRomano) March 31, 2019
Praying specifically for the three seniors of the team — Ty Outlaw, Ahmed Hill and Justin Robinson — Williams thanked God for these three stoic characters who have remained committed themselves to a team which, for the past two years, has been consecutively dumped out of the NCAA in the first round.
Laying his hands on forward Ty Outlaw, the coach declared:
“God, thank you so much for Ty, thank you for the four years he has been with us. Thank you for his mom and how she’s supported him. Thank you that he was in our first recruiting class and believed in us when there was nothing to believe. God, I pray you would give him great peace on all the decisions that are coming his way.”
Williams asked that God grant Outlaw wisdom as he moves forward in his basketball career and makes some life-defining choices.
“Give him comfort that the decision he chooses is the right one,” he said.
“I pray that you would fill these three guys with the right kind of humility and love,” Williams continued. “That they would know that the best form of leadership is servant leadership.”
The compassionate head coach went on to promise his three senior players that, despite the fact they are parting ways for now, he would always have their backs.
“Anytime you need a hamburger, a place to stay, you can always call me,” Williams told guard, Ahmed Hill. “You’ll have my cell number the rest of your life. I will always take care of you, I will always take care of your mom.”
“I love you so much,” the coach told his team. “I’m incredibly thankful for the example that you’ve set for my sons and daughters.”
This senior class for Virginia Tech will go down in Hokies history as the class that changed the program forever. 🙌#gerBETTER🦃 (@HokiesMBB) pic.twitter.com/3XFtYpjaVq
— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) March 30, 2019
In a blog post after the Sweet 16 loss to the Blue Devils, the Hokies noted that “though the game did not turn out the way we had all hoped, this was an experience of a lifetime.”
Coach Buzz Williams is now hotly tipped for a move to Texas A&M University.
You can watch the dramatic highlights of the game below: