A bittersweet conclusion

Like UConn’s dominant run through the NCAA Tournament, the White House visit was a bittersweet moment in that it marks the final time this group of 38 — players, trainers, managers, coaches and administrators — who stood on the risers, will be together at once.

“When we were in the tournament I would always say, ‘We don’t want it to end, we want to keep playing with each other. We don’t want the last game to come.’ The last game came and that’s all passed, but now things like this and moments like this make me realize that we don’t want to let go of the off the court stuff as well and the relationships and the time we got to spend with one another. It’s bittersweet for sure,” Jackson said.

“I’m gonna be constantly connected with all these guys for the rest of my life. Whether that’s one by one, I mean, I have relationships with every single one of these guys so I’ll always be checking in on them, always gonna have their best interests and they’re always gonna have mine. This is a brotherhood that was built and it didn’t start that way. Everything we got, we worked for and in the point that we’re at right now we’re all very close, so we’re gonna continue to be in each other’s corner.”

Hawkins, projected to be a first-round pick in the June NBA Draft, hopes he’ll be able to play with some of his UConn teammates in the league.

“I can’t wait to see those guys’ names get called as well. It’s gonna be like I just got drafted, how excited I’m gonna be for those guys,” Hawkins said. “I would love to play with these guys, but if it comes down to it, I gotta fry ’em.”