 "Photo: Maria Lee and Ryan Littman-Quinn")
This weekend, cheers, flowers, and tears will flow through Conte Forum, as Boston College says goodbye to the basketball class of 2007.
The men's basketball team will take the floor for the last time this season on Saturday at 1 p.m. against Clemson, while the women's team will take their turn against Maryland on Sunday at 3 p.m.
This is a class that will be remembered for, among many other things, carrying the Eagles tradition of success seamlessly from the Big East to the ACC.
Take a look at team photos from the 2003-2004 season. You'll barely be able to recognize Jared Dudley, his look completely changed in his four years at Chestnut Hill.
Sean Marshall sits on the opposite side, with a full head of hair and fewer tattoos.
On the women's side, Kathrin Ress, Kindyll Dorsey, and Sarah Marshall stand together surrounding a golden ball on the floor of the Hartford Civic Center; the team's 2003-2004 Big East Championship trophy.
This season, Marshall and Dudley will graduate, most likely, with the title of "winningest" graduating class in school history.
It is something that Dudley talked about at the beginning of the season, as a goal that he and Marshall set at the start of the year.
Now with that goal almost realized, and the season coming to a close, Dudley reflected on a career about to come to a close.
"I've been counting down to the game with the last couple games here. It's going to be crazy. You never think you're going to graduate, but obviously it comes up so quick. I'm glad and I'm blessed that I came to school here," said Dudley.
BC has been blessed to have him.
A front-runner for ACC Player of the Year, Dudley has been the focal point of most of BC's most dramatic moments during its run of three straight NCAA tournaments.
For the senior forward, it was easy to pick a favorite.
"It was definitely the Syracuse game. They bum-rushed the floor. We were both ranked in the top 10. It was a big game. It was for the Big East, basically who was going to take over. It was a team win, a total win from top to bottom," said Dudley.
At the end of that game, Dudley tossed the ball up high into the air and ran to the middle of the floor to celebrate with teammates and fans.
Dudley will return to center court once again, this time alone with his classmate, Marshall, to be recognized for his outstanding contributions to BC. When asked what would be going through his mind at that moment, Dudley had an idea.
"Man, I'm almost out of here. My season's winding down. I'll be thinking about all the people that made it possible for me to be here and just trying to win for my team," said Dudley.
On the women's team, Ress, Dorsey, and Sarah Marshall had the burden of continuing a tradition of success predating their arrival at BC, coming onto a team that had just made the Sweet Sixteen.
The 2007 trio would lead BC back to the Big Dance in their first three years on the team, including Sweet Sixteen appearances in 2004 and 2006.
While this has been a trying year for the group of seniors, they haven't lost perspective of the run they've had at BC.
"The whole year's been kinda like up-and-down, but it's been fun," said Dorsey.
Marshall added, "It's crazy how fast the four years have gone by and it's exciting to be like spending [time] with these girls. We've been through a lot both basketball-wise and off the court, so it'll be a fun night."
For the three women, Senior Night will be an emotional end to a roller-coaster season, a season that has seen them struggle to a 3-9 record in the ACC and a 13-13 record overall.
The classmates, however, looked forward to the day with excitement.
"I'll be smiling, smiling a lot," said Ress.
"I don't know, I could be crying, I could be like, fine, I don't know, I have no idea," said Dorsey. n
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