Jaguars coach thanks community for their support this season

Thank you, Augusta!

What a wild ride it’s been these last 11 months! It all culminated in Evansville, Indiana, with the Division II National Title game. Playing in the last game of the season is always the goal and this team left its heart and soul on the floor every night and they worked their butts off to get where they were.

While the outcome wasn’t in our favor, the game and the season provided a lifetime of memories. And you, the fans, were a big part of it! From everyone who was at the game to those at the watch parties during the last week to those who welcomed us home, your support means a lot.

I was pretty confident coming out of COVID we would have a chance to be a special team. That proved to be true, and then some! I remember going to the NCAA Tournament two years ago only to have to get back on the bus and come home without ever playing a game left an empty feeling in all of us, including a handful of guy’s off this year’s team.

The support all of you showed us was outstanding! From the diehard fans that traveled with us to road games and the NCAA Elite Eight to those who were at Christenberry Fieldhouse on a nightly basis, and even those who supported us by watching the webcasts of the games or followed us online, thank you!

The environment we’ve tried to create at Christenberry really paid off. I mean, who would have thought we’d have over 1,000 stuffed animals back when we decided to do our first-ever teddy bear toss?

What an accomplishment it was to set the school record for wins in a season with 33, but what I didn’t realize until a week ago is that we did not lose a single home game all year, a perfect 20-0 record! A lot of credit goes to the fans who energized our team. Our team fed off the energy of the crowd and that was certainly a difference maker in the regional final against Queens University. Having fans rush the court after Miguel Arnold hit the 3-pointer to send us to Evansville will be a moment I’ll never forget and cherish forever!

It reminded me of our last Elite Eight runs. The environment was as good as it gets.

We might have been outnumbered at the Elite Eight, but those who made the trip were loud and proud and put a smile on my face when I’d see all the blue and white and our famous fat heads in the stands.

So thank you! Thank you to everyone who has supported us all year and look forward to having even more fans behind the Jags going forward.

Augusta men’s basketball coach Dip Metress