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Vic Schaefer delivers emotional interview after leading Texas to Final Four
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Vic Schaefer is heading back to the Final Four, and this time he’s taking Texas to the national semifinals. The longtime coach has been to two previous Final Fours (while at Mississippi State), but this is the first time the Longhorns have broken through with Schaefer after some near misses.
On Monday, the Longhorns took down TCU, 58-47, to win and advance. A big push in the 3rd quarter and some lockdown defense by the Longhorns that resulted in 21 turnovers from TCU and a 26.7% shooting effort from the Horned Frogs paved the way.
After the game, Schaefer was visibly emotional and fought back tears while describing what this moment means for him personally:
“I know I’m not their world, but they are my world,” Schaefer said in regards to his players. “They say it’s not who you are, it’s what you do — this is who I am. This is what I’ve done for all my life. My family has suffered at times because I’ve put so much into this… this is what I do and who I am.
“You invest so much, you invest your heart and soul into these kids, you want it so badly for them. But sometimes, it’s hard to show them, especially if they’ve not been there.”
He also described the effort in the win as “Texas fight” by the Longhorns in getting past a veteran unit for TCU:
After 4 trips to the Elite Eight and 5 NCAA Tournamant appearances under Schaefer, the Longhorns have now reached their first Final Four since 2003. However, the path to the ultimate prize of a national title is still a tough task.
The Longhorns will face South Carolina in the national semifinals in a 4th meeting between the teams this season. The two teams split the regular-season series while it was South Carolina coming out on a top with a dominant win in the SEC Tournament final.
Whoever wins that matchup will have to deal with the winner of UCLA vs. UConn for a national championship on Sunday.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
