Why 'One Shining Moment' was the ultimate prize for Virginia star Ty Jerome

MINNEAPOLIS —Soaking up the joy of having just won a national championship, Virginia guard Ty Jerome sat in front of his locker and noted something about college basketball’s big game.

He has watched all of the CBS ‘One Shining Moment’ montages that air at the completion of the NCAA Tournament. Some he watched with his backcourt mate Kyle Guy.

“Every single one,’’ Jerome said, and that includes the memorable moments after the 2018 tournament, when Virginia became the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 in a humbling 74-54 loss to the University of Maryland—Baltimore County (UMBC).

“It was Kyle and I walking off the court after the UMBC game, Kyle with his head down and I put my hand on his head,’’ he said. “So this year, to watch it…’’

This year, Jerome watched “One Shining Moment” as he and his teammates celebrated winning Virginia’s first national basketball championship with an 85-77 overtime victory against Texas Tech at U.S. Bank Stadium.

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Jerome helped lead the Cavaliers with 16 points, eight assists and six rebounds. His 6-for-16 shooting from the floor was unspectacular, but made it clear stats were of secondary importance.

“It’s all about winning for me,’’ he said. “So if I can lead this team to a national championship, I did my job.”

The 2019 “One Shining Moment’’ montage showed images of him and his teammates in celebration, but it did not include perhaps the most poignant moment of all for Jerome.

“As soon as the buzzer sounded,’’ he said, “I ran to my mom and dad and my brother and it was a bunch of tears to share this moment with them, my teammates, my coaches.’’