The Charlottesville 29

Though he almost never plays, UVa senior Chase Coleman is beloved by fans for his energy and enthusiasm. And so, on the day of his final home game of his career, March 4, 2023 against Louisville, fans were out in force to say goodbye. Even if just to watch him play Monkey in the Middle with the starters during warm-ups.

As Virginia controlled the game in the second half, fans decided the team’s lead was big enough for Coleman to enter the game.

At stake, however, was an ACC regular season title for Virginia, a season-long achievement that coach Tony Bennett finds very meaningful. Bennett, therefore, took no chances, and left his starters in the game, even with a 14 point lead, and 70 seconds remaining.

So, the fans persisted.

Finally, with less than a minute to go, Bennett called Coleman’s name, much to the crowd’s delight. He entered the game for Kihei Clark, bringing to end Clark’s amazing career at John Paul Jones arena.

With such little time left in the game, Coleman knew he would just have one opportunity to make his final appearance memorable. So, he let it fly.